Starkville, MS

[MadGrad]

I have never been to Mississippi and am from the Midwest. Just wondering what the vibe is at MSU. Any info would be helpful. Thanks!

[klmn]

I have never been to Mississippi and am from the Midwest. Just wondering what the vibe is at MSU. Any info would be helpful. Thanks!

I have been here for two years and am now moving to another place. Starkville is a small sleepy university town. Don't expect much.

[polisciphd]

Lots of cows, that's about it.

[Ms J]

I lived in Mississippi (Hattiesburg) for 2 years during my masters and moved to the midwest after that. I visited starkville, MS a couple of times. Starkville is a college town tucked away in a place with lots of farms and pinetrees. There really isnt much to do there; except football games/sports and outdoor stuff. The school is known as an agricultural college....

If you come from a big city in the midwest then it is going to be very very different in starkville. If you want a bit of city life you will have to drive to Jackson, MS which is about 2.5 hrs and is a bit decent.

Weather wise... NO SNOW!! It is humid and HOT.

[adstatus]

Would love to hear some feedback on what Starkville is like. I know it is a college town, but would love to hear the pros, cons, what the schools are like, living/rent costs etc. Thanks!

[amandacarol1215]

Are you going to Starkville? I don't have any advice or experience (with the exception of my 3 day trip for my interview) but I'll be moving there in August!

[adstatus]

Are you going to Starkville? I don't have any advice or experience (with the exception of my 3 day trip for my interview) but I'll be moving there in August!

Yes, we'll be moving there this summer too - SIGHT UNSEEN! YIKES. We are going down the first week of June to house hunt and check out the elemenatry schools. We are excited, but very freaked out!

Are you starting a PhD or Masters program in Pscyh? I'm Marketing - consumer behavior PhD, so we might take a seminar or two together.

[amandacarol1215]

I'm starting a PhD program in School Psychology--very excited! The town is small and I've had a hard time finding housing so far online. Looks like I'll be making the long drive sometime this summer to check out potential housing as well, although I'll be doing it alone.

[adstatus]

I'm starting a PhD program in School Psychology--very excited! The town is small and I've had a hard time finding housing so far online. Looks like I'll be making the long drive sometime this summer to check out potential housing as well, although I'll be doing it alone.

Congrats! We are very excited about this new adventure. Best of luck to you!

[amandacarol1215]

Congrats! We are very excited about this new adventure. Best of luck to you!

Thank you! Best of luck to you as well!

[Juliane M]

I graduated from State last spring with a degree in Marketing. Starkville has a downtown that we call the Cotton District. It's very quaint, with a fair share of bars and delicious restaurants. In Starkville, you can find a bagel shop, Italian, Mexican, Greek, and Peruvian food, sushi, BBQ, and plenty of delis. The Cotton District is mostly inhabited by college students, with a small mix of retired alumni. There are a couple night clubs in Starkville, but it's not ideal for the crazy, going out scene. Apart from the Cotton District, the rest of Starkville is on Highway 12, a long road with restaurants and businesses. Starkville has a movie theatre, make-your-own-pottery, various shopping opportunities (no mall), and a wide variety of churches.

The campus is 2nd-largest in the US, right after Michigan State. What a beautiful, open campus it is! There is a great shuttle system that will bring you all over campus, but the majority of classes are centrally located around what we call the Drill Field. Campus is ideal for throwing the frisbee, walking a pet, exercising, playing tennis and other sports, and just hanging out. It's extremely green with lots of fresh flowers. We have a well-stocked Barnes and Noble bookstore. The Student Union has a variety of restaurants from Starbucks to Chick-fil-A to pizza to sushi and more. The MSU bakery has a delicious array of cookies and desserts, and MS State is famous for their home-made ice cream and variety of cheese. Parking isn't the best on campus, so it's always good to show up early for class. But rumors are that they're building a parking garage!

The vast majority of students live off-campus. I'd check out The Links, College Station, 21 Apartments, and Highlands Plantation. The Links and Highlands are further away from campus, but only by a few minutes. 21 Apartments is within walking distance and so is College Station. I've had friends live in all of them, and they liked them. There are plenty of housing options.

As far as the campus and faculty, it feels like a small school! It is, after all, called The People's University. I've never felt so at home away from home! The faculty are willing to help and treat you like an individual. Southern hospitality is a wonderful thing =)

I'd be GLAD to answer any more questions y'all have!! I LOVED my experience at State and miss it every single day. I hope y'all love it, too!

[Juliane M]

OH, I forgot something. I'd say a con is that State is in the middle of nowhere. To go shopping, we'd go to Tuscaloosa, AL (45 minutes), Birmingham, AL (2 hrs), or Tupelo, MS (1 hr).

A pro is that we have awesome bands and artists come to State. Zac Brown Band, Amos Lee, Gavin DeGraw, and many others!

I'd say average cost for an apartment (2-4 bedrooms) in Starkville is between $300 and $400 a month. Living in the Cotton District is more costly. I lived in the Highlands and paid $300 (I think i'm remembering correctly) for rent every month plus $40 for utilities.

