Montana State University vs Colorado State University campus atmosphere.

[Tod osier]

Wait, if youre in CT you’re probably flying over a dozen as good if not better schools all within driving distance of your house. If he’s not into hunting or fishing, what’s the point of going out west and introducing so many additional costs?

Just playing devils advocate here, feel free to ignore. Especially feel free to ignore if you don’t in fact live in CT

I agree, the plan is that we will be in WY for 5 of 8 his semesters and every summer and be retired in WY when he graduates, so the western schools make sense using that argument.

 

[Tod osier]

I live in Bozeman - less than a mile from the MSU campus. I'm on it everyday since our grocery store is on campus lol. Both my kids went to school in Bozeman K-12, and both are MSU grads. For their fields MSU was as good as it gets. I can't speak to GIS however, but I think @handwerk spoke to that. As to campus life, I don't really know - both my kids were pretty busy, and both worked. Also, they're from here so a lot of their friend-base was formed outside MSU. But both made life-long friends at MSU.

IIRC, you currently live in Connecticut? Not sure where you'd fly from (BDL, BOS or LGA?) - but flights into Denver will be simpler and cheaper than into Bozeman. The cost of living/housing is higher in Bozeman than Fort Collins. I don't know where you will be living once you move to WY, but I'd study what the winter drive is like between both locations. Winter driving in this part of the world can be challenging in the winter (ie, unsafe) so it will pay to know what mountain passes, etc., he'll be dealing with driving home on Christmas break, or you'll be dealing with driving to see him.

When I was 18 my dad sat me down and wanted me to go to the UM in Missoula. I didn't lol. In 1979 when I graduated HS Missoula would have been the place to be. But now, were I 18yo again and had to chose, I'd be in Bozeman and go to MSU. Great access to the outdoors, it's smaller, and even with so much change is still one of the finest Western towns there is - really.

But at the end of the day, the choice should be "from the gut" - you can weigh pros/cons until the sun sets, but making a gut decision rather than a strictly cerbral decision will always work out better in the long run IME - there are just too many unknowns you brain can't asess. Your heart knows things your head can't.

That's all I've got

Good call on Connecticut, points for that! I was trying to keep the complications out, but Western WY, so a decent drive from both, but not too bad. I'd say winter roads seem more straightforward to CSU, rather than MSU in the winter. He really didn't like University of Wyoming, which would be the closest to the house.

We are letting him go with his gut for the final decision and glad we are in the position to do that.

 

[stank.243]

Whichever school he chooses I highly suggest he takes databasing and computer language classes outside of GIS based classes. SQL/Oracle, Python, JavaScript to name a few. Having a good understanding and legitimate working knowledge of these will set him apart from most job candidates. I’ve been working in GIS for about 10 years now and really wish I would have done more with these while I was in school.

 

[tdhanses]

FT Collin’s over Bozeman any day, Bozeman is just a tourist town anymore.

 

[bradmacmt]

FT Collin’s over Bozeman any day, Bozeman is just a tourist town anymore.

That's one of the sillier things I've read in a while. This is a working town that also caters to tourists. Jackson or Aspen are strictly "tourist towns" - not Bozeman.

 

[el_jefe_pescado]

OP if not hunting and fishing…what extra curricular activities is your boy into?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[2ski]

I hear you on the travel distance, good thought. We have a house in and are moving to western Wyoming while he is in college, so MSU and CSU are basically within an hour of each other as far as drive time. We are currently 2000 miles from both, but for his Junior year and Senior year and summers we will be in WY. His Freshman fall (next fall) we will be in WY all fall through the holidays, and I feel like that is a pretty important time to be close, which is one of the reasons we encouraged him to apply in the mountain west.

So I'll disagree with you. I saw many people when I was in college go to school for a semester or year and go home any chance they could. I went to school 12 hours from home my freshman year and it gave me a level of independence that I appreciate. I had to rely on myself.

