Iowa compared to...

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Iowa
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<p>Hey! I am down to my final 5 college choices to transfer into this spring. I have been accepted to Ohio State, Baylor, SMU, Iowa, and Alabama. I was wondering what everyone’s general perception of each school was and which they thought was the strongest overall. Money isn’t really an issue in my decision, and each school is more or less the same price for me anyway. I was just interested in hearing some opinions/suggestions about each school. I am planning on majoring in economics, but I am kinda looking for a better overall reputation rather than just for my particular field.</p>

<p>Also input on the college town/life would be awesome!</p>

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<p>Those schools represent probably the most unusual group of potentials I’ve ever seen and the differences are significant. My strong suggestion is that you visit each for a couple days, attending classes and shadowing students as the campus vibe will be very different.</p>

<p>Most like Iowa would be OSU as they’re both Big Ten and midwestern. Iowa is much smaller, 29k but feels very small. OSU is HUGE.</p>

<p>SMU has a rep for being snotty and elitist. It’s in Texas, which is like another country. Maybe your environment but you better make very sure.</p>

<p>Bama? Roll Tide. Football is life. Heavy Greek presence. SOUTHERN! Have you been there? are you from the south? Again, a different country. Not good, not bad but if you’re from north of the Mason Dixon line you better be prepared for Old South.</p>

<p>Baylor - don’t know a thing.</p>

<p>Bottom line: I don’t know what put these schools on your plate as finalists but you really need to get to know them on a gut-level because it’s difficult for me to imagine a student being happy at all five, they are just that different.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the replay! Yeah, I’m from Dallas so the south is great for me. I have family in Columbus and Cedar Rapids (near UI) so I applied to those two. I’ll admit, Bama is kind of random but it’s kind of big in the south.</p>

<p>Have any opinion on the academic rep of each?</p>

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<p>I have a child at Iowa and one at Bama. We are from Chicago and both love their school. </p>

<p>Iowa is liberal compared to Bams. It’s also much colder’ Bama has a huge Greek presence but it doesn’t dominate the campus. </p>

<p>Over 50% of the freshman class is from out of state this year at Bama.</p>

<p>Academically I would say they are similar. Both are in the top 50 public universities. </p>

<p>Visit both because they are so different yet both wonderful.</p>

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<p>1) Iowa is very liberal (which is not so good in our family). Midwest, pleasant town and a lot of school spirit and school pride. If you’re liberal leaning, you’ll love it. If you’re not, be prepared to deal with all kinds of BS and zealous political correctness. Very, very good school academically.</p>

<p>2) Ohio State is not as liberal as Iowa but similar in the Midwest make-up. Campus is large but pretty comfortable once you’re focused on your academic discipline. Columbus is a fun city with plenty to do. Ohio is Buckeye country. Great school academically.</p>

<p>3) Alabama is a large state school, and as noted above - full of pride, passion and spirit. I’m not as familiar with the Greek life but others here seem to have good insight. Very good school academically.</p>

<p>4) Baylor is the exact opposite of Iowa and OSU. Conservative, Southern Baptist operated with some decently strict rules. Waco is a pleasant town and not far from Austin and Dallas (sits almost in middle of the two). Baylor doesn’t compete with the spirit and pride Iowa, OSU and Alabama will provide. Baylor is a very, very good school academically. </p>

<p>5) SMU is a smaller version of Baylor except it’s located in the high income district of Dallas known as Highland Park. Beautiful campus, tons to do in Dallas-Ft. Worth. SMU has far less spirit and school pride than Baylor (which isn’t surprising, they are both religious schools). Great school academically.</p>

<p>I agree with beastman, these four are pretty quirky. Baylor and SMU are expensive so if that’s not an issue for you as stated, then you should really try to transfer to Duke, Rice, Chicago, Vanderbilt, Columbia, etc. Those institutions will provide similar cost profiles to Baylor and SMU except with much higher academic prestige. If you’re looking for schools that are similar to Baylor and SMU . . . well, there aren’t many outside Texas. TCU may be the only other comparable. </p>

<p>If you’re trying to compare Iowa, Ohio State and Alabama to similar Texas schools - University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University are more appropriate, and rank higher than the 3 state schools you mentioned.</p>

<p>You may need to cut it own to your top 3, it seems your choices are on opposite sides of the spectrum.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>wow thanks guys</p>

<p>Firecoog, which do you think would be the strongest overall academically? weakest?</p>

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<p>lehm427, I’d caution you about this whole “overall reputation” thing. What’s really relevant is the strength of YOUR program at one school vs. another. It does you no good to study a junky program at an otherwise good school. To the contrary, it can be advantageous to pursue the premier program at what might otherwise be a so-so school. This is what my daughter has done with fashion design. This program is offered at many schools, of course, but she’s attending Kent State which is a so-so state school but with the number 4 ranked fashion design program in the country. What this means is that she garnered big scholarships and admittance into the Honors College and honors dorm.</p>

<p>The moral of the story is that this business of determining what is a “good school” is extremely subjective and individual. Don’t be duped by USNWR rankings or the advice of your friends or even wise old sages as you find on this forum. IMO, here’s what you need to do, and it’s work but it will pay off: 1) determine your likely major or at least a RANGE of likely majors. 2) visit EVERY school on your list. 3) in addition to doing the all-purpose admissions visit session and tour, make an appointment with someone in your area of interest. Your admissions rep can arrange this, EVEN IF it’s not a standard offering on the website. They’ll hook you up with an associate dean or advisor who will tell you what’s special about YOUR program at THEIR school. They may even hook you up with a current student who will take you to some classes, or give you their perspective one on one. If you take these steps I will guarantee you several things: 1) one of these schools will immediately emerge as your favorite. 2) Your anxiety about this decision will decrease by half or more. 3) you will attend a school with a far lower probability of disallusionment and possibility of transfer.</p>

<p>I read a number of forums here on CC and am constantly amazed by the students who wind up unhappy before their first semester is even done, and they’re looking to transfer. When I ask them, how did you choose this school, it becomes immediately clear that they made the choice based on heresay or advice. Do the heavy lifting - make thorough evaluations. Spend some time on the campuses. Talk to a few students. Even if you don’t know what you’re looking for or what questions to ask, you will get impressions and hear things that will lead you.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>beastman is ultimately correct. You need to do the homework, not read the results off a message board.</p>

<p>In regards to your direct question lehm, I can’t rank the schools you chose. They all have good and bad.</p>

<p>Still too far apart on your choices too. Additionally, an econ major is tough for me to give any valuable feedback. I’m not at all familiar with LA schools - I’m an old Finance major so business schools are easy to compare and my oldest is looking into engineering which is also easy to evaluate.</p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>