BTW, I remember my experiences as a young kid with a father who knew NOTHING about higher education.

I was completely clueless. I thought I wanted to go to MSU because of their great FB team. What else could matter in life????

I went as a one term guest student and was completely lost. Didn't adjust to a huge school which could be a 15 minute walk between classes. Wasn't near Detroit. And so on.

My undergrad school was Wayne State, a real commuter school back then. Lived the end of my time there in an apartment which was awful (but a block from campus).

If I had to make choices again, I'd do very, very differently.

My ex-wife made a wise decision. She was from the west side of MI and chose CMU. It was a very good fit for her. Her older brother, a genius, went 6 years to UofM with a masters degree in engineering. Good match from him. He married a UofM student.

Picking a school is like picking a mate or job. Got to do your due diligence.

If I were to tell a recruit anything this would be it: Athletics IS a big part, BUT you have to feel comfortable at the school. If you came from a small town going to MSU with 50K other students would be like a culture shock. Conversely, if I had gone to say Albion or Hillsdale, etc. that would have been a culture shock.