University
of Iowa is a typical big state school. Many of
the classes are mass lectures where you furiously take notes
in an auditorium and there are a lot of exams
with grading curves that are designed primarily to weed out
unmotivated students. In general, to be a successful student, you're
expected to memorize information and apply principles on exams. You
don't necessarily have to attend every class and fully understand
the material. You just need to be the best on
exams which isn't too hard to achieve when you're in
a room full of people who really don't know why
they are in college. University of Iowa is a
degree-granting machine. It does not inspire you to really pursue
knowledge/research and does not prepare you to succeed in any
real job. Generally other students don't care about anything more
than passing classes with good grades. Professors are more focused
on academic research. There is little academic support if you're
struggling in fundamental courses like principles of physics (I had
to rely on going to office hours of TAs from
China who did not really have the competence to provide
adequate help).
Attending the University of Iowa was the
biggest regret of my life. I only went there because
my parents pushed me to go there for the low
in-state rates, somewhat respectable national reputation, and because I really
didn't know better at the age of 18. If I
could do my life over, I would have fought much
harder to go to a smaller private school like Brown,
Northwestern, or University of San Diego that would provide better
education quality and the direction/support I feel that I need
to succeed.
Thinking about the time I wasted at Iowa
just makes me a really sad panda.
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