@Gator88NE, that was me who brought that up. The OP was concerned about the stature of Iowa State. I brought that up as a reassurance, since the school affiliated National Laboratories don’t tend to be linked with random podunk institutions. It was really a “Look, they have an affiliated National Lab…they must have something good going for them.” We then got a little tangenty in defense of the other options the OP is considering.