Social Life at IA

Colleges and Universities A-Z Iowa State University
1

<p>Well, I'm an incoming freshman and I just wanted to ask a question/express my viewpoint.
When I went to orientation back in June, I received this overwhelming sense that some of the people were quite anti-social. You just get a sense that most of the people don't really enjoy going to parties and having serious study sessions. While doing small group activities, everybody seemed very, very shy as if it was 9th grade. This isn't just a specific group either, it seemed like everybody was, and nobody wanted to meet new people. This aggravated me greatly, as I've heard that a lot of people that go here stick with highschool friends and don't exactly move on. I'm from Minneapolis, a pretty big city, while most are from small towns. It's very hard to shine light on what i'm trying to express here, but I hope it makes some sort of sense.
I'm going into Aerospace Engineering by the way.
Any comments appreciated.</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>Steve</p>

2

<p>I kind of felt the same way you did at first during Orientation. That is a time where people are nervous, trying to figure out where to go, and what to do. People don’t really know anyone and it just puts them at a time of panic. </p>

<p>When I first moved into the dorms (3yrs ago) my floor sucked. I am the type of kid who works hard but plays hard too and the guys on my floor were the type who sit around every night playing video games (even on weekends) Now I will say that I feel like my floor was one extreme, however the floor below me was completely different. The guys I met and hung out with were all pretty chill. </p>

<p>I think by the time you get moved and settled into your room (dorm, apt, wherever) then you’ll see isn’t bad at all. Also, I think you should check out the Greek life at ISU. It isn’t for everyone, but I joined a fraternity a few weeks into the fall semester of freshman year and I haven’t regretted since. Greek life isn’t for everyone, however there are a few guys on CC that can vouch for me saying Greek life is a blast. You meet a lot of cool guys and even more cool girls. I’m not going to try to recruit you to mine, but my advice to you is just tour all of them and join the one which you fit in the best. You’ll know which one to join as soon as you meet some of the guys and tour the house. (gotta say stay away from dry houses, no fun)</p>

<p>Last thing that I just thought of, if you are looking to party a lot you should major in business not Aero E. When I was in Aero my freshman year , before switching to mechanical the guys were all pretty nerdy</p>

3

<p>Just re-read my post, sorry if it is confusing but my goal was to get across a few different points of view. If you have any specific questions about ISU, Aero E, Greek life, etc… just PM me and I can answer your questions</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the reply man I appreciate it.</p>

<p>UW-Madison was basically my dream school before getting rejected, and I was sort of expecting college -where ever I go- to be at least somewhat similar. I realized ISU isn’t quite like that, at least from meeting some of the people around. I just don’t feel like I would chill with the small city people all the time as it would probably drive me insane. There is just something about the lack of culture and openness that bothered me, if that makes sense.<br>
I’m not looking to party my ass off either by any means. Because after all, some of the business people are actually just idiots, no offense. I want to study real hard and I have passion for engineering, but I still want to go out on friday and saturday nights to cause mischief/party.
I’m not sure whether i’m going to do Aerospace or Mechanical yet, as I enjoy both a lot, but I sure don’t want to be surrounded by people who don’t express themselves.
Yeah anyways I guess the best way to figure this stuff out is just wait for college to start and see how it goes.
Also, I do want to add that I want to go into either the Auto or Aerospace industry. Can I take a good quantity of mechanical classes while claiming an aerospace major? The Formula SAE team is something I am going to join too if you know anything about it.
Lastly, do you know anything about Linden Devitt?</p>

5

<p>I think you’re underestimating Ames. Yes it is a smaller city compared to the Twin Cities but there is still plenty to do. </p>

<p>A lot of people from Iowa go to ISU, however the next two states that bring in students is MN and IL. More specifically people from the Twin Cities and Chicago areas. I don’t think you can say there is a “lack of culture” when you have probably only been there for 4 days…? I’ve gone to school there for 3 years and I never got that feeling at all ( I’m not from a small city either) </p>

<p>I am basically like you where I want to work hard and get a good degree but not sacrifice a social life either. It is not difficult by any means (I mean if I can do it with a decent GPA) then anyone can, but all you need is time management. There will always be people who “don’t express themselves” but you just gotta find the ones who do. I mean in a lecture class of 300 people there is bound to be 1 or 2 that don’t. </p>

