<p>In the Midwest, students often choose a school on major and there is quite a lot of separation. Iowa State for example offers agriculture, home ec, pre-vet, etc. and the University of Iowa has the med school and law schools, so many pre-professionals go there. The list of schools at the top of the thread are quite difficult to rank; therefore, I won’t even try.</p>
<p>I just have to say, “Hook 'em, Horns!” My son was accepted to 9 schools, including Amherst and Wash. U. in St. Louis. Wash U. was his #1 choice, but it didn’t work out financially. So he has chosen to go to the University of Texas at Austin to study biomedical engineering. I purposely did NOT encourage him to go there, because I didn’t want him ever to feel as if he were pressured to attend. He’ll be the fourth generation of our family to go. I’m very happy for him - he’ll get a wonderful education and have a great time in Austin. He’ll have lots of family in the area. I’ll just “have” to visit him frequently. Oh, and Texas is ranked just three places behind Wash U. in biomedical engineering, so it’s decent.</p>
<p>IMO, these schools all have strong regional reputations, so where he wants to live makes a big difference in terms of which one is the most prestigious.</p>
<p>Of your list, I would put VA Tech as the strongest, followed by Texas Tech and U KY, and then all of the others I would put in a big unknown pile, to be honest. </p>
<p>You might want to look at KU in addition to Kansas State. Lawrence, KS is a surprisingly pleasant college town, close enough to Kansas City to have city-type options, but far enough away that it’s not a suburb. You’d be surprised how many Chicago area families pay for their kids to go to KU. You might also potentially look at some of the Big 10 schools - maybe not Illinois, Wisconsin or Michigan, but perhaps Indiana or Iowa. Again, lots of Chicago area families pay full freight for OOS Indiana and Iowa and seem quite satisfied with them.</p>
<p>KU and Indiana are already on the list. I just don’t know much about the schools I listed.</p>
<p>Kansas State, listed above, is different from KU (University of Kansas). I didn’t see Indiana on the above list?</p>
<p>VTech’s profile here (greater DC) is not just based on sports and the shooting, but on its excellent programs in engineering, architecture, and I guess a few other fields. That said, I am not sure how well the rep in those areas rubs off to business.</p>
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<p>KU and Indiana have already made The List.
The schools about which I inquired are contenders for The List but have not yet earned a place.</p>
<p>I know that three years ago, Kansas State was recruiting S1 to come to their school as a math major. VT graduates are all over the DC area – just be aware it’s four hours away from DC (3-3.5 from northern VA) – but everyone I know who attended loves it and there is quite a loyal alumni following, which can be good for networking down the road.</p>
<p>UK is definitely where the movers and shakers who want to stay in-state attend (I have a nephew who will likely wind up there if he gets a better $$ offer for baseball elsewhere). All have good sports and school spirit.</p>
<p>I’d see if you can find out on the websites who comes to campus for job recruitment fairs and where grads/alumni wind up.</p>
<p>Texas Tech is my alma mater, and it’s an awesome place to go to school. And the weather on the South Plains is much better than the humid portions of the rest of the state. (Except for about 10 really windy days every spring when the dust blows.)</p>
<p>Tech has a great business school and an awesome campus. New facilities abound and continue to be built (including a new Rawls Business School facility).</p>
<p>I spent some time recently on a student review website, and Tech had the highest overall rating of every school I searched. I couldn’t agree more.</p>
<p>Missypie: Some comments observations on the big state U’s. (D2 also wanted a large state U, and with architecture as her major, that made it somewhat easier.)</p>
<p>Indiana is a very nice campus. Seems to have a strong greek presence, if that’s an issue. I would say it has the highest reputation for business of all the schools on your list. (Of course when D2 finalized on architecture, Indiana went away - they don’t have an architecture program.)</p>
<p>VTech is also a great school. It was D2’s favorite and first choice, but Penn State came on strong in the end and won her over. Not sure just how the business school ranks, but my perception is that VT is a well regarded school nationally.</p>
<p>Can I add Pitt to the mix? It’s business school is not as strong as Indiana’s and it’s an urban campus, so that may not be what she wants. Pitt overs some very good merit aid compared to other state schools though, and has a lot of alternate majors to choose from. (I would mention Penn State, which has a pretty good business school, but their OOS rates are quite high, nor is it very good at financial and/or merit aid.)</p>
<p>Yeah, Pitt is already on The List, too.</p>
<p>missiepie, No your D is not the only kid who is entertaining the idea of an OOS public. If you are looking for well priced OOS options I would include the University of Montana Missoula in your search. OOS tuition is low, it is far from hot and they do offer OOS scholarships.</p>
<p>I like Oregon State, but I am Northern Californian so my logic is based on proximity to home.</p>
<p>My good friend has two kids, one is a grad of VT the other is finishing frosh year. They love(d) it and both went there from OOS. </p>
<p>Is your D sure she wants BIG?</p>
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<p>Not at all. As said, the schools I named are not The List - they are possibilities to be put on the list.</p>
<p>However, I will say that it is difficult to find schools in the 5000-10,000 student range that don’t cost $50,000+ a year.</p>
<p>My apologies, missypie - I wasn’t aware of the Original List to which these were being added!</p>
<p>No problem - I must not have been clear. Texas Tech will be her in-state safety, just because I’m making her have one. We will definitely visit Oklahoma State, because it is sort of on the way between University of Tulsa and KU. Other than that, it is entirely possible that none of the schools from my original post will make The List.</p>
<p>Can I ask what is on The List, to which the schools you listed above may or may not be added?</p>
<p>I’m with the other posters in saying that VA Tech is a great school.</p>
<p>But,not the best choice if your D wants to get out of the heat.</p>
<p>I think on another thread you were looking for a school near an airport/easy for your D to fly into & out of. Is that still part of the criteria? If it is, VA Tech might not work.</p>
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<p>I’ve heard that Elon is much less expensive than most privates, and has 5000 students. COA is ~$35k, which is a little bit more than most OOS publics, but not much.<br>
[Financial</a> Aid - Tuition and Fees](<a href=“http://www.elon.edu/e-web/admissions/FinancialAid/tuition.xhtml]Financial”>http://www.elon.edu/e-web/admissions/FinancialAid/tuition.xhtml)</p>
<p>There are currently about 30 schools under consideration. Almost all academic matches/almost no reaches. Being evaluated for affordablity and many other factors, including how the heck she’d get there. I guess a “perfect” school would override ease of transportation. Trying to come up with a list of maybe 15-18 for in-depth research, possible visits.</p>