Iowa State University Top Questions

I wish that I had known how challenged I would actually be when going to college. I knew it would be more difficult than high school but I didn't realize how much more difficult it would be. In college, A's don't just come to you anymore, it takes work. First semester will be the hardest and most challenging semester but second semester is when you find where you fit in and establish a routine. Through it all, don't forget to have fun! You are only in college once. Discover who you are.

I wish I would have known the study skills I know now. My GPA is still below where I need it to be, almost solely because of the first two semesters that I didn't take seriously enough. I wish I had known the ramifications of my low grades when I was a freshman. That would make things a lot easier now.

It is better to speak with an adivsor sooner than later.

One of the only things that I regret not knowing before I started attending Iowa State University is how much I would miss my family. Being seven hours away from home, it is sometimes difficult to come back home to visit. I also recognize from many other students that we can quite frequently get wrapped up in our life at school, that finding time to travel can sometimes appear as a challenge. Another thing that I wish I would have realized is how difficult the financial responsibilities would become.

No one is going to tell you what you are best at or what career you should persue. Thats something you have to decide on your own and if you aren't certain by your sophomore year, you are probably wasting thousands of dollars on classes that won't help you to graduate with the credits you really need.

I wish that I had known about the in-field jobs that are available. I got a job programming while I am a Computer Engineering Student! There are a million jobs on campus if you just look for them and many off campus!

I wish I would have known how to better manage my time and just how mych work the classes would be. I had learned time management skills that will be very useful in the future as well. There was definitely a difference in the work load here from what it was in high school. With a bit of effort I was able to balance school, work, and free time.

Before I came to college, I wish someone would have taught me to manage my time better. I am slowly getting better, but at the start of the year, I was having trouble managing my time. You really need to prioritize and set goals for yourself in order to be most successful. It is very important to put school work first and save fun for later, but it can be a hard lesson to learn sometimes.

I wish I would have known more about it so I could have come sooner. I refused to look at Iowa State when I got out of high school because it was "The Cyclones" so I choose a school further away and didn't do as well and dropped out. Had I realized how nice it was, how it was away from home but not too far, I probably would have finished my degree years earlier.

How important it is to attend class. This does not only apply to my school.

Through high school, I got easy A's, but at college I'm finding that I actually have to read my textbooks and that studying is vital to doing well on exams. I was expecting college to be difficult, but I am finding that the studying is much more in depth than I'm used to. I also was surprised that I met so many new people so quickly!

How to study and prepare for tests. In high school I never really had to study much for anything. Having that mentality really burned me my first year and it really took a hit on my GPA. Now that I know what I have to do I am not as worried about my classes and am able to focus a lot easier.

I wish I would have known more about my finances before coming to this school. I pay out of state tuition to go here, and it is very expensive, but completely worth it.

Before coming to Iowa State University I wish someone would have told me to take advantage of every opportunity to get involved, even if it's something small and seemingly insignificant. It opens the doors to so many chances to grow in leadership, experience, maturity. It's also a great way to establish a sense of community at Iowa State University and make it feel like home, it makes the transition into college so much easier.

How to balance everything out

I wish I would’ve done more work on researching internship opportunities. At Iowa State it is mandatory for my major in Apparel Merchandising to find an internship out of Iowa. I have to do the internship this summer so researching the different companies for possible internships is really taking away from my studies. I wish I would’ve spent more time beforehand researching that way I would be more prepare now than what I am.

Go to every meet-and-greet thing you can when you first get here. You will meet people you will be friends with for the next four years.

Nothing more than I already did. It was very welcoming.

I wish I would have looked into the scholarship opportunities more before getting here. I have to attend my first semester with a student loan and now I have realized how many financial opportunities there are here.

High school classes do not adequately prepare you for the amount of work you need to do for college classes, especially in the engineering major.