Indiana University vs University of Kansas

[IUB_GCDB]

The choice seems to be clear to many since according to US News Rankings Indiana University Bloomington, IU ranks #34 while University of Kansas, KU ranks #68 but I think these rankings can be deceptive. I am pursuing Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology degree and would like to know which school is better for me. I have got funding from both schools as a doctoral student. I like the moderate size of KU while IU is extremely large campus (25000 vs 45000).

Here are some doubts I have,

• Since IU is such a big school, so many places will be crowded and I am not a fan of crowded places.
• KU has a modern campus in comparison with IU which is really old.
• Where would I get more attention from faculty and staff IU or KU?
• Living expenses? Since I am getting a bit less stipend in IU than KU?

Your help will extremely be appreciated!

p.s.  I am an international student, and I hope to live off-campus in a rented apartment. 

[svent]

When I visited Lawrence, it seemed like an interesting town. When I visited Bloomington, I was only at the university, so not sure about the town. Both are near a decent-sized city (Indy/KC), but I'm not crazy about Indy or KC. IU is actually kind of close to Chicago, which is a very big city. Columbus also, which is a decent-sized city. Other than KC, the only major city near Lawrence is St. Louis, and by near, I mean a 4-5 hour drive.

I think both towns are pretty inexpensive. The answer is probably to choose based on research, advisors, stuff like that.

[thepinkdragon76]

Having been to the KU Lawrence Campus and the downtown area etc; if you are looking for a more personalized experience and smaller community I would highly recommend KU. The professors are very approachable and interested in student success. It is the reason I keep applying there. Good luck!

[thepinkdragon76]

5 hours ago, svent said:

When I visited Lawrence, it seemed like an interesting town. When I visited Bloomington, I was only at the university, so not sure about the town. Both are near a decent-sized city (Indy/KC), but I'm not crazy about Indy or KC. IU is actually kind of close to Chicago, which is a very big city. Columbus also, which is a decent-sized city. Other than KC, the only major city near Lawrence is St. Louis, and by near, I mean a 4-5 hour drive.

I think both towns are pretty inexpensive. The answer is probably to choose based on research, advisors, stuff like that.

Topeka is very close to Lawrence and Kansas City is awesome actually. I am from the Tampa Bay area originally and we are stationed at Ft.Leavenworth, KS and have decided to retire here because we live in a small town but can easily reach big city amenities within 30-45 minutes.

[calico]

I'd go with Indiana. 34 over 68 is pretty strong.

Edited March 9, 2016 by calico

[IUB_GCDB]

11 hours ago, IUB_GCDB said:

10 hours ago, svent said:

When I visited Lawrence, it seemed like an interesting town. When I visited Bloomington, I was only at the university, so not sure about the town. Both are near a decent-sized city (Indy/KC), but I'm not crazy about Indy or KC. IU is actually kind of close to Chicago, which is a very big city. Columbus also, which is a decent-sized city. Other than KC, the only major city near Lawrence is St. Louis, and by near, I mean a 4-5 hour drive.

I think both towns are pretty inexpensive. The answer is probably to choose based on research, advisors, stuff like that.

Svent, thanks for your response. I would like to know a bit more about your experience visiting IU. Did you like the campus?

[IUB_GCDB]

4 hours ago, thepinkdragon76 said:

Having been to the KU Lawrence Campus and the downtown area etc; if you are looking for a more personalized experience and smaller community I would highly recommend KU. The professors are very approachable and interested in student success. It is the reason I keep applying there. Good luck!

I would like to know if you have visited IU before? I mean IU could also offer a personalized experience. I don't know.

[thepinkdragon76]

I have not, and they may offer the same. I just know KU has great programs. I think either one is great, it's all about the fit and what you are looking for.

[svent]

Not sure. I was only there once many years ago at a big conference. Seemed like a pretty big campus, but I didn't really do any exploring. I think I liked the KU campus better, but I was alone there so I had time to explore. Plus I was there last year, so I remember it clearly. I don't think either one has an amazing campus or anything, just go by academic/career factors really.

By the way, I don't think IU is that much bigger than KU. 33k students vs. 28k. I'm just talking undergrads. Wikipedia doesn't have a figure for number of grad students at KU, and I think undergrad is a more useful number anyway (other than the number of grad students in your specific department).

I don't have anything to back this up, but I feel like IU has more students not from the area, while KU is pretty much Kansans only.

[IUB_GCDB]

On 3/9/2016 at 4:32 AM, svent said:

Not sure. I was only there once many years ago at a big conference. Seemed like a pretty big campus, but I didn't really do any exploring. I think I liked the KU campus better, but I was alone there so I had time to explore. Plus I was there last year, so I remember it clearly. I don't think either one has an amazing campus or anything, just go by academic/career factors really.

By the way, I don't think IU is that much bigger than KU. 33k students vs. 28k. I'm just talking undergrads. Wikipedia doesn't have a figure for number of grad students at KU, and I think undergrad is a more useful number anyway (other than the number of grad students in your specific department).

I don't have anything to back this up, but I feel like IU has more students not from the area, while KU is pretty much Kansans only.

Thanks again for your detailed response #svent.  Overall enrollment of IU is 45k vs 26k. I am exploring the research facilities in both departments. I do like both campuses and I just don't want to make a wrong decision as I have to spend 5-6 years.

[svent]

According to Wikipedia, KU has 28k students (probably more now, number from 2014). I don't think grad enrollment is that important of a number (other than schools like USC, where there are more grads than undergrads, which are clearly giant cash cow schools), outside of your own department. A lot of them are in their office all day, a lot of others barely ever come to campus. It's the undergrads who will make things seem crowded.

Before I visited either campus or looked up the numbers, KU certainly seemed bigger, but that's probably just because they have a great basketball team.