<p>In regards to Aero vs. ME, both are great majors. One downside that I feel like you will not like is the size of freshman class. It will probably start out at around 150, but will slowly decrease over time. Now I talk to guys I know from 3 years ago that stuck with Aero and their class went from 230 to 70. For me I still love Aero industry, however I wanted more options to study so I switched to ME. </p>

<p>As for Linden, I know where it is (I assume you already know too) but I can’t say anything about the people in the hall because it varies from year to year. By all means you are not required to just sit in your room. Go out to other dorms MWL or Friley to meet people. Dining halls are a good place to meet people too if you want to put yourself out there</p>

<p>P.S. I agree that some business undergrads are idiots btw</p>

6

<p>I don’t exactly have experience at ISU obviously, these comments are just based off of first impressions- those of which are probably tainted/inaccurate due to my mindset going in. I think I still have to get over my rejection from UW as I think that is the source of many of these problems. I think the only way i’ll figure things out is simply by just waiting for August 21 to come around.</p>

7

<p>Make sure you’re moved in by the weekend before and keep the night schedule open. Starting Aug. 20th is a good time to be around campus</p>

8

<p>Yep, I’ll actually be there on the 17th if i’m correct and all moved in.<br>
Do you know anything about the Formula SAE team?</p>

9

<p>I actually went to a few meetings my freshman year, but at the time I got the impression that since I was an underclassman I would just do the b.s. work so I decided not to do it. Since then I have not looked into it since I have gotten involved in other leadership roles on campus. I know a guy who was part of it before he graduated and there wasn’t much time for anything else other than school and SAE. They meet all day Saturday and a lot of nights too to work on the car. So it is very time consuming but could be worth it in the long run (friends, help get job, etc…)</p>

10

<p>Here is the link to their website:</p>

<p>[SAE</a> International Iowa State University Chapter](<a href=“http://www.sae.stuorg.iastate.edu/]SAE”>http://www.sae.stuorg.iastate.edu/)</p>

11

<p>Hi ScubaSteve…I just had to reply to your post. You seemed so genuinely concerned.</p>

<p>My daughter attended orientation in early June. Let me tell you she had a blast. She met about a dozen people that she had been talking to/creeping on Facebook thru the Iowa State Students 2014 page. They hung out the first night after all the organized activities were done. They are staying in touch. Are you on that FB page? Post about your dorm and you will meet some ppl who are on your floor, etc. What about your roommate? Have you connected?</p>

<p>We are from Chicago, she does not know anyone else going to ISU. She just put herself out there. We found the exact opposite…everyone was so friendly and helpful we could not believe it. My dd liked that ISU is not a ‘party school’, but talking to students she found that people do party on the weekends and are social. She needs to work hard during the week, but hey it’s college…(need I say more?)</p>

<p>Could you maybe just had a bad group at your orientation? Keep an open mind. We know a few people who graduated from ISU this year and everyone love’s it.</p>

<p>You did not get into your dream school, that’s ok. As a mom I have to say: everything happens for a reason and if you come for Destination IS you will have a chance to meet many more people that are more like you.</p>

<p>Reach out to a few people on FB and see if your opinion doesn’t change?
a mom</p>

12

<p>^^ the thing about the “partiers” is it seems so repetitive, maybe because i transferred here and seen and did a lot more different things, its typically apartment parties that you see people get trashed.</p>

<p>it was fun at first meeting a bunch of people, but after a while its kind of “i did this for the past couple months, is there anything else to do?”</p>

<p>if you want to build something and not lose your weekends, i suggest the solar car team, my roommate is the design director or something like that. They meet 2-3 times during the week at night to build stuff/design things, but never on weekends. I was going to check it out.</p>

<p>ps join the iowa state boxing club if u wanna beat people up (joking), but seriously its fun</p>

13

<p>HOLY S**T!! There’s a boxing team??!!? That’s AMAZING! Can you say more it about Marc?</p>

<p>I’m an incoming freshmen. I actually did a lil bit of boxing last summer and I loved it. But when school started I couldn’t manage AP and college classes, work, and a social life. My schedule was hectic. I really hated the fact that I had to stop.</p>

