Please visit before you make your final decision. I moved to East Lansing aread a year ago when I got a job at MSU. I moved from the Minneapolis area and I had a really hard time adjusting to life in East Lansing. Even though MSU is a major state university and it is by Lansing (state capital) the area is very rural and not very metropolitian. I don't mind small towns--I am going to Kirksville afterall, but I just wanted to let you know that.
Personally, I am not much for the bar scene and that is pretty much all people do around here. I kid you not, every time I meet someone new, one of the first questions out of their mouth is "So, what's your bar?" A lot of the off campus housing that is close reflect this too. There are a lot of apartment complexes that have more parties, noise and commotion than a freshman dorm!
There is also the fact that Michigan has a very depressed economy and that spills into every facet of life. Unemployment rates are huge all over the state and because of that there is little income to the state budget, so there are new taxes and potential state "shut downs."
Also, the housing market around East Lansing is so messed up. Be prepared to make housing arrangements about 8 months to a year before you will actually live there. I kid you not, the "lease renewal weekends" for the next school year are in September most places.
This area is definately not my home and when applying I debated even applying here because I didn't think I could handle living here another 2 to 4 years. However, my family is close so that played a factor. I havent' been accepted yet, but I have pretty much decided on Kirksville.
Oh, one last thing---the auto industry basically owns the state. Therefore, public transportation everwhere is terrible. And, things are really spread out. Oh, and big one for me, the area is very biker-unfriendly. Translates to, you most likely will have to drive most places you want to go. The culture is also very drive everywhere. I was talking with a native of East Lansing about how hard it has been for me to adjust to life here. She was telling me that there is so much to do. I was like, well not close. She then started listing all of the fun outdoorsy stuff, museums and cultural stuff to do, and it was all at least an hour's drive from here. I was like...ummm...that's not close!
Please don't take this as an MSU bashing post. I really do love the state of Michigan, and wouldn't mind moving back here (although I really want to settle in Minnesota). And you can go to michigan.org to see all the really cool stuff here, I don't need to rehasht that. It's just that my persona and the East Lansing area dont' mesh at all, so I wanted to put this perspective out there to help the OOS accepted people and to really emphasize the importance of coming to see it for yourself.
Hope this helps!
(although now I am on the wait-list, after my interview)
