Biggest problem facing MSU (and Ole Miss)

Maroon Eagle

All-American
May 24, 2006
18,463
8,359
102
Chattanooga and Hattiesburg are and are not valid comparisons. Both cities are the fourth largest in their state; however, Chattanooga is larger than Jackson. Ironically, Mobile is also the fourth largest city in its state - and it’s also larger than Jackson (as well as Chattanooga too).

When you look at Arkansas and Mississippi, there are states of similar population. Little Rock and Jackson are within 30,000 in population but what Arkansas has that Mississippi doesn’t is a city that’s been built up on industry like Springdale has - Tupelo could be considered close but Springdale is twice its size and is physically close to Fayetteville which is the third largest city in Arkansas. Springdale is fourth.

I know a lot of people who’ve moved from rural Mississippi to larger towns and cities (heck, I’m one of them) and some of the larger cities are benefiting while small towns and sparsely populated counties decline in population and I wouldn’t be surprised if that accelerates.
 

mount lefroy

Redshirt
Feb 10, 2013
2,501
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36
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/...sus-finds-state-again-loses-people/975187001/

Need to find a way to curb that, and quickly. Now, the census bureau is notorious for under representing rural areas (they assume they are all declining in population), but that said, at minimum we can infer there is a problem. State is not growing.

Most people probably don’t care. But they should, especially if you care about the long term viability of MSU.

My advice: stop trying to find paradise and make it.

If our state is important to you, live here, raise children here, contribute here. Teach children the morals that repulse the ignorant factions that hold our state hostage so they one day outnumber them and run them off.

If not, live somewhere else. Moral of the story: do something or stfu.
 

5049

Redshirt
Dec 3, 2017
700
0
0
Chattanooga and Hattiesburg are and are not valid comparisons. Both cities are the fourth largest in their state; however, Chattanooga is larger than Jackson. Ironically, Mobile is also the fourth largest city in its state - and it’s also larger than Jackson (as well as Chattanooga too).

When you look at Arkansas and Mississippi, there are states of similar population. Little Rock and Jackson are within 30,000 in population but what Arkansas has that Mississippi doesn’t is a city that’s been built up on industry like Springdale has - Tupelo could be considered close but Springdale is twice its size and is physically close to Fayetteville which is the third largest city in Arkansas. Springdale is fourth.

I know a lot of people who’ve moved from rural Mississippi to larger towns and cities (heck, I’m one of them) and some of the larger cities are benefiting while small towns and sparsely populated counties decline in population and I wouldn’t be surprised if that accelerates.

I get your point but the MSAs of Chattanooga and Mobile are not bigger than Jackson. Distinguishing between actual cities is futile (Fayetteville and Springdale are in the same MSA).

As for MS/AR comparison, that is valid. Fayetteville MSA was built in Walmart, Tyson and the University. Only thing we have that competes with that is the Coast.

Perhaps Tupelo and the GTR area are next?
 

Drebin

Heisman
Aug 22, 2012
22,089
26,283
113
Mississippi needs Jackson to be a legit city. I’m not sure it will happen in my life time.

Until then, the state is New Jersey 2.0 in the sense it is boardered on all sides by close metropolitan areas that provide greater opportunities. New Jersey has NY to the north and Philly to the south while MS has NO, Memphis, Bham, and mobile. These people aren’t moving far, but until Jackson becomes a competitive city, it will continue to happen

You clearly know nothing about New Jersey.
 

Drebin

Heisman
Aug 22, 2012
22,089
26,283
113
That actually has been happening for quite some time. My son started there in 1995 and had a full scholarship based on ACT/SAT scores, and high school courses and GPA.

Not to hijack or anything, but I'm a little pissed at my university right now. I have a daughter who is a senior in HS, and is set to graduate ranked in the top 10 GPA in her class from the top high school in the state and she holds a 33 on her ACT. She has full rides offered from several schools, including Ole Miss, but State is only offering her 7500 in scholarship money. And State is where she wants to go. Frustrating.
 

greenbean.sixpack

All-American
Oct 6, 2012
9,321
8,729
113
Not to hijack or anything, but I'm a little pissed at my university right now. I have a daughter who is a senior in HS, and is set to graduate ranked in the top 10 GPA in her class from the top high school in the state and she holds a 33 on her ACT. She has full rides offered from several schools, including Ole Miss, but State is only offering her 7500 in scholarship money. And State is where she wants to go. Frustrating.

