Current Student Here!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Iowa State University
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<p>Wow, been on CC for a long time and just now remembered that there are individual school areas! I'm a current student (senior this fall) @ ISU, and open to answering any questions you might have. Student life, clubs, majors (I'm Kinesiology, but know at least a little about most depts through friends' experiences), sports, weather, dorms, anything you can think of.</p>

<p>Parents, students, family, friends...shoot any questions/concerns towards me. I've got free time to kill this summer :)</p>

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<p>Thanks, Cards4Life.</p>

<p>Like mentioned in the other thread, how free is “substance free”? Do I have anything to worry about if my S is not in a substance free house?</p>

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<p>I lived in a “substance free” dorm (Maple) my freshman year, and they were pretty strict about no drinking/drugs. Two friends on my floor were caught in another building, reported to our Building CA, and had to do an alcohol abuse course for a few hours online and make a bulletin board for each floor of the building about the dangers of alcohol. If they had been caught in Maple, they would have been kicked out. Since they were in another building, it was a warning and a second time would’ve been kicked out of student housing (not school, just housing). Most students that I met in substance free were either non-drinkers/drug users, or very rarely used them. Most chose to live in SF housing, but there were the few who were “put” there and rebelled a bit (or a lot).</p>

<p>Other buildings it really depends on the CAs. Willow, Larch, Helser, and parts of Friley are notorious for drinking and parties because they are so run down that students just don’t care to take care of the building. I’m not sure how many warnings are given, but I do know students who have received citations and MIP (minor in possession) tickets but been allowed to stay in student housing. Some CAs are strict and will write you up without a second thought, some will let you drink if it’s in your own room, the door is shut, and you have a reasonable number of people & keep the noise down. Others will drink right along with the students. Drugs, on the other hand, seem to be strictly enforced across the board from what I’ve seen.</p>

<p>It’s a bit of a crapshoot, really.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the honest feedback, Cards4life.
Son will be staying in Friley in a learning community.
He knows his roommate and he is a decent kid so
at least we don’t have to worry about that.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see.</p>

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<p>Also, do you know much about the Greek Community there?</p>

<p>One called the house the other day. Not sure why, my son
hasn’t expressed any interest.</p>

<p>Do they still do hazing as part of the initiation?</p>

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<p>Don’t know a whole lot about them, but have friends in both sororities and fraternities, and most are pretty cool. I don’t think there’s a “We’re Greek so we’re better” or a “We’re not Greek so we’re better” mentality from either side, but there are a lot of Greek-themed events. Homecoming is for the whole school and alumni, obviously, but the Greeks do a lot of stuff that week that brings attention to them. Same with the VEISHEA celebration in spring. That’s not to say that non-Greeks don’t enjoy these events, it’s just typically with other non-Greeks.</p>

<p>As far as hazing, I don’t think there’s much. A roommate sophomore year joined a sorority that spring (as a soph) and absolutely loves it despite joining late. Some people I know had to do things like shovel the snow, clean the basement, mandatory study hours, etc. They take pride in having strong GPAs, hence the required study tables for freshmen. Older students who slack off and fall below the minimum are also required to meet study hours. It’s not like they’re cleaning the bathroom with a toothbrush or being abused with a paddle or anything that TV shows may lead you to believe. As far as I know, there’s a pretty strict hazing policy enforced by the university and their national charters, so they keep a pretty clean record. There are a few numbskulls here and there who give them a bad name, but overall I don’t have anything personal against the Greek community.</p>

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<p>And don’t worry about your son being called, they do a lot of cold calling, especially in the summer months. I received calls from sororities the summer before my freshman year and it was fun to talk with them and learn a bit about their organizations, but in the end I decided it wasn’t for me.</p>

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<p>Cards4life, thanks again for the helpful info. I’m glad things have changed. I’m a product of the eighties and things were different back then.</p>

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<p>Just curious what meal plan worked better for you…14, 17 or 21? I selected the 17/week. Also, do food choices at the dining rooms get a little repetitive?</p>

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<p>those are helpful informations.
I wonder if I don’t have the meal plan, would it be convenient to eat outside of the campus??(by bus system or by bike)</p>

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<p>I think I had the 14-meal plan freshman year, but I don’t eat breakfast so it worked out almost perfect most weeks for lunch and dinner. They do NOT serve dinner on Sundays–I was always a little frustrated by this, but there were rumors that they would bring back Sunday dinners for the upcoming year. Not really sure what they finally decided there.</p>

