I
came to Iona in 2008 and I thought it was
going to be a great experience. The tour guides were
very enthusiastic about the college (which you don't always find
to be true on some college tours) and the campus
is beautiful (this hasn't changed thankfully). However, they are lying
through their teeth to everyone that takes their tours. This
school simply can't live up to its reputation. I used
to think the business program was pretty good and was
happy with my decision to attend Iona, but after two
years I became very disgruntled with the business program. It
is greatly lacking in more than a few areas. I
wish I would have known about this website when I
was applying to colleges. I would have made a different
decision. By the time i realized that I had made
the wrong decision, I didn't have any way I could
afford to transfer out of the school for a better
university.
Academics are said to be excellent. This is a
lie. Most classes are incredibly easy to skate through with
minimal effort. I honestly expected that the workload would be
more challenging and would teach me time-management among other things.
This never happened. I took 6 classes (you need 4
classes a semester to be considered full-time) through most of
college and had a lot of free time. Studying seems
to be optional in most classes. The professors claim they
want you to study, but they rarely will test your
knowledge of what they wanted you to study other than
on exams. You are rarely penalized if you can't answer
questions (even in 300 and 400 level classes) that are
sometimes based on material from 100 or 200 level classes.
They don't promote a desire to learn in their students,
which is evident in their students' demeanor in class.
They
recently instituted a mandatory attendance policy due to the lack
of attendance in classes. It has improved attendance but has
not led to better learning. I can tell that many
of the students never look at the material outside of
class and just find people to cheat off of before
the exams, which in general are not that difficult. Most
professors could care less if you use your phone during
an exam and rarely punish cheating which runs rampant.
Most
classes require that you work in groups for a project
that counts for a large portion of your grade (30-40%).
The students will generally put a decent amount of work
into these projects and they are good for those who
want to be thrust into a leadership role in small
groups (2-6 people).
The social life is terrible. This is
a suitcase school. For your own good, don't believe the
people, who say the students stay on weekends. This school
is a ghost town on weekends. The students, who live
on campus, display a strong need to be around their
families and friends from high school at home rather than
on campus, which kind of defeats the purpose of living
on-campus. My advice is to join a clique as soon
as you get there or you will be excluded from
just about everything that happens around campus.
Proximity to NYC
is great but if you are broke it will mean
nothing. There used to be a good number of bars
on North Ave. but that is no more. Beechmont, Spectators,
Buffalo Wild Wings, and Smokehouse (beer and wine only) are
the best places to go for drinks; however, they are
all pretty strict with carding given their proximity to a
few colleges. (Iona, Monroe, etc.)
Drug use is pretty high
on campus. It is very easy to get pretty much
any type of drug you want. Most likely someone on
your dorm floor is a drug dealer.
Your roommates will
probably suck freshman year and the administration is less than
willing to help you switch unless you are in grave
danger in your current situation. The switching process can take
over a month. The rooms are way too small. You
will literally be stepping on each other in some of
the dorms. Single rooms, a few double rooms, 5, 6,
7, 9, or 10 people rooms are available. They give
you a little more space for 6-10 people but not
nearly enough to be comfortable. There was a new dorm
planned but the town council voted against it since the
surrounding residents are not fans of the students. This is
a red-flag in my opinion that the residents that surround
a small college (about 4,000 students) are pissed off with
a student body that generally isn't around the campus outside
of school hours.
Food selection is pretty good on an
off campus. Quiznos is on campus. The delis are great
for sandwiches and beer. The pizza is good and one
of the best places on the meal plan is Smokehouse
Chili Grill. Food is pretty expensive wherever you go but
they have some cheap options at most places.
Overall I
would not recommend this school. You can get your money's
worth elsewhere.