Iowa State University Top Questions

I wish that I had known how challenged I would actually be when going to college. I knew it would be more difficult than high school but I didn't realize how much more difficult it would be. In college, A's don't just come to you anymore, it takes work. First semester will be the hardest and most challenging semester but second semester is when you find where you fit in and establish a routine. Through it all, don't forget to have fun! You are only in college once. Discover who you are.

I wish I would have known the study skills I know now. My GPA is still below where I need it to be, almost solely because of the first two semesters that I didn't take seriously enough. I wish I had known the ramifications of my low grades when I was a freshman. That would make things a lot easier now.

It is better to speak with an adivsor sooner than later.

One of the only things that I regret not knowing before I started attending Iowa State University is how much I would miss my family. Being seven hours away from home, it is sometimes difficult to come back home to visit. I also recognize from many other students that we can quite frequently get wrapped up in our life at school, that finding time to travel can sometimes appear as a challenge. Another thing that I wish I would have realized is how difficult the financial responsibilities would become.

No one is going to tell you what you are best at or what career you should persue. Thats something you have to decide on your own and if you aren't certain by your sophomore year, you are probably wasting thousands of dollars on classes that won't help you to graduate with the credits you really need.

I wish that I had known about the in-field jobs that are available. I got a job programming while I am a Computer Engineering Student! There are a million jobs on campus if you just look for them and many off campus!

I wish I would have known how to better manage my time and just how mych work the classes would be. I had learned time management skills that will be very useful in the future as well. There was definitely a difference in the work load here from what it was in high school. With a bit of effort I was able to balance school, work, and free time.

Before I came to college, I wish someone would have taught me to manage my time better. I am slowly getting better, but at the start of the year, I was having trouble managing my time. You really need to prioritize and set goals for yourself in order to be most successful. It is very important to put school work first and save fun for later, but it can be a hard lesson to learn sometimes.

I wish I would have known more about it so I could have come sooner. I refused to look at Iowa State when I got out of high school because it was "The Cyclones" so I choose a school further away and didn't do as well and dropped out. Had I realized how nice it was, how it was away from home but not too far, I probably would have finished my degree years earlier.

How important it is to attend class. This does not only apply to my school.

Through high school, I got easy A's, but at college I'm finding that I actually have to read my textbooks and that studying is vital to doing well on exams. I was expecting college to be difficult, but I am finding that the studying is much more in depth than I'm used to. I also was surprised that I met so many new people so quickly!

How to study and prepare for tests. In high school I never really had to study much for anything. Having that mentality really burned me my first year and it really took a hit on my GPA. Now that I know what I have to do I am not as worried about my classes and am able to focus a lot easier.

I wish I would have known more about my finances before coming to this school. I pay out of state tuition to go here, and it is very expensive, but completely worth it.

Before coming to Iowa State University I wish someone would have told me to take advantage of every opportunity to get involved, even if it's something small and seemingly insignificant. It opens the doors to so many chances to grow in leadership, experience, maturity. It's also a great way to establish a sense of community at Iowa State University and make it feel like home, it makes the transition into college so much easier.

How to balance everything out

I wish I would’ve done more work on researching internship opportunities. At Iowa State it is mandatory for my major in Apparel Merchandising to find an internship out of Iowa. I have to do the internship this summer so researching the different companies for possible internships is really taking away from my studies. I wish I would’ve spent more time beforehand researching that way I would be more prepare now than what I am.

Go to every meet-and-greet thing you can when you first get here. You will meet people you will be friends with for the next four years.

Nothing more than I already did. It was very welcoming.

I wish I would have looked into the scholarship opportunities more before getting here. I have to attend my first semester with a student loan and now I have realized how many financial opportunities there are here.

High school classes do not adequately prepare you for the amount of work you need to do for college classes, especially in the engineering major.

nothing really. i was well informed when making my choice

I think that I was well prepared to come here.

I wish I had known that rooming with one of my friends wasn't the best idea. It would've saved me a lot of time and less effort moving all of my things twice.

I wish I had known what my major was going to be before I came instead of coming in undecided. I felt like I was a little behind when I finally did choose.

I wish that I had known not to stress so much over college and being able to fit in. Everyone has a place at Iowa State and there are so many options for students to get involved that it’s really easy to meet new people and make friends. I wish that I had also known how to take advantage of financial aid and scholarships when trying to pay for tuition. It would have really helped me pay for my out of state bill in the long run.