<p>The MWL & RCA (east side) areas have a nice c-store though, open until like 11pm if I remember right. Same on the UDCC (west side) area. MWL has a new dining hall opening this fall, supposed to have “stations” (italian, deli, asian, mexican, american, etc.) much like the UDCC dining hall currently is set up. UDCC is awesome–spacious but gets crowded, but enough stations and variety. Nothing overly special, but I always had good food eating on both sides of campus. The Memorial Union (MU) has a great open seating area and good options–Subway, Panda Express, and the meal plan options w/ mexican, american (burgers/chicken strips), salads, etc.</p>

<p>Off campus, a ton of places in town will deliver and there are decent “quick” and sit-down areas in the campustown area just south of campus. Jimmy Johns, Subway, Pita Pit, Battle’s BBQ, Es Tas (is a bar, but great lunch deal on tacos for all ages), West St Deli (west of campus), Beaudelaire (brazilian food = amazing), Legend’s Bar & Grill (top of Legacy Tower), Pizza Pit, Domino’s, and a few more I can’t think of are all within a block or two of campus. </p>

<p>The bus routes will get you within a block or two of just about any restaurant in town. The bus is free to all students with their ID. Have have the student ID though!! Bus also makes stop by both Hy-Vee grocery stores, Wal-Mart, Target, the mall, and Cub Foods. </p>

<p>Freshman year I tried to eat on campus as much as possible, because I was already paying for it. But as I moved to Freddy Ct (the on-campus apts) sophomore year and then off-campus, I eat more around town.</p>

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<p>Thanks, Cards4life. Sounds great. </p>

<p>Another question. Are you familiar with the student health center? Do they have good service? I turned in my sons health and insurance information at orientation, but I still don’t know if they accept my medical insurance. Their website doesn’t list the doctors and calling there wasn’t helpful either. They say ask your insurance, well my insurance needs to know the doctors names. I seem to be getting the run around.</p>

<p>I know my medical insurance covers the Mary Greeley Medical Center on Duff Ave.</p>

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<p>Ahh…Student Death…err, Health Center. ;)</p>

<p>I went there a few times freshman year but not a fan of the service. I’m not too familiar with their insurance policies. I know two of the doctors are named Malhar Gore and Marc Shulman, can’t remember the names of the others. </p>

<p>Most people I know also get the run around when it comes to service, so it’s not just you. I remember freshman year when my roommate woke up sick one morning and was extremely nauseous, couldn’t keep anything down, etc. We took her across campus to the SHC, they gave us some big lecture about not calling ahead and not having her student ID card. Sorry we didn’t plan out our trip before leaving?! Anyway, if you forget your card they make you go get it, if you don’t call ahead you get a lecture, when you do call ahead they play 20 questions and try to diagnose you over the phone, and they like to send you home and “come back in a few days” before giving out any prescriptions.</p>

<p>Personally, I go to the Mary Greeley clinic on Duff and have had great service there. I also have my own car, which is helpful, and I’m not sure what bus stops are near that clinic. There is also a clinic by the West Hy-Vee on Lincoln Way, and I know there is a bus stop there.</p>

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<p>Well, I 'm glad I have some options. Yea, the other clinic on Lincoln Way accepts our insurance as well. </p>

<p>Cards4life, thanks again.</p>

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<p>Do you know when the Oak-Elm Dining center will re-open?</p>

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<p>Also, do you know if there is a list online of where all the laundry rooms are?</p>

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<p>I believe Oak-Elm will be shut down until Fall 2010. </p>

<p>Linden Hall’s dining center shut down in the 90s I think, but it was reopened in the 08-09 year due to the renovations in the MWL Dining Center. Now that the MWL DC is opening this fall, Oak-Elm is being closed for similar renovations. So, last year Linden and O-E were the available east side dining options. This year (09-10) it will be Linden and MWL. Next year (10-11), Linden will close again and it will go back to O-E and MWL being the dining centers. It’s a 2-minute walk from O-E to either Linden or MWL, not a big deal. </p>

<p>Laundry–not completely sure. I’m pretty sure every building has a facility in the basement. I lived in Maple, and there were I think 10 washers/15 or 20 dryers (because the washers don’t take as long as the dryers). Friley probably has more than one laundry room just because it’s so big.</p>

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<p>What type of labtop would you suggest for an incoming engineering student or any student at that?</p>

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<p>Personally, I have a Macbook (bought before freshman year in 2006) and haven’t had any issues with it. I got a Mac because I wanted to try something new, and I love it. Probably won’t go back to PCs. My brother is in Engineering here, and also has a Macbook.</p>

<p>But I’ve seen just about every type/size/brand of laptop used on campus. Thinkpad, IBM, Dell, Apple, Gateway, Sony, Acer, homemade desktop computers-you name it and someone here probably has it.</p>

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<p>So do what is your opinion of Oak hall? Or do you not have much to say about it?</p>