Is it possible to attend classes 2,000 miles away, while paying Mississippi State University tuition?
Yes. The National Student Exchange Program, in its fifth year at MSU, offers students an opportunity to go to school in one of over 170 schools in 49 states, Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands while paying the university’s tuition.
“This program was designed to allow students to exchange to another school without having to pay out-of-state tuition or having the expense of going overseas,” said program coordinator Nancy Fultz.
Undergraduate students of all majors can participate in the exchange program, although not every school in the program offers exchanges in every major. To be eligible for the one semester or full-year program, a student must be a full-time student, have a cumulative 2.5 GPA and be in good standing with the university.
Participating students are still considered full-time students. They are enrolled in the classes as MSU students, so there are no problems with losing credits in transferring.
During the five years MSU has participated in the program, 48 students have come from MSU, and 14 students have studied in Starkville.
“We have even had some students who exchanged to another school and decided they wanted to stay there. We have also had a few incoming students who have decided to stay here,” Fultz said.
Paul Taylor, who transferred here from New Mexico State University after participating in the program, has enjoyed his experience at MSU. He extended his exchange from one semester to two, and liked it so much that he decided to stay.
“I ended up getting involved with the Lambda Chi (Alpha) Chapter here, getting involved with the Campus Crusade for Christ, and enjoying school so much that I decided to extend my stay,” Taylor said. “Through getting out of my comfort zone, I found that that I grew so much as a person.”
The program allows students to experience activities in another setting or to experience activities that are not offered at their home school. There are special programs for studying abroad, student teaching and resident assistant positions, but require advance planning.
“My time being a resident assistant at another Southeastern Conference University via the NSE’s R.A. exchange has been truly gratifying on many levels because of the new people and academic setting,” said Heath Stevens, a junior majoring in psychology and biological sciences.
Although this program is for exchange within the United States, there are programs for international study offered through the various colleges and departments within the university, a new program offered through the Office of the Provost and study abroad programs at other schools in the NSE network.
To get more information on the program, students can log onto www.nse.org, and those wanting to participate should contact Fultz at 325-7049. The application deadline application for fall 2004 is Feb. 2.