Iowa State University Top Questions

I wish i would of known more about the Greek community here at Iowa State. It wasn't till after i got up here that i herd about how strong the Greek community and houses are. You from great bonds with new people and "rushing" was a way that freshman could get intertwined with the older student and prospective mentors.

I wish I would have known that it's okay to not know what you're doing all the time. I came as an Open Option major and stressed way too much about it, and it ended up being fine. I later chose a major I never would have thought I would have chosen, but I love it. I also wish I would have known how to study effectively--something high school did not teach me at all.

I wish I had been more informed about the transportation and activities around campus. I had to find the information myself and now I have am subscribed to emails for updates for different departments i'm interested in.

Before I came to this school, I wish I had known about the overwhelming financial cost.

I wish i had known to try to get more scholarships before attending Iowa State. I just wish i had realized how expensive going to college is.

I wish I would have known more about the scholarships offered through the university and where they are located on the school's webpage.

How quiet it can be in Ames. I am from a city and the silence took some getting use to.

I wish I would have realized how far away from home I was. I live down by St. Louis, Missouri and it is a 6.5-7 hour drive to Ames. But, meeting a lot of great people helped the college transformation move easily.

I wish I had known all of my options for majors, I should have gone in undecided and tested out a lot of different classes and experienced it all before I made a decision.

Everything is overpriced, and the students at Iowa State University have the highest student debt on average of any school in the country.

I wish I knew that partying is not as important as we think it is. Studying and doing well in classes is the main priority while in college.

I wish I knew how to study for tests. I just breezed by in high school without being challenged. It would have been nice to know how to properly prepare for an exam and how to prepare for finals

I thought I would do well in school since I did really well in high school, however the classes are much more work than I anticipated. I learned quickly that in order to succeed, a lot of time and care must be put into each class.

The prospective life; i wish i had paid a visit before hand.

I wish i would have known more about the scholarships and activities offered at Iowa State University.

I wish I had known that I should have engaged myself more with every single person I met, in order to make more friendships.

I wish I would have known more about school traditions before I came. It would have saved me from asking a lot of seemingly "dumb questions" to upperlcassmen!

I wish I would have known about all of the great opportunities Iowa State has to offer. I am currently a part of the Gerdin Citizenship Program, Sigma Kappa Sorority, and Hall Council but I am excited to get even more involved this next school year. There are hundreds of clubs on campus and I am bound to find a few that match what I am looking for. There are also leadership positions in councils and programs that would allow me to grow as a student here at Iowa State. I can't wait for next year!

Something I wish that I would have know before coming to this school is how the bus system worked. Iowa State students are blessed to have a great transportation system that will take you anywhere on campus and around the city of Ames. The only confusing thing is, what bus to take, and what stop to get off at. With this knowledge getting to where you want to go becomes a lot less stressful.

Before I came to Iowa State University, I wish I would have known how much I could get involved in and how exactly to balance my activities with my classes. I wish I would have known the best way to make my schedule and balance it out with my other activities. However I found out when I got here that it is very possible and I am happy with how it turned out.

Everyone is scared, everyone is insecure and unsure. Going to university doesn't mean you'll suddenly be an adult, or have everything figured out, because in reality no one does. It's OK to mess up, change your mind about your major, not be totally 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} on what you want to do for the rest of your life because it's hard to know that when you've only lived less than a fourth of your life.

Before I came to school, I wish I would have known how much there is to get involved with. Iowa State has over 600 clubs and organizations and there are many opportunities to get involved. I am so glad I chose to join a sorority and without it I wouldn't have come across a lot of the organizations I am now involved with. But, knowing before-hand would have prepared me in knowing just what I wanted to pursue since there are so many!

I wish I would have known what to expect so I wouldn't have fallen behind during my first semester of classes. I didn't know where to go for student help centers and where to even sign up for a tutor. Figuring out the campus and how it works is a major advantage to succeeding in college.

I feel like everything went well for me coming into college at Iowa State University. There isn't anything that I wish I would have known other than that my residence hall was a bit antisocial.

that some of the curriculum sucks, classes sometimes don't actually teach abd then test over random stuff, and priority (largely financial aid) is race based so if your a white male from a middle class family with not too much money don' expect as much aid as others who are in better financial shape and get more aid because of their race or because they are a woman.

I came to Iowa State University totally unprepared for what college life was going to be like. I wish I had known what to expect out of my classes. People had told me that since I was a good student in high school college would be easy for me. I came in not thinking the classes would be that hard but it was like a slap in the face. I had to work twice as hard, if not more, than I did in high school to get the same grades and I had almost no free time to do it!

