The University of Iowa-Fall 2016 SLP

[flowerbloom]

Hello all,

I thought I'd start a thread for people that have gotten into Iowa and know they are or are considering attending the University of Iowa for Fall 2016. It would be nice to see who is going to the open house, get some recommendations for housing/information about neighborhoods and management companies, etc.

[esopha]

I've been emailing with Mary Jo about logistics, since I'm coming from the east coast, and she gave me a really nice run down. I don't know if this information has been sent out to the accepted pool as a whole, so here it is:

 If you can do it, I recommend staying at the Heartland Inn in Coralville, IA. They’re a 10 minute drive (less than that usually). There are eating establishments in that plaza that are walking distance. Also, if you ask for the motel “Hospital Shuttle” to The University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, the motel will drive you here at no charge. Our building is the Wendell Johnson Speech & Hearing Center and we are right before the Hospital. The Heartland contact number is 800-334-3277 and the address is 87 Second St., Coralville, IA. Their rates start at around $70 and they provide a continental breakfast. Their local phone number is 319-351-8132and they ought to pay me a commission!  The airport you would be flying into is Eastern Iowa Airport, Cedar Rapids, IA. They are about 20 minutes from Iowa City. There are rental cars and taxis available there. If you do decide to come, please let me know if you have any questions.

I'm trying to figure out if I can swing the cost of visiting, but since my boyfriend is also going to be moving with me, and he wants to see Iowa City, I figure I have to go in person. We're probably going to make a weekend out of it.

[limegreen19]

Hey guys, long time lurker, decided to make an account because of my first acceptance (from University of Iowa) I am also coming from the East Coast. Luckily, my dad lives in Chicago, so I'll be flying out to him and he's going to take a day off and drive us to/from Iowa City. Saves a whole lot of $$$ doing it that way. At first we were trying to figure out at first if I could fly to Cedar Rapids and then rent a car/take the airport shuttle, but it was too expensive from my starting location.

If you guys want info on the airport shuttle, the Cedar Rapids shuttle is $70 round trip from the airport to Iowa City and their info is here under "information > rates" (http://www.crshuttle.com/index2.php?v=v1#/info1/2/)

Thanks esopha for the hotel info! So excited to see the campus! And congrats to all of you guys

[esopha]

So we've decided to go in person! We'll be flying to Chicago and then taking a rental car down to Iowa City.

I'm trying to decide what to wear and all the questions I want to ask during the panels. I'm excited! And nervous!

[flowerbloom]

1 hour ago, esopha said:

So we've decided to go in person! We'll be flying to Chicago and then taking a rental car down to Iowa City.

I'm trying to decide what to wear and all the questions I want to ask during the panels. I'm excited! And nervous!

I think I'm going to go for business casual. Like a nice dress shirt and black pants. I definitely want to ask about funding, but I'm looking forward to being able to ask current Master's students where the good/reasonably priced apartments are.....

[esopha]

8 minutes ago, flowerbloom said:

I think I'm going to go for business casual. Like a nice dress shirt and black pants. I definitely want to ask about funding, but I'm looking forward to being able to ask current Master's students where the good/reasonably priced apartments are.....

I'll probably end up doing the same. I'll probably err on the side of being too formal. And yes to funding and apartments, although everything is so much more affordable than where I currently live.

[flowerbloom]

15 minutes ago, esopha said:

I'll probably end up doing the same. I'll probably err on the side of being too formal. And yes to funding and apartments, although everything is so much more affordable than where I currently live.

Definitely not showing up in jeans that's for sure. I agree, from what I've seen it's a lot more affordable than many other places I've applied to. It's a smaller city though too. Will definitely still want a roommate though, makes it way more fun and way more affordable!

[esopha]

Eeee, this is only a week away!

I'm reading over the itinerary again, and it seems like such an intense visit. I'll be interested in seeing the personalities of the rest of the cohort. I got to speak to some people who had graduated from Iowa's undergraduate program, and they made it sound like the undergrad population, at least, was pretty cut throat. I... definitely had enough of that in my undergrad days, lol.

Did anyone request to meet with any specific professors?

[flowerbloom]

5 minutes ago, esopha said:

Eeee, this is only a week away!

I'm reading over the itinerary again, and it seems like such an intense visit. I'll be interested in seeing the personalities of the rest of the cohort. I got to speak to some people who had graduated from Iowa's undergraduate program, and they made it sound like the undergrad population, at least, was pretty cut throat. I... definitely had enough of that in my undergrad days, lol.

Did anyone request to meet with any specific professors?

I'll be interested in meeting people too. I feel like undergrad is more competitive because there's still grad school positions to contend for. We've come past that point so I'd like to think it'd be a bit more relaxed. 

[esopha]

On 3/4/2016 at 9:41 PM, flowerbloom said:

I'll be interested in meeting people too. I feel like undergrad is more competitive because there's still grad school positions to contend for. We've come past that point so I'd like to think it'd be a bit more relaxed. 

I hope so! I'm not interested in being cut throat, heh.

So, how is everyone feeling about the visit day?

[flowerbloom]

On March 8, 2016 at 5:45 PM, esopha said:

I hope so! I'm not interested in being cut throat, heh.

So, how is everyone feeling about the visit day?

So how was the open house for you? 

[esopha]

14 hours ago, flowerbloom said:

So how was the open house for you? 

It was interesting! I liked talking to everyone. Ultimately I'm not sure it's the best fit for me, personality-wise, but it was cool to see their facilities. What about you?

[flowerbloom]

1 hour ago, esopha said:

It was interesting! I liked talking to everyone. Ultimately I'm not sure it's the best fit for me, personality-wise, but it was cool to see their facilities. What about you?

I was impressed with their facilities. The environment and program seemed really nurturing in general. I also liked how we have the opportunity to complete our externships anywhere we want. 

[esopha]

Yeah, it was really cool that they had so many opportunities for externships! Although I've heard that having outplacements anywhere in the US isn't unusual for the top programs, since their students tend to come from all over, they try to accommodate. I also really liked Iowa City. It was so quirky and nice. Again, not sure if it's the best place for me, but I think anyone who liked the program would find Iowa City a great place to live.

[flowerbloom]

21 minutes ago, esopha said:

Yeah, it was really cool that they had so many opportunities for externships! Although I've heard that having outplacements anywhere in the US isn't unusual for the top programs, since their students tend to come from all over, they try to accommodate. I also really liked Iowa City. It was so quirky and nice. Again, not sure if it's the best place for me, but I think anyone who liked the program would find Iowa City a great place to live.

 I think I got a better feeling of the program when we split off into groups and the 1st year Master's students talked about their experiences and answered questions. Iowa City is a lot bigger than I expected, and seems to have good restaurants and whatnot. Also the 7 to 1 ratio of pigs to humans......lol

[esopha]

Oh definitely! That was the most informative part of the day. All of the students were super friendly, too, which was nice.

[flowerbloom]

Hi everyone! Here's a link to the FB group for people who were accepted to Iowa for the Fall 2016 year. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1049206808450932/ Comment here or message  me if you have any troubles joining!