So, you’ve made it through a year to two years of community college, congratulations! You’ve made it big time by transferring to Iowa State University, but you have no clue where to go from here or what resources are available to you.

There are so many other opportunities and resources to become involved as a first-year/transfer student at Iowa State.

Listed below are some of the numerous opportunities you can have as a transfer student.

Learning Communities

One of the best resources here are the learning communities. Especially since this is your first year here and classes can be very intimidating. You probably don’t know anyone, and if you do, it’s not very many.

Getting into a learning community can help to break that bubble and allow you to learn together with your peers and make friends in the process.

According to the Iowa State University Office of Admissions website, 70-percent of first-year students will join a learning community.

Statistically speaking, Iowa State has over 80 of them, so there is a high probability your major has a learning community.

As of 2017, U.S. News and World Report listed Iowa State as one of 11 public universities with “stellar” learning community programs and as of 2019, 67.2-percent of students at Iowa State were involved with a learning community.

The Testing Centers

Testing Centers are beyond helpful. Not only are they easy on the professors from having to give paper exams in class, but students also benefit from the ease of going in at whatever time to take an exam.

“The facilities like the testing centers and whatnot are all top notch. Coming from a small junior college like Iowa Central, we just had these computer labs. While its more of the same here, its a lot more professional of a process at Iowa State,” said Conley Messerly, a junior in Event Management.

Get those Gen-Eds Out of the Way Before Transferring

Getting that associate of arts degree before transferring is going to be such a great help. By doing so, you can focus your time and money on actually taking your major specific classes.

Speaking of majors, find your passion and declare a major before you arrive at Iowa State.

You can be open-option for as long as it takes to declare a major, but unless you want to be here forever, deciding a major before you arrive is going to the best for you financially as well as academically.

One way you can do that is by getting all of your general education requirements done before transferring.

Keep in mind, however, to check the course equivalency guide in accordance with the community colleges that Iowa State partners within the state of Iowa, Minnesota or Wisconsin.

If you don’t see your respective institution listed, you should be checking how and what credits will transfer from that institution to here using TRANSIT (transit.iastate.edu).

Reverse Credit Transfer program

So, you transferred before getting your associates degree. No worries!

The Iowa Department of Education has an agreement with the three regent public universities and the numerous community colleges right here in Iowa where you can partake in the Reverse Credit Transfer program.

By reverse-transferring your credits, you can acquire your Associate of Arts degree from the community college you transferred from while attending Iowa State.

When your transcript is sent back, your community college will review it and determine where and how a course credit will apply to your associate’s degree.

Keep in mind that course credit from Iowa State is not guaranteed to granted. The granting of credit is at the sole discretion of the office of admissions and the director of enrollment services at your community college.

Credits that are accepted appear as *TE (Transfer Equivalency) on the program evaluation at your community college.

So, how does it work?

Here at Iowa State, you may go to the Office of Admission and ask to participate in the reverse credit transfer program. They should be able to set you up to have your transcript sent to your respective Iowa community college.

If you have questions, you can go to their office located at 100 Enrollment Services Center in Ames, Iowa between the Department of  Mathematics and the Department of Music and Theater on the campus of Iowa State.

You may also contact them by phone at either 515-294-5836 (direct dial) or 1-800-262-3810 (toll-free). You also email them at [email protected].

Admissions Partnership Program

As a first-year or second-year student at an Iowa community college, you can enroll at a university and transfer your credits each semester you’re there to Iowa State.

“I think the most helpful thing for me [is] being a cross-enrolled student. I have been able to take a course at Iowa State while still being a DMACC [Des Moines Area CC], student. This has allowed me to slowly become integrated into the university without getting overwhelmed,” said Taylor Trueblood, a DMACC sophomore and future Iowa State student.

Taking advantage of this will be useful to you, but it does come with some requirements. The requirements for the program include:

• Be a recent high school graduate

• Have attended a community college intending to take classes that transfer to Iowa State.

• Have a minimum transferable GPA of 2.0.

• Complete a minimum of 24 transferable credit hours

• Meet the freshmen admission requirements

• Majors within the College of Design require a one-year pre-professional design core program

• I.e., architecture, graphic design, industrial design, and landscape architecture.

It’s important to note that students will not be admitted as students of Iowa State University under the admissions partnership program if they have not completed the admissions requirements that all first year, first-year students or transfers, students must satisfy.

Advisers and Professors

One of your most significant resources will be your advisers and professors. A lot of your professors are often also going to be academic advisers, so they will usually be able to help you out if you have questions.

Here they help you out when either trying to get internships, jobs, or just helping you find the right classes that will put you on the best path to being successful at Iowa State.

“You get taught by teachers who not only have experience in the classroom but has actual experience in the field, so they know exactly what they’re talking about,” Messerly said.