IU is a big state school in southern Indiana.
(I went there over twenty years ago, but I have younger relatives who attend, and know friend’s kids there now. I also have a friend who still lives in town… )
There will be parties, and Greek life is popular, but it’s a big enough campus where, if you want to avoid that, you can, easily.
The campus itself is very attractive, wooded and park-like with many old limestone buildings (and some newer, modern buildings.)
Downtown Bloomington is adjacent to campus, and despite it’s small size, has a very cosmopolitan feel to it.
The surrounding area is Indianapolis and it’s suburbs to the north, and the Hoosier National Forest to the southeast.
It’s a great school for Humanities and foreign language study, and you’ll have countless options as a LAS student.
The cons:
It’s big and impersonal, and there is very little hand-holding. In fact, when I was there, undergrads were often treated like an afterthought, but that might’ve just been my program. And I transferred in from a small LAC so I was used to having a lot of personal attention…
If you’re OOS, it’s expensive.
Pros:
Good reputation
beautiful campus
lots of cultural activities, all the time.
Big Ten sports, if you’re into that.
Strong greek life, (but if you’re a girl, the process has a rep for being ruthless and brutal…)
A diverse and tolerant student body. There are many different types of people on campus, from all over the world, and the USA, but everyone seems to get along.
You could do much worse, :).
I’m curious, what is your first choice?
(Fwiw, I couldn’t even get my own D to apply to IU, even after we found out she could get merit (we’re OOS now) She preferred Ball State up in Muncie, and Butler. So, yeah, IU is not impressive to everyone… I really loved my time there, though, and made lifelong friends. )
