I was over on the Hawk board, in one of those threads about Why ISU is growing and Iowa is not, and those people clearly think that ISU is undercutting them, and apparently, we just don't know our place. They have all their stupid excuses, like ISU is easier to get in, that the flood of 2008 has prevented them from expanding ( no evidence of this), or that the Farm economy is allowing more kids to get into ISU. Apparently, they can not accept the fact that kids are CHOOSING ISU over their school, that their is a gimmick to ISU getting so big. They even say the BOR is favoring ISU. I have never seen a time in 40 years where they favored ISU. So what is the key to ISU's success and to their failure?
So how is ISU accomplishing the massive growth?
- Thread starter cemarclone
- Start date
Our best colleges or areas of study are in areas of high demand.
Ag and Engineering jobs are in high demand, while other jobs have struggled.
Simple as that.
Ag and Engineering jobs are in high demand, while other jobs have struggled.
Simple as that.
Another thing to add, I grew up in Northeast Iowa and no one around here went to the U of I. I seriously know like 5 people that went to school there. UNI, ISU, Hawkeye/Kirkwood, or one of the private schools caught 95% of the kids.
No one from around here goes to Iowa, so that isn't anything new. I think more kids are choosing ISU over the options that I listed.
No one from around here goes to Iowa, so that isn't anything new. I think more kids are choosing ISU over the options that I listed.
DSM metro is growing rapidly and is already bigger than the next 3 biggest metros combined. Ames is 30 minutes away. That simple.
The U of I is back filling with international students from China. They should have no beef.
ISU is the university that best serves Iowans. U of I has the western Chicago suburbs and China. It's all good
ISU is the university that best serves Iowans. U of I has the western Chicago suburbs and China. It's all good
The market is saturated with lawyers and that's one of their premiere programs, supply and demand and what not. If they were smart they would expand their acceptance of nursing school applicants because there is such a high demand for nurses now and they are the only public school in the state to offer a full program.
Obviously this is just a piece of the puzzle.
Obviously this is just a piece of the puzzle.
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I graduated when there were only about 23,000 students. Here's my take.
The recession made engineering jobs much more attractive. ISU is an engineering school.
High crop/farm prices made it more attractive to work in agriculture. ISU is an ag school.
ISU is near DSM, which in constantly in the news for growth rates and best cities to work/live/start a business in. ISU gets a direct benefit from the close proximity.
The basketball teams' success gives ISU more airtime in local and national markets. That generates interest.
The recession made engineering jobs much more attractive. ISU is an engineering school.
High crop/farm prices made it more attractive to work in agriculture. ISU is an ag school.
ISU is near DSM, which in constantly in the news for growth rates and best cities to work/live/start a business in. ISU gets a direct benefit from the close proximity.
The basketball teams' success gives ISU more airtime in local and national markets. That generates interest.
It's a combination of a lot of things.
1. Farm economy is/was hot and a lot of people are choosing something agriculture related as their major.
2. DSM metro is booming. More local kids = more future students.
3. Iowa has not had a great reputation lately, especially for campus safety and partying.
4. ISU is very aggressive in recruitment of community college students and high school students. Iowa has increased this last year and this and only last year started doing TV ads.
5. ISU has really recruited internationally very hard, especially China. (11% of enrollment is international)
6. ISU alums stay in state more than Iowa alums. Local legacies are great for enrollment.
1. Farm economy is/was hot and a lot of people are choosing something agriculture related as their major.
2. DSM metro is booming. More local kids = more future students.
3. Iowa has not had a great reputation lately, especially for campus safety and partying.
4. ISU is very aggressive in recruitment of community college students and high school students. Iowa has increased this last year and this and only last year started doing TV ads.
5. ISU has really recruited internationally very hard, especially China. (11% of enrollment is international)
6. ISU alums stay in state more than Iowa alums. Local legacies are great for enrollment.
Definitely an oversimplification. I went to Iowa State to study a program for which Iowa is generally thought of (and Iowa State is not), and I was far from the only one. The Iowa State campus and overall "feel" is superior to Iowa's for most 17- and 18-year-olds. ISU has also done a much better job of marketing itself to future students than UI. For example, I received a scholarship from ISU targeted at in-state students. UI did not offer a comparable scholarship, so I didn't even consider them. ISU really appeared to care about retaining in-state talent.
