<p>I got accepted into the university of iowa and before i make any final decisions i wanted to know a few questions about the campus, campus life, ect. if anybody could respond back and help me out the would be awesome.</p>
<p>Congratulations! Parent here, but I can give you an idea of what the campus is like and how my daughter is doing.</p>
<p>Daughter is a freshman and was accepted to most of the Big 10 schools. We visited Iowa for the first time in the middle of January. It was freezing and covered in ice and snow. Even so, it was still very pretty. The river, the buildings, the ravines, the friendly people, and the ped mall all make for a wonderful campus. She fell in love on that blustery day and decided that UI was the school for her. </p>
<p>The school spirit is infectious. My husband and I didn’t go to Iowa but we cheer for the Hawkeyes like we’re alums. The campus is vibrant and fun, even though those under 21 can’t go to the bars after 10 PM. That hasn’t stopped my daughter and her friends from enjoying their social life.</p>
<p>My daughter was concerned that the academics might be a bit easy but has found that they are not at all. She is challenged in every class and is thriving. She was fortunate to get into every class that she wanted both first and second semester. </p>
<p>Housing is tight these days, apply for housing now. Even if you don’t end up going, you’ll get most of your deposit back so don’t wait. Burge is the big party dorm, Currier is close to Burge but a little quieter, both are close to freshman classes. Hillcrest, and Quadrangle are on the other side of the river, good dorms but a long walk. Check out the housing site on UI’s website and the student Facebook page for more information.</p>
<p>Overall my daughter LOVES UI and can’t imagine herself anywhere else. She is used to the big city feel of Chicago (where she grew up) but thinks that Iowa City is a great balance of small town and intellectual sophistication to make her feel right at home.</p>
<p>You’ll find mostly parents in this forum but if you have any specific questions, post them. Everyone here seems pretty happy with Iowa, as do their kids. My son loves being a Hawkeye, especially the football scene. He’s not a big partier and has met plenty of people like him to hang with. My friend’s daughter joined a sorority and is heavily into the party scene and the football and she loves it too, so there’s something for everybody if you’re asking about the social life.</p>
<p>Thank you both for your great responses.
Just a little bio about me, I also grew up in suburban Chicago and Im a senior this year going through the whole college process. Before deciding where I was going to apply, I visited the colleges I wanted to attend and those were UI, Wisconsin, and Ohio State. I knew right away that I didnt like Wisconsin, but then it came down to OSU and UI. Throughout these visits I realized that all of the schools have great facilities and are about all the same besides one thing… and thats the city that surrounds the school! I can easily tell you that OSU and UI have completely different feelings that both worry me as making a final choice. UI has a very small town type of feel while OSU is pretty much in a major city. Now what most of my family has said is that its my choice and I should go where I feel more at home but I felt at home at both schools which makes it even harder! Being from Chicago a small town feel does worry me that the fun within the town will run out very quickly. Thats why I asked about the social life within UI because I want to know are the students having fun even though it is a small town and what do they do when its -4 degrees and a foot of snow outside? I also read that the bars are now 21 and older which makes the downtown area less appealing to somebody who has never gone there. The strange thing about all of this to me is that I have never heard one bad comment about UI. All of my friends know somebody who has went there and they all love it. I also visited on a Hawkeye day which was awesome, but it wasnt a football weekend so it was really slow. I talked to some students there and they said the town comes alive when its football weekend and I can only imagine. I love all the school spirit and that is something very appealing to me since I went to a school that had no school spirit. With all of this I decided it was best if I accepted Iowa and at least got my housing in which was about two months ago already. But all in all Im really looking for feedback about the school and what its really like to be a student as that should help me make a better final decision on where I should go. Thank you very much for the responses so far.</p>
<p>Well, I am the wrong one to ask because I do not like Columbus at all and was very happy when neither of my kids showed interest in the school. My parents and both my brothers went to OSU – I went to another school in Ohio so visited some and really prefer more of a college town experience. Also, I did not like the high rise dorms. However, that’s neither here nor there, but if you are worried about the fun in Iowa City running out, I don’t think that’s going to happen. There are plenty of house parties and apartment parties going on for those too young to get into the bars plus the whole Greek system if you want to get involved in that. If it’s cold, you just bundle up. We had the same experience as you where everybody we ever talked to that went to Iowa just loved it. </p>
<p>The student football scene is awesome if you are looking for school spirit, the basketball is proving to be a disappointment and the wrestling is a big draw. My son does say that in the fall when it’s not a football weekend, a lot of kids in his part of the dorm go home and it gets a little quiet.</p>
<p>Moose19, we live in the Northern suburbs of Chicago so you and my daughter have that in common. My husband is a Badger and many of our family members are too. My daughter decided that she liked the UI campus much better than Madison’s because Madison was too spread out. </p>
<p>This is what I’ve gathered from my daughter about being a student at UI. The students are friendly and inclusive. She has met some really nice people and is happy.</p>
<p>She’s a science major so her courses are challenging, but she likes it that way. Her professors and TAs have been accessible and her academic advisor has been available to her throughout the first semester. </p>
<p>According to my daughter, football weekends are “insanely fun” and the school spirit is amazing. Tailgating with the Greeks is also supposed to be a lot of fun. She’s not Greek but has guy friends who are.</p>
<p>There are great clubs and she’s joined a couple. She also LOVES the new wellness center! She works out everyday and raves about the facility.</p>
<p>Friday After Class is fun. That’s when under 21 students go to the bars and hang out for a few hours with friends. </p>
<p>Since her major is rigorous she spends a lot of time studying, which is the whole point of college, right? 