I wish I'd known how involved I now want to be. I didn't set myself up to be very involved, and now I'm having a hard time getting into clubs/activities because I can't get to them.

I would have liked to know how the room I was living in was set up. My dorm room was very small and I had trouble finding places for the appliances I brought.

If you want to live off campus in a good apartment find it in January or February.

Honestly, my main mistake was not taking the advantages I had to apply for scholarships. The cost of the instituion rises per year and my family and I cannot pay for schooling for me without any financial help.

Nothing, an older sibling had attended so I was fairly well informed.

I wish that I would have had more help in deciding which major I wanted to be in, as well as advising help on which classes to sign up for. I also wish that I had received more help and had more knowledge about opportunities to receive help with financing for college. It would have been helpful to get an idea what was avaiable to students as far as resources on campus, as well as extracurricular activites.

What i wish i would had known before coming to Iowa State University is how fast four college years pass by, what a great experience it was going to be and how i should not take a single day for granted. Staying positive and trying my hardest at everything i do is very important now.

I can't think of anything that I wish I'd known, that I didn't. I made sure to ask a lot of questions from admissions, financial aid, student services, my individual colleges, etc.

I wish I had known that this school has a very intense Engineering program with little room for error. High school was such a breeze that I did not have to pay much attention or put much effort into any one piece of work to do well. However that is absolutely not the case at Iowa State University. I brought that slacker attidute with me to my freshman year here and I am still paying for it trying desperetly and working very hard to remedy my GPA.

I wish I would have developed better study skills. I have never been one to study because I always rely on my ability to retain information. I have learned that retaining information only works when I go to class, which I have had a hard time with this year, and that studying the night before doesn't necessarily work. I also wish I would have known how much self-discipline I'd really need. It is so much harder being on my own than I thought it would be.

All of the opportunity that is available.

It would have been nice to know what to expect for course load from various classes. Also knowing not to buy books before classes start because you don't always use them (or in my case, none of them. There goes $500...) and may be able to share or borrow from a friend.

I wish that I knew how much more studying I would need to do compared to highschool! Without putting in much effort I could get great grades in highschool but college requires a lot of studying. Unfortunately I learned this lesson after my first exam, but hopefully my advice can help someone else not make the same mistake!

I wish I had known more calculus and had some more college credit that transfered to Iowa State University. That would have given me more preperation for my classes and would have been less stressful. More college transfer credit would come in the form of general education courses.

I wish I had known how little sleep I would be getting being a design major. I had heard stories about the lack of sleep, but you don't understand until you get into the program. Also, I wish I had known how many amazing friends I would make in college. I came into college ready for a fresh start, but didn't expect to make as many great friends as I have made so far this year. If I had known, I think I would've been more confident talking to people at the beginning of the year.

I wish I had more preparation on how to learn will limiting teaching. I rarely opened a textbook in high school to get a good grade and didn't expect to read so much to get my grades in high school. I also wish I had better procrastination skills because I'm always distracted and wish I could fight it.

Before coming to Iowa State, I wish I would have known more about the program of study I was about to enter. Additionally, I wish I had evaluated my own personal interests more critically. Had I known more about the program and the career I would have to pursue after graduation, I would most likely have chosen a different path much sooner in my academic career.

I wish I would have known just how big it was, sometimes you look around and there are so many people it can be overwheleming.

i want to get CPA in this university. cause i choose accounting major.

I wish I had known about more of the majors offered at Iowa State University. I have already changed majors to something I was more interested in than what I had originally planned to study here. I also wish I would have had more information regarding the requirements for each major. Most importantly, I wish I would have known more about all the student organizations offered here at Iowa State. I would have liked to be presented with the opportunity to join before I started classes.

How important applying for scholarships is.

I wish I had known exactly which classes would transfer from the college in my hometown. I took college classes during high school, and would have taken more if I had known they transferred.

It's easy to overtextend yourself and get involved with too many things.

I wish I would have known about the wide variety of excellent majors offered at Iowa State. ISU is generally known for being an engineering school, but they also have fabulous programs in business, agriculture, and all sorts of sciences. I was able to find a one of a kind program that combines my interests in the social sciences and healthcare while working towards a career in the global sphere.

This question can't really be answered and understood in 100 words. I would have done things differently at my community college though before transferring to ISU.