All you guys need to stop calling Fort Collins FTC in this thread since you're comparing it to Bozeman. As MSU fans we say FTG to mean F the griz. Griz fans put the c in for Cats instead of griz. So I shudder when I see your FTC's. Lol

 

[2ski]

I'm going to add if he doesn't hunt or fish or ski, that's kind of alot of life in Bozeman. It's not like there's tons to do if you're not i to the outdoors. But I lived in Bozeman for 20 years and I miss it a ton.

 

[Milestone522]

Curious if you guys considered Montana Tech in Butte?

The grads there have a higher employment rate and salary on graduation than MSU or UM. My guess is Ft. Collins as well.

The CEO of Conoco is a MTtech grad and the school has a program where Conoco matches any student scholarship in funds. Cost of living there is cheap comparatively, and for all the rough edges the old mining mecca has, it's a pretty cool town and it's in a great location.

Just spitballing ideas...

 

[tdhanses]

That's one of the sillier things I've read in a while. This is a working town that also caters to tourists. Jackson or Aspen are strictly "tourist towns" - not Bozeman.

Compared to what it was 25 yrs ago, it is.

 

[TaperPin]

The importance of networking with professors in small states is often misunderstood, and greatly underutilized. I’ve been the graduate assistant for two heads of departments and sitting in the same room with them as their phone calls come in from past graduates, the kids that get recommended for the best internships are the kids that they like. The kids that stop in before tests to clarify something they don’t fully understand, or to make intelligent arguments for points on assignments are 20x more likely to even find out about internships or jobs that aren’t posted.

Graduates who stay in state and work themselves into positions to hire or pick up interns, often call favorite professors to pick their brain for recommendations. It can’t be overemphasized how much hassle this prevents for the employer by avoiding half ass students because looking at a pile of applications it can be hard to know which are slugs. I was in the business college, but I assure you this is common throughout the programs. It’s how my ex landed a great hydrology internship that ended up being a great job lasting for two decades so far. It’s how I landed great internships and my first job out of school.

Sometimes if hands are tied to the applications in front of the employer a phone call won’t recommend the best applicant, but professors have a way of letting folks know if the person was a slug. Rather than a glowing recommendation they may comment all that can be said is they received a certain grade. That’s the truth. That’s legal. That means the person wasn’t above average regardless of the actual grade. In the worst cases I’ve heard a prof refuse to comment on a problem student and recommend they request a transcript from the student. Big ouch.

Professionals in any field like young people who show enthusiasm for the subject. Too many students are under the impression it’s a good idea to keep away from profs.

 

[gburk]

I agree, the plan is that we will be in WY for 5 of 8 his semesters and every summer and be retired in WY when he graduates, so the western schools make sense using that argument.

Sounds like you’re gonna be living the dream, best of luck to you and him!

 

[ReaptheHeat]

CSM is also a good school, but electives will have to fill some of the GIS classes. It's much more marketable to be an engineer from CSM with engineering and programming experience.

My fiance does a lot of ArcGIS stuff in the water resources realm and I use it for some map making in a related field. I don't dive into the programming aspect that much but it's necessary at a high level. A lot of my friends use GIS or are actually working on GIS adjacent things (sensors, programming, database management) come from an engineering background in natural resources.

Just something to think about!

 

[Tod osier]

This has generated a lot of good info and I appreciate it. He has basically decided on CSU over the weekend for many the reasons folks have brought up in addition to the academics.

Not that is matters, but CSU gets a nod from the parents just based on the feel of the town and the university campus itself (oh to be young again). The wife and I have seen a lot of universities in our day and the CSU campus is just stunning. We have a pretty good ability to evaluate the academics and I think CSU gets the nod there too for the programs he is looking at, but they are both good schools as far as academics in his areas of interest.

I've been sharing interesting tidbits with the fam as they have come up, and I think the input in this thread has really pushed him in the direction of CSU. Thanks to everyone who shared their specific experiences with both schools and town! You guys are great. I'll have him read through the whole thread when it finally dies down.

