Michigan State is best college in Michigan, Thrillist says

Reliable Source

This reads a lot like an Onion article.

One of the worst parts about losing that game is having to deal with the threads about them.

Is still upset that they were unable to go to Michigan.  Hey Brandon:

The first sentence of the article discredits the entire list:

"The elements that make for a great college go well beyond the quality of the education that gives the place a reason to exist in the first place."

Oh, ok... So you're telling me, even with forgetting about the actual school, that food, drink, and culture is better in East Lansing than Ann Arbor?  Hahahaha.

Obvious troll job is obvious.

Clickbait knows the Bayless method of getting attention applies to inane lists and rankings as well. Piss off a proud and vociferous group and watch the money pour in.

Don't feed the trolls.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Not even MSU alumni believe this. They're probably more embarrassed than anything by this article.

I've used Thrillist multiple times in unfamiliar cities to find good places to eat, drink, theatres, etc., but never again. All credibility gone.

The comments section of that article is kind of shocking. How can so many graduates from such a "prestigious" university think that the article posted has anything to do with actual rankings of universities?

That's not a joke question. How do so many college gradutes think onion'esque articles and opinions are facts?

we live in a post-fact society, sad!

We all know the which school is the best party school in each of our states. New York would be SUNY at Albany.

It’s not because of food and nightlife are better than others, it’s because the standards of that school are lax enough to allow THRILLING good times such as drunken mobs and couch burning.

Want to go to school for an education, stay away from this list.

I'm sure employers are taking note.

I guess we’ll just have to settle for producing better, more successful graduates. I’ve often wished that my Michigan degree was based more on the quality of the parties I attended and the pretty look of the campus. Sadly, the best thing I can say about my experience was that it was amazing and it launched my career. Damn.

If Thrillist said so, then I guess I'm going to have to sit down and re-examine my long held view on this subject. Thanks for setting me straight, anonymous blogger.

That result was counterintuitive, but then I read that they weren't factoring in the education itself.  Because when you're ranking schools, that's the first thing you factor out, right?

So would you rather go out to eat in Ann Arbor or E. Lansing?  Would you rather see a game in the Big House or the Stalin-esque MSU Stadium?  Would you rather have a student body drawing greatly from out of state and international areas, or one that mostly draws locally?  Would you rather have a more-academically qualified student body to spend four years with, or one less qualified?

And their campus is a matter of taste.  Some parts of it I like (the Red Cedar rolling through campus is very nice, and Baker Woodlot is a good place to relax).  Some parts I dislike - buildings placed stupidly far apart in a cornfield overplanted with grass feels more like a trip to the burbs than some beautiful campus.  (The best physical campus I've seen -aesthetically - in the B1G, and maybe ever, is IU's campus.  Head and shoulders above Michigan's and MSU's.)

tl;dr?  This article is bad and its author should feel bad.

1. It was obviously written by someone with a deep knowledge of MSU - a "storied journalism program" ... ? Who among us even knew they had one at all? Also, the remark about the Dairy Stores (plural - again, someone who knows there is more than one location on the campus).

2. So, we're looking at someone who could be an alumnus as the writer - that's the most obvious answer. However....

3. It could also be someone trolling Sparty. Note the remark about the "burning couches" right at the end, along with the "world-class med school" (it's hardly mentioned in the same breath as U-M's). But, the coup de grace: "unmatched agricultural facilities."

It's #3 that makes me think we're looking at a trolling for the ages; possibly even written by an alumnus of Michigan.