Honors College Part 2

Sophomore business major Ross Lamerson was admitted to the Honors College after his first semester at Michigan State because he achieved a 4.0 GPA. 

Lamerson said that all members are required to complete eight honors level courses before graduation. 

"I have found that it (honors courses) offers a lot less structure and moves faster than a normal class.  All the professor does is write lots of notes on the white board and occasionally call on students to answer questions.  Attendance is also not mandatory, so it is up to the individual students to go," Lamerson said. 

Sophomore psychology and criminal justice major Sarah Raider has taken honors options instead of normal honors courses. 

“Some of the honors options I've done are writing an additional paper, writing an annotated bibliography or meeting with my professor a couple times a month to discuss articles. Since I'm a double major, I have to complete 10 honors options instead of the normal eight,” Raider said.

Honors College Adviser Amanda Ritter said that the idea is for members to be challenged, and they definitely are. 

Honors College Part 1

Michigan State Honors College Adviser Amanda Ritter has a different job description than the typical college adviser. Hers entails helping hand picked students that excel in the classroom. Plus, she doesn't help them with their specific major, she helps them applications for graduate school, job applications, any personal issues and of course, graduating with honors.

“Currently there’s around 3,500 students. The admissions numbers change annually. We’ve been looking at different factors in freshmen, especially in diversity. So that’s something that we’ve been looking at as well," Ritter said.

Ritter said that to be admitted to the Honors College before enrollment the student must be in the top 10 percent of their graduating class or have a 30 or above on the ACT. To be admitted to the Honors College once enrolled at MSU, the student must be in the top 10 percent of their college. 

Out of state students' financial situations part 2

Sabrina Ferraro is a full-time student at Michigan State from California. She is a dietetics major and came for the program at MSU.

"I wanted a big school with big sports and a good education. Although it's expensive, I've found a way to make it work," Ferraro said.

Ferraro received the University Scholars Award due to her ACT scores and GPA from high school, along with a scholarship through her major. She also works as a student worker in the dining halls on campus.

Her job allows her to pay for food and some of her rent, while she takes out loans on classes.

"I make above minimum wage, which helps a lot," Ferraro laughed.

Even though out-of-state tuition is a lot of money, Ferraro said that she wouldn't have it any other way and that she loves this university.

Out of state students' financial situations part 1

Out-of-state students at Michigan State University pay nearly three times the amount of money that in-state students do for tuition.

In-state kids pay $14,114 per year while out-of-state students pay $37,942. The reason for that is due to the fact that out-of-state students have to catch up on paying taxes in the state of Michigan.

With that being said, there has to be some sort of incentive to come to Michigan State if you're not from the state of Michigan.

Michigan State University gives out a certain number of scholarships to out-of-state students only, based on their grades, ACT/SAT scores and family legacy. The application for admission to the university is the application for the scholarships.

"Halloweekend" in East Lansing part 2

After a full 24 hours of shopping at the Halloween City store and arguing, Koenig and her friends decided which fruit they were going to be. Koenig would not be the strawberry, she was to be the watermelon.

Koenig did not have time to go shopping or make the costumes this week due to her job and her studies.

"They (her friends) said it wasn't fair that I got to be the strawberry if I wasn't going to help with any of the costume crafting," Koenig said. "I decided they were right."

Once Koenig realized that it would take time to make the strawberry costume, she settled the argument and agreed to being the watermelon.

"Halloweekend" in East Lansing part 1

"Halloweekend" in East Lansing, Mich. happens to be a much bigger deal than we all expected. Besides the Great Pumpkin Walk and Safe Halloween for Greek Life, students on campus have other worries.

Along with the fact that the MSU football team will be playing Michigan in Spartan Stadium, many people are concerned with their costume ideas and choices.

"This year, there are five main nights of Halloween and we need new costumes every night," sophomore Cammy Koenig said.

The five nights Koenig is referring to are Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday (October 27 through October 31.)

Her dilemma? She doesn't know what she's going to be.

Koenig and her four friends have decided for one of those nights they are going to all be different fruits. They are planning on making the costumes and get to choose between being a pineapple, strawberry, watermelon, grape or kiwi.

Koenig and her other friend both want to be the strawberry.