UNI

[ISUChippewa]

I graduated from UNI back in '97, so while it was thirteen years ago since I last had classes there, I can tell you firsthand my impressions from being an alumni.

Campus - very nice and pretty, big enough so that it doesn't feel too cramped, but small enough to be able to get to about anywhere in fifteen minutes, especially if you have a bike. There are a couple of nice, new buildings that were built after I graduated (naturally) with the Wellnes and Recreation Center and the new Performing Arts Building. Cedar Falls is a bit smaller than Ames, but is a very nice college town. One of my favorite things about the town is the close proximity to campus and vice versa; as soon as you step off campus you can be on the Hill, which used to be (still is?) the main social spot for students.

Dorms - don't know if I can help you much here. I'm sure they have changed dramatically since I was there more than ten years ago. I'm pretty sure they don't have single sex dorms anymore the way they used to when I was there. I lived in Bartlett for three years FWIW and made a lot of good friends there, although Bartlett had a reputation at the time (somewhat earned) of being a lame dorm.

Activities - I think you can find plenty of clubs and activities to get involved with, including intramurals. Going to athletic events might be more fun than when I was there, actually. There is actual tailgating at football games now, which never happened when I was in school, and with the basketball program getting better and better in recent years I'm sure basketball games are more of an event now than they used to be.


My wife went there her freshman year, and I went up to visit her often. UNI folks will poo-poo how much of a ghost town it becomes on the weekends but it is the truth. She transferred to ISU her sophomore year and loved it.

To this point; both objectively and subjectively, when I was going to school back in the '90's at least, I found the whole "suitcase school" depiction to be way overblown. I didn't go home very many weekends and was always able to find plenty to do and plenty of people from my various social circles to hang out with on weekends. Granted, there are some people who would go home every weekend, but I think you are going to find that at every school, not just UNI. Granted, things may have changed since I was there and maybe it actually is more of a real "suitcase school" now than it used to be.

I would also suggest asking this same question over on PantherNation.com. Obviously, that is a UNI-centered forum, and a lot of people over there can probably give you more specific answers.

 

[Clark]

I won't take UNI's for one simple reason. Their information systems class is garbage. No SQL taught. I've got a good friend at UNI and we're about in the same place (two different paths...mine was a lot of bigger classes...his all smalller) when it comes to understanding accounting and the concepts, but when it comes to actually using software, I blow him out of the water. I was shocked when I learned Iowa and UNI didn't use SQL which can be used across 95% of accounting programs. I can't actually think of a good reason not to use it, especially when things keep becoming more and more electronic.

If I remember right from one of the pamphlets in Gerdin's accounting office, 66% of students who have attempted the CPA exam since Gerdin opened have passed on the first try, so not a big difference.

I'm a firm believer that the CPA comes down to the individual. Professors can lead you in the right direction, but if you aren't willing to put some effort in on your own, you aren't going to get squat out of it anyways.

First of all, I think the %'s quoted are a little off. I think what you and cyclone13 have posted are the % of people who pass at least one test the first time. (I think the national average is roughly 50% so it's still very good)

Also, when I was going to school (graduated in 2008) the figure was 86% for UNI. I didn't correct cyclone13 because that number could have dropped since then.

 

[3GenClone]

Yup for sure.

I would suggest UNI to anyone that grew up in a small town and likes smaller class sizes. I attended ISU for a year and even with how much I love the athletics, the school was too big for me. I made a lot of friends at my time at UNI, it just has that small school feel.

I'll agree with this. I was the exact opposite - grew up in West Des Moines and was used to large class sizes so I transferred from UNI to ISU after my freshman year. That being said, there was a lot I liked about UNI: the class sizes were small enough that the faculty actually remembered your name and were much more personable than the faculty at ISU. UNI actually has a strong intramurals program, but to get the benefits of it you would have to join a fraternity.

 

[ISUChippewa]

That being said, there was a lot I liked about UNI: the class sizes were small enough that the faculty actually remembered your name and were much more personable than the faculty at ISU

I'll second this; class sizes, even for general education lecture format classes, I had plenty of professors who would remember my face and name. I got to be buddies with a couple of my professors once I got into my major classes, and even partied on a semi-regular basis with a couple of them.

 

[Al_4_State]

UNI has great "scenery", probably the best in the State (between education and nusring), but most of them go elsewhere on the weekend, from my experience.

Again, it's a nice place, but if you're looking for a "big time" college experience (and it sounds like the OP is), I'd avoid it. That's not what UNI is about.