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I graduated from Iowa State in May 2016. I studied at Iowa State for 2 years. I came in as an exchange student from India and loved the environment so much that I decided to transfer.Before continuing with my reasons to transfer, I would like to say that everything at Iowa State does seem to be about money like Kyle Roode said. The university seems to be very focused on making money in any way they can. Another thing about Iowa State that was hard for me to adjust to was the weather which is very cold.Moving to the good things:The labs (I am a computer engineer and hence, talking about computer labs): I loved the labs. Most of the labs were related to the course material and planned very thoughtfully to enhance the learning. The infrastructure of the physical labs definitely needed upgrade as the hardware was old and broke down frequently. However, recently, I have heard that they have made some major changes in that area.Professors and classes: This is a tricky one. Depending on the professor, either your life can be heaven or hell. Ratemyprofessor reviews are mostly true and certainly very helpful in deciding which class to take with which professor. Most professors though are ready to spend extra hours outside class to help you with study material. However, there are some bitter nuts. Computer engineer and computer science classes are heavily application based (lab based). They have interesting material and require hours of work outside classes and labs.Exams: Most professional classes are project based instead of exam based which means that projects influence the grade more than exams. However, most classes do have about 2 exams. Classes in the first two years of engineer (basic science and math classes) do have more exams and are not project based.Tutoring: I think that Iowa State has a huge tutoring culture. International students and women in science and engineering can get one subject free each semester. Tutoring services are always employing good students to help all the students perform better in their studies.Clubs and activities: During the period of good weather, there are a lot of out door activities taking place everyday. Students relax in the campanile on their hammocks and play frisbee with their friends. It is a delightful sight. The autumn is the most beautiful season at Iowa State. There are many clubs at Iowa State as well. Each semester they organize an event where students can browse through all the clubs.Sports: I have literally no idea about this. However, I dont really think that the football team is very good.People: Everyone is super friendly and always ready to help.Advisers: I think I would have probably died without my academic adviser. She was a life saver. She helped me understand the system (I was an international transfer student so their was a bit of a learning curve) and also helped me conquer it.Campus: The campus is beautiful and full of life. We see all the seasons (mainly winter) and the fall is beautiful. We have a lot of squirrels and rabbits running around the campus. The art work is unique and meaningful as well.Restaurants: There are definitely some great ones out there but I am not going to take any names because I dont want to turn this into an advertisement but I do have a favorite Chinese place, Brazilian place (dead giveaway), Italian place (obvious again) and a Mexican place.Safety Escort: From evening 6pm to morning 6am, the safety escort service ensures that you get home safely. This service was the only reason I could stay on campus till as late as I wanted.Welch/Downtown/etc: There are some good bars out there and most places have a great university feel to them, especially if they are located on Welch.Transportation with Ames: Cyride is pretty great, especially with the app, it makes it super easy to track the buses. The buses are also free with the student ID which makes travel by cyride very budget friendly.Transportation in general: There are a few cab companies out there but they are expensive. Moreover, uber is very limited. Transportation to places like Des Moines is available but again, is expensive.Overall, my experience at Iowa State was very positive. I enjoyed my time there and made a lot of good friends.

I studied Computer Engineering at Iowa State University. I came as a transfer student from Amity University, Noida. I spent two years at both the universities.My two years at Iowa State were wonderful yet hard. It was hard to get my credits from Amity transferred to Iowa State.Other than that, I had a wonderful time at ISU. I met some amazing people and learnt a lot of practical application. My bookish knowledge was finally being put to use and it felt great. ISU focuses alot on lab work and that is exactly what makes the entire experience worth it.You are going to find that the classes in the first two years are much much harder than the classes in your next two years. That is because, in the first two years, you are being tested to see whether you can survive in the university and then a professional environment.For more information about ISU check: What is your review of Iowa State University?

In my case? No friggen’ way!As a physics graduate of Hastings College (HC) in Nebraska, I ended up with a 3.72/4.00 GPA. While respectable, I wasn’t even close to being the smartest person within the Physics Department. As a graduate student at Iowa State University (ISU) in Aerospace Engineering, I would depart there with a 3.46/4.00 GPA. While still in the respectable category, there is a good story related to my transition time between these two wonderful institutions that bears telling… finally!While a physics major at HC, my major professor (and very dear friend) Dr. Clyde Sachtleben, was pretty adamant that —as a graduating senior— I take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) in physics. While not too keen on the idea, I relented and did all the requisite registration work to place myself on the test taking roster. The only problem was that the night before the exam was to take place, my member-of-the-junior-class brother, along with my college roommate, decided we should go out and celebrate our pending graduation at a local pub.After a few hours of throwing back some adult beverages, we followed many of our fellow students back to the Hastings College cafeteria where —per college finals week tradition— our professors were cooking up a midnight buffet. Targeted for those diligently studying for their exams (and maybe the GRE?) we enjoyed a wonderful repast before finally hitting the sack in the wee hours of the morning… the morning I was scheduled to take the Physics GRE!Needless to say, my performance was not up to my usual HC standards. When the results finally came in, I would learn that only 25% of those students taking the exam when I did scored lower than me. Not good… especially in the eyes of Dr. Sachtleben. Alas, what was done was done, and I was still targeting graduate school at ISU.I would learn much later —as I reviewed my ISU file just before graduation ceremonies— that ISU was also well-aware of my poor performance back in 1981. A letter, prominently displayed on the top of my file,and signed by the Chair of the Aerospace Engineering Department at ISU, asked, “… do you think we should admit a student who has such low GRE scores?” A valid question, the answer to which they obviously chose to overlook.15 years later, after 15 astronaut applications, I would become ISU’s first —and currently only- United States astronaut.Keep lookin’ up!