University of Iowa Top Questions

Students and staff are friendly. City is amazing. There is diversity but it also feels like a small town. You will often run into people you know despite the large campus.

Iowa is an awesome school to go to. It's right in the heart of downtown Iowa City. The area is very diverse and accepting of everyone. Everyone is a true Hawkeye!

Iowa overall is an absolutely amazing school. The students are generally friendly, the campus is easily walkable, with nothing more than a 15 minute walk away. The teachers love their jobs and are there to help you succeed. I only had one class I didn't like in the entire year I was there. There's a lot to do, and the selection of classes is stunning. Unless you stay cooped up alone in your room all day, there's always fun to be had outside, even in the dead of the very snowy and cold winters. At the IMU there are free concerts and stand-up comedy, along with foreign films at the little theater in it. School pride is huge in Iowa, and the campus is dead when there's a home game of football. The cafeteria food is mediocre. Nearly everything they serve at Burge is processed and pre-cooked. If you go at certain times, there will be no food out, and they tend to close early. Don't go to Burge between 2:30-5:00 pm or after 7pm. There will be nothing out but cold hamburgers and cold fries. If you want some decent food, I would suggest Hillcrest. They have real soft serve ice cream and toppings to go on it, along with a fresher looking selection of food.

The Campus is amazing, and while rather large, its seperated nicely so that youre rarely stuck running across campus between classes. The medical school dominates most of the west side of the river, while most other majors are on the east. The Downtown area, were all the bars are, are right across from the pentacrest making FAC (friday after class) easy to get to. The police kinda suck, they dont have that "kids will be kids" attitude that helps everybody get along. Instead, i once saw them stop a girl as she tried keying into the dorms. i mean, shes obviously going to bed, and shes a step away from being safe... let it go man. but they dont, cause theyre dicks.

I enjoy my academic life at Iowa. I haven't had any boring or uninteresting professors. I have had one TA that wasn't up to par, but the rest have been good. When I tell people I attend UI they always say "oh I've heard about that school, it's very good." I was talking with someone from India(she immigrated here 3 months ago), and even she heard of UI and gave the school much praise. Based on participation and all the people who wear "Iowa gear," I would say much of the students take pride in the campus. I spend most of my time at the main library(2nd floor). The law library is also excellent for studying too. Getting to the critique of Iowa. I would change how much they stress diversity because the students are here, but actually promoting active diversity, talking and learing from cultures is not something that happens as much as diversity is promoted. Being a student of color, I would say this is one of the biggest complaintes among my peers. A recent controversy occurred when two student's had racial slurs written on their door and The University didn't do as much as it could have to intervene. A student group actually did the brunt of the work. I was upset that a spokesperson for UI or someone else didn't take the initiative to put something together since diversity is promoted so much.

The best thing about Iowa is that it's big....but not too big. I love the size of The University! It's big enough that you don't see the same people every day...especially if you don't want to! However, I often run into my friends on campus, and I feel very comfortable walking around the campus. While I feel like I know the campus well, I still learn new things about it daily! I'm always saying, "Wow! I never knew this was here!" When I tell people I attend Iowa they always say, "Ohhhhhh...." I know they're usually referring back to the stereotypes that they have about Iowa so I usually just smile, and say "Yea, I love it." I love the amount of school pride that Iowa has too! When I transferred here, I was amazed at the amount of students I would see dressed up tailgating and going to all of the football games. My first football game was awesome! I know nothing about football and I was still so involved in the game and all the hype that I was hoarse when I left! Tailgating is fairly fantastic here...where else is it acceptable to start drinking with your roommate's parents at 9:00 in the morning? Definitely at Iowa! One of my favorite memories was calling my Dad during this year's Michigan State game when it had gone into overtime, and being so excited that I was at the game because my Dad was watching it on television. It was so cool to hear my Dad getting excited and telling me how weird it was that he could hear the game through my phone and on the television! :) I spend a lot of my time at the library, I hate going there, but it's one of the few places I can get work done! :)

I love it here at Iowa. I think the campus is really pretty, although it is very spread out. I don't ever think of Iowa as being too large or too small. When I tell people from back home that I'm attending the University of Iowa, the typical reaction is, "Wow, good for you!"

Iowa is a huge public school that is the major player in a very safe, supportive, engaging community. We may get a bad rap for being a state school in the middle of nowhere, but anyone who looks down on Iowa (the state or the university) has probably never been there. The student body is essentially an all-white Midwestern bunch, but they represent a wide range of hometowns, income levels, and political leanings. The size of the school is an advantage most of the time; the school can afford the very best facilities and attract big names for both faculty positions and special appearances. Sometimes, however, it can be difficult to find your way through the bureaucracy. Because of this, I wouldn't recommend Iowa to anyone who has trouble acting independently or feels they might need some 'guidance' or 'direction.' Academic advising is virtually non-existent. Many academic programs are very strong (journalism, creative writing, astronomy, pre-medicine, construction management, speech pathology/audiology, printmaking, athletic training, business all spring to mind). Many athletic teams are very weak (wrestling is our one gem). Student pride is exceptionally high and it seems like everyone is involved with the student or city community in at least one way.

The best thing about Iowa is the nightlife. After that I think the HUGE amount of class choices is a really nice thing. I love the size of Iowa; it is big but when you walk through out campus you see people you know and its nice not knowing most people. When I tell people i go to Iowa they always assume (correctly) that I'm a big partier. Iowa City is the perfect college town, with more bars than you can count it is really fun. It also has a lot of locally run business coffee shops, vintage, ect. School pride is really big! Iowa is famous for its tailgating and once you go to a game you'll understand why.

Good School, lots of bar life. There really is a lot more here, but you have to look. It's the definition of a "college town"