My son had some health issues (now resolved) in high school which impacted his grades. He got a 31 on his ACT, and 4s on his AP tests. He got accepted to these schools and I’m trying to get information for him so he can decide. We have not visited Rutgers and would be OOS for all of them, but we have family in Chicago and Indiana. He loves to read, have intense discussions but also go to punk concerts. Not sure how to guide him, knowing that in the end, it’s his decision.
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Nice options - congrats!! Are all comfortably affordable? Have you visited? Does the student have a preference?
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Agree with @happy1 - it’s just a question of preference.
These are good schools - nothing to fret about with grades.
IU is a large flagship, historically with basketball excitement and now football, beautiful campus is a traditional, and one of the highest rated college towns - lots of ethnic food choices. It’s an hour (a tad less) from the Indy Airport.
Rutgers is NJ’s flagship - but a vastly different area. One thing to look at - from comments here (not from experience) - some say there are different campuses or locations wtihin the campus that require bus travel. For a student like this, would that be applicable - rotating to different campuses by bus? And if so, would your student be ok with that? If i was a prospective parent, I would ensure I understood the layout - but again, no experience but basing the comment on what others have written.
Loyola is Jesuit - there will be a more extensive core including religion (which may be more academic than religous). Is that an issue? Is seeing religious imagery or priests, etc. on campus a bother?
Loyola has multiple campuses - so Arts & Sciences, where you’d be - is at the Lake Shore campus; but let’s say the student wanted to transfer to business, that’s at the Water Tower campus. According to googlemaps, they’re about 8 miles apart.
Good luck - and congrats to your students - three fine schools - I only say that because I interpreted (right or wrong) that he could have done better if not for health - and I would argue, any student would be lucky to have these three on their list - regardless of selectivity. So your student is in a great position.
We have visited IU and Loyola, not Rutgers. I don’t know anything about Rutgers, some about IU and Loyola. He’s probably more interested in Loyola and Rutgers, but not I’m entirely sure. We’ve got merit from Loyola, IU doesn’t seem to help OOS, and I don’t know if Rutgers will offer any merit. Money is important, but we’ll figure it out if it’s all similar. Right now, I’m focusing on the fit.
I have a family member who had a terrific experience as a psychology major at Loyola Chicago. Lots of personalized attention. Good professors. Emphasis on volunteering in the community.
Rutgers would be a very different experience. Rutgers is very highly ranked for philosophy, so if he is gunning for an academic career, Rutgers might be a better place for that.
I don’t know enough about IU to comment
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Rutgers is not known for merit, I believe they have a good music scene (my husband applied to Rutgers after seeing R.E.M. play there in 1985).
This comment is strictly in reply to your son’s interest in attending punk shows. The Rutgers music scene is kind of legendary for basement shows in New Brunswick. It’s a scene that has carried on for decades and is still going strong. So there’s that in the Rutgers column 
Plus NYC being an easy train trip away
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He got accepted to Rutgers New Brunswick- I did not know everything about the buses. Personally, I would hate that, but I’m not the one going. He’s coming from a Jesuit high school that’s not that religious, and we’ve heard Loyola is not an extremely religious school. My son will be able to live with that.
I want him in a place where he’ll be stimulated most of the time, and find his people. I know they’re all good schools. I wonder how the local and state politics may affect the schools- a more conservative legislature may impact a school like Indiana than a Private school like Loyola. Especially considering how I’ve heard politics has impacted Texas A&M
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He’s definitely like that! How close is NYC?
What is general culture of the school?
I’ve seen that about Loyola. He wants to be a therapist eventually (loves his AP psycholoy class) but who knows? He really loves philosophy, and has been reading all kinds of philosophers since he started high school so it’d be nice if he had some good philosophy professors.
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There is a NJ transit train station on campus, takes about an hour. ETA found this article regarding music. Tune in to New Brunswick's vibrant music scene - The Daily Targum
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I think the RU scene in New Brunswick is whatever you want to make it. A bit of everything, really. Frats to basement shows and everything in between. New Brunswick can be a little gritty, but I think that’s part of the charm for the right kid.
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If anyone can tell me what kind of kids usually go to Rutgers? I know Indiana can be a party school, and fraternities are popular. I don’t know much about the “typical” Loyola student, but a smaller school that may give him more support wouldn’t be bad.
Has your son been accepted into any of the honors programs at these schools?
I will venture to say that at both IU and Rutgers, your son can definitely find his people. A definite minority of people participate in Greek life at IU, meaning the majority of students don’t go Greek. When there are tens of thousands of students on campus, all sorts are there. He’ll find the nerds and the punk rock folks and the philosophers, etc. I suspect he’ll also find his folk at Loyola Chicago, though it’s much smaller in comparison to the two big state schools.
In terms of the state governments, Indiana’s is trying to influence IU, and IU’s president has been going along with the government, but the faculty, students, and town are making their opposition known. New Jersey’s state government would be safer, I suspect, in terms of interference in higher education. If the state’s policies on abortion or LGBTQ rights matter to your son, then that could also impact choices.
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My S attended a different Jesuit school and had a great experience. As long as he would be OK with the core curriculum, I think Loyola Chicago could be a nice fit. Having family in the area is always a plus as well. If considering Rutgers, it is a fine school and worth a visit.
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It’s pretty diverse, and large, but the separate campuses can make it feel smaller, some students will try to take classes on the campus where they dorm, and the campuses have different feels. My son loved going to football and basketball games, my daughter just went to a few tailgates, both love live music, he pledged, she had no interests in Greek life. I do think they guarantee on campus housing for 4 years, off campus can be expensive or sketchy (my daughter definitely lived in sketchy).
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He has not been accepted to the honors colleges because even though he did well on his ACT, and does well in his AP classes, he also has ADHD, and it took him a while to find the right medication that worked. And he had another health issue- combine both, and his grades were impacted even though he’s very capable. He’s got a 3.6 (don’t remember if that’s weighted), which I doubt is honors college GPA
One thing about cost - when it comes up - merit in and of itself doesn’t matter. Some schools are cheaper full pay than others with merit.I know Loyola goes deep but there are many schools after merit that cost more than others full pay is the point. Of course, IU and Rutgers are so large they’ll have all types of kids but it sounds like the student doesn’t prefer IU since you noted the interest is more in Loyola and Rutgers.
And don’t forget, if none work, or the budget doesn’t work, there are lots of other schools still taking apps, many much lower in cost.
Best of luck.
Well, Loyola is in Illinois - so the politics of the state, if did influence, wouldn’t influence in the same way.
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Yeah, my son doesn’t think he’d like being in a fraternity, he thinks it’d be too much like his high school-
Do most kids live off campus after freshman year? My other son is at wisconsin, and they have to start looking for apartments/roommates in October of their freshman year, which is crazy! Especially since he didn’t know very many kids there being from OOS.
What do they like the most about the school? Are there a variety of restaurants nearby?