<p>If you’re comparing a small private university like Denver (~5500 students) to a public research university like Purdue (~31K undergrads) , several factors might be more important to you than public name recognition. First, there’s cost. For the typical student, Denver is not unlikely to cost about the same as an OOS university like Purdue, or even less.<br>
Second, there’s location. I think it’s fair to say that Denver is a more interesting college setting than West Lafayette, IN. Denver also offers smaller classes (59.9% < 20, 5.9% >=50 … compared to 36.9%, 17.5% at Purdue).</p>
<p>If neither cost nor setting is a deciding factor, then for an OOS student in a random major (not IR or engineering) you’re down to any number of personal “fit” and quality issues that are hard to assess in the abstract. Try to go visit the schools on your short list.</p>