Iowa State University Top Questions

I wish I would have known how much debt I was getting myself into, Iowa State University has always been my dream, but being from out of state, the tuition is crazy expensive. I'm not sure if I would change my mind about coming to this college, because I absolutely love it. But I wish I would have though more about gaining Iowa Citizenship before committing to this college.

I wish I would have done more reasearch on how many majors were offered.

I wish I would have known the stress that is needed to be put on studying. It is a completely different ball-game than high school. Hours upon hours of studying have to be put into EACH class. It takes a lot of dedication and persistance, but it can be done. If anything, I wish i would have known that I would basically have no social life because every free minute is dedicated to getting that better grade.

How to save money and not spend it on projects related to class.

The one thing I wish I had known is how to study and keep classwork at its best. I waited a little too long to get help my first semester, but I ended up ok. I plan to learn from my first semester and start getting my GPA where I want it to be.

I wish I would have known how lonely and homesick you can get when you come from another state. Coming here to Iowa from the Chicago area was also a bit of a culture shock. I'm not used to smelling manure and seeing tractors on a daily basis. Being six hours from home with none of my friends or family make the adjustment to living here very difficult. And due to the differences between many of the people here and myself, I have found it hard to make friends.

I wish I would have known how big the campus is at first but after you get used to it, it doesn't seem that big. Also, always make time to talk to your CA and academic adviser because they can be so useful in finding new dreams and writing recommendations for anything.

My academic advisor has been lacklustre; there were two courses my fall semester that I should have been able to bypass due to transfer credits, but he insisted I had to take them. I later found out through friends who had skipped the courses. After residence hall preferencing, I was stuck in a hall I hadn't preferenced, with no air conditioning.

When coming to school people had informed me that it would be a lot more work and more time management but I just thought, "Oh everyone says that." Once at college though I soon discovered that everything that everyone had told me was true and that the new free time isn't really "free time" instead I would say this new found time is actually new responsibility. With all the time in college I had to learn how to be get my homework done and stay on top of my classes while still wanting to have fun.

I wish I would have known how cold it gets in Ames, it is like a whole different kind of cold from anywhere else in Iowa but it is easily manageable with the bus system!