However, she is having a great time and loves UI. It’s big enough to find something that you can belong to (lots of clubs and organizations) but not so big that you’ll feel lost. </p>
<p>Good luck to you on making your decision!</p>
<p>Thank you both again for your responses and after taking a day to think about things, I narrowed down my decision in Iowas favor. When I first compared Ohio State and Iowa, I felt as if the college town experience would be lost within the big city of Columbus, and that Iowa would have everything that I need. I really wanted to make sure before I made an official commitment and you two have been way more than helpful. </p>
<p>I think Iowa will be a challenging academic school that would prepare me very well to become a working member in society, as well as, having an awesome college town to spend the next few years at. From what you two have expressed to me, I have got a good feeling that Iowa will be the place for me. I also think that having so many out of state students from Illinois will also expand friendships beyond college which is a big thing to consider as well. </p>
<p>I am really excited for this whole new experience and I feel that Iowa is going to be awesome. I have never heard one bad thing from Iowa, and everyone raves about it when I bring it up. It is really exciting to be able to be a part of a big ten school and share all the pride while still having a college town feel. </p>
<p>Plus, it seems like they have everything I would ever need, and I was able to check out the new wellness center while I visited and it is awesome. Im really big into being healthy and I dont think there is any better of a facility to continue this lifestyle. i also just have a few more questions on my mind, Is there anything I should be aware of before I go? Anything that you wish you could have done differently with your son or daughter? I also hear that the football tickets go very fast and to pick them up at freshman orientation? I have also heard that the cops write students alot of tickets? </p>
<p>thank you so much for the responses.</p>
<p>We are also from Illinois and noticed at freshman move-in that there were about as many cars from Illinois as from Iowa so you’ll have plenty of fellow Illinoisans. Iowa has gotten to be a very popular school, between being a school you can still get into, the affordability and the football team. You can order football and basketball tickets at orientation and they will put them on your bursar bill and you pick them up when the season starts. My son went to the first orientation and ordered tickets then so I’m not sure if they run out or not. I think you can order online if you have a later orientation – seems like one of the parents on here did that. I am not sure how many tickets get written but the fines for drinking in the dorm are very high, so go elsewhere if you want to drink. When I was there this summer and was out at a bar with other parent friends, there was a big police presence in the downtown area so I don’t think it’s easy to get away with underage drinking. My older son goes to school in Bloomington, IN and he heard they wrote $400,000 in tickets his freshman year (don’t have a source, he just heard that) so I think underage drinking tickets are a big source of revenue for college towns.</p>
<p>One thing to be aware of is if your parents want to come for parents’ weekend, the football tickets are very limited and there is a small window of time to get online and buy them. I was not aware of the procedure (so I can’t tell you what it is) so didn’t get tickets.</p>
<p>Great advice about the Parent’s Weekend tickets. I will add that they should make hotel reservations as soon as the date is announced, hotels book up fast! </p>
<p>Like you, I’ve never heard a bad thing about UI. When mentioned the response is always, “I LOVE Iowa,” I don’t recall even hearing anyone say that they just liked UI, it’s always LOVE. </p>
<p>I did think of one more thing that’s a plus for UI, my friend’s daughter goes to Ohio and doesn’t like the quarter system. She is always stuck at home until mid September and all of her friends are back in school. </p>
<p>So happy that we could help you out!</p>
<p>moose, welcome to the UI community! In my experience on this forum and as a parent of a freshman son I can honestly say that I am unaware of anyone at Iowa who doesn’t like it. Versus Ohio State I suspect you’d find it to be much more of a “big small school” with far fewer students and a more intimate feel.</p>
<p>Student football tickets are available online prior to orientation but even if you buy them AT orientation I believe it’s unlikely they’ll be sold out. Keep an eye on official Univesity correspondence, this forum and the Facebook group for your entering class and it’s impossible that this would pass you by.</p>
<p>Football tickets for parents’ weekend do sell within 1 day of going on sale. Your parents must REGISTER for parents’ weekend, not just book a hotel room and plan to come. There is a $60 fee for this, and it gets you into a couple events that weekend but most importantly it allows you to buy the tickets. They can do that registration next fall.</p>
<p>The most important thing for you to do NOW, if you haven’t already, is apply for housing. The earlier you apply, the more likely you are to get what you want as assignments are made on a first-come basis. I can’t emphasize this enough - if you wait until Feb you will have slim pickings.</p>