Coming to a big university like Iowa State was an overwhelming experience for Laura McElroy.

“If it wouldn’t have been for my friends from home who went to Iowa State, I would have packed up my bags and gone home the first week I was here,” said McElroy, who grew up in Sibley, Iowa, a small town in the northwest part of the state.

A campus of 25,000 students was a big change for McElroy. Now in her junior year as a hotel and restaurant management major, McElroy has adjusted to the large campus, though she admits she still gets homesick now and then.

“I live for the weekends when I can go home and visit my friends and family,” she said.

Gene Deisinger, clinical director for ISU Counseling Services, said McElroy’s problem adjusting to life at a big university is not uncommon. In fact, Deisinger said at least 10 percent of his patients struggle with adapting to a large school after growing up in a small town.

Deisinger said many small-town students at ISU feel a lack of belonging and no sense of direction.

“It’s a matter of size, personal experience and diversity. Many students are used to being the big fish in the small pond in their hometown. Here they are the small fish in the big pond. It can throw off their sense of thinking,” he said.

McElroy said: “The hardest thing for me about coming to this university was walking around campus when people wouldn’t say, ‘Hi,’ or even smile. People back home are so much more friendly and open.”

Kris Einck, a sophomore in agriculture business, grew up in the small northeastern Iowa town of Postville.

“In a small town, you are sheltered from a lot of the diversity and other issues that are important at Iowa State. It took a while to get used to it,” Einck said.

Deisinger said small-town students are often away from their support systems for the first time when they come to ISU.

“In their hometown, they might feel more of a sense of connection and they wonder if it is possible to find those same feelings of closeness in such a large, diverse atmosphere,” he said.

McElroy and Einck agreed that it is sometimes difficult to stay on task and do well at a large university.

“It’s harder to do well in classes when you don’t get the individualized attention you would in a smaller classroom setting,” McElroy said. “In large lecture classes, you have to put forth the extra effort to see your professor individually for help.”

“Here you are on your own. You have to take your education into your own hands,” added Einck. “If you want to do well, you have to seek out the extra help yourself. There is no one standing over your shoulder helping you out and reminding you what you have to do.”

Though it is hard to be away from home, McElroy said, she realizes that it is helping her to grow mentally and socially as well as academically.

Many small-town ISU students go through an adjustment period, Deisinger said, but most of his clients make the transition smoothly.

“Our office can help students gain the personal satisfaction and pride they need to feel like a part of this university,” he said. “We work with them to set realistic goals. They have to set practical expectations academically, even if they don’t get the highest grade out of a class of 350 students.”