[bioarch_fan]

So I wanted to restart this thread because MS State is one of the top schools on my short list for potential MA degrees. I'm wondering what people can tell me about Starkville (apartment prices, areas to stay away from, friendliness value, LGBT community, etc.) and the university as a whole. I'm attending a prospective student visit weekend in a couple weeks, so some of this I'll see when I get there but I'll only be there for 2 days, so it won't be long enough to really delve into the town life. All I know about Starkville is that it is a small college town, which is technically what I'm living in right now for my undergrad.

[otherss]

I lived in Starkville a couple years ago so I'll try to answer some of your questions. Pretty much what was said here is still true. 

Apaetment Prices: Starkville is a college town and as such the prices to rent an apartment reflect that. I'd add about another hundred to the prices above but if you're going to be in town, just grab an apt renters guide from Kroger or Walmart. If you want to live cheaper, look for houses and apartments towards west of town heading towards Ackerman. The farther south you go the prices will increase depending on your proximity to Noxubee wildlife refuge/tombigbee national forest. I'm not sure about going east or north of the city. 

Areas to stay away from/friendliness value: as in bad places? There's none. It's a safe town. Everyone is friendly. 

LGBT: I'm not sure. Just remember that Starkville is a rural town in a Christian area. 

Thats as much as I know from the area. I didn't attend MSU but worked in the area.

[james_ms]

I just graduated from Mississippi State with my undergrad degree. Apartment prices are cheap if you live in the large complexes. I paid 450/month plus utilities for 21 Apts; the cost drops after your first year too. Your mileage will vary greatly with the state of your appliances, any repairs that come up, and your neighbors. Most of the large complexes cater to sophomore+ undergrads, and apartment parties are very common. The cotton district, which is located around the main bar strip, is by far the most happening area in town for college age kids, and offers both apartment and rental house living, but prices are steeper. That being said, new complexes around that area (at least 2 or 3) were rapidly being built this year, and I would look into those. There are actually houses and smaller apartment complexes available for rent all throughout town; almost no place in town is further than 10 minutes to campus (not accounting for traffic). If I was going in as a grad student, I would look at a quaint rental house; there are always interesting neighbors and you can choose how much of a party area you are in. The one caveat is that you will probably need roommates to afford any house. If you can get a couple, however, you could potentially rent a house for 300/month individually (my friends have). I can't rate roads/streets by price, so you'll have to do a little research on that.

I don't think there is any area you would actually want to go to in town that is sketchy. It's a small town and the population doubles when school is in session. The school itself is probably the most diverse of all SEC schools, in percentage of minority students and international students. The student association hosts LGBT-focused gatherings, from what I remember. I only knew 2 LGBT people personally, but I was never in a discussion about treatment of the LGBT community. That being said, I do think Mississippi State was an extremely friendly place as a whole. The alumni all love their alma mater and it becomes really evident when they come back to visit and talk to current students.

To reiterate: the campus is gorgeous. Fall foliage is late, and was beautiful for graduation a few weeks ago. Likewise, spring blooms are early. Drill field grass is green regardless of season. Trees are all over campus, but not in huge densities everywhere. Check out the junction, chapel of memories, drill field, and engineering row. North and South Farm just off campus offer great green space and running/biking trails. Past campus on one side and Walmart on the other is a whole lot of forest, and that's about it. The university itself does a significant amount of research on the science and engineering side (founded as an agricultural and mechanical college), but I'm not familiar with the strength of humanities. Tuition is cheap, and scholarships and research potential are high. Mississippi State really wants to attract talent from anywhere. I've always wondered what kept all these foreign professors in sleepy Starkville, and I think it has to be some degree of inclusivity and hospitality.

Hope this helps a little. I enjoyed my time as an undergrad, but I'm ready to do grad school in a different climate, being a born and raised southerner.

 

[bioarch_fan]

On 12/27/2015 at 10:32 PM, otherss said:

I lived in Starkville a couple years ago so I'll try to answer some of your questions. Pretty much what was said here is still true. 

Apaetment Prices: Starkville is a college town and as such the prices to rent an apartment reflect that. I'd add about another hundred to the prices above but if you're going to be in town, just grab an apt renters guide from Kroger or Walmart. If you want to live cheaper, look for houses and apartments towards west of town heading towards Ackerman. The farther south you go the prices will increase depending on your proximity to Noxubee wildlife refuge/tombigbee national forest. I'm not sure about going east or north of the city. 

Areas to stay away from/friendliness value: as in bad places? There's none. It's a safe town. Everyone is friendly. 

LGBT: I'm not sure. Just remember that Starkville is a rural town in a Christian area. 

Thats as much as I know from the area. I didn't attend MSU but worked in the area.