 

[Tod osier]

Whichever school he chooses I highly suggest he takes databasing and computer language classes outside of GIS based classes. SQL/Oracle, Python, JavaScript to name a few. Having a good understanding and legitimate working knowledge of these will set him apart from most job candidates. I’ve been working in GIS for about 10 years now and really wish I would have done more with these while I was in school.

The GIS minor he is considering would require that, thanks for that input.

 

[Tod osier]

So I'll disagree with you. I saw many people when I was in college go to school for a semester or year and go home any chance they could. I went to school 12 hours from home my freshman year and it gave me a level of independence that I appreciate. I had to rely on myself.

I think you might have misunderstood what I wrote, they are within an hour of each other as far as the difference in time to get there, but about 5-6 hours from the WY house and 2000 miles from where he grew up.

I hear you on the kids coming home every weekend.

 

[Tod osier]

The importance of networking with professors in small states is often misunderstood, and greatly underutilized. I’ve been the graduate assistant for two heads of departments and sitting in the same room with them as their phone calls come in from past graduates, the kids that get recommended for the best internships are the kids that they like. The kids that stop in before tests to clarify something they don’t fully understand, or to make intelligent arguments for points on assignments are 20x more likely to even find out about internships or jobs that aren’t posted.

Graduates who stay in state and work themselves into positions to hire or pick up interns, often call favorite professors to pick their brain for recommendations. It can’t be overemphasized how much hassle this prevents for the employer by avoiding half ass students because looking at a pile of applications it can be hard to know which are slugs. I was in the business college, but I assure you this is common throughout the programs. It’s how my ex landed a great hydrology internship that ended up being a great job lasting for two decades so far. It’s how I landed great internships and my first job out of school.

Sometimes if hands are tied to the applications in front of the employer a phone call won’t recommend the best applicant, but professors have a way of letting folks know if the person was a slug. Rather than a glowing recommendation they may comment all that can be said is they received a certain grade. That’s the truth. That’s legal. That means the person wasn’t above average regardless of the actual grade. In the worst cases I’ve heard a prof refuse to comment on a problem student and recommend they request a transcript from the student. Big ouch.

Professionals in any field like young people who show enthusiasm for the subject. Too many students are under the impression it’s a good idea to keep away from profs.

Yes, I have to agree. Full disclosure... both the wife and I are faculty members in the sciences, so the poor kid has been hearing the importance of networking with professors his entire life.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Good choice! Can’t go wrong with Fort Fun, he will have a blast! Lots of good memories in that town

 

[cnelk]

When you visit your son at CSU, be sure to have lunch in the cafeteria - free of charge for parents of students

 

[LostArra]

, but about 5-6 hours from the WY house a

That's in good weather.
I'm going to toss out my grandfatherly boomer comment now. (UW grad 1975)
If your Wyoming home requires travel on 287 between Ft Collins and Laramie BE CAREFUL. I would probably completely avoid it at night.
In my day Ft Collins (and Boulder) were attractions because of 3.2 bars and better rock concerts making 287 a death trap. For whatever reason it remains so today.

Taylor column: It's time to do something about Highway 287

I’ve made the 65-mile trek from Laramie to Fort Collins enough to know the dangers of U.S. Highway 287.

www.wyomingnews.com

This stretch of US 287 between Highway 14 and Wyoming is among Colorado's deadliest highways

The 30-mile stretch from Colorado Highway 14 to the Wyoming state line in northern Larimer County has a long history of fatal crashes.

www.coloradoan.com

Best of luck to your son at CSU, great school. Thoughtful college decisions are required with the costs of college approaching criminal levels and zero cost controls. I was lucky my four were smart and great test takers (ACT, SAT- another racket). They finished with advanced degrees at out of state colleges with no loans or debt strictly due to scholarships from having their mother's brains.