<p>I've never been able to visit any of the colleges I want to attend (mostly U of Iowa and Xavier University) so I would like to know the general vibe of the school. Any pros AND cons of Iowa would be highly appreciated just to help me make my decision, especially since all I hear about Iowa are positive things. I feel a lot like I'm really chancing choosing a school without visiting it, but I have no other choice, so input is highly appreciated:)</p>
<p>Samie:</p>
<p>Our daughter is an OOS sophomore (from MN) majoring in communications at the U of I. She adores being a Hawkeye and has been very pleased with her studies there. As an admittedly biased and unabashed supporter of the Hawkeyes, it is hard for me to come up with any “con’s” but I do have several “pro’s” / personal observations:</p>
<ul>
<li>a great group of kids with a strong affinity to the University and a love of the Hawkeyes.</li>
<li>many strong programs / majors (pre-professional, life sciences, English, Business, Engineering, etc.) Excellent medical and law schools.</li>
<li>as parents, we have been pleased with the academic advising / academic opportunites offered by the U of I.</li>
<li>a beautiful, compact campus with a great “vibe”.</li>
<li>Iowa City is a lively college town with a good social life.</li>
<li>Lots of OOS students, mostly from Illinois. In fact, nearly all of our daughter’s best friends hail from suburban Chicago.</li>
</ul>
<p>As noted by Beastman on his earlier response to you on a different thread, not many students post here but there are a number of parents which do. I believe that many of those parents would echo my comments.</p>
<p>Best of luck in your decision process. Go Hawks.</p>
<p>B10P</p>
<p>Just the fact that there are unbashed supporters of the Hawkeyes is a great reassurance to me. I’ve been hearing all this stuff about Iowa a lot and it definitely makes me feel better about very possibly going without ever visiting. Thanks</p>
<p>Probably not too much help, but from what I’ve seen of Iowa it looks like a great place to be. Iowa City is fairly small but seems like it has a lot to offer and has a pretty good quality of life. The only thing that turned me off of the University of Iowa was the high out of state tuition, if it wasn’t for that I’d defnitely have put my application there! I don’t think you can go wrong with it, honestly if something seems really cool to you before you visit… chances are its going to be really cool when you get there too. </p>
<p>As long as you’re not moving somwhere that isn’t a complete polar opposite from where you are currently living, chances are you’re going to be able to find a way to really enjoy where you move. I wouldn’t worry too much about it, just go there and make the best of things, meet cool people and you’ll surely have a great time.</p>
<p>That’s great advice, idk! and spot-on, too.</p>
<p>Most of us parents on this forum have kids who are having great experiences at Iowa. I have been here for about 3 years now and have honestly never read a negative post about the overall Iowa experience. And my son really doesn’t know anyone who doesn’t like it, either. So as idk accurately points out, you make your own experience.</p>
<p>That said, I advise everyone I can to visit the campus before makinig the final decision. I feel strongly that a visit exposes the student to intangibles that are not quantified by statistics or captured on websites. Of course there is a cost involved in doing so, but by all means it should be done if at all possible.</p>
<p>Another OOS Hawkeye parent here. Wife, myself & older D attended & graduated. Our majors were physical therapy, journalism & integrated physiology (pre-med), respectively. </p>
<p>I feel I may have a little bit too much of a good time there in the ‘olden days’, but oh well, I can’t change that now & definitely have enough Iowa City memories to last a lifetime! But both my wife & daughter were more nose-to-the-grindstone types, and they had a wonderful time as well. Like beastman has stated, I cannot remember anybody NOT enjoying themselves there. Iowans are nice almost to a fault–it’s us suburban Chicagoans that screw it up! HAHA! :)</p>
<p>huh, never thought of it that way idk, thanks. and cool, at least i dont have any specific negative things to worry about. and actually i live in vegas which is a little contrasting with iowa, but thats actually what i want, since it’s so hot, dry, boring and full of dirt here. haha</p>