<p>I have a sibling going to ISU this fall and I'm trying to get a good understanding of the campus before we arrive. If you know any of these answers, please answer with the preference of having a fun, but acedemically focused, college experience. I would also like to request candid answers. (Those of us on this site know ISU is a great school so we don't have to make this a PR campaign.)</p>
<p>Housing and Dining: If you had to do it over again, what would be your top 3 choices for residence halls? Any suggestions on meal plan? Are they worth the money or can you get by with a mini-fridge and grocery store?</p>
<p>Learning Communities: Do these work? It feels like the student will give us their social life to be part of one of these. So, if they work, are they worth the cost of missing out on other opportunities?</p>
<p>Fraternity/Sorority Generalizations: Could you list some of the most popular fraternities/sororities and any stereotypes associated with them? (Whether they are concerned with grades, community interaction, drinking,...other.) Any that you would recommend? Any to stay away from? Or is there an overarching stereotype of the greek system at ISU? (Positive/Negative.)</p>
<p>Activities: From a social perspective- what are the top 5 things that an incoming freshman should do once they get on campus? (restaurants, bars, sites)</p>
<p>Also, are there any tools where classes and instructors are ranked or discussed? I'm curious what the preferences are on some of these first semester classes.</p>
<p>Friley, Helser, Maple, 17 Meals</p>
<p>Most Majors put you in a learning Community class anyways so dorm isnt necessary </p>
<p>If your in a frat, your a frat and its a great life. If your not they dont really judge you but your not usually accepted at parties</p>
<p>Incoming freshman- Jeffs, Join a Club, Walk the nature walks.</p>
<p>Sorry I am in a rush ill give more answers later</p>
<p>Hi! I’m a freshman here at ISU, I’m also a blogger for [Cyclone</a> Life](<a href=“http://cyclonelife.net/]Cyclone”>http://cyclonelife.net/).</p>
<p>Housing and Dining: I live in Martin Hall, and I love it! My top 3 are Martin, Eaton, and Friley, in that order. Next year I will be living in Frederiksen Court (“Freddy Court”), the apartment-style dorms. I think meal plans are definitely worth it. I have 14 meals a week and it’s the perfect amount, all other meals are covered by the mini-fridge and the Dining Dollars that come with the plans.</p>
<p>Learning Communities: I’m in the Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) and the Computer Science learning communities. They are a very good idea. They don’t require time from you at all really. The WiSE meetings are often very social, and not mandatory, and they often make cookies or something. My CS meetings aren’t mandatory either, but it’s run by the TA’s who help teach the classes and so it’s basically free tutoring. Plus you get free tutoring in any subject with WiSE. I’d say they are absolutely and totally worth it, they work, and they don’t eat up your social life (if anything they make it better)!</p>
<p>Greek System: Honestly I can’t speak much about them. I know that there’s some that you just STAY AWAY from (can’t think of their names at the moment). The ones with some positive notes associated with their names are Farmhouse and Acacia for the guys. I can’t say I’ve heard about good ones for girls…!</p>
<p>Five things to do:
- The first thing you do is keep your door open. Believe me, it works! People come by and introduce themselves, and you can do the same just walking around in your hall.
- Go to the “Fests” that the school has. ClubFest, WelcomeFest, Destination Iowa State, all that jazz. Not only do you get totally awesome free swag, but you meet people with similar interests, you get to know clubs and businesses in the Ames area, and you just do fun stuff with others.
- Eat. The best/most popular places to eat/have coffee off campus are Jeff’s Pizza, Caf</p>
<p>DD at ISU this year as a freshman. 17 meal plan has been perfect for her! Dining dollars work great too. She has a coffee maker in her room and shares a fridge with her roommate. No food issues at all.</p>
<p>We brought a TV for her. would not do it again. She watches most of her shows on her Mac and streams Netflix directly also. skip the TV.</p>
<p>Greek. Can only say from a parent point of view. I was dead set against it, but she wanted to rush. We relented after attending an info session and finding out that those in Greek system in general have higher gpa’s than nonGreek population. Have to say it was one of the THE BEST THINGS she did! She is a G-Phi…that is a Gamma Phi. Yes they do have mandatory study hours. Free tutoring if needed. Their own chef in their house who makes great food. Lots of opportunities for community service and fund raising, which is very important to her. Lots of social events. The best thing was the sense of belonging that she had very early on in her first semester. She became seriously ill in late October…if it had not been for her sorority sisters driving her to the MD and bringing her food, and in general taking care of her for weeks, she would hve had to come home and miss the semester. Greek can be good or bad depending on the house that you choose, but if you choose wisely it can be an amazing experience. </p>
<p>Get the Sports Season Ticket if you enjoy sports. It was around $250, but included all football, basketball games along with gymnastics, wrestling, etc. Also make sure that you join Cyclone Alley. You get tons of free Tshirts, a special area to sit in and they make lots of noise. This was a great buy.</p>
<p>Hope this helps a little…</p>
<p>Hey I was just wondering if you had a FaceBook or e-mail that I could contact you at. I am going to ISU and have a few questions. Thanks.</p>
<p>Not sure to whom you are referring but I put my email in my previous post ;)</p>