conjunctions - "Thus" vs. "so" in formal English



Currently there are about 4,000 international students from 110 different nations across the world, thus/so the university offers perfect conditions for socializing and making new friends.



Is this sentence correct formal English? I don't know if I can use "thus" here, or if I should use "so" instead. Or is it better to rephrase as follows?



With about 4,000 international students from 110 different nations across the world, the university offers perfect conditions for socializing and making new friends.



In German we would write the latter, but is it possible to use "with" this way in English?



Answer



Either thus or so would make your first example sentence correct. However, your suggested rephrasing is also correct, and is the form I would recommend.


In the first example, thus and so are both being used as synonyms for therefore and meaning "as a result".


There are many grammatically correct ways to construct a sentence which declares that "because A is true, B is true also." My preference for your rephrasing is based on style and personal opinion, not grammar.


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