How does someone in the 'Sip have a 33 ACT and not get a full ride? Sounds very MSUish though.
 

aTotal360

Heisman
Nov 12, 2009
22,355
15,858
113
My wife works in higher education. We have direct insights into the situation.
 

Drebin

Heisman
Aug 22, 2012
22,089
26,283
113
How does someone in the 'Sip have a 33 ACT and not get a full ride? Sounds very MSUish though.

I wish I knew the answer to this. She can get a full ride at any other public institution in the state of MS, along with Arkansas State, Memphis, and UT Martin. The only other school she is considering is Mississippi College, and the scholarship offers from there and State are comparable. It's baffling to me.
 

jethreauxdawg

Heisman
Dec 20, 2010
11,497
16,047
113
I'm from Memphis, but

Not to hijack or anything, but I'm a little pissed at my university right now. I have a daughter who is a senior in HS, and is set to graduate ranked in the top 10 GPA in her class from the top high school in the state and she holds a 33 on her ACT. She has full rides offered from several schools, including Ole Miss, but State is only offering her 7500 in scholarship money. And State is where she wants to go. Frustrating.

My brother had a similar story to your daughter. He ended up going to Bama for free plus received $1000 per year for books
 
Feb 14, 2017
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Drebin what is your location. Have you tried reaching out to admissions? Your numbers look a little off... If you have not reached out you should and speak to someone higher up. She needs to be at state. There are also tons of other outside scholarships for students with her grades and scores. She should be getting a free ride and if proactive getting paid to be in school with outside scholarship money
https://www.admissions.msstate.edu/freshmen/money-matters/scholarships/academic-scholarships/
 
Feb 14, 2017
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the easiest answer to this problem is to legalize the MJ. people will visit the state just to smoke the herbs. The university will see a drastic increase in the agricultural studies. The state will see increased tax revenue and tourism revenue. It could be really fantastic. There are jobs involved in the industry at multiple levels of studies. Engineers, chemists, business management, consulting, ag, and budtenders the list goes on and on. Business owners want to make the most money they can. That requires efficiency from building greenhouses to maximizing crop yields. There are also tons of ancillary businesses that will pop up along with revenue growth in others. Colorado and other states have shown we are way way past the good ole days of the acapulco gold of the 60s. You will also be able to retain a young college educated workforce from leaving the state and moving to one of the "fun" states
 

Drebin

Heisman
Aug 22, 2012
22,089
26,283
113
We are in DeSoto county. We have reached out. All they tell us is that she will be in the pool of students considered for the presidential scholarship.
 

seshomoru

Junior
Apr 24, 2006
5,646
383
83
This was what one of my papers in grad school was on. Louisiana particularly did actually use nearly all their lottery money on education. Problem was they just replaced current funding, which they cut drastically and they eventually ended up funding education in the state at lower levels than pre-lottery.
 
Feb 14, 2017
648
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looks like from the website she should be eligible to receive 8500 for her freshman year and 6,000 a year for each subsequent year. that's 26k in scholarships. seems like if i remember correctly tuition is 3500ish a semester. You guys should be applying for outside scholarships as well. 33 on the ACT is pretty big deal and finding scholarship money shouldn't be hard departments have their own scholarships as well... llike engineering, business etc etc
 

TrueMaroonGrind

All-Conference
Jan 6, 2017
4,082
1,626
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We are in DeSoto county. We have reached out. All they tell us is that she will be in the pool of students considered for the presidential scholarship.

Have you talked to any specific colleges or the Honors college? They should be more informative than just admissions. They do a better job of recruiting people as well. They can tune you in to college specific scholarships. That said MSU should do better recruiting your daughter. That is sad.
 

Drebin

Heisman
Aug 22, 2012
22,089
26,283
113
Have you talked to any specific colleges or the Honors college? They should be more informative than just admissions. They do a better job of recruiting people as well. They can tune you in to college specific scholarships. That said MSU should do better recruiting your daughter. That is sad.

She is dialed in with the Shackouls Honors College. She has been down there twice on visits and have spoken with advisors many times. The process they've communicated to us is that the university automatically applies her for any and all scholarships that she is eligible for.

We have also been looking at outside opportunities. She will get an additional 2500 due to FACSA.
 
Sep 1, 2011
2,498
208
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Not to hijack or anything, but I'm a little pissed at my university right now. I have a daughter who is a senior in HS, and is set to graduate ranked in the top 10 GPA in her class from the top high school in the state and she holds a 33 on her ACT. She has full rides offered from several schools, including Ole Miss, but State is only offering her 7500 in scholarship money. And State is where she wants to go. Frustrating.

