<p>MuppetMom,
"Miami University of Ohio " - as a parent of recent graduate, I can only praise this UG. Miami has very strong focus on UG students. They are first priority there. Hence, UG teaching ranking of #2-3 in nation. Miami also offers great Merit packages. As somebody above mentioned Chicago, for reason unknown to me, Miami is very popular with Chicago kids.
Is your S. applying there or he is still looking for other places instead?
My D. has also applied to Case. It is very different from Miami though. Great emphasis on science (pre-med, ingineering), also great Merit packages. It is private and much smaller (the reason for mentionning).</p>
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<p>St. Thomas has expanded considerably over the years, and currently, over 90% of freshmen live on campus. I can tell you that the weekend we visited, the place was hoppin’! UST addresses this question on their website:</p>
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<p>MuppetMom, my husband and I love Loyola Chicago (we live nearby)–it’s a gorgeous campus by the Lake and has a very diverse population. But one stat that has given my daughter pause is the female-male ratio: 65% women, 35% men. </p>
<p>St. Thomas’ ratio is more balanced: 51% women, 49% men. Unfortunately, St. Thomas is not as diverse as Loyola (14% students of color vs. 32% at LUC). It’s been hard to find a school with everything we want rolled into one package!</p>
<p>Many good schools have been listed. I’m a DePaul alum, my wife got her master’s at Loyola and my DS is a sophomore at Miami (Ohio) Farmer School of Business. All have great reputations in the Chicago business community. Many of DS’s friends also go to Marquette, Dayton and SLU which are well regarded. All of the schools other than Miami are urban to one degree or another. You should visit each because the vibe is different.</p>
<p>If your son likes Miami, I think he can get in with the stats you listed. The requirements for direct admit to Farmer are higher, but even if you are not directly admitted, you can transfer in from Arts & Sciences with reasonable college grades. </p>
<p>Miami is popular with many Chicagoland families - especially in the more affluent suburbs. If you have good grades and test scores, the merit scholarships make the cost competative with UIUC. It’s a mid-sized university, with a great academic reputation, that looks and feels like a LAC. These kids could go to UIUC, but typically don’t want to be with 40,000+ students and probably 75-100 kids from their HS. The only mid-sized universities in Illinois are the directionals where the reputations are so-so and the campuses look like cinderblock city.</p>
<p>I applied to the Unviersity of Dayton and plan on majoring in Political Science and heading on to law school as well. The other schools I applied to were all very similiar. I had a 3.4 GPA and a 1200 on the SAT reading/math. Merit money was given from all the schools that I have been accepted to so far. </p>
<p>-Butler University (Indianapolis, IN)
-Valparaiso Indiana (Valparaiso, IN)
-University of Indianapolis (Indianapolis, IN)
-Loyola University Chicago (Chicago, IN)
-Marian University (Indianapolis, IN)
-Xavier University (Cincinnati, OH)
-Hanover College (Hanover, IN)</p>
<p>I went to Butler and sister to Valpo. They are both good schools, although I prefer Butler just a tad 
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<p>Butler’s business dept. works very hard to have great relationships/interships with Indianapolis area businesses. The campus is fairly compact, green and beatiful, and has typical “college” looking buildings. The Butler-Tarkington neighborhood association works to create good neighborhood relationships. (My grandma lived there 40 years).</p>
<p>Downtown Indy is just a few miles south and provides lots of fun for students.</p>
<p>The campus is fairly Greek but very accepting/integrating of the Independents. It’s not a suitcase school. S was interested 5 years ago. There is a bit of a lopsided M/F ratio–I think approaching 65-70% girls. I don’t remember it being that large a difference back in my dark ages, but I was an accounting major when that was still a majority of boys.</p>