“ What? Upstate New York? Why in the world would you want to come here?”
At every party, class or general social interaction, I can guarantee my choice to attend MSU will be questioned, analyzed and sometimes openly mocked.
Every time I’m asked where I’m from, I have to tell the story yet again. I wanted to look outside of my home state because I had lived there my entire life.
I didn’t spend my summers on the shores of Lake Michigan or in the Upper Peninsula. I drank soda, not pop, and cheered for the Yankees, not the Tigers.
I am from Ithaca, N.Y. It’s the home of Cornell University and no, it’s not New York City. The list of similarities from my sleepy college town of 30,000 people and East Lansing are longer than the list of differences.
One thing we lacked was a large state school with a traditional college vibe — Cornell has about half as many students as MSU — so when I experienced this for the first time in East Lansing on a convincing campus visit, I knew I needed to enroll at MSU. In my three years on campus, here is what I have learned are pros and cons to not being from the mitten.
Pros
The anti-Drake:
Although Drake lives by the motto of “no new friends,” the great thing about being an out-of-state student is that if you didn’t like your high school friends, you can swap them out for newer, fresher models. I love my high school friends, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t have to run into the kids in high school who I didn’t care about now that I live hundreds of miles away from them.
The kind of family time I can actually support:
Yes, being away from your family is unfortunate, but as a glass half-full kind of guy, I choose to think about the time I do spend at home. When I come home, I am showered by amazing homemade food and my parents enduring affection. Everyone laughs at my jokes and even my dog is happy to see me. Going home for me is a big deal. I don’t get to do it every weekend so when I do it’s nice that I’m treated so well. And I appreciate it more.
Cons
Money:
College, whether it be Harvard or community college, is expensive. Out-of-state tuition puts students in a deeper hole. Is it fair? Maybe, but this isn’t a forum to talk about the validity of different tuitions for different addresses. Out-of-state tuition is a steep price to pay for going to the school I love. I might be in debt until I’m an AARP member, but I guess it’s just part of the price of admission.
The “Why did you come here?” question:
Okay Spartans, listen up: I know we aren’t that privileged school in Ann Arbor, but we have to start having a little more confidence in our degrees. I’ve got to use that piece of paper in about a year to get a job. Whenever I say I’m from New York the first question I’m asked is how New York City is (it’s five and a half hours from my house, so your guess is as good as mine), and the second question is why on earth would I want to come to MSU?
MSU is a Big Ten, nationally renowned university with a football team that just won The Rose Bowl and men’s basketball team that recently went to the Elite Eight. President Barack Obama was just here, for crying out loud. I got into five other schools in New York and Connecticut, but I chose MSU for a reason. It always surprises me when people act so awestruck that MSU would be a destination school for me. I passed up many good, more affordable options to come here, and I’m a little tired of explaining my entire college process story like it is a Harry Potter novel.
Geoff Preston is the State News cops and courts reporter. Reach him at gpreston@statenews.com
