Iowa State University
Reviews

Good

I thought the financial aid process went smoothly for me. After I filled out my FAFSA online the school received it in a couple of weeks and I was able to get my aid in a timely manner.

Horrible

The parking scene is not great at all. You have to park at the stadium (granted, there is a bus that runs every 5 minutes from it) which is far from campus. If you want to park on campus, you either have two options: purchase one of the limited parking passes available for one hundred dollars for all year and can only park in 2 parking spots out of the entire campus, or hope you can park at the armory and hope your meter doesn't run out.

Cyclone Nation

Iowa States campus is what finalized my decision on coming to school here. Everything is all in one spot and I could walk around campus for days!

When it comes to sports and community Iowa State gets a good grade. We are very school spirited and is a good school as a whole.

But.. when it comes to financial aid Iowa State can be really slow at giving students financial aid and refund checks. And it seems as though they do anything to squeeze every last penny out of the students.

There are many different places to workout. They just built the State Gym and we also have Lied Rec Center and Beyer Gym.

Overall I give Iowa State a B for academics, opportunities and spirit.

All Four Seasons Year After Year

Since Iowa State is in Iowa we do have harsh winters. Winter is the only season that would really affect the campus experience. The buses are always full and the sidewalks are always slick. Sometimes the city of Ames can slack when it comes to sanding and salting the sidewalks and streets. But besides the winter time the weather doesn't affect the campus experience. Oh! and classes hardly ever get cancelled..

Apartments Rule

The Fredrickson Court apartments at Iowa State are new, furnished, each one has its own washer/dryer, spacious 4- bedrooms feel very homey from the second you move in.

Great Greek Community

Iowa State has an excellent Greek Community consisting of probably over 50 total fraternities and sororities. With that many, there is sure to be a fit for everyone.

Dislike the Greek System

I feel like a lot of people in the greek system here are stuck up, but there are tons of people in the system

Iowa State

Iowa State University has a student population that is very involved in the athletics. However, we are not not only passionate fans, but good losers. We know how to take a lose and use it as motivation for the next challenge we face.

Cyclone Power!

Cyclone Power is something that represents Iowa State athletics. Athletics at ISU is a big part of being a student. Almost everyone attends Iowa State football games (and tailgating!) and basketball games, as well as other sports. The team sports are average but that doesn't change the attitude of the fans! The athletic facilities are awesome and helps provide more energy for the games. Iowa State has many student sections chants and cheers that make the games more like a social gathering or party rather than just a sporting event.

Campus of Real People

One of the reasons I chose ISU is that the students seem like real people, and I have not been disapointed. The negative stereotypes of college students are found few and far between. Overwhelmingly, the student body is friendly, non-clicheish, and more concerned with their studies and having a great campus life than with trying to impress other people.

DINING

We have meal plans and dining dollars that work everywhere on campus. There are dining centers that are buffet style and Convenient stores that you can have a meal bundle that will use meal plans or use dining dollars!

Great Campus!

I think that the campus is what makes Iowa State stand out. It is a beautiful campus with some older buildings with history to them. I love how close and centralized all of the buildings are and if you're in Vet Med, there are buses that take you out to that campus. We have a great central campus where we can frequently eat lunch for special events like Homecoming, Greek Week, or VEISHEA. VEISHEA is also something unique to Iowa State as it celebrates the original seven colleges and is a week long celebration where current students, alumni, and the community can come enjoy information from the colleges,food, live music, and vendors. It is something that everyone looks forward to in the Spring after a long, cold winter.

Greek Life

It seems as if everyone on campus is Greek. When you first meet someone, one of the first questions asked is "what house are you in?" This creates a closeness in the Greek community, but can also be very cliquey and off-putting to non-Greek students.

Enjoyed My Stay

Good maintenance. The dorms are well equipped, and you definitely get what you paid for. The only thing that is unfavorable but is not the University's fault is it is generally a long trek to school buildings unless you live in freshman housing. There is a lot of variety, and the dorms/apartments are updated and clean. One complaint is that there were not always locks on the bathroom, so girls could have been assualted.

Great Food!

the dining options at iowa state are varied and oppulent. The menus change frequently and contain multiple choices of different types of food.

Rampant Alcohol Use

While I haven't seen too much abuse of illegal drugs (except for smoking pot, but who really cares about that?), alcohol is pervasive here. If you live in/near campustown, be prepared for your place to get trashed every weekend by drunk kids. As soon as the weather gets nice, all the houses around campus have students outside playing games and drinking beer.

Social Life

The staff and security want to make sure that all students are safe. although drinking is popular, the school provides lots of other activities to keep students active.

Campus Life

Fun and exciting but you can end up with anyone as a roommate. The on campus apartments are nice and even allow for late night mac & cheese, a students greatest dinner.

Football Madness

Be prepared to cheer on your Cyclones! We are strong and proud of our boys here. They may have a few rough patches to get through during the season but we all still show up (even in snow) to cheer our guys on. Hockey is also a biggie around here, nothing beats a good ole' game of ice hockey.

Our School

Sports are everything at our school. People are continually talking about how exciting the game that night or weekend will be. Teacher even will hold off homework for a day knowing that there is a game that night. We get very much into sports, alwys dressing up having white-out or black-out nights. With our sports we also have great fudraiers for breast, colon and ovarian cancer.

Season's

The food is great!! The have many different options everyday and those options change throughout the day and the week. If you need something to eat between classes than its great too because you can go in and git a to go container of whatever you can fit in the container.

Design World

i am a first year student, and the courses of the core design program keep my schedule fairly hectic. the workload is hard to balance among the required courses. the design building is open 24/7, which is very very helpful when i am working on projects that take hours! all of the professors that i have encountered thus far, have been somewhat helpful. majority of them are very educated, and have great communication skills. but there are few professors that disappointed me. i was not satisfied with their interaction among students, and their particular views. if the professor is in charge of an art studio, they should be able to accept different views on art... and not force their own view down the incoming freshman students. many of my first year design students are changing their majors, outside of college of design!

Great Selection

There are plenty of apartments and houses to rent. They are located in nice neighborhoods.Reasonable pricing.

Outside Is Better, but Facilities Are Pretty Good!

There is pretty good facilities on campus. There will soon be two recreation centers, the new one being one of the largest in the country. The other facilities are nice and they seem to be updated at a regular basis. The Memorial Union seems very up to date for being such an old building and many students go there to eat and study. It also has a hotel, bowling ally, small concert venue and fast food joints.

Iowa State Academics

I initially came to Iowa State because I wanted to experience something different from my home town. I did not know much about the school. The majority of my professors were very helpful to me. This school is very focused on academics.