University of Iowa
Reviews

Cambus

we have a campus cambus system that is free to all university students and to the Iowa City public. It is super convenient and takes you basically anywhere you need to go on campus.

Its Alright

you're going to have to walk a little bit to get to class....when it rains or is incredibly hot out that becomes a problem and you end up soaking wet in class

Iowa Has Fans for Years

Iowa is a great school to experience many different sporting events. The football games and basketball games are always a blast. The football games are always packed with fans from the whole state of Iowa and all around campus. It's a great athletic experience.

The Quintessential College Town

I am a U of I graduate currently pursuing my Master's out of state. EVERYTHING about the U of I experience trumps what I've experienced elsewhere. Professors are very knowledgeable, and willing to go out of their way to help for the most part. The night life is happening every night, especially Thursday-Saturday. Whatever your style, there are establishments close by that cater to what you're all about--truly a renaissance town. I wouldn't trade my four years at Iowa for any other school in the country. The education, the night life, the sporting culture, the acceptance of people from all walks of life--everything a college town should be and more. Seriously, if you feel like the university and/or the city isn't offering what you need, you just aren't looking hard enough. There is a place for everyone at the U of I and in Iowa City.

Whatever You're Into

If you're looking for drugs, you can find them in Iowa City. It's not constantly "in your face," but if you're so inclined, you'll find what you're looking for. Conversely, it's just as easy to remove yourself from that culture altogether.

Whatever You Want, We Got It.

Iowa City is an oasis in the otherwise fairly bland cultural landscape that is Iowa. No matter what your interests are, you can find other people and institutions that share them. It's a very liberal town that is very accepting of various lifestyles, beliefs, interests, etc. If you can't find a crowd that suits your interests in Iowa City, you're not looking hard enough. Everyone is welcome here--you have your hippies, meatheads, nerds, rockers, straight-laced academic types, etc, etc, etc. It's also one of the most gay-friendly cities in the country and generally a very open-minded place. Great music scene, great sports culture, and great night life. Whatever you're looking to get into, you'll find it in Iowa City. I did my undergrad at the University of Iowa and have since moved onto graduate school in another state, and I find myself missing Iowa City constantly.

Food-Crawl

Plenty of great restaurants in the area, and most of it is really affordable! Go to Short's for the burgers (get the #4 the Dundee. I know a fried egg on a burger seems weird but once you have one you'll be converted), Donnelly's for gigantic half-price wings on the weekend (Guinness BBQ sauce is the best), and Saloon if you're in the mood for mexican. Falbo's has some of the greatest pizza, and Paliai's is amazing too! Get the pokey sticks at least once. Givanni's is super classy, but a little more pricey so take someone special there!

Reasons Why I Chose the University of Iowa

I will be attending University of Iowa in the fall of 2012 for many reasons. Not only is the medical program at University of Iowa ranked in the Top 10 of the country but they have also graduated many of the top medical researchers in the United States as well. I loved the fact that outside of the classroom there are over 50 different student lead organizations to get even more involved in the health community. After visiting the campus I was welcomed by not only fellow classmates but by faculty as well. I was made aware that professors will take any extra time, if you schedule with them, to help you further understand any material that you're not grasping. I felt Iowa was overall a great campus with a very vibrant feel.

Drugs

what ever you want they got. its not uncommon to smell weed in the dorms and drug use is more prevalent than usual

Not Too Severe

The RA's in the dorms are pretty lax, they will definitely overlook certain things if you are being respectable with alcohol. If you are being an idiot, obviously they will write you up. The police are the same way. If you are being smart and respecting people around you and them they will usually let you off with a warning or just leave you alone completely. If you are being rude they WILL write you up. Just doing their jobs though - I don't blame them, I wouldn't want to put up with rude little brats 24/7 either.

We're Number 4 for a Reason

Students don't care what day of the week it is, if they want to drink they will. Drinking is a pretty big thing here at Iowa. It's strange for student to not go out and party of the weekends.

Strictness

Strictness is limited, but everyone needs to be careful when it comes to drinking in the residence halls, although its possible, and a lot of people do it, security guards are allowed to look through trash and listen in to doors. Unless you're really drunk, you won't get caught.

Athletic Centers

The CRWC - Campus Recreation and Wellness Center - is state of the art and has everything one needs to stay healthy and relieve stress at school. From a rock-climbing wall to an olympic-sized pool to a large free weight area to 2 floors of cardio machines to a Tropical Smoothie station with healthy smoothies, this place has it all!

