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[quote=Anonymous]If you're looking for another Big Ten school that is similar (no two universities are identical) to Wisconsin but an easier admit, for us Indiana was the choice (just went through the same process two years ago -- DD was rejected at top choice Wisconsin, got into IU Bloomington, and is loving it there).   Large school, pretty campus, strong public policy and arts programs, lively community, relatively large OOS contingent.  Bloomington is smaller than Madison but Indianapolis is just an hour up the road so that kind of balances.

By comparison, to DD (and it goes without saying each of these are fine schools, and some are more competitive admits than IU - these aren't objective judgments but just how close it felt to what DD liked about Wisconsin):
Iowa felt isolated, notwithstanding the charms of Iowa City.
Illinois' setting wasn't inspiring, and the OOS contingent isn't as big (and she didn't want to feel out of place).
Purdue felt like principally a STEM school (and the campus and setting seem drab compared to IU).  She wasn't interested.
Penn State (University Park) is out in the middle of nowhere.
Michigan State seemed very much Michigan-centric, and DD was looking for a school specializing in programs more like Ann Arbor's than MSU's ag/tech programs.
Minnesota/Twin Cities is an urban school and campus.
We didn't look at Northwestern or Michigan (unattainable) or Nebraska (higher ranked schools seemed achieveable, and a three hour drive to Kansas City seemed too remote).
UMD and Rutgers - she read up on them, wasn't interested.

I agree with some PP that OSU might be another good Wisconsin-like option, but Columbus isn't Madison, and the OOS contingent at OSU isn't as big as at some other Big Ten schools. For us, we have relatives in Columbus who DD wanted to avoid, so she didn't seriously consider OSU (her call...).

A large non-B1G flagship that ticks some of the same boxes (and is an easier admit than Wisconsin), albeit with more of a western than midwestern feel, is Colorado/Boulder (queue the obligatory references to weed and mountains).   DD got in there as well, and seriously considered it, but is really happy she opted for IU.

Good luck!

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