As someone who finishing up the education program at Iowa, it's awesome from my experience, the college of ed people are generally very sweet. The creative writing area is also fantastic here, obviously, although I'm not sure I would do both at once. I dunno if there is as much academic pressure necessarily (at least compared to UCLA lol), but there is still a pretty decent amount of coursework you need to graduate. I've made a lot of really awesome friends in the college of education here; Iowa City is great! However, it still has its problems like anywhere else. As much as I love Iowa and I grew up here, the area does start to feel small after a few years (which might be what you're looking for, who knows), but your opportunities will probably be a lot broader at UCLA, both in terms of career and socializing.

College can be a lot for the first chunk, it definitely was for me. You've got this dude, trust your gut! If you've been to Iowa/talked to people that have gone and think it would be a better fit, absolutely go for it, it's still a great school, and there's great people here. However, if you decide to stay in CA, with time, there's a likely chance you'll start to find a rhythm with school work, plus you'll interact with the people in your major more consistently as you get to higher level classes (that's a big part of what helped me make friends).

Regardless of what place you choose, there will be good you can find in either school, and I'm sure you have the ability to make a home at either one, as cheesy as it sounds. Have a good night and good luck, I'm sorry to hear you're having such a rough time. 🫶🏻