<p>Are you in it? When and where do you guys meet? Do you have to pay?</p>

14

<p>yeah there is a boxing team, i just transferred last semester so i wasn’t fully into it.</p>

<p>its a $50 fee a semester, plus you got to get a boxing passport if you want to compete ($50 a year), the boxing passport is just to record your sanctioned fights. They meet 4 times a week, monday thru thursday from 4pm to 5pm. They compete with various other colleges and compete in the iowa golden gloves.</p>

<p>[NCBA</a> - National Collegiate Boxing Association](<a href=“http://www.collegeboxing.org/]NCBA”>http://www.collegeboxing.org/)</p>

<p>I boxed for a couple of years, went for like a month straight to the boxing club. There is a head coach Terry Dowd, he knew that i knew how to box, so he never minded when I did my own thing (ie shadowbox, did jump rope, hit the bag, etc when they are doing instruction). </p>

<p>However, one assistant coach and me got a little heated because someone asked me if i could teach him my stance (i switch a lot from a philly shell to orthodox, depending on range, speed advantage, essentially the circumstance given to me, like mayweather but a bit more square.) He got mad because I told him respectfully that I like to keep doing what i’ve been taught for the past couple of years and not switched to a stance that has some lateral mobility issues. He seemed to get offended and then told me i didnt know how to box, so i got infuriated, told him i’ve been taught by people who trained and sparred with world champions, and then never went back after that day.</p>

<p>A couple people asked me to come back this semester so I’m going to do it. As much as the assistant coach ticked me off, I really want to to win the NCBA tournament before i leave heh.</p>

<p>But yeah if you have any more questions about it just shoot. Sorry it took time to reply, i’ve been busy. I’ll let u know when the first day of class starts, i’m typically the one wearing chicago golden gloves stuff in there</p>

<p>edit: oh ya, and we meet in beyer, its right next to the weightlifting club and the basketball court</p>

15

<p>Sounds legit. I’ll be the one not knowing what the **** to do lol But I want to be good real bad so we’ll see. </p>

<p>Damn, don’t let 'em get to your head; if you’re as good as you say than it shouldn’t matter what he says. He’s only the ASSISTANT for a reason. </p>

<p>Alright let me know when you guys start; maybe you can show me a few tricks. Name’s Matias, but ppl call me by my middle name – Nick. First name’s a bit weird lol</p>

<p>There aren’t many spanish ppl in ISU are there? At least that’s what I heard. Should it be something I should watch out for?</p>

16

<p>theres a few, i’m friends with a few. I mean, its not going to be as diverse as the city, which i admit kind of sucks but you wont have to worry about anything. No one really looks at you differently.</p>

<p>i’m filipino and so far only met 2 half white/filipinos so hispanics are more diverse than me so far lol</p>

17

<p>That sucks lol</p>

<p>People don’t even think I’m hispanic though not until they see my first and last name. Pretty funny I think. Alright I’ll just meet you there. Thanks for all the info.</p>

18

<p>I heard at orientation that the most fun you’ll have on your “Iowa State Adventure” is when you go spend the weekend at the University of Iowa. That’s not all that encouraging if you ask me.</p>

19

<p>I just HAVE to reply. I’m an ISU graduate and met my wife there 20+ years ago. We attend events in Ames regularly. It’s a great community and ISU is a wonderful university. There is SO much to do. If you actively look to get involved and meet interesting people, you’ll really enjoy your time at ISU. Ames was also recently named as one of the country’s BEST towns to live in. Iowa hospitality is amazing!!</p>

20

<p>^^ that thing is a bit moot, its considered #9 of the best SMALL towns, and even then. Ankeny was ranked #64 a year before and now not listed, and ames was not listed a year before and now #9? Unfortunately for college kids going to college, we really don’t care much about the elementary/high schools that made it rank high.</p>

<p>Ames is nice and all, but its still a small college town. Your fun will depend on the people you meet, but that goes with anywhere u go. The only thing that makes iowa state stand out from illinois state was veisha and greek week. other than that, i found illinois state had more things to do.</p>

<p>and breakfast, like i said, it really all depends on the people u are surrounded by. Iowa City is a blast, but if your surrounded by people that are anti social, your bound to have a crappy time.</p>