<p>My DD is going to be a soph in two weeks…Her first year was amazing! To answer your question, the campus is beautiful, in fact it is considered one of the top three most beautiful in the nation. It was designed by the same gentleman that designed Central Park in NY, and once you see the quad you will understand this. </p>
<p>There are definitely 4 seasons. The first few weeks of school can be very warm, then you get the lovely Fall weather and the leaves start to turn. Best football weather around. Winter, especially in January can be tough. But the campus has an top notch bus system. There is always a Cyride bus coming by. Spring is a great time…nice weather, kids on the quad playing frisbee and football. Lots of soccer too.</p>
<p>This is a school with a strong fan base for sports. Parents weekend football tickets are almost sold out. Just got a beautiful new scoreboard for the stadium. Basketball games are not to be missed in the Hilton.</p>
<p>One thing you do need to know…this is not a party school. Do kids party? Absolutely they do, but they are also serious about academics. The engineering school is very difficult, my DD is in health sciences and it is tough. So you do need to balance.</p>
<p>People are very friendly and even the faculty is very caring. My dd was seriously ill in late October last year. Hospital and everything, we are OOS, about 5 - 6 hours away…one of her profs actually emailed her and asked her if she needed anything or if they could help in anyway as they knew that she was far from home. I was very impressed with that.</p>
<p>Midwestern feel to the town. The town of Ames is very supportive of the campus. In fact once you are accepted, the mayor sends a letter of congratulation and explains all the city services that are available to students. The bus system even in town is free for students.</p>
<p>Nice shopping, good restaurants and friendly people in town. DD has never felt unsafe or unwanted. </p>
<p>The school itself is very well ranked. Engineering, Arch., Urban Planning, rising business school. Faculty are very approachable and easy to meet with. DD never had any problems with getting help when needed. I don’t know of any classes that are taught by TA’s…all are taught by professors, with recitations taught by GA’s. </p>
<p>The one thing that really impressed me with the school, was when we went for orientation and the President of the college stood up and said: “My job is not to just educate your child, my job is to make sure that your child is employed once they get out of college”…we are in the employment business. Let me tell you every parent in that auditorium clapped! lol I was very impressed by the job resource center. Iowa State is very highly ranked by recruiters and was highlighted in a WSJ article highlighting the top schools that recruiters love.</p>
<p>Oh and OOS scholarships…they are very generous and they do give more than what they list on the website. Yes they do stack…</p>
<p>My youngest is a rising senior in HS right now, and Iowa State is in her top two.<br>
Feel free to ask any other questions … GLAW is a great wealth of info too!</p>