Iowa State University Top Questions

The worst thing about Iowa State University is that some of the professors have strong accents and are difficult to understand at times.

The worst thing about my school is its location. The small town can be nice and quiet, but that is the reason why the location is a downside. I come from a beautiful, busy suburb of Minnesota with scenery that does not contain cows and cornfields. I miss the lakes and the hills when I am in Iowa.

The worst thing about my school would have to be the size and number of students enrolled at Iowa State Universtiy. Having a high number of students attending my school I find it is harder to get help from professors or TA's due to the large amount of students needing help as well. Another negative aspect of having a large amount of students is the atmosphere it provides leaving myself feeling alone not connected to others around me. This is the worst thing about my school because of the time taken away from learning.

overcrowding and their desire to continue to increase in numbers.

The worst thing about Iowa State is the amount of people attending it. I came from a very small community college in Iowa City and am overwhelmed by the large class sizes, busy buildings, and crowded campus. Though in many ways this adds to the character and charm of ISU, I would rather a smaller university. Core classes are taken in huge lecture halls and are approximately 200 to 300 students. Smaller major-orientated courses are around 30-50. Comparatively, my community college classes was about fifteen students. There's a more personal touch and initimate learning in that environment.

The worst thing about Iowa State would have to be how cold the campus gets in the winter. Now I realize this is Iowa, but I did not fully comprehend how cold it would get and how far I would have to class on a daily basis. I brought a winter coat to college, but that was not enough. Iowa State is also very flat so when the wind blows, there is nothing to stop it. Preparing to go out into the cold has become a task. One must have multiple layers of clothing on each body part.

I do not see any downsides to Iowa State. There is a place for everyone, and there is always something to get involved in.

I think the worst thing about the school is the price of out of state tuition. Being a student who had a 4.2 gpa, graduated top 5 percent of her class and had a 30 on the ACT, the scholarships available barely covered half of my tuition. I almost could not attend this school because the price was so high.

I would have to say the sheer amount of snow during winter on campus can really drag you down. The university does its best to clear the sidewalks and roads, which is wonderful, otherwise getting to class on time would be a hard feat to manage!

The worst thing about ISU is the work load sometimes. I can seem as if all the professors decided to make things due all the same week.

Most of the students are from the surrounding towns or somewhere in Iowa so I felt like an outsider at first because I was from Chicago

The worst thing about my school is the competition for leadership positions. A great majority of active students want to hold the small percentage of available leadership positions that all companies are looking for perspective employees to have. With so many students competing for the same leadership roles it is very competitive. At the same time, this problem also demonstrates the desire that students at Iowa State University have to be campus leaders.

There are not many bad things at Iowa State. The only thing I can say is that the food options are not as great as I would like and the desserts are only so-so.

The worst thing about my school is the large class sizes and general size of the campuses. It's very easy to feel like just another face in the crowd here, and it's often difficult to make appointments with advisors outside of class because of their workload and the amount of students they have to deal with.

There aren't many things that I don't like about this school. One thing I would have to say that has discouraged me is that the parking situation is horrendous. Probably the worst thing about it though, is that there is a large discrepancy between in-state and out-of-state tuition. As an out-of-state student, it is difficult to see Iowa residents paying a third of what I pay and getting tuition freezes while my tuition gets hiked.

I have yet to find something I can't stand. I love the campus, the cultural diversity, the way the courses are centralized online (making homework and communication easier), the sense of community, the excitement of the crowds, and the home-town feel of Ames. It is perfect.

Getting from class to class can be difficult in ten minutes since the campus is pretty large. Other than that I've had no complaints about Iowa State.

The only bad thing about Iowa State is that it is very knowledge based. So they strive for strong academic kids. You have to work very hard to get good grades and you can't slack off. Also there isn't much to do on weekends other than drink, which is something I don't want to do anymore, it gets old.

What I consider to be the worst thing about Iowa State is the fact that the school has been growing so much, attendance wise, that there needs to be more living options available to students. I love that this school has become so popular in recent years, they just need to find ways to accomodate living for so many people.

The increasing popularity of the school and increasing student population.

I honestly cannot even come up with the worst thing about my school. I'm not saying that to say that--I genuinely love everything about it. I have had incredible experiences and have grown so much as a person through my college experiences so far. I could not be happier going to this school.

The only bad thing I can think of about our university, is that out of state residents - which I am - have to pay so much for tuition. It is extremely expensive.

I do not have any complaints yet because i am starting my first year at Iowa State.

The price to attend for non-resident students. I feel that regardless of where one gets their education, the information should not cost more for individuals who are citizens of the country in which the institution is located. Some states and areas are stonger in certain fields than others, so why should students have to pay for wanting to be better in an unfamilar area of knowledge in which they are accustomed to? I feel this a little unfair.

