Minnesota State University (St. Cloud, Mankato: apartment, dorms, school)

[MN Man]

I'm from Illinois and I'm looking at some MN colleges and I have a couple of questions:

Does MSU - Mankato have a pretty good reputation?

How does the education quality compare to the State U in St. Cloud, MN?

Is the campus pretty nice?

I appreciate your feedback!

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by MN Man

I'm from Illinois and I'm looking at some MN colleges and I have a couple of questions:

Does MSU - Mankato have a pretty good reputation?

It did when I went there in the early-mid 1980's ... its undergraduate Computer Science program was considered one of the best in the state at that time, and the subsequent comparisons I've done with other people who have BSCS degrees from other institutions has shown that to be true.

I can't speak for the school now, since I don't know anyone who has gone there recently, but this site has some interesting things to say:

MSU

How does the education quality compare to the State U in St. Cloud, MN?

I think you'd have to do a program-by-program comparison in order to obtain meaningful results.

Is the campus pretty nice?

When I was there, the expansion to the Trafton science building and the new Computer Center didn't exist, but it was a nice relatively centralized campus, with the main buildings connected via either tunnels or skyways to keep you out of the cold in the winter. And the wind!

Here's their current map.

There are a lot more students than dormitory rooms, though, which is good and bad. If you prefer to live in an apartment anyway, there are plenty of those fairly close to campus. I lived in the dorms the whole time I was there (in McElroy), but I had to go through the dorm lottery in order to get a room after my freshman year, and I suspect they still have to do that.

I wish I could give you more meaningful information. If this was 1990, I could provide a lot, but I'm sure a lot of things have changed.

[MidwestHiker]

I just visited both of these colleges with my daughter. They both were similar, but we like Mankato better. Most of the buildings at MSU were connected so you could get around without going outside in the MN winter. Their sports complex is beautiful!

St. Cloud seemed bigger and more spread out (probably because it was 30 degrees and snowing when we were there).

Definitely visit them before you go.

[chels533]

I am a senior at MSU-Mankato right now and really enjoy the school. Like mentioned above almost every building is connected so that makes it a lot warmer walk in the winter cold. I think the tuition and fees are pretty fair. They have a lot of good programs. I have visited St. Cloud State and also think it's pretty spread out but my friend goes there and she said it's less expensive as here. Good luck!