Reply to Big Ten School atmosphere similar to U of WI

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]  Depends on what they like about the vibe of Wisconsin…if it’s the quintessential college town and campus, IU is great. If it’s more general academic reputation, I’d go Illinois or Purdue. IU has Kelley, but it isn’t really known for strength of programs outside of that. IU had an overwhelming party/Greek vibe that did not feel approachable to my child.  [/quote]

No, you misread or misunderstood the assignment.   OP is looking for schools that feel like Wisconsin but are an easier admit.   So you've come back with Illinois whose USNWR rank is tied with Wisconsin but has an even lower acceptance rate, and Purdue which admits a slightly higher percentage of its applicants than Wisconsin but they have higher stats.  Not really helpful.

As for "more general academic reputation," sure, Wisconsin and Illinois and Purdue get somewhat higher overall scores from USNWR and other rankings than Indiana (which is one reason they're harder to get into, per OP's original question).    And there are probably many specific programs that reflect that, although IU has a good number of highly regarded programs as well.  But if you look at USNWR's "expert opinion/peer assessment" (polling academics and administrators) - which is probably more reliable than an individual opinion -- the gap in scores isn't huge:   Wisconsin gets a score of 4.1 (of 5.0), Illinois 4.0, Purdue 3.9 and Indiana 3.7 (for DMV reference, IU's 3.7 is right between UMD-CP's 3.8 and GWU's 3.6).

As for "overwhelming Greek vibe" at IU that didn't seem approachable to your kid -- was this a kid who attended IU, or just a drive-by impression?    24% of IU undergrads belong to Greek organizations (compared to published stats of 20 percent at Purdue and 23.5% at Illinois - a vast difference...).   The remaining 76% of IU undergrads don't -- ie, nearly 28 thousand IU undergrads (more than the entire undergraduate populations of Georgetown, GWU and American combined) aren't a part of Greek organizations ... and they're not just sitting around wishing they were.   If you or your kid is allergic to Greek institutions on campus, or finds their mere presence objectionable or intimidating, that's your prerogative, but it's also kind of your issue.   Like Big Ten sports, Greek life at IU is there for those who want it, and is completely unnecessary for those who don't.

Look, feel free to keep advising people that in your opinion the "T75" university they're considering has no real academic strengths (I'm guessing they already understand it's not the same as a "T50" or "T25" school ...), but I don't think that advice comes across as helpful as you presumably intend.   
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UIUC has plenty of programs that have a greater than 50% admit rate. Their General Studies major has a middle 50% SAT range of 1220-1410 and a GPA range of 3.46-3.88. Purdue's Exploratory Studies College admits over 75% of applicants with a middle 50% range of 1120-1360 and 3.47-3.95. College admissions is a crapshoot, but both of these schools could be options, depending on major. Both have incredibly competitive programs in CS, Engineering and Business, but they have lots of other options for students who want other majors. I think having strong STEM programs at a school can influence the "vibe" on campus and definitely seems to elevate the school's overall rankings if you are interested in that. 
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NP. Agree that UIUC and Purdue could be an easier admit than Wisconsin in non-STEM areas.  Also agree that more STEM-oriented schools tend to have higher overall rankings--probably because STEM majors have higher test scores than non-STEM majors.  But I'd be careful about equating STEM-driven rankings to higher quality overall.  While Purdue is a fantastic school for engineering, computer science, and a few other select programs like pharmacy and veterinary medicine, I definitely wouldn't send a kid there for liberal arts or social science.  The quality at UIUC seems a little more even across the board.

RE: OP's question, I'd agree that Indiana is the most similar Big10 school.

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