The worst thing about my school is the lack of diversity and openness amoung the students. Many of the professors and Univeristy staff are diverse and have a sense of openess that isn't present in the student population. This doesn't lead to as much personal growth as I might have at other instiutions.

If you own a car parking is seriously terrible, some building are pretty old because of the age of the school.

The only thing that I can complain about Iowa State University is the cost of attendence, but paying for college is expensive at multiple schools and not just Iowa State. Tuition seems to always be going up. I also like having a close relationship with my professors and at Iowa State that can sometimes be harder to acheive since there are many students.

The meal plans are very expensive. I'm a smaller girl who is gluten intolerant and can only eat so much. There is no way I can eat enough food to make the meal plan valuable, but it is required.

The amount of money that is needed to remain an undergraduate student is a bit high, but worth the cost nonetheless.

The worst part of ISU is that there are over 800 different clubs and organizations to join. You simply wont be able to be part of everything that you are interested in during your time at ISU, and need to decide where your passion burns the brightest. This is the worst, because many of us Cyclones want to devote our time to helping many different causes, but to make a large impact, you need to devote time to each individual program. To conclude, this detriment may actually be a benefit if you want to become involved in multiple areas.

The worst thing about my school is that the tuition and also the dorms and apartments in the area are very expensive.

The worst part about Iowa State is when teachers have tests during VEISHA.

It's really hard to find a flaw in my school, but if I had to choose one it would be the parking division. As a freshmen, it was really hard to secure a spot in the dorm lots. I had to park in the stadium, forever away. I would park my car at drop off zones or staff parking for a brief period of time to grab something from my room and come back to tickets. The parking division hands out tickets left and right. I had a total of close to 20 by the end of this year.

The cold. I was born and raised in Hawaii. This is my second year here in Iowa and realyl dislike winter

Sometimes the sheer size of the school can be daunting.

I realize that this isn't specific to any one school, but there are distractions, so many distractions. These can be fun, but they can be harmful too because you can get caught up in all your friends you're making, clubs you're in and anything else, but you can lose track of the reason you are where you are: school. Many people have an issue with this, and having a reasonable work ethic and it detracts from your ability to deal with class, and then once you fall behind it's hard to catch up.

The worst part aout my school is that sometimes you classes can be really spread out on campus, but there is a bus system that is free to students that helps make it easier to get to class.

Not getting the appropriate roomate really can throw you for a loop. If you experience this it can be pricey to switch rooms. Other than that some difficult things is keeping focused in class when there is 300 other students.

The worst thing about my school is that it costs a lot and there isn't reciprocity with Minnesota. Other than that I cannot think of anything, I really like my school.

The worst thing about my school is that a lot of good restaurants are faraway from campustown.

There is really nothing that makes this univerisity bad. But more foreign language classes would be helpful. I'd like to learn Latin.

There are huge class sizes in the lower level classes. This is particularly bad but it does make it hard to get help from the teacher in a class that big. There is almost always things that help you outside of class that the university puts on.

I am new to Iowa State University, and I have only experienced a small section of the campus. I wouldn't say there is a "worst" thing, but something I don't particularly enjoy is the unclear options of majors in the College of Design. I feel like I would have a more solid direction that I am headed in had I been explained the difference between majors instead of being pushed and encouraged into the Bachelor of Design major.

In my opinion, the worst thing about my school is the size. At a school where you're just one of 30,000+ students, it's very easy to get lost in the crowd, especially if you're not one to advocate for yourself. Of course, it does provide a great learning atmosphere to become aquainetd with the real world; as an adult, you have to make yourself recognized by people in order to be successful in your career.

I love Iowa State, so it's hard to pick a worst thing. But if I had to think of something it would be the lack of food choices. You can get sick of the dining hall food really fast, and there's nothing else to eat with a meal plan. It also feels really unhealthy.

The dining centers play the most obnoxious music, and they're expensive (but the food's really nice).

It's in Iowa, so the weather is ridiculously cold at times. Most days during the winter I have to wear a coat and hat, otherwise I'm extremely miserable.

The worst thing about my school is the bus systems. Since our campus is so big student rely on the bus transportation system. The problem is the buses don't circulate often enough which is really unfortunate during the cold winter months. They are also always jam packed with students and the drivers look about twenty years old and make frequent abrupt stops.

The worst thing is that it is in a "small town" that is surrounded by farm land, so it is always really windy. Even though we are in the middle of Iowa, often times you would think we are in Minnesota because of the weather!

The larger classes are lectured with professors. Then if there is any addition to the class (lab or other), it is taught by a teaching assistant. Any smaller classes are taught by teaching assistants as well. The hardest part about this is the teaching assistants do not all speak very clearly (in English).