Know anything about Indiana schools?

Parents Forum
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<p>I posted this on the College Search forum but received no replies.</p>

<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>

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<p>Indiana (IU) hands-down, especially for a business major. It is a gorgeous campus and a top business school with lots of companies coming to recruit grads. I am an IU grad and both of my kids applied and were accepted (but didn’t go). Both were very impressed with IU. My daughter (Rice '07) has been to campus a number of times in recent years to visit her best friend (undergrad and Master’s) and loves the campus and the atmosphere. Purdue is an engineering school- yes, I know they offer other majors. The others simply don’t compare to IU, in my opinion.</p>

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<p>For Marketing/Business definitely IU. I’ve had a couple IU interns and they were sharp. Best friend did her Masters there at the time I did mine at another Big 10 and I would say the recruiting at IU was better than at “mine.” Currently have several friends’ kids going to school there as OSS and they all love it. Also have a D of a friend at Butler and she is very happy. Both IU and Butler have an attractive campus (different) IU is large, Butler is small so different campus cultures and perceptions. I think Butler is around 3000. Agree with Momofwildchild that Purdue is most culturally an engineering school but is well respected in the midwest in general. Also agree if she wants a big school you can’t beat IU.</p>

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<p>If we make the trek to Indiana for visits, are there any other schools we should know about?</p>

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<p>Indiana is a popular OSS school. It lets you know the admission decision fairly early, isn’t so selective that you have to be at the tippy top in grades/scores to get in, and the admissions packet says YOU’RE IN! in big letters on the outside of the envelope. What more could you want? One of my dear (older) friends in Dallas is a big IU alum and gave them their track and field complex. I follow Coach Crean (basketball) on Twitter.</p>

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<p>I know students who have been happy at DePauw (makes cat paw gesture which is what you do to distinguish it from DePaul in Chicago).</p>

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<p>Missypie, I had just posted a lengthy response on your College Search thread when I found this thread.</p>

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<p>I saw it. Thanks so much.</p>

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<p>Something else which really doesn’t apply to your question but: I don’t know where you are traveling from to get to Indiana, but if you are considering other states than Indiana you may want to check out University of Dayton in Ohio. The business school there is outstanding. The campus is very attractive and the students are very friendly and enthusiastic about their school. Unique housing opportunities. It is a Catholic school but those of other denominations could be very happy there.</p>

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<p>Yeah MomofWildchild! The track and field facility is wonderful–tell your friend.</p>

<p>Purdue versus IU–both Big Ten schools with all the sports excitement that brings with it, both large schools, both well respected. Different strengths though. IU is much stronger in business, music, journalism, foreign languages, and arts and humanities. Purdue is stronger in engineering (IU doesn’t have an engineering program because Purdue does. Something to do with the state charter I’ve heard.) Purdue is also a bit stronger in computer science, and any kind of agricultural/land/animal type science. The overall feel of campuses is different. Purdue leans more conservatively, while IU is far more liberal. IU hands down is the prettiest campus in the state. It’s often mentioned as a top campus for it’s beauty. I think both schools are fairly well known throughout the country because they are Big Ten schools. Lots of “free” advertising comes with big time college sports. Both have merit scholarship programs that are pretty straight forward in terms of requirements. </p>

<p>Indiana State is located in Terre Haute. It’s never been one of my favorite IN towns/cities. DD attended a camp there one year. Dorms and food were typical. Being an IU grad I’ve never been impressed with the campus. I think the programs there are okay. I don’t know about merit scholarships here. </p>

<p>Butler was my D’s second choice. The business school in particular is well thought of in the midwest. When D was there interviewing for departmental scholarships I was very impressed with the emphasis on knowing profs, study abroad, and learning that was focused on the real world. Campus is north of downtown Indianapolis. Fantastic new student rec center. Big basketball fans. If you’ve ever seen the movie Hoosiers, the final game was played in the old Butler basketball hall. DH attended Butler for a year. He still has good things to say about it. He transferred when he decided he wanted a bigger school. As much as she loves her school, part of me still wishes she had attended Butler. Also pretty straight forward merit scholarships available. D received one and a departmental scholarship. </p>

<p>I’ve never been to U of Evansville. I think it’s improved enormously over the years. One of D’s friends/former teammates is there now on a partial sports scholarship. She loves it. The friend’s mother was pretty impressed with the academics also. I believe they have merit scholarships as D received lots of postcards mentioning that from them. </p>

<p>DePauw–since MofWC mentioned it. Well respected I think. Has more of a Greek presence than my D wanted so we didn’t visit. I’ve known a few past and current students. Current student’s parent says he loves it there. Small town.</p>

<p>Another you might look at is Ball State U in Muncie. It’s smaller than IU or Purdue. If your D is interested in any type of communication/media it’s the place to go in the state of IN thanks to David Letterman. Two of my family members are alum. </p>