I wish I would have know what I was in for. Leaving my parents and my comfort zone behind was hard but I had no idea how different it was going to be independent from them. It is not a bad thing, not at all but it took some getting used to. There were the basics, like having to fold my own laundry but I also had to learn to manage my time and my life. I had to make decisions for myself without asking my parents if they were okay. I have adjusted and now I thrive.

So far, I haven't found many things that I wish I would have known before I came here. It's nice finding out things for my own. It is all part of the journey.

I wish I would have known that coming to college isn't like leaving your life at home for good. It seems more like a long vacation type of idea. I can still communicate with my old friend, even if we don't get to see each other as much as we would like to. I knew I would get homesick when coming to college but it hasnt been as bad as I thought it would be. When I go home for school breaks it seems like I never left.

I wish I had better understood how large the school and campus were. Sometimes it can almost be overhwhelming. I also wish I knew that the school was very agriculurally based.

I wish I would have known what the level of work is and how often assignment are assigned. Also I wish I would have been prepared for better time management and real world skills.

I wish I had known that there aren't any cliques in college LOL

Which sides of campus had which major's buildings

You may not know what you want to do with your life. However, there are so many opportunities to learn about your passions. Take every opportunity to travel, learn culture, and grow as an individual. Iowa State University will challenge you in and out of the classroom, and these experiences will make you grow.

I wish I had known a little more about dorm life before I came to Iowa State. I chose a dorm that was not right for me at first and moved into a new one halfway through the year. Because of this, I lost the chance of becoming very close to my dorm floor. A lot of people make friends this way at ISU, and I wish I would have been a little more aware of that before it was too late.

I wish I had known how easy it is to make friends as long as you put yourself out there and are friendly. Keep your dorm door open when you are studying! Join clubs! Don't sequester yourself away from everyone!

Before coming to Iowa State I wish I had a better sense of what major I wanted to commit to. I have switched my major twice now and it can get a little stressfull.

I wish I had known how to study before coming to Iowa State because that would have made the first semester much easier.

I wish I would have known not to worry about making friends at college, it just comes naturally. This would have taken a lot of unnecessary stress off my shoulders. Due to the fact that I am from South Dakota, I didn't really have many friends coming into college, so making friends became one of my biggest worries. The first couple of weeks were difficult because I didn't really have many friends, but once I was able to relax and just be myself, then everything began to fall into place and I started gaining friends.

You do not have to be alone when you go to college, and you do not need to solve every problem by yourself. There are people everywhere who are willing and able to help you succeed; all you have to do is look for them.

Before coming to ISU, I wish I would have known how to get involved in all the opportunities the university had to offer. Everyone mentioned clubs, greek life, etc, but not HOW to get involved. I am starting my second semester and am still discovering new opportunies through emails and posters, but not information on how to be a part of it!

I wished I would have had developed my study skills a lot more. College is a whole new ball game. It requires much more studying than high school and studying takes up more of your time.

I did not know about all the available majors at Iowa State. I came into the school as a chemical engineer, but quickly found that I did not want to be a Chemical Engineering. I switched into Food Science after my first semester, but I would have gone in with that major if I had known there was even such a thing. My high school advisor only ever touched upon the most common degrees, and I wished that I had known that there were other options going into college.

I wish I would have known how much of a transition college life was from highschool life and been more prepared for the transition.

I wish I had known just how much work it would have been to stay involved with activities and get good grades.

If I were to do it all over again, I would have become more mindful of the agricultural way of life. I have met many students raised on farms and felt quote alienated. I would visit farms and speak to farmers and possibly help with some chores. It would be humbling and interesting experience. I would also prepare myself to study more vigorously as the semesters continue on. I would get more help from professors, tutors, and fellow classmates in order to achive greatness academically.

i wish i would have known how to get around the campus. I also wish i would have known more about the differance between living on campus and living off campus.

I wish I had known more about scholarship opportunities. Also get involved. The university has a week long celebration in the spring that promotes unity throughout the different colleges. It's the best week, and it's a nice break before finals!

I wish I had known that the campus at Iowa State is not that diversely populated. Instead, you get to see alot of people all the time from the same background having the same race and sharing the same views.

I wish I would have known the schedule and routes of the campus bus system, CyRide. I was extremely nervous to get on the buses because I was unsure where it would take me, among other things. Once I got the hang of things I realized how great CyRide really is and regret not being able to take full advantage of it from the beginning of the year.