Ames High School graduates have the best of both worlds when they decide to go to college at Iowa State.

Larry Zwagerman, guidance counselor at Ames High, said counselors encourage students to go to ISU because it is so close.

“Proximity has a lot to do with it,” Zwagerman said. “The high school also has a healthy, good working relationship with the university.”

ISU has special presentations to get Ames High students on the campus, he said.

“Junior day is a half day where students just from Ames get a tour of the campus and get to see the parts of the campus they may not be familiar with,” Zwagerman said.

Zwagerman said these half-day tours are offered twice each year for both juniors and seniors.

“Ames students may be more motivated in college because they grew up in a college town,” Zwagerman said.

He said the emphasis on education and the value parents place on education is an influence.

“Also students are familiar with the large university unlike a student from a small rural town who may be in awe of the size,” Zwagerman said.

He said Ames students take it more in stride.

“I can’t say that I was necessarily better prepared than other students for college, but I know that Ames High is one of the top high schools in the nation,” said Kara Zeimet, sophomore in management. “I definitely give credit to the teachers and staff from Ames High for preparing me so well, especially academically.”

Jon Minion, sophomore in liberal arts and sciences, said the education he received at Ames High helped prepare him for college life.

“It gave me a technical point of view because [of] our exposure to computers and network classrooms and other means of communication,” he said.

Zwagerman said students have told him the classes they took in high school were beneficial to a college setting.

Students can also take post-secondary courses that are tuition-free to help prepare for college, he said.

Zwagerman said the major reasons Ames High students want to go to ISU is because it is close to home and their friends and family.

Zeimet said she sees going to college so close to home as a benefit.

“I definitely have no regrets about coming here to college,” she said. “I feel like I have the best of both worlds.”

Not going away to college is a different experience for students, but it also has its advantages.

“I go home a little more for a free meal with my parents and occasionally some money, but other than that I go home about the same as anyone else,” Minion said.

“It’s nice having my family here too, and you definitely can’t beat home-cooked Sunday dinners and free laundry,” Zeimet said.

Both Zeimet and Minion said they have no regrets about coming to ISU.

“I feel that I made the right choice by coming to ISU,” Zeimet said.