<p>Below are my own personal rankings in terms of academic rigor, prestige, etc. Again, just one person’s perceptions. </p>

<p>IU/Purdue is a tie. It depends on the person.
Ball State/Butler–again a tie
Depauw
U of Evansville (very close to Depauw–I just don’t know a lot about it.)
Indiana State. </p>

<p>I would recommend a visit to Ball State over Indiana State.</p>

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<p>Thanks so much, everyone. We have relatives in West Lafayette, Indianapolis and Evansville, so sending her so far away wouldn’t seem so scary (to me).</p>

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<p>I lived in Indiana and am pretty familiar with all of these schools. I wouldn’t rank them per se because each is good for different things, but here are some comments about them:</p>

<p>Purdue - Easily the best for engineering and very good overall. Boring city.</p>

<p>Butler - Very nice little college in a nice part of Indy. One of those rare gems that offers a small, somewhat insulated environment within a big city.</p>

<p>Indiana University - Excellent school, great college town. Probably the best for business and very good for everything else as well.</p>

<p>Indiana State University - Blah.</p>

<p>University of Evansville - Another nice little college, but in a much smaller city. About the most “country” of all these schools but possibly more the quintessential liberal-arts environment than Butler. If I were forced to rank the two, I’d rank them the same and let the tie-breaker be whether you prefer a big city or small city.</p>

<p>I would say you can’t go wrong with any of them except Indiana State. There’s no reason to send your kid out of state to go there.</p>

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<p>My parents are from there. They do have great barbeque and a fantastic Fall Festival, but other than that…</p>

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<p>I second the recommendation to look into DePauw. Terrific little school.</p>

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<p>Thow Indiana State out of the mix. I honestly don’t know why someone OOS would go there. It’s open admissions and in-state. Those are the reasons students from our HS have gone. Neither the town nor the school are particularly attractive.</p>

<p>Butler/DePauw are similar in size and make-up. DePauw is smaller and located in a much smaller city. Butler is approx. 4,000 students, very nice campus, in a fairly good section of Indianapolis. I’m a Butler business school graduate and was happy with the education there. Current correspondence and S’s visit (admitted ‘07, didn’t attend) confirmed the business school continues to be progressive and as someone mentioned, very intent on integrating with real-world concerns. Butler has a very good reputation/partnerships with Indianapolis’ businesses.</p>

<p>Butler is noticeably greek, but it’s fine to be independent. DePauw is much more of a greek influence. Financial aid at DePauw is very good; better than at Butler.</p>

<p>IU/Purdue - large, state, Big 10 schools. For business, I would vote IU.</p>

<p>Univ of Evansville-don’t know about it</p>

<p>There’s a huge difference in the “feel” of an IU/Purdue or a Butler/DePauw. My gut reaction is a student would be more comfortable at one set or the other.</p>

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<p>Tend to agree with most of the previous posts. If she visits and prefers large schools, I’d recommend IU over Purdue for business (but that’s a personal preference). Butler and Evansville are also good choices, and I second the Dayton plug, especially if she’s a budding entrepreneur. Not so keen on ISU.</p>

<p>You mentioned that she doesn’t want a tiny LAC, so not sure if that’d rule out Evansville (about 2.5K undergrads). When DS was making his visits, we had Evansville as a financial safety (great merit offer), but weren’t expecting a whole lot from our visit. Turns out that we were so impressed that DS almost accepted their offer - was easily our best visit of the dozen or so we took. If she wants more personal attention, yet not so suffocating as to re-live HS, it’s worth a look.</p>

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<p>My sister-in-law graduated from DePauw and loved it. My brother was in school nearby at Wabash College, which is still all-male. Both are small LACs. Wabash usually is ranked at the very bottom of the first tier LACs. It has a very large endowment (around $300 million) and is generous with its financial aid. (My nephew is a current student.) Most of the Wabash guys leave for the weekend and go to DePauw (which is coed).</p>

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<p>I know you asked about Indiana schools, but if you’re willing to drive less than 2 hours past Indianopolis, you might consider University of Cincinnati (an hour south of U of Dayton which was mentioned above.)</p>

<p>Excellent business school–lots of funds from the Lindner family, owners of United Dairy Farmers, who believe in supporting their town. They have a co-op program for business majors, and the Bearcats football team are winning the Big East conference so far. </p>

<p>What more could you want? ;)</p>

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<p>If you do decide to check out U of Cinncinnati, it’s only 45 minutes to Miami University (Ohio) and 90 minutes from Ohio State. Both Miami and Ohio State have strong business programs.</p>

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<p>Ohio State isn’t as good as IU for business and doesn’t have nearly as nice of a campus. Cincinnati is too much of a commuter school and also isn’t as good as IU for business. Just my opinion.</p>