<p>B10P, not to derail your worthy attempts to solicit more input from others but I want to address Chicago1992’s comments.</p>
<p>Specific to your situation, 1992, have you been awarded any merit aid, esp. the $4260/year available to many OOS students? I ask because it seems like during my visits to Iowa you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a dozen suburban Chicago prospects and/or parents. Their common story is that Iowa is generally the same or cheaper than Urbana-Champaign for them. As Illinois residents. Huh? How this can be I have no idea but that’s what I’m hearing. Of course, it all comes down to individual circumstances, and maybe those families garnered more merit aid at Iowa than they did at home.</p>
<p>B10P, I agree with you and love the RAI for its straightforwardness. Wisconsin makes me both gag and chuckle with their “holistic” approach, telling prospects they want a “community” of “engaged learners” who “bring something to the table.” Now this makes perfect sense to me if we’re talking about a LAC of 1500 students, but a sprawling public university of 30,000? Puh-leaze!!</p>