Surprised by beauty, size if Indiana

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were visiting family in Louisville and on a whim, DS wanted to tour Indiana, probably because of the football hype, but also because he is interested in business and wants a big school experience. We were open to it, and I have to say—even in winter, that campus is absolutely gorgeous. I want to come back and tour in the spring. Very impressed by our guide and the things we heard and saw.

Obviously spirits are very high in the town but it seems like a very nice, close-knit college town vibe. Surprisingly good restaurants. DS wants to apply and I fully support it, though of course I hope he ends up closer to home.

Hahahahaha perfect fit. More dummies.

What exactly compels you to react like a cockwobble in response to a sincere, positive post?

OP, I think there is a special charm to many land-grant flagships, especially in the Midwest. IU is great.

Oh, wow, this is a great word! I’ve never seen it before 😄

Love it. I have learned a lot of new vocab words from dcum!

[Anonymous]

If your kid likes IU/Bloomington you should look at Iowa/Iowa City. Very similar feel, gorgeous campus, great sports and all with a more direct flight from DCA!

[Anonymous]

II am a long-time Hoosier, born and raised in Indiana, and I attended IU. I love both campuses. They’re very different but equally beautiful in their own ways, and you can’t go wrong with either university; both have great programs and excellent academic options for all students! Plus, there’s nothing like the Midwestern vibe of kindness, generosity, and warmth.

[Anonymous]

Another Hoosier alum here. I'm also a Kelley grad. Obviously, I'm biased in favor of IU. I'm not sure the comparison of IU and ND is apples to apples. Large public vs private, secular vs religous, etc.

Bloomington is a fantastic college town whereas South Bend is a dump. I grew up in Northern Indiana (closer to Chicago) and all of that part of Indiana sucks. That part of the industrial Midwest has been dying for many years and there is nothing there that will lift it back up to its thriving industrial days of the 50's-70's. I still have family there and my husband's family is in SB so we get back fairly often.

Also, Kelley has a good network to get a job in Chicago, or at least it did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your kid likes IU/Bloomington you should look at Iowa/Iowa City. Very similar feel, gorgeous campus, great sports and all with a more direct flight from DCA!

Iowa City is indeed one of the great college towns.

[Anonymous]

I currently live in Indiana (Hoosiers can guess which rich county, if not the exact town) and we’re happy that both IU and Purdue are in-state tuition for us.

To the PP mentioning Greek life, we know a number of people who went to IU and also people currently attending IU. None of them joined fraternities/sororities and it seems to be going just fine. No Greek life needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kelly is a great business school. Apply if he has the stats and be done with it. (Indiana also has world class music and languages.)

+1. The Kelly school is frequently discussed but Indiana has amazing programs for foreign language (Lugar school), music and dance! I was also pleasantly surprised during our visit.

+1

In my bubble, IU Jacobs School of Music is discussed in the same conversations as Julliard and Peabody. Highly, highly regarded.

[Anonymous]

One thing your S should be aware of--Greeks are strong at IU, stronger than you might think from the percentage of students who belong. My impression--which you should check because my familiarity was a long time ago

Not the case, or out of date, or based on the usual silly DCUM hearsay. My niece graduated from IU last year (was OOS, had a wonderful time there, now in grad school), had no interest in the Greek system, and said it 'was there' -- just like the performing arts and sustainability groups and others -- but had little impact on those like her who didn't want to be a part of it. She said she and her friends would go to one or maybe two Greek parties a term, kind of like she'd go to one or two football games a year.

There are 48,000 students at IU/B (and 80,000 residents of Bloomington -- a small city with a lot to offer). The link says "over 8000" are part of the Greek community. The other ~40K aren't sitting around feeling marginalized. Of course, this is DCUM where some pay lip service to the notion of diversity but are afraid exposure to different kinds of people might contaminate them for life. If that's the issue, then sure, IU and indeed any Big Ten school (or midwestern university, or 'red state' school) probably risks contagion. For other kids, expanding one's life experiences -- not just credentialing -- is supposedly one of the objectives of higher education.

As for IU, it isn't MIT or Columbia, but if a student with IU-level stats wants a big (or Big 10) university experience, it's a great option. Good programs, a diverse student body (and relatively high OOS ratio), and with the added benefit of being located in one of the great college towns and (since complaining about colder climates is an obsession on DCUM) not too far north.