<p>GLAW: What are her other options? Is there something that does concern her about ISU?</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply, mm99. She has been accepted to UIUC, Purdue, Rose-Hulman, Baylor, and University of Alabama as well. She likes all of them for various reasons. They all have said the same story, as a female CS student she’ll have great opportunities for internships and employment. So, it is coming down to the factors that some might think aren’t nearly as important as rank and department. Of course, cost comes into play too. Even if the top ranked school offered a full ride, I don’t know that she’d go there. She is just completely undecided. I want to help her out and yet, I can see where each school is very special.</p>
<p>Has she visited all of the campuses?
Personally I like the campus feel of ISU. With its campus, whenever I walk across campus, I see a friend from a class, or at least recongize faces, even through there are over 25,000 students on campus. The students are great. They are easy-going and friendly. It’s very safe, I can walk across campus at midnight and I don’t worry. </p>
<p>if she mentions any area of concern, make a post about it and I will try to offer my opinion. I’m a freshmen at ISU.</p>
<p>Yes she has, except for Waco. In fact, we as a family have visited ISU twice! There is no doubt that the campus is beautiful and extremely friendly. Our youngest even said that she liked that everyone seemed so happy to be there. I think our DD is just waiting to see what will happen in the next few weeks. We have yet to hear from a couple of schools about what the financial picture will be. I’m just hoping the decision makes itself clear sooner rather than later. Has your freshman year been going well?</p>
<p>GLAW, I am from Texas and would definitely go visit Baylor before making any decision! While it is a good school and a beautiful campus, it is not for everyone. It attracts a much more religious type of student than say, SmU or TcU and if your daughter doesn’t fit that mold, she may not fit in. Waco is not as nice as Ames in any way. It has a lot of problems off campus. Having said that, I have several friends with kids there that are very happy as well. It is just whether your D will fit in or not.</p>
<p>GLAW,
son is a freshman at ISU and likes it a lot. However, I understand it’s hard to make a decision until all the schools respond. Be patient. It’s a waiting game. I recall my son received a couple scholarships as late as April-May.</p>
<p>I just received my ISU alumni magazine and its engineering school (is that the school where computer science is?) has a new dean and he is from Carnegie Mellon, so there may be some interesting things going on. Two deans who were hired at ISU in 2009 were from CMU. Go Cyclones!</p>
<p>April or May?! I thought decisions had to made much earlier, no later than March anyway. I mean, we sent in the deposit for housing, but don’t most schools want to know who they have coming? </p>
<p>Actually, CS is in the college of science at ISU. There is a software engineering major that staddles both colleges. I think Gloria Cain works with kids from both.</p>
<p>Yes, there is a decision date, but I think some colleges have scholarships left over from awards that are declined and they make it available to other students. At least this seemed like the case with my son. Also, a friend of his received a late merit scholarship.</p>
<p>Glaw-
My freshmen year has been great! And second semester just started and my schedule is pretty sweet.
For me, I was able to get a lot of scholarships and one of them was awarded in April. In late spring, if gpa qualifies, a student will be asked to submit a one page essay about leadership and other experiences. This is after financial aid is awarded.</p>
<p>How is the weather there now? We are coming in Feb for a campus visit. DS is accepted with an OOS scholarship, not huge, but enough to make it worth our while to take a look. What is the best place to take a prospective freshman you want to impress? DH and I think it has some great benefits for DS but the weather is worrying him. Would love to counteract that worry with something besides great academic program (architecture).</p>
<p>acme,
where are you from? Iowa does have winter. Hope its not a deal breaker. I came in February too. Not too bad weather wise, just a typical winter day. </p>
<p>ISU does a pretty good job when it comes to campus visits, at least better than others I attended. I would just schedule a visit on one of the Experience Iowa dates. </p>
<p>[Experience</a> Iowa State : Iowa State University Admissions](<a href=“http://www.admissions.iastate.edu/visit/eis.php]Experience”>Experience Iowa State • Office of Admissions)</p>
<p>jasper, we are from NY, and the winters here have been very mild in the past few years i.e, not a lot of snow. we can’t come on a visit Iowa date, we have to come during February school break.</p>
<p>Hi, acme.
