UArizona or UIowa
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Anonymous
Seriously? i think going to a Big Ten university town in the Midwest or a funky desert city in the Southwest for four years would appeal precisely because they're each so very different from the same old same old mid-Atlantic scenery DCUM readers are so familiar with. Some DCUM readers are as parochial in their worldview as that old New Yorker cover of "a New Yorker's View of the World" -- civilization stops at Pittsburgh with little isolated colonies in Ann Arbor, Evanston, Hyde Park, the Bay Area, and Westwood. And actually Iowa and Arizona are two universities that stand out for being relatively highly ranked for ed quality (certainly in the top half of nationwide flagships) relative to their (high) acceptance rates. Congratulations to OP for not being limited by the usual DCUM biases. |
Anonymous
Schools have local networking opportunities though and your friends in these schools are often likely to stay in the rough area. I think it matters in the decision-making. |
Anonymous
True which is why the vast majority of people here are saying AZ > IA. I haven't seen many Hawkeyes chiming in here about Iowa which seems telling. |
Anonymous
It’s got a ton of diversity; very heavily Hispanic. |
Anonymous
U of Iowa kids mainly end up working in Chicago. The survey posted earlier suggested that Iowa graduates were the same or slightly more satisfied with their career opportunities than U of AZ. |
Anonymous
And those grads are competing with UIUC, NU, Michigan, Wisconsin, Notre Dame and a whole host of other grads. Small fish in a big pond. |
Anonymous
Iowa City is less than 7% Hispanic. It's almost 80% white. |
Anonymous
And yet the data say that they fare as fine or better in careers than U of AZ grads. |
Anonymous
My East Coast kid went to Iowa, and then to Michigan for grad school, and now has great friends, a lovely girlfriend, and a job with benefits lined up that is also in the Midwest (but not Chicago) and would allow him to transfer back to the East Coast if he were so inclined. Which he isn't, at least not for now. He knew he wanted to get away with the extreme competitiveness of the DC area, and avoid the schools to which some of his classmates flocked, and hasn't once suggested that he regretted the decision. "Iowa nice" is a real thing, and the fact that neither he nor anyone in his circle of Midwestern friends and co-workers would likely waste more than a minute's time arguing over Iowa compared to Arizona, at least not as if their lives depended on it, is just one of their redeeming qualities. |
Anonymous
There's at least one, possibly a few more posters, in College and University Discussion threads who harp on how horrible the Midwest is, especially Ann Arbor. They never address the merits of Michigan, just the perceived demerits of Ann Arbor. They also hop on to any discussion in re Big Ten schools to denigrate them. One had the temerity to suggest that Notre Dame was an oasis compared to Big Ten schools as if South Bend were adjacent to Shangri La. Yes, it is cold in the Midwest in winter, but folks keep applying to these schools, even folks from out of state. |
Anonymous
Yes, this was referencing U of A. |
Anonymous
| Sinema or Grassley? mmmm |
Anonymous
Don't think the purported ability to engage in regional networking after graduating (something that's much less critical to postgraduate professional and social success than you seem to think) should be a prime consideration. Not least because at age 18 few people have an informed idea of where they might want to live after college. If one followed your guidance, people would basically either go to "T20" national-draw schools or -- the vast majority -- stick close to home to maximize their network (since they're likeliest to return to home after college). And avoid rural schools. And avoid "small-network" SLACs. All of which is kind of the exact opposite of the mind-expanding experience college is supposed to offer. What's especially odd about this particular discussion is that even if one were to pick a college based on that dubious criterion, the choice of going to Iowa (and easily settling in Chicago afterward) or going to Arizona (and easily settling in Phoenix afterward) is hardly a clear-cut argument for the Arizona option, to be polite. (And before ideologues chime in to point out that Chicago's population is stagnant, its population of white-collar college graduates is growing -- there's never been a better time to be a young college grad in Chicago - and there are vastly more jobs in metro Chicago than in metro PHX). |
Anonymous
A small number of UA and Iowa alums/families have helpfully shared their (positive) experiences at each. And a bigger number here have offered "I don't know much about either school but I'd sure prefer living in Arizona to Iowa." That says less about either school -- let the OP beware -- than it does about DCUM commenters. |
Anonymous
DC chose a midwestern SLAC for a slew of reasons, including a break from the East coast mindset. |