Police Are Very Present on Weekends; a Large Majority of People Drink

Alcohol is only visible outside the dorms in the bars where you can buy it. Bouncers check id's very closely.

Campus Buildings

The facilities are U of I are pretty good. Some of the buildings where classes are held are fairly old and need a newer look in my opinion. They just built a new rec center and it's really nice and modern. I love that. The library is a good place to study and the students use it a lot. The majority of the dorms need remodeling though, I don't think they're worth what we pay for in tuition. I mean, there's no central air in any of them. It's 2011. Update your dorms Iowa. And stop spending all that money on football.

UI

You can get almost anywhere on cambus. One comes to a stop about every 10 minutes and it is FREE! I wouldn't suggest bringing a car because parking is EXPENSIVE!

Hit up Downtown!

Downtown Iowa City is the place to be during the weekends. Although the bar age limit is 21, knowing people who work at the bars and having connections usually can get you into any bar. The underage nightlife is very active. Either your at a house party or downtown ever weekend. For transportation, usually the way to go is a cab, they are everywhere and you will not have a hard time jumping into a random one with a group of people if you need to!

Campus Activities

This is definetely a college town. Downtown (where campus is) theres a number of bars and clubs, and the music scene is great-tons of bans come through a lot. Football here is HUGE. Everyone tailgates. Theres a lot of cool thrift store downtown too. If you want to go to a mall, you need to drive to Coralville- its just 10 minutes away. Its a decent mall with all the usual stores. Also theres a lot of art festivals and what now. Movies are offered at the Iowa Memorial Union for 2$ a person, and free comedy shows come through too (for example, the woman who played Stiflers mom in American Pie did a show here). Basically, theres always stuff to do. Its a laid back atmosphere around campus.

Guys and Girls

Well, just like any school some of the people are super hot, while some are just average. As for how people dress, its pretty much anything goes. You can get people who dress up everyday to sweatpants and sweatshirts. A lot of the attire is black and gold to support the school colors.

Off Campus Housing Monopoly, Dorms Are Alright-Mostly Freshman

Freshman year dorms are your best bet, good to get to know people. They're not bad for the most part, you need to apply for them as soon as you get in if you want to get your first choice. Burge has the biggest rooms & a dining hall. Currier is next door. Hillcrest is further from classes but closer to the football stadium & hospital, its nice, houses mostly athletes & has the better food. Rienow & Slater are really small but not bad. Quad is mainly upperclassmen. Mayflower is really far but there's a bus, this is usually where all the latecomers end up. Daum is the honors dorm and stanley is connected to currier.

As for off campus housing, Apartments Downtown/Near Campus owns almost every property near campus. They take advantage of college students, VERY sloppy repairs/maintenance people (aka students who get paid minimum wage to "fix" a drawer in their spare time). Don't count on getting your deposit back either. If you can, try to find an apartment/house not owned by these companies (which are essentially run by the same person). There are not many new complexes either. Only one nice "luxury" apartment building for undergrads. As for pricing, the closer to campus the more expensive your rent is for the most part. Cost of living off campus is near the same as living in the dorms, less if you can make your own food & turn off your lights. Leasing starts in December/January for the next year & the good places go fast.

Alcohol Controversy

The City of Iowa City recently passed a law prohibiting anyone under 21 from being in a bar past a certain hour. This caused an uproar on campus and bar owners. House parties increased in number since. If you don't mind staying in to have drinks, then everything is fine.

Great Programs at Iowa

The University of Iowa has great programs in engineering, nursing, athletic training and physical therapy to just name a few. It has one of the top Physical Therapy programs in the country and with the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa is a terrific place to start a nursing career.

Football and Every Other Sport

Football is the priority sport at the University. School spirit is thrilling and the stands are always cramped full, even when it's snowing outside. People from citites all throughout Iowa to come support the Hawkeyes.

As far as other sports go, our wrestling team is top notch. While there is less support for these men, they are very talented and successful in their matches.

We have excellent facilities not only for Division sports but also clubs.

Weather Is Terrible.

It seldom rains and it is very dry. My skins are even ruptured. SO I hate here.

Greeks Are the Background

At the University of Iowa there really isn't too much of a Greek life. You might see some of them at the beginning of the year to get people to rush, but other than that Greek life is only visible on the weekends where people go to party.