How to apply

The $65 application fee (or application fee waiver, if you are eligible) is required to officially submit your application for admission. International transfer students are required to pay the international application fee of $75 and are not eligible for a fee waiver.

Have your official college-level transcript(s) sent directly from each school or institution attended to MSU. This includes transcripts from any dual enrollment or early/middle college programs. These can be sent through online services or by U.S. mail.

Note: International transfer students should review MSU's International transcript requirements for country-specific transcript information.

Have an official copy of score results sent to the Office of Admissions if you have taken an Advanced Placement (AP), College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), A-Levels, or International Baccalaureate (IB) exams. All scores must be sent to the Office of Admissions directly from the testing agency.

Students with 42 or more completed credits must select a major. The majors of exploratory preference, pre-nursing and pre-veterinary cannot be chosen. Many majors at MSU have additional admission requirements. Applicants to these restricted majors should review the additional requirements carefully before applying.

As part of the undergraduate application for admission, each applicant is required to submit one essay (minimum 250 words, maximum 650 words) from the list of prompts. The essay may be considered as a positive factor to enhance admissibility, as well as for scholarship consideration.

Here are the essay prompts for the 2025 application for admission:

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
4. Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

On the application you will be asked to select a major. Make sure you have reviewed the restricted major criteria in the previous step, before selecting a major.

Changing your major

After submitting the application, transfer applicants may not change their major for any reason until after they have been admitted to the university. After admission, major changes will need to be coordinated with your academic adviser at your New Student Orientation (NSO) and will be subject to department approval.

MSU does not require letters of recommendation as part of the application for admission.

Transfer applicants with less than 24 semester credits must also have their official high school transcript(s) sent directly from any high schools they attended to MSU. These can be sent through online services or by U.S. mail.