I recently I headed out to Iowa State University to visit one of my best friends. While I was visiting, my friend made sure to show me everything possible that goes into going to a big state school. Keep in mind, I go to Carroll University, a small private Wisconsin college with a total of 3,539 students and Iowa State has a whopping 36,660 students. That’s 10 times the amount of students at Carroll. 10x!
So here are some of my thoughts and experiences from my small school loving perspective:
1. My first thought driving through the Iowa State campus was, “Wow there are a lot of people out here”. It was between classes on a Friday afternoon when I arrived and it was a madhouse. People walking in the street, across the street, mobs down the sidewalks, and so on. I couldn’t fathom walking to class through that many people and making it on time. And I thought pushing past two people hogging the whole sidewalk was bad.
2. Next, it was time for the campus tour. It took us about 20 minutes to walk from the apartment to the other side of campus, at Carroll it takes half that if you walk slow. My calves were burning and I was huffing my way down the sidewalks and up and down stairs as I was lead into multiple 100+ person lecture halls, past a massive library, and around a bunch of residence halls. I was so confused as to how we were still walking. When does it end?
3. I got to experience “Hilton Madness”, which is basically just a giant pre basketball season pep rally. Walking into the Hilton Coliseum I thought I was getting ready for a professional game or something. They had a coed scrimmage, a 3pt shooting contest, a dunk contest and had a literal t-shirt cannon. I was speechless the whole time, looking around in amazement at the hundreds of people just hanging out on a Saturday night. The size of that arena could fit Carroll’s whole population in one small section.
4. We didn’t eat on campus even once, which is pretty much all I do at Carroll. I rarely go off campus to eat but at Iowa State they do all the time because their campus is so big and they have a ton of places to eat around there. Jeff’s Pizza, West Street Deli, etc. It was all delicious but I couldn’t afford to eat off campus all the time. Even though you could have a meal plan who could resist all the options? Plus they have a Starbucks right there on campus and I would go completely broke. Instantly.
5. Two words. Sorority. Houses. This is something that Carroll doesn’t have at all and I’m almost glad we don’t. The chapters at big schools like Iowa State are so big that sometimes you don’t even know the names of some of your sisters. That’s scary. I can name all of my sisters, even the new members I’ve known for a few weeks. Looking at rooms of 30 crowded bunk beds where most of the girls sleep, sharing a separate room with your desks and dressers with 2-3 girls, a bathroom with a shelf full of about 100 straighteners and curling irons. Insanity. It’s hard to imagine how different it would be to have that much going on in one place.
I have always wondered how my life would be different had I chosen a bigger school but never really considered transferring. I am thankful I got the opportunity to experience what a weekend at Iowa State looks like but, I am content with the small private college I chose four years ago. The lifestyles are drastically different and it all depends on your personal preference but if you have the opportunity to experience both, do it. It will only make you surer of your choice.
