Iowa State U VS. U of Minnesota

College Search & Selection
1

<p>hello, I am a senior in high school. I am planning to go to the architecture program in the university. and now I have a problem about chosing the school between these two schools, which is Iowa state university and university of minnesota. I wonder which one of them is better for me if I am an international student and interesting on being an architect?? it includes school sources, internships, and school's live. I really need to reply to school in this week... hope someone can help me out from this struggling... thanks alot...</p>

2

<p>Definitely Minnesota. It is a great school with an amazing campus right accross the river from a majot city. There is tons to do and it is a very great community for an international student. The campus is beautiful, it is truly stunning, and I just visited there Friday and on my visit I toured the architecture department which was really cool. Iowa State isn’t bad at ARCH, but the overall university isn’t nearly as good as Minnesota. Plus, Iowa State is in a small, kind of boring, town in the middle of nowhere. </p>

<p>Take my advice and definitely go to Minnesota. You won’t be disapointed.</p>

3

<p>I would suggest Iowa State. It’s actually ranked surprisingly high academically, usually in the Top Tier. People will tell you to go to a city like Minneapolis if you’re an international student, but I don’t know why people write off small towns like Ames all the time. Ames is kind of an idyllic small American college town. Which experience do you want, as an international student–a very international major city, or a very American small town?</p>

<p>At Minneapolis you’d be another international student, whereas in Ames you might see people be more helpful in general. It’s definitely not as if colleges based in small towns don’t want international students either. Plus Iowa State is much better at architecture than Minnesota, which is better known for other programs.</p>

4

<p>have you visited either campus?
and what country are you from?</p>

<p>either way i assume as an international student you will not want to be alone. minneapolis has a strong immigrant community and you may find someplace to be comfortable with when you get homesick.</p>

<p>yeah minnesota!</p>

5

<p>I am from Taiwan, and currently in KS. I haven’t been to these two campus.
I have been in U.S. two years. The first year was in a small town in TN, where is an all-English envirument. I can tell you that I’m comfortable to live in an all-English place. I even want to make some more american friends.
The suggestions above are really helpful. As an international freshmen, I have no car. So which university is more convenient for me to go some where? I also want to know which have the more opportunity of internships? the chanse to get the scholarships??
I also like to watch ball game, such as basketball and football…
thanks so much…</p>

6

<p>As an international, I think you would appreciate the diversity of a major city. Also, Iowa State is not in the same class academically with Minnesota. I would DEFINITELY go to Minnesota, especially if you like sports.</p>

7

<p>Minnesota would be much better for internships simply because of location. Don’t worry about not having a car at either place because both places are definitely compact enough campuses and have good busing systems.</p>

<p>I would definitely go to Minnesota. They have one of the best basketball arenas in the country and just completed a brand new football stadium for next year which is amazing.</p>

<p><a href=“http://blog.lib.umn.edu/carls064/freealonzo/west_rendering_lg.jpg[/url]”>http://blog.lib.umn.edu/carls064/freealonzo/west_rendering_lg.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://159.54.226.19/assetpool/images/0862972958_SKY%2011%205%20600x400.jpg[/url]”>http://159.54.226.19/assetpool/images/0862972958_SKY%2011%205%20600x400.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>that’s amazing stadium… I love it…
I have a question about wich is better for me… not what I like…
I have been search a little bit…
Iowa state’s architecture is alot better than UMN(designintelligence), which Iowa State is 12th in the country…
but the total ranking of the UMN is 61, which is 28 places better than Iowa state(usnews)…
should I look for total ranking or major ranking?? which is better for me if I want to get a job in U.S. in the future??
appreciate…</p>

9

<p>Too bad U of Minnesota sports are a joke, except for hockey. Not that Iowa State’s sports aren’t a joke either, but at least they themselves make no bones about that. lol</p>

<p>Both are great schools. I think Iowa State has more rep where I am from, which is the Dallas area. That’s just because they play in the Big 12, which includes teams from Texas. People from Dallas don’t have much familiarity with Minnesota’s image. </p>

<p>But you already know all about how the two stack up academically. Iowa State is a great school for architecture, and both rank in the Top Tier academically. Those 28 spaces in between represent very slight differences. </p>

<p>If you aren’t turned off by idyllic small towns I’d definitely go to Iowa State, especially because they would probably throw in some good incentives for international students. Plus, ISU is a very beautiful campus.</p>

10

<p>Minnesota hands down. It is by far the better of the two schools. I have family attending Minnesota and have visited on several occasions, and the school is awesome. Minneapolis would have plenty of job opportunities.</p>

11

<p>So would ISU stomping grounds, though. Des Moines and Omaha have some of the nation’s best recession-proof job markets.</p>

12

<p>Thank you guys…
I really got some important informations…
is anyone studying in Iowa state here??
I will like to hear your voice about some suggestions or opinions…
appreciate…</p>

13

<p>University of Minnesota- Twin Cities</p>

14

<p>Yulin, I don’t go to ISU obviously…but in general you’ll be lucky to find someone from ISU because it’s a much smaller school than U of Minnesota, which has what, 40-50,000 students?? ISU is more around 20,000…which is still pretty big, but it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll see forums like this flooded with ISU boosters like you will some of the huger schools. I might try seeing if there are ISU-specific forums…</p>

15

<p>Hi…I am also international student…I also just jot accepted in UMN . I have been accepted to other colleges as well…like UTA UNL LSU as well…But I think UMN is a great school…the tution fee is also relatively cheaper as compared to other university…also…there more chances of getting job after graduation in Minneapolis…so go foir it…if you need any other information contact me…</p>

16

<p>Rolltoheaven…if you got accepted to UT-Austin as an international student, which also implies finaid from them, you seriously need to go THERE.</p>

17

<p>Ya, im planning to transfer to some other better overall and major ranking schools after two or three years. Which I will also see their graduate program, such as Clemson, UT-Austin, and even the awesome school like Cornell… etc. So that the academic program is another important consideration for me to compare these two schools…
I really want to here some more voices from different people.
your any suggestions are helpful for me…</p>

18

<p>Well I know for ISU, you have to take a year of foundation courses at the school of design and do a portfoilo before they accept you into the program you want. I have some friends from the design school and it seems to be pretty highly ranted. Overall I think you should go for the school which ranks higher in your major. </p>

<p>Ames is pretty underated, we have quite a huge international student population for a small town with lots of students from China, Malaysia, Taiwan etc… It’s pretty much a safe town & has a very efficient public transportation(Cyride- students ride for free) system for a small town like Ames. The only drawback is that there isnt that much to do compared to bigger cities like Minneapolis. </p>

<p>I would suggest you visit both schools and talk to the staff/students there and see if you like it.</p>

19

<p>They’re not close in quality. Pick Minnesota.</p>

20

<p>Pick Minnesota!</p>

<p>and I’m going to Clemson next year so you should definitely transfer there haha</p>