<p>I know some kids who go to URI and I think they could have go to UConn just as easily. They love it at their school. URI is a smaller school than UConn which puts it on our son's list whereas UConn is just too big. The other thing that is attractive about URI is that it does have a larger OOS population than many state schools. A problem with the SUNYs is that they are nearly all NYers there. When you are such a tiny minority, it can make you feel left out, and that is a drawback at many OOS schools. I don't think there is much more than a 10% differential in selectivity between UConn and URI. The big difference is that UConn is much better known because of its athletic prowress, something low on our list of things.</p>