 

On 12/27/2015 at 4:37 AM, james_ms said:

I just graduated from Mississippi State with my undergrad degree. Apartment prices are cheap if you live in the large complexes. I paid 450/month plus utilities for 21 Apts; the cost drops after your first year too. Your mileage will vary greatly with the state of your appliances, any repairs that come up, and your neighbors. Most of the large complexes cater to sophomore+ undergrads, and apartment parties are very common. The cotton district, which is located around the main bar strip, is by far the most happening area in town for college age kids, and offers both apartment and rental house living, but prices are steeper. That being said, new complexes around that area (at least 2 or 3) were rapidly being built this year, and I would look into those. There are actually houses and smaller apartment complexes available for rent all throughout town; almost no place in town is further than 10 minutes to campus (not accounting for traffic). If I was going in as a grad student, I would look at a quaint rental house; there are always interesting neighbors and you can choose how much of a party area you are in. The one caveat is that you will probably need roommates to afford any house. If you can get a couple, however, you could potentially rent a house for 300/month individually (my friends have). I can't rate roads/streets by price, so you'll have to do a little research on that.

I don't think there is any area you would actually want to go to in town that is sketchy. It's a small town and the population doubles when school is in session. The school itself is probably the most diverse of all SEC schools, in percentage of minority students and international students. The student association hosts LGBT-focused gatherings, from what I remember. I only knew 2 LGBT people personally, but I was never in a discussion about treatment of the LGBT community. That being said, I do think Mississippi State was an extremely friendly place as a whole. The alumni all love their alma mater and it becomes really evident when they come back to visit and talk to current students.

To reiterate: the campus is gorgeous. Fall foliage is late, and was beautiful for graduation a few weeks ago. Likewise, spring blooms are early. Drill field grass is green regardless of season. Trees are all over campus, but not in huge densities everywhere. Check out the junction, chapel of memories, drill field, and engineering row. North and South Farm just off campus offer great green space and running/biking trails. Past campus on one side and Walmart on the other is a whole lot of forest, and that's about it. The university itself does a significant amount of research on the science and engineering side (founded as an agricultural and mechanical college), but I'm not familiar with the strength of humanities. Tuition is cheap, and scholarships and research potential are high. Mississippi State really wants to attract talent from anywhere. I've always wondered what kept all these foreign professors in sleepy Starkville, and I think it has to be some degree of inclusivity and hospitality.

Hope this helps a little. I enjoyed my time as an undergrad, but I'm ready to do grad school in a different climate, being a born and raised southerner.

 

Thank you so much for your reply!!! I'm so excited to get the chance to visit the university in a couple weeks. I've heard that it's a gorgeous campus. Do either of you know anything about the anthropology department there? I know a little bit about it but not much really.

I'm just afraid that I'm leaving a college town that is known as being a party school with 22 bars within a quarter mile road to another college town that might not have as much to do. Though I know that I won't have much time to go out to the bars as I do now, I do like the choices I have here because everything is so eclectic. Going to State would also make it easier for me to go to New Orleans, which has always been on my list of things to do!!!

I looked at the Cotton District apartments because they look so gorgeous on the outside but, as you stated, it's big for undergrads and that's something I'm not sure I want. I have that now and that's enough for me.  

Thanks again for both of your inputs!!!!!

[Ilikekitties]

I’m applying and I’m wondering what the campus/Starkville is like.

Also I’ve only ever lived in Northern Midwestern states.

[psytillidie]

The campus is fairly large and spread out. It's somewhat charming- some nice buildings, decent landscaping. They've renovated the student union and a couple other key places within the last 10 years. The town itself is not stellar, but it is up and coming. The Cotton District is where the bars, boutiques, and better restaurants are. It's decent and has had a lot of updating and new additions in the last 5 years. Housing is relatively affordable as long as you look outside the typical student housing apartment complexes. It's kind of isolated from other towns of note: about 3.5 hours from Memphis, TN, 1.5 hours from Tuscaloosa, AL, 2 hours from Jackson, MS, and about 1.5 hours from Oxford, MS (home of their in-state/SEC rival- definitely visit Oxford as much as possible- great food, arts, bar scene and lots of historical spots). Big football town. Most of the restaurants are chains, but there are some diamonds in the rough.

[Ilikekitties]

On 12/8/2017 at 5:39 AM, psytillidie said:

The campus is fairly large and spread out. It's somewhat charming- some nice buildings, decent landscaping. They've renovated the student union and a couple other key places within the last 10 years. The town itself is not stellar, but it is up and coming. The Cotton District is where the bars, boutiques, and better restaurants are. It's decent and has had a lot of updating and new additions in the last 5 years. Housing is relatively affordable as long as you look outside the typical student housing apartment complexes. It's kind of isolated from other towns of note: about 3.5 hours from Memphis, TN, 1.5 hours from Tuscaloosa, AL, 2 hours from Jackson, MS, and about 1.5 hours from Oxford, MS (home of their in-state/SEC rival- definitely visit Oxford as much as possible- great food, arts, bar scene and lots of historical spots). Big football town. Most of the restaurants are chains, but there are some diamonds in the rough.

Thanks! My app is all submitted, now comes the dreadful waiting period.

I'd need affordable housing if I get in and decide to attend.