I’m not familiar with the architecture program, but maybe someone else will chime in. In any case, I’m sure ISU will make arrangements to ensure the right folks are available when you come visit. My son is a freshmen in electrical engineering and loves ISU. One of the deciding factors for him was the opportunities available and it just felt right. He keeps himself quite busy between academics, research and club activities. Also, he has a internship lined-up for this summer. When he was home for Christmas break he enjoyed the time off, but after a while I could tell he missed school and was ready to go back. I miss him a lot, but this reassures me he made a good choice. </p>
<p>I know this is a stressful time, as I was in your shoes a year ago. I hope this helps with your decision. Good luck.</p>
<p>acme,
what questions do you have? Im a senior in highschool right now and visited the architecture school, as that’s what I’m planning on majoring in.</p>
<p>oplax07, what size are the classes, and how hard does it seem to continue in the major after the first year?</p>
<p>acme, we’re from NY too. We’re going out to visit in Feb. DD is planning on majoring in Architecture too. We looked at many schools throughout the country. It seems like Iowa has a great program…</p>
<p>hey i saw these posts so i figured i would answer some questions.</p>
<p>First off, the winter here is extremely cold this time. I am from chicago and never had to deal with so much snow and bitter cold winds. It makes 30 degrees feel like a jacket is not necessary.</p>
<p>The class sizes range, my calculus based physics class has around 300 people in the lecture hall. My calculus 3 class only has 30.</p>
<p>The gen ed courses courses chances are you will be in a lecture hall. They have SI (supplemental instruction) that allow you to meet with a person that knows the course pretty well and will go over any questions you have and do the questions with you. (I highly suggest going to these classes, Originally I was failing my calculus 3 class since the teacher could not speak english very well, and i got the highest grade on the latest exam)</p>
<p>I suggest joining a learning community, the mentors for the most part are really helpful and leads you into the right direction. I would have never joined so many things if it wasn’t for a learning community mentor i met, and ever since joining them I have never regretted it.</p>
<p>The clubs and activities there are many to pick from. I am a Chem E. Major and never have time to sleep (its good and bad in a way). I am currently in 5 different clubs, a fraternity, and with 17 credit hours and pull around ~40 hours of community service a semester. The homework is a little bit stressful at times, but its a great way to work on time management skills. (Recruiters LOVE this)</p>
<p>There are a few downsides to iowa state. I only say this because if you decide to come here, it should be because of knowing the pros outweigh the cons, not because of blindness</p>
<p>First off, there will be a lot of classes that are taught by TA’s, I’ve had a couple where I wanted to strangle them. Keep in mind there are very very few that seek a graduate degree so the international graduate students far outmass the rest of the graduate community. This means you will have a few that wont speak english very well. You will have a few classes where you will have to learn things on your own. (I did this in calculus 2, very stressful, but manageable).</p>
<p>Second off, for guys its a bit of a downer. The guy/girl ratio is extremely tilted. Being an engineering/agricultural school doesn’t pull an even amount. Coming in from Illinois State to here was a bit saddening as the ratio was the other way around. Its not the end of the world, but it does make relationships on campus a bit scarcer.</p>
<p>Third, Everyday i curse this weather. I came in during november and the place was beautiful. I did not realize the weather would be this cold in jan., I learned to suck it up, but it still sucks.</p>
<p>all in all its a great place, i admit this was definitely not my first choice upon looking for a college (It is the middle of no where). Tulane was too expensive, same with Seattle U (they also only took 10% of my credits), but I learned to love this place.</p>
<p>if you have any questions though just let me know</p>
<p>Wow marc936,</p>
<p>Thanks for the honesty. Your insight is more than informative. I especially appreciate your story of managing time, getting involved and braving the weather successfully. Congrats. Do I understand you correctly, that you transferred from Illinois State. Why? Also, are you in a living/learning community? What was it that sold you on Iowa State?</p>
<p>I left illinois state for 2 reasons. 1, it was a party school, and 2, i was originally a different major that was very similar to an engineering program in iowa state, only difference was the pay was 30% less and the hiring rate was extremely low. So i switched.</p>
<p>I am in a learning community right now, the mentor i have now isnt too spectacular, but the coordinators and other mentors has helped me so much that it made it all worth it. </p>
<p>Ultimately i ended to come over here because of the high hiring rate. Everyone is really friendly was well. The school does do as much possible to set you up with a good job afterwards. But getting a degree here is a different story.</p>
<p>I have to admit, the school does seem to push the engineering students a lot, my roommate had to drop down to 13 credit hours because the coursework is a bit much.To many the challenge might be too hard, but a 65k a year job starting is held for you at the end of the road</p>
<p>Just keep in mind, you will have fun in any college you go to. The reason you should pick one over the other should really just depend on your career in the future.</p>