Iowa State From An Out Of State Perspective

Introduction
Iowa State is such a feel-good kind of school. We have no groups that segregate in corners or people who make you feel bad. That is why I like living in the town of Ames. If I gave you advice, it would be that Iowa State University is a good school to come to if you want to be yourself and not stress about what you wear or what people think of you. I choose Iowa State because of the beautiful campus. I loved walking around it when I went on the tour. I think that day as I was walking around campus, I had butterflies in my stomach just thinking I could be a student here. I had a great feeling about the campus. We do have great academics at Iowa, but for me it was mainly the campus.

Stay away from Iowa State if you are considered a "Valley girl" at your high school or if you like to dress up a lot. Iowa State is very relaxed and you will soon find that academics are much more important then appearance. People pride themselves in schoolwork and attendance here. You should be responsible and easygoing to fit in. The typical student at Iowa State is in an ISU sweatshirt and jeans. If you can wear that every day and have a good attitude, then you will fit in well. I would strongly suggest you look online at the schools home page www.iastate.edu for more information on the school. You should also come to campus and walk around. Get the feel of the Library and see if you like it. Imagine yourself there for the next 4 years. And again, before you decide, my biggest piece of advice is to walk around it, even if it’s with your parents. Just spend a few days at a hotel in town to get to know the town and walk around it. Start walking and repeat your steps over and over. That way you won’t be worried the first day of classes. Also, if you get accepted: look at your schedule and try to find the rooms of each class. Don’t rush when you look for your classes. I can’t stress that enough. Take it easy and you will find what you are looking for. If you don’t go and find where your classes are before you start school, you will be late to your classes and that’s embarrassing. You don’t want people looking at you.

Campus Life and Social Life
The best part of social life is the clubs we have. I can’t count the number of clubs but we have like everything, so it’s easy to meet people who are similar to you and talk with new people. We have "Club Fest," where new students go to see all the clubs we have here. When you go, you will find new people just like you that are in same direction of life so you won’t feel so lonely if you are a newcomer to ISU. I joined the Spanish club and I don’t even speak Spanish, but people there were interested in traveling and so am I. It worked out perfectly.

Campus life is nice and sweet. You can hang out in the Memorial Union, which is the area where people eat or in the Sun Room, where we have a piano. The school is so relaxing that I find I can sit anywhere with out being nervous I am in the wrong place at the wrong time. People generally go to class, then go back home to their dorms or apartments or meet in the food court.

Weekends are what you make of them. This town is simple to understand and it's easy to take the bus anywhere in the area. It’s so safe we actually have free buses if you are an ISU student, which take you to the mall or drop you off at the store, even the movie theatre! It’s cool! So if you come here and check the campus out, get on one of the big red buses and tour the town. It won't take long so don’t be shy about it. Your parents or friends can ride for 50 cents. If there is a worst part of weekends, it’s the fact that this town has one main strip of restaurants/bars and if you want to go somewhere else, you have to drive 45 mins. I personally don’t mind because I don’t go out a lot. I have friends over and we go to the movie theatre or dinner, then just play board games and talk. You will meet people in the dorms, but you have to be open and friendly. We also have Frats and Sororities if that's your thing: you can look them up on the web site. I know those kids do a lot of partying and some have to work to keep up their GPAs, but beyond that I don’t know too much about the Greek Scene. Sports are huge here. Everyone goes to the games and the players are in the newspaper like every day. You can pay attention to it if you want, or if you are not interested you can do your own thing. Advertisement
Academics
Almost every department has its own building and people who specialize in a specific department. I’m in the LAS department, which has a beautiful building on the outside. In my department, we have tons of resources to use, like finding a career and stuff like that. People are always willing to help you if you ask. Also many people don’t know things about their respective departments until they see it or ask and that was one thing that angered me so much. I had to find everything on my own. Once you get to know Iowa States campus it’s a piece of cake walking around, but when you are new it’s scary for the first time. Just as any new place can seem hard to adjust to. But trust me: you will love the campus.

This is a great school for Engineering. People come from out of state just to go here so yes, the academics are very good. I’ve had teachers who graduated from Yale and Harvard and decided to take up teaching here. I think that is pretty impressive. I was shocked when they told the class that and I realized Iowa State is a good school. All of my Professors have been easy to talk to. Except for one and I wont name and names, but I dropped that class. TAs are very laid-back, I have a TA in my class now and we say hi when we walk by each other on campus.

My workload is what I made of it. The harder the classes, the more work you'll obviously have, depending on what you study. FCEDS is much easer than Engineering, of course. I feel like I learn a lot here. One of my teachers, Mrs.Fromm, is the best teacher I've had to date. If you come here, take a class with her! She is so relaxed and talkative. She teaches LAS 350 A and LAS 350 B. I love her class. Her husband also teaches at Iowa State. You will see what your workload will be like at the beginning of classes from your syllabus so if it’s too difficult you can change into another class.

Student Body
Most of the students are from Iowa or Minnesota or states around Iowa. We have out of state students like me but not that many. Usually they come to play sports or they have a scholarship or their families moved out here. Engineering also brings many students here. We have exchange students from all around the world. Some are from China and others from Africa. I like talking to them. The typical student here is very casual and we wear comfortable clothing to school. You will find students on their cell phone, or with I-pods pressed to their ears. Most students are polite and helpful. A typical day in the life of your average student here involves waking up, going to class, working at a part-time job, then coming home. Some students are into music, others into plays the University has, others into just studying all the time.

Our student body is great here. They listen to you and respect everyone’s voices. They spend like 25 hours a week at ISU to develop things and talk about new issues.

In Closing...
I am a transfer student here and it took me some time to adjust to Iowa. Now that I have been here one year, I appreciate the lifestyle. Iowa State University has opened up doors for me. I found out things here that I would have missed out on in life if I didn’t accept my application.

People who graduate from here are successful. You can study abroad here, do internships here and ride your bike to campus on a warm sunny day. People also skateboard or rollerblade. I am happy I picked this University. It’s comfortable.