A Guide to Applying to Mississippi State University
This article was written based on the information and opinions presented by Casey Malone in a CollegeVine livestream. You can watch the full livestream for more info.
What’s Covered:
- Different Ways to Apply
- Breaking Down Tuition and Fees
- Scholarships and Application Deadlines at MSU
- On-Campus and Virtual Tour
Different Ways to Apply
Mississippi State University (MSU) accepts the common app or the MSU application, which you can submit on its website. When you apply on the Mississippi State website, your application goes directly to the university. However, applying through the common app, your application will take time to process before it actually arrives at the university. If you have a strong opinion about where you want to live when you get to MSU, housing priority is determined by the timestamp of when you apply. This makes a difference in which application you choose to submit, and that even if two students finish their application at the same time, if one applies directly on the MSU website and the other applies through the common app their applications will be time stamped differently.
If this is a concern of yours, applying directly on the MSU website will help ensure that earlier timestamp and priority pick for student housing.
Breaking Down Tuition and Fees
Like most state universities, there is a difference between in-state and out-of-state residents’ tuition. The in-state tuition is $9,398 and the out-of-state tuition is $25,444, so there is a big difference for students living outside of Mississippi. While tuition is different, housing and dining fees are the same no matter the student’s residency. Both in-state and out-of-state students pay $10,964 for their housing and dining at MSU.
College is expensive and will be one of the biggest investments a person makes in their lifetime. However, there are definitely ways to maximize your return on investment at Mississippi State. This would mean that the money you invest into your education at MSU will ultimately make you more money later in life. The medium income for MSU alumni on average is more than many other institutions with the same price tag.
Scholarships and Application Deadlines at MSU
If you look at the MSU website, you can input your GPA, SAT, and ACT scores to see what kind of scholarships you should expect to receive. MSU has automatic scholarships based on these scores, so students can easily see how much they should receive during the admissions process. Even if you don’t choose to submit your standardized test to MSU, there will be some scholarships available for those students as well. Submitting your tests is completely optional at MSU, so the college tries to make scholarships available whether you submit your scores or not.
The general scholarship applications typically go live on October 1st, the freshman priority deadline is December 1st, and the transfer priority deadline is March 1st. These are all important deadlines to keep in mind, and the scholarship application is especially important.
On-Campus and Virtual Tours
There are virtual tour options available on the MSU website that students can turn to if they aren’t able to visit the campus in person. The on-campus tours include information sessions, campus tours with current students, and other options you can add on like a housing or gym tour.
The academic insight tours are for already admitted students and this happens during the spring. Admitted students get invited back to the college where they get to spend a whole day with their academic college.
If you are interested in better understanding your chances at MSU, we recommend using our free admissions calculator. Using your grades, test scores, and extracurriculars, we’ll estimate your odds of acceptance and give you tips on improving your profile!
