University of Iowa Top Questions

No stereotypes are ever accurate, although I would say that there is a great emphasis on the downtown scene and party life, but not on behalf of the University. I wish, although they do a wonderful job already, that extracurricular activities were promoted better, such as symposiums and club gatherings and invitational meetings.

To a limited extent. There is a vibrant night life but that doesn't just include drinking. As far as the second that is totally not true; plus, there are also soybeans...

This is not true at all! There are so many other things that you can do instead of drink everyday, and seriously, who would go out drinking on a monday night when they have an early class on tuesday?

Absolutly not. Iowa is a great school with tons of great undergraduate programs and students who really care about what they are learning.

Not for the entire student body.

NOPE! Not everyone parties/ drinks!!!!

Well, I have lived in Iowa my whole life and in Iowa City the past 15 years and can tell you-- Iowa City is a lot more then that. The stereotypes are not true, it is not at all a farming community, it is a good sized and educated community that takes pride in its residents and students.

Like any other college town, Iowa does have a party scene. However, the stereotype seems to exclude all of the amazing opportunities Iowa had to offer. There are so many activities that don't involve alcohol. Some of my favorites are the free movies at the Iowa Memorial Union on Thursday nights and the live bands and plays the university brings in. On the topic of campus size, the university does have a larger campus but you can get for any building on campus to another within ten minutes. Most of the incoming freshman will have classes on the east side of campus so you won't need to worry about walking to the west side, or as we say here "across the river". As for meeting people on campus, you get what you put in. The more activities you involve yourself in, the more people you will meet. I can't walk around campus without seeing at least one person I know.

Well, for the most part everyone here is really friendly which is one of the things I love about this campus and the students here. There are students from across the country and the world and I am an example of someone who is not from Chicago and I absolutely love it here. Our students are involved in more than 400 student organizations, over 100 majors, and about 10,000 of them have some sort of on-campus job. The majority of our students are not coming here because it is a party school and the ones who do fail out after a semester anyway.

Not not at all, there is a lot of diversity at Iowa. Everyone has a place. Iowa students like to go out and have a good time, however, if that is not for you, there are a lot of things to do besides go downtown.

For many people I would say yes

Like I said above, this is completely false. We live in a CITY - Iowa City, not on farm land. This campus is the farthest thing from being located "in the middle of nowhere". We are three (give or take) hours from major cities like Chicago, Omaha, Minneapolis and St. Louis! And our town feels like a city. There is always something going on, I am never bored or feel like all there is to do is drink. All of the students here, I feel, participate in so much more than just the night life. We have a Hancher Auditorium which brings in big events such as "Mama Mia!" and Billy Joel's "Movin' Out". We have free outdoor concerts in the summer and a lot of 2008 Presidential Candidates have visited our campus. We have had some big bands perform here: OAR, Big & Rich and Kelly Clarkson was scheduled to perform later in April (but that has recently been cancelled). Yes, we have fun, but we have fun by participating in other activities outside of drinking. There is so much to do, so much to get involved in - we have over 400 student organizations, I find it hard to believe that someone can not find something that suits their lifestyle! We even have a huge bike race as well as a festival that caters to runners with a 5K and 10K right in their own backyard! Huge events like Dance Marathon and Relay for Life show that students care about other things besides the size of their wallets because we continuously donate over a million dollars in one of the two, and are reaching for a goal of $100,000 in the other and this is its second year on our campus!

In many ways, no. The University of Iowa has some of the best students in the country. Students can be found applying for Fulbrights, interning in D.C., studying abroad, among others!

For some students, I would have to say yes. But not all students.

Not completely. While there is a fair number of students who give Iowa this stereotype, there is a huge number of students who choose to be responsible, and there is a wide range of activities to participate in that do not revolve around drinking and partying.

Definitely not since close to half of the students are from the suburbs of Chicago.

No

No

The stereotypes are as accurate as each individual student wants them to be. You can choose how much you want to party and how much you want to study. Whatever balance of the two that you decided to pursue, you will find other students who have worked out/desire a similar balance.

There are a ton of wild students here.