The University of Tennessee is a public research institution in Knoxville, one of the states largest cities. The UT sports teams compete in the NCAA Division I Southeastern Conference and traditionally draw large crowds during football season.

Iowa State University dwarfs Ames, the small town in which it resides. The large school offers more than 850 student organizations, and sports are a big part of campus life. The Iowa State Cyclones compete in the NCAA Division I Big 12 Conference and share a special rivalry with the University of Iowa Hawkeyes. Despite the Cyclones moniker, the school mascot is a cardinal named Cy because a cyclone was hard to put into costume form. There are more than 60 fraternities and sororities at Iowa State, and most chapters have their own houses. Freshmen do not have to live on campus.There are more than 100 undergraduate majors offered at Iowa State, and, through the Soar in 4 initiative, advisers work with students to ensure they graduate in four years. For a study break, students can take a stroll through the roses in Reiman Gardens or check out more than 2,000 works of art around the campus one of the largest collections at any school in the country. For trips off campus, Des Moines is 30 minutes away.Iowa State University offers highly ranked graduate programs through its College of Veterinary Medicine and College of Engineering, and qualified undergrads can take special courses in human-computer interaction. The university is a land-grant institution, meaning faculty and students work on research projects that better the community as a whole. At the university's Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, researchers work on air quality, biorenewable, crop and livestock, environmental and human health projects. The campus is also home to the Ames Laboratory, a research center for the U.S. Department of Energy. Notable alumni include Bruce Roth, inventor of the medication Lipitor, and Carrie Chapman Catt, co-founder of the League of Women Voters.