I do recommend this college. The teaching staff is amazing and it is one of the cheapest schools in the Midwest. If you are considering going into engineering or veterinary medicine, the university specializes in both. I would go here again, it is located in a small town so you get that small town charm. There is a bus system that goes around the town and campus which is free for students.
You can walk from one end of campus to the other in 15-20 minutes. There are bike racks everywhere, so biking makes it faster. Mens basketball and football are huge gatherings. Student tickets can be purchased cheaply. Staying in the dorms is great, they also have off-campus student apartments that you only pay for while you are there during the year (no subletting), and fraternities and sororities are popular. VEISHEA is an annual event that is for the campus as well as the community. The campus is beautiful in all seasons.
ISU is a great choice. Living in the dorms for one year is a must. I went to this college because they had an amazing education department and plus the Hixson Scholarship was awarded to me. ISU is a nice close campus where you can walk from one end to the other in about ten minutes. If living off campus is your choice Ames rental prices are one of the highest in the state. If I were to do it over again I sure would, the only thing I would change would be to start college a single person and don't miss anything that would come my way.
Iowa State University was a really fantastic experience. It offers a world-class, challenging education that goes far to prepare you for the "real world". The only problem is that it's in Iowa. Depending on where you want to work or what field you want to go into, this may hurt your chances.
My advice to any student considering this college would be to make sure your going there to learn otherwhise you won't be there long. I would recomment this college to everyone and if I had to do all over again I would. The pros to this college is that you have plenty of support (financially/acadimically). The cons is that the beginning of every year brings partiers so you have to stay focused. You may not know that Iowa City if based around this college, so you not only have the campus support but the support of the city.
Iowa State University is a great place to get an education, meet friends and have fun. I would recommend this college to anyone. I would certainly go to this college again if I had the oppotunity. The campus is easy to navigate and everything is within walking distance. The tuition is very affordable especially for in state tuition. The Professors are all very willing to give extra help or just sit and talk about any subject, especially the one they teach. The fans at sporting events are great students and local area fans. Even if you may not be a sports fan you can still have fun at the games. I would recommend that everyone who chooses ISU take Econ 101 with Alexander and Econ 344 with Choi, no matter what major one may be they will learn a lot from those classes.
I would recommend this college for students pursuing an engineering degree. If I were to do it again I would probably not choose this college. Its pros are that it is really peaceful and safe. The people are also very friendly. Its cons are there is not much to do and no real college party life. People might not know that there is really only a few things to do in such a small town. People might not know it is better to save your money, do a couple years at a junior college to get your basic classes and to avoid the gigantic lectures at Iowa State, and then transfer to Iowa State to finish your degree. This college is very good for minorities since there are many tuition scholarships available to them. People might not also know that the advisers are not very helpful. I believe that may be true at many other colleges after discussing with my colleagues.
I would recommend Iowa State. The campus is beautiful, the academic programs are pretty good (especially in the sciences and engineering), the price is not bad compared to other schools, and I made some good friends there. Sometimes I worry that the place may be headed for a downturn soon because of reduced state funding in recent years, but for now it remains a high-quality school.