This is where MSU absolutely has to get better. Academic side in general needs an upgrade. Our admission standards are super low (I know the Ayers case). This means we admit people that in no way should get in. How many of these get assistance that would otherwise go to deserving students, like the one mentioned above?
ETA- I am completely shocked that the numbers mentioned above would not get a free ride scholarship.
 
Last edited:
Sep 1, 2011
2,498
208
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I love my quality of life in Rankin County, Mississippi. And I have season tickets to MSU Football! And I have a wife with a good job, and I am near retirement from a company I will have worked at for 30 years. And I have a nice home, two nice vehicles, and a dog in my back yard, and a loving Church family, I have the "Life of Riley", "Father knows Best", and "Leave it to Beaver" kind of life right here in po' ol' Missippi.

But this success is more likely to happen in another state going by percenrages.
 

aTotal360

Heisman
Nov 12, 2009
22,355
15,858
113
Understood. But one of the problems is that MS school system is lackluster and everyone knows/believes it. It needs a fresh coat of paint in the very least to give young people with young families some sort of confidence to move back. I'm not saying revamp it, but do something that has a little splash to it. I lived in the Golden Triangle for 15 years and would gladly move back if I had a little more confidence in the education system. With that being said, SHS is improving. I don't want to take anything away from them, but it would certainly be a downgrade compared to what we have around us north of ATL.
 

was21

Senior
May 29, 2007
9,981
616
113
Gawd help us if Tater gets elected. Sad thing is that he probably will. Voters in this state will vote against their own interests time and time again partly because they stupidly listen to people who have a vested interest in keeping things the way they are. They're not interested enough to take time to study issues that affect them. In other words they simply don't care. That's why Mississippi will probably never change, it's a refuge for the uninformed...partly.
 

VegasDawg13

Freshman
Jun 11, 2007
2,191
80
48
I agree with your general sentiment, but this part...

it is definitely a statement from MS politicians, and therefore the people of MS

imo, unjustifiably excuses the citizenry. If the overwhelming majority of citizens wanted to change the flag, it would get changed. I'm not sure which side would win if we voted again, but I'm certain it would be close. This isn't politicians forcing something on us that we don't want. Just like when we had the chance to force them to fund education a few years ago, we voted not to.
 

johnson86-1

All-American
Aug 22, 2012
15,024
5,557
113
Not to hijack or anything, but I'm a little pissed at my university right now. I have a daughter who is a senior in HS, and is set to graduate ranked in the top 10 GPA in her class from the top high school in the state and she holds a 33 on her ACT. She has full rides offered from several schools, including Ole Miss, but State is only offering her 7500 in scholarship money. And State is where she wants to go. Frustrating.

You are doing something wrong. Eight semesters of tuition at the current rate will be under $34k. ACT scholarship would be $24,000 total. Eminent Scholars would be another $10k. MTAG would be $3k.

So just between eminent scholars, MTAG, and the straight ACT awards, she has tuition covered and probably books if you are applying for the basics.

And a 33 should be competitive for Presidential and/or Schillig (if she is involved with stuff that would make her competitive for a leadership scholarship) although certainly not guaranteed. But even if she can't get one of the big scholarships, she should be able to cover rent without anything crazy.
 

ShrubDog

Redshirt
Apr 13, 2008
5,307
3
38
that big companies, when contemplating moving to MS, weigh some dumb flag with the same importance as the lack of trained, skilled workers then I got nothing for you.

You just don’t understand do you? The CEO’s are not just looking at the flag, they are looking at the leadership that has kept the flag flying and know they will be dealing with a bunch of idiots.

MS has gotten its fair share of big companies in recent years and hopefully can get more. There is a shortage of skilled workers but they can be trained. However, we can’t train idiots not to be dumbasses.
 

johnson86-1

All-American
Aug 22, 2012
15,024
5,557
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I agree with your general sentiment, but this part...



imo, unjustifiably excuses the citizenry. If the overwhelming majority of citizens wanted to change the flag, it would get changed. I'm not sure which side would win if we voted again, but I'm certain it would be close. This isn't politicians forcing something on us that we don't want. Just like when we had the chance to force them to fund education a few years ago, we voted not to.

If you are referring to Initiative 42, that is absolutely not what was voted on. Holy ****. I hope you weren't bashing the citizenry, and then getting something like that wrong.
 

