I have researched a lot about Iowa State, and I love everything about it. Beautiful campus, nice people, nice weather, courses are challenging enough to get students to think. I applied and got accepted last week for business major.
But it seems like ISU is so underrated, am I right? The acceptance rate is 87% considering so many great factors. What is one reason that not much students apply to ISU?
Also, it seems like there are not many information on Internet about ISU. Why?
If you are an ISU student, how is your experience?
@chautrinh - I suspect, but don’t know, that Iowa State’s formula-based, rapid admission process attracts many applicants. If you already know based on the formula that you won’t be admitted, then there’s little sense in even applying. Any way, just speculation.
My youngest son is a sophomore engineering student at ISU from Arizona. He loves it there. He got freshman research experience, which allowed him to get a summer internship. At the career fair he interviewed with a steel company which just had him in for a day-long interview. It looks like he will be co-oping next semester.
My son turned down Arizona, Arizona State, Alabama, and Michigan State. He seems to be getting as good an engineering education as his brothers at Miami University and Texas A & M. We have been very impressed too. Campus is lovely and Ames is a nice college town.
My son applied to Iowa State. He ended up at Kansas State but both schools are similar in high acceptance rates. They both have good engineering programs. At NASA in Houston we just had a summer intern from ISU. He was as good if not better than interns we have had from “top” schools. Look into their Honors program. That will put you in with the top students that are in the school. That is what my son did at K-State. He is very happy there and has friends at Iowa State that love it there too. Don’t turn it down because it isn’t as well-known as others. Go where there is a good fit for you! I am a firm believer that you will get out of the school what you put into it. My son and his friends at ISU have been able to meet professors personally and get lots of help with career advice etc.
Iowa is a state that has always valued education. I think the hs grad rates are in the 90% range. All their students are well prepared for college, so Iowa State having a high acceptance rate doesn’t surprise me.
Football team sure had a nice upset last week!
Iowa has excellent secondary education and their automatic admissions make it very easy : if you dont meet the criteria you don’t apply, if you do you get in. Rhose whobgrt in are good. Hence a high acceptance rate, but don’t be fooled into thinking this is a third tier program.
I would however recommend you apply to the Honors college, as this will open more opportunities for you.
Second the Honors Program recommendation. That got my son freshman research experience. Also, the engineering college seems very organized and student focused. The advisors are full-timers who are dedicated just to advising. At many colleges, the advisors may be professors who also have to do advising. My son’s advisor even called him this summer when a course prerequisite changed and then adjusted his schedule for him.
How is ISU’s business program?
It’s my understanding that the state of Iowa is different compared to other states in that they have a board of regents that set admission guidelines for all the public Iowa universities. Iowa State doesn’t get to set their own admission guidelines. I believe that is why there is a high acceptance rate. That does not in any way mean they are not a well-respected university. It’s just the way things are done.
Regarding the business school, my son is a freshman this year. He is considered pre-business now, and as long as he meets min. grade requirements for his business core classes, he will be accepted into the professional business program. No limits on admissions, no special applications/essays. That is huge. So many schools make you apply to the business school and not everyone gets in. That is not the case at ISU.
My favorite thing so far has been how career focused the school of business is. At the end of September, only a month into school, my son attended a career fair. He said he spoke with Kohl’s, Amazon, Best Buy, Dr. Pepper and Von Maur. All but Von Maur took pictures of his resume. He said Kohl’s and Von Maur don’t accept any freshmen for internships. I think it would be rare for a freshman to get an internship, especially with no experience, but it was still a good opportunity for him to learn to how to network.
My kid is a PhD student and TA there. I think ISU is a solid school; it struggles some due to location, I think. I think if people visit there (esp not in winter), they would really like Ames and the campus, though.
For the original poster - we’re in a similar boat as you (but for engineering) wondering if we’ve found an underappreciated gem. Just did an official campus visit and all I can say is WOW - this school has its act together in a big way. The visit was extremely well organized - so thoughtful in every regard - and the time we spent within his planned major showed a very impressive pathway from school to career. Not to mention the campus is pretty and has the vibe of a true college town. We stayed the previous night in Des Moines and it also did not disappoint.
We were very pleasantly surprised with Des Moines. If you are through again tour the State Capitol and the history museum next door. The Capitol is one of the loveliest that I have ever seen.
@bellevuedad we are in a similar position considering ISU for engineering. Haven’t yet made the campus visit (the virtual tour looks great), but all our interactions with the school to date have been very impressive. They really seem to care about the undergraduate student and doing everything they can to help them be successful. My OOS son is also waiting on Purdue and VT. Both ranked significantly higher, but given all the positives mentioned and the fact that he was accepted into honors (which provides students with a guaranteed research opportunity second semester), ISU is a strong contender. Where is your son considering? Your thoughts on comparisons?
Can someone speak about undergraduate weekends and student life at IS? My son has been accepted and is considering the school but it is very far away from home so he will be there 24/7 with only visits home on school breaks. He is attracted to the mid-west, down to earth genuine people and enjoys the outdoors/non-urban settings. Any thoughts are appreciated. He would be in the college of Ag and Life Sciences.
My son is finishing his first semester at ISU. We live about 10 hours away, so he is also there 24/7 with the exception of school breaks. While many of the students are in-state, they are not all going home on the weekends. My son has made amazing friends, including his roommate, and has a very active social life. There is no shortage of things to do on the weekends. Football and basketball games are so much fun (my son was not a big sports fan before college, but loves the social aspect). And his roommate loves fishing, so my son will tag along on occasion, and they have a great time. And of course, there are parties. My son loves the school, and I’m so glad that he’s already found such a strong support system (he’s planning on moving off campus next year with four other boys).
iamgriffinsmom where are most of the kids from? I am glad to hear they are not going home on the weekends and glad to hear there are parties too (I believe college kids should be out socializing at parties rather than on technology or sitting in dorm rooms). What about the size of the school? It is huge? How does a freshman not get lost and are the classes huge? Thank you. I greatly appreciate your time. I would love to hear anyone else’s comments too.
Iowa has a good education system overall and students at Iowa State live on campus or nearby (the town is very college student friendly).
To mitigate the issue of large, lecture based classes, there’s the Honors college 
worth looking into.
From what I am seeing on the 2022 page, may students are from MN if out of state. My son has committed, and we are from TN.
I highly recommend ISU as a engineering school. My son had a great experience there, 2009-2014. Plenty of opportunities for students who want to get involved. He had several summer internships while there. My son went on to grad school at Michigan, currently working on his PhD. Good luck with your decision!
@jasper60103 - What field is your son in at Michigan? My senior son at Texas A&M is applying to Michigan for a PHd in Aerospace Engineering. He wants to work with Dr. Iain Boyd in the Nonequilibrium Gas & Plasma Dynamics Laboratory.