I also don't think UI really felt any pressure to be focused on growth until recently when the funding model almost changed dramatically. UI likely didn't expect ISU to grow quite so quickly, but they would have been okay with the enrollment gap shrinking so long as they remained the largest. Now that that isn't the case anymore, they have ramped up their own marketing and are going harder after Iowa high schoolers. ISU has the advantage now but it could change in just a few years for any number of reasons - farm crash, Iowa athletic success and/or ISU failures, etc. Of course, the opposite could also happen and ISU could widen its lead.
AIB was definitely a reaction to ISU's growth and increasing command over the metro. I still think the plan for that, whether they'd admit it or not, was to have a full University of Iowa - Des Moines branch campus up and running within a few years as a direct attack on ISU.
I've noticed quite a bit of advertisement up here for ISU. The UW has similar strengths (engineering, ag among others). Plus if they are still offering that nice out of state scholarship I know myself and a couple others got.......it's a good choice if you want a great school that's not in the same town as your parents.
And as an out of state choice, ISU has a far more attractive price tag when compared to the UW or Illinois (with again, similar strengths in ag and engineering).
And as an out of state choice, ISU has a far more attractive price tag when compared to the UW or Illinois (with again, similar strengths in ag and engineering).
One thing that can definitely be ruled out is the BoR favoring ISU.
Given how much more ISU serves the taxpayers of the state it is a shame UI has been given such preference for decades.
Iowa State has also been courting the out of state and international money, to a lesser degree than UIowa; but it has still had a significant impact on the growth of ISU. Iowa State is much easier to get into than UMN, UIUC, and UWI especially for business and engineering, making it an attractive and inexpensive option for OOS students.
2005 Frosh Class
73% instate = 2750 new frosh
25% OOS = 950 new frosh
2% international
2014 Frosh Class
58% = 3500 new frosh
37% = 2250 new frosh
5%
2005 Frosh Class
73% instate = 2750 new frosh
25% OOS = 950 new frosh
2% international
2014 Frosh Class
58% = 3500 new frosh
37% = 2250 new frosh
5%
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I'll preface by saying that I no longer live in the state and have not lived in Iowa for going on 15 years. I do, however, still visit my hometown fairly frequently, and have family/friends that live in Iowa.
When I was growing up in North Central Iowa, many of the high schoolers in my class didn't even know Iowa State or recognize it. EVERYONE was a Hawkeye fan, and a lot of my classmates went to Iowa. Walking around town, it was incredibly rare to see anyone wearing ISU gear, but entirely common to see Hawkeye gear.
When I go back now, it is much more mixed, and I almost think there is more ISU gear than Iowa being worn. In my opinion, it all comes down to brand recognition and recruitment efforts / 'advertising' by Iowa State. I am thrilled by it, of course, and hope it continues.
When I was growing up in North Central Iowa, many of the high schoolers in my class didn't even know Iowa State or recognize it. EVERYONE was a Hawkeye fan, and a lot of my classmates went to Iowa. Walking around town, it was incredibly rare to see anyone wearing ISU gear, but entirely common to see Hawkeye gear.
When I go back now, it is much more mixed, and I almost think there is more ISU gear than Iowa being worn. In my opinion, it all comes down to brand recognition and recruitment efforts / 'advertising' by Iowa State. I am thrilled by it, of course, and hope it continues.
I'd say another big factor is the admissions departments at both schools. Iowa state's admissions department has done a great job in getting kids to want to go to Iowa State. Getting kids to attend is about selling the school and imo Iowa State is a lot more aggressive and proactive. Iowa seems to have the mind set that Iowa kids will naturally want to go there and so they don't need to try as hard (or at least that seemed to be the case when I was looking at schools)