<p>I have a current HS junior who wants to go to school out of state, somewhere colder than home. Her grades will be good; test scores above average. She may be a marketing/business major but isn't sure. Also not sure on size of school but doesn't want a tiny LAC.</p>
<p>Please rank these Indiana schools on whatever criteria you desire - prestige, beauty of campus, academic rigor, reputation, quality of food, etc.:</p>
<p>Purdue
Butler
Indiana University
Indiana State University
University of Evansville</p>
<p>Missypie, I can comment on 4 of the five schools you mentioned.</p>
<p>University of Evansville: D1 is a graduate student there. The campus is not large but is pretty. They have just opened a new student center which is very nice. Most students on campus are very involved in various activities. There is no football team but the other sports have a good following. The business program has a good reputation but I know nothing more about that. Students there find the professors very accessible and supportive. Great scholarship opportunities. Also many students study abroad and the school also is strong in helping students find internships and has grants for helping fund unpaid internships. </p>
<p>Butler: Two of my children considered Butler. It is a very lovely mid-size campus. The business program there has a good reputation and apparently has a great record of helping students find internships both in Indianapolis and other cities. The son of a friend of mine is a senior at Butler and spent spring semester in a paid internship with Johnson and Johnson on the east coast (paid position). They have nothing but great things to say about the business program.</p>
<p>Purdue: Probably 20% of the high school graduates in our school district end up at Purdue. Huge campus. I do not find it particularly attractive. Of course it is most well known for it’s engineering school but is strong in other disciplines like pharmacy and the sciences. Most students enjoy themselves there. Most of what I know is anecdotal as none of my children considered going there as the programs they were interested in were not strong at Purdue.</p>
<p>Indiana University: Youngest D is an undergraduate there. Absolutely gorgeous campus. Again, a large campus. Business school is continually ranked among the top programs in the country. Internship opportunities abundant. Many other programs are among the nation’s best too. Foreign language instruction is top notch and opportunities for undergrad research in the sciences are impressive. Some very good scholarships available. While a large campus, there are many programs to make it feel smaller. D3 is a freshman taking 17 credits and has only 2 classes with more than 22 students. It is a vibrant campus with endless opportunities for the student who seeks them out. </p>
<p>Ranking as to beauty of campus: IU, Butler, Evansville, Purdue
Prestige ranking: IU, Purdue, Butler and Evansville tied
Academic Rigor ranking: my feeling is that it is more difficult to get top grades at the big public schools than at Butler or Evansville
Food ranking: IU has most options, I don’t know about Purdue but I would guess it’s similar to IU, Butler and Evansville are more limited</p>
<p>IU #1 - If your daughter has good grades she will get in there so you don’t need to consider the others. It’s a great school to apply to because the application is easy to complete and the response is extremely prompt.</p>
<p>Except that OOS tuition at IU is about the same as tution at the private schools, and I’m assuming that merit aid will be much more likely at a private than at a public.</p>
<p>Missypie, you are right about the merit aid. IU’s automatic scholarships based on grades and test scores will just make a dent in OOS tuition bill. If your D applies there and is invited to apply for the honors college scholarships have her do so, it is worth the extra effort. Also, we found that if a student declares a major when applying to IU rather than putting “undecided” many departments offer renewable departmental scholarships to top students. </p>
<p>FWIW, oldest D received better merit aid offer from University of Evansville than from Butler.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m more familiar with Evansville’s merit aid than the others. For some reason they recruit our theatre students pretty heavily. My parents are from there, so it was wild when I started to hear about students from down here going to Evansville…on purpose…</p>
<p>That 9k/yr sets the price to be equal to that of UIUC for you, making IU a viable alternative. Same thing happens in Ohio is regard to OSU, OU, and Miami of Ohio.</p>
<p>Although we’re from New Jersey, IUB and Butler are on my son’s short list. Could you please PM me with your experiences on merit aid at those schools? He’s also strongly considering Belmont in Tennessee. Thanks for any help.</p>