<p>From what I have heard/assessed throughout my short few years here in Iowa:</p>
<p>Iowa State: Engineering (besides BiomedE), Sciences, Agricultural studies, maybe nursing?</p>
<p>Iowa: Biomedical Engineering (+ related), Anything else </p>
<p>As far as the surrounding city goes....Iowa City > Ames imo. Of course these are both large schools (especially ISU) so either way you will be around a lot of students. The snow isn't that bad...then again I have a car so I don't walk around outside. I don't attend either school but I have siblings that have or still do attend both (I have racked up so many miles on I-80 it really is quite sad!)</p>
<p>Iowa cold does not bother me that much...I don't really ever walk around outside for over 30-60 seconds at a time though :). If you get a house here a garage is a major plus.</p>