The good news for ISU students who live in the dorms: Students’ overall GPAs are increasing.

The bad news: The number of midterm warnings they’re receiving is increasing as well.

Overall, GPAs in Iowa State’s residence halls have been rising in the past few years. In fall 1997, Iowa State’s average GPA in the dorms was 2.65, while last fall, residents’ average GPA was 2.72.

But residence analyst Donald Whalen said the number of total midterms this semester is 3,332, which is 203 more than last semester’s tally.

Of the three residence hall associations, Union Drive Association showed the fewest number of midterms, with 996 midterms out of 2,030 residents. Richardson Court Association received a total of 1,293 midterms in relation to its 2,727 residents, and Towers Residence Association had 1,043 midterm grade reports for its 1,816 residents.

Dean of Students Kathleen MacKay said although it is difficult to comment without analyzing the data in depth, many components could affect GPAs and midterms.

“There are a number of factors that can contribute to that. One could be a shift in the change of numbers [in residence associations], from freshman to seniors,” she said.

Last fall, RCA ranked first in GPAs with 2.88, UDA second with 2.79 and TRA third with 2.55.

Director of Residence Randy Alexander said characteristics of the residence areas affect why residence halls rank differently in GPAs.

“[For example], RCA has the two honors houses. It pulls up the average a little bit. Also, there are more upperclassmen in the UDA and RCA,” he said.

TRA has placed last in GPA average for the past few years. Knapp Hall Director Ben Chamberlain said there could be different explanations for this trend.

“I think that the high concentration of freshmen in the Towers has a lot to do with it,” he said. “Freshmen tend to have a lower GPA. A little of it also probably has to do with the culture of Towers.”

Andrew Siefer, resident of Chamberlain House in Friley Hall, said UDA may have the least number of midterms because of an older population.

“[Older students have] learned how to take tests in college. They have learned how college classes compare to earlier classes,” said Siefer, junior in electrical engineering.

Some ISU freshmen may have trouble adjusting to the scholastic side of college life. Since the recently renovated Maple Hall is 75 percent freshmen, Maple Hall Director Lynn Meyer said the staff members go the extra mile to accommodate the academic needs of its residents.

“We have an Academic Resource Coordinator on every floor who provides academic support for residents. They give individual help and can even be a referral source for supplemental instruction. We also offer an Academic Program Series, which involves a speaker coming in to talk about things like note taking or study-abroad programs,” Meyer said.

Laura Lyon, resident of Emerson House in Larch Hall, said she can understand why freshmen have lower GPAs than upperclassmen.

“For freshmen, going to college is different than high school. It takes the first semester to get adjusted to college life,” said Lyon, freshman in exercise and sport science. “My grades have improved a lot more just from first semester.”

Although Lyon said she could see why freshmen might have a tendency to have lower GPAs, she didn’t think specific residence halls make a large difference.

“A lot has to do with people themselves, if they value school or not. I think you can live anywhere and get good or bad grades,” she said.

Alexander said living in the residence halls can actually be an academic benefit for some students.

“In general, [living on campus] helps students. Research invariably shows that freshmen do better if they live on campus. For sophomores, there is an advantage. For juniors and seniors, it doesn’t make a difference where they live,” he said.

Academic information about residence halls can be found on the Department of Residence Web site at http://www.iastate.edu/~residence_ info/referenci.htm.