Jeffreauxdawg

All-American
Dec 15, 2017
8,890
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Nope, no urge to go back for me. I'm proud to have been born and raised in Mississippi, sort of like I hear people who are proud to have gone through boot camp.

This is a genius little nugget.

I think I am going to steal this little quip and claim it as my own. I never put it together before, but this is almost exactly how I feel. Having left Mississippi and the military for good shortly after my last deployment, I would expand it to military service in general.

I am proud it's in my past. The older I get, the more nostalgic I become about that time of my life. It made me the man I am today. I respect the hell out of the lifers that had a chance to leave, but stuck it out. With that in mind, the smartest decision I ever made was leaving when I did. A decade later, I couldn't go back if I tried.
 

VegasDawg13

Freshman
Jun 11, 2007
2,191
80
48
The opening paragraph from the CL's story when it was defeated:

"Voters on Tuesday night rejected Initiative 42, a proposed constitutional amendment supporters hoped would force lawmakers to fully fund public schools after nearly 18 years of underfunding."
 

Bcash2

Redshirt
Sep 20, 2012
805
0
16
Maybe I wasn't clear or you misunderstood...

I agree with your general sentiment, but this part...



imo, unjustifiably excuses the citizenry. If the overwhelming majority of citizens wanted to change the flag, it would get changed. I'm not sure which side would win if we voted again, but I'm certain it would be close. This isn't politicians forcing something on us that we don't want. Just like when we had the chance to force them to fund education a few years ago, we voted not to.


But that's what I was implying. The politicians are representatives of the people, so their inaction reflects the will of the people. I think we agree on this.
 

Bcash2

Redshirt
Sep 20, 2012
805
0
16
Exactly. Nothing screams "lack of trained, skilled workers" like waiving a confederate flag. Again, its obviously not the physical flag. The flag is a symptom of having a state with many stubborn, regressive citizens.
 

johnson86-1

All-American
Aug 22, 2012
15,024
5,557
113
The opening paragraph from the CL's story when it was defeated:

"Voters on Tuesday night rejected Initiative 42, a proposed constitutional amendment supporters hoped would force lawmakers to fully fund public schools after nearly 18 years of underfunding."

Whatever the voters hoped the result would be, what they were voting on was whether to amend the constitution to move the ultimate decision on k-12 school policy and spending to the judiciary from the legislature.
 

KurtRambis4

Redshirt
Aug 30, 2006
15,926
0
36
I understand

greatly.

aGAIN, if you think that some dumb flag is a greater issue over the huge lack of unskilled, uneducated laborers then I got nothing.

ETA: Let me put it this way, if our state was overrun with a huge population of skilled, educated workers, then companies wouldn't give a **** what our flag was.
 

Drebin

Heisman
Aug 22, 2012
22,089
26,283
113
She has the 6,000 Academic Achievement scholarship. Ole Miss is offering a 9,500 Academic Achievement scholarship.

She has the 2,500 Colvard Future Leader scholarship. Ole Miss is offering the 3,500 Bledsoe scholarship.

She also has a 4,000 award from Ole Miss through her major program that State doesn't offer.

MESG would be about 2,500 in both places.


Quick math, she's at about 11K in awards at State, and about 21.5K at Ole Miss. It's about 20K all-in per year to attend either school (roughly).
 

crackerjax

Sophomore
Aug 24, 2012
336
145
43
Actually, Greenville, SC is great. Great quality of living and great opportunities as well. Cities from all over the U.S. are coming to study the things that have been done there to turn around the area. Last year it was one of the 5 fastest growing cities in the U.S. with over 50k in population. The downtown gets rave reviews from the press. The upstate of SC has a 3.2% unemployment rate and they can't hire people in manufacturing fast enough. The shortage of workers has driven up wages. It's actually the complete opposite of Mississippi.

As someone who is seriously considering moving from the Jackson Metro to Greenville, SC, this sounds promising. Would add that Greenville has lots of outdoors stuff to do nearby, has a big arena downtown, and is within two hours of two major metro areas (Atlanta/Charlotte).
 

lanceharbor7

Freshman
Feb 24, 2008
919
59
28
Places like Madison are not pretty great. Madison is a crappy suburb, but in comparison to most of Mississippi it looks great.

Sorry, I guess I am part of the exiting population since I'm now in VA. Places like Madison are pretty great with good schools and neighborhoods. However, places like my hometown of Yazoo are getting much worse.
 
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