Being an out-of-state student, one question I got asked most frequently during Welcome Week was why? Why did I come to IU? Was it for the Kelley School of Business? Jacobs? Why come to Indiana? As a joke to myself, I would always tell the person that their question was great, creative even. Didn't hear this before. They would just look at me confused or wait for me to answer the question. So for all you out-of-state students that are looking at IU, I decided to to ask my freshman out-of-state hoosiers why they chose IU than have me just explain my reasoning. (Yes, the image for this post is a picture of pre-hoosier Marisa with Herman B(ae) Wells)
Audrey Wahl (Psychology, Illinois):I wanted a university that had a good sports program, IU being in the Big 10 conference, and far way to be independent but still close to home. It is also a credible school for all that are from Indiana. I am a direct admit for the College of Arts and Science to study psychology.
Rak Malla (Finance, California):My main reason for choosing Indiana was for the business school. Kelley is one of the top programs for business majors and I am a direct admit for it. I really didn't care about location, but I preferred for the school to have a great sports program.
Will Ganza (Biology, Maine):Being from Maine and going to a small high school, I knew that I wanted to go out of state and to a big university. IU offered to me that big college feel with many majors. I chose biology as my major because I found it interesting in high school, but I am not a direct admit. I love IU and so far it is going great.
Tristan Britt (Physics, Ohio)What first got me looking at schools like IU was when my parents bought a retirement home in Indiana. My guidance counselor was an IU alum and so she told me great things. What drew me towards attending IU was the size and being third in the nation for their physics program. I am loving my classes and IU is a perfect fit for me.
Libby Lambert (Human Biology, Georgia):My mom is actually an alum of IU, and such a big hoosier fan that we would watch the basketball games in the winter. From when I was little, I found that IU was a beautiful campus and still do to this day. I also thought that it would be a great fit for me as a student. I didn't really think about coming to IU until senior year when I got accepted. I knew I didn't want to attend a school in Georgia and going to a big school offers me so many academic opportunities. IU is now my new home.
Hugh Dunbar (Visual Design, Florida)Because I am a visual design major, I didn't want to go to an art school because I felt that I wouldn't be unique and being around art students wouldn't give me the chance to try new things. IU gives me that diversity. When I was visiting IU, I met with professors that were amazing in what they taught and who I could connect with. The students and faculty of IU are great and going here than an art school was the perfect choice for me.
Marisa Johnson (Exploratory, Connecticut):I came to IU because it offered me a wide variety of majors. I never really had any idea of what major I wanted to explore even in high school. At first I thought that I wanted a small liberal arts school in New England or Pennsylvania. I went to a private day school in Connecticut and really liked the feel of small classes. I did go to public school for 9 years, kindergarten through 8th grade, so I have both the feel of an 8 student class to a 25 student class. It wasn't until October of my senior year that I visited UConn and found that I actually liked big schools. A school that has great athletics that I can attend and a plethora of majors for someone who is still figuring it out (which is totally okay to not know what you want to do in university) is the school for me. I learned about IU from my best friend who applied and got in as well (no she's not here, she found her home in one of the coldest places in America, Wisconsin-Madison). I applied to IU late and found out that I got in a few weeks later. IU was the only acceptance letter that I was actually excited to get and I knew when I first visited their website to when I visited IU for a tour that this was the school for me. And I'm ever so happy to be here!
(Me, second to the left, with my new friends at Collins. PC: Rebecca Stewart)
So is IU the place for you? To get an inside glance here is Alyssa's interpretation and Brook's of what makes IU amazing!
Have a **sparkling** day!
~MJ