University of Illinois
Reviews

Dorms Need Wireless

I don't understand why the dorms at the University of Illinois cannot have wireless internet in the rooms, or even let students have their own wireless router. With my laptop, I should be able to study wherever I want with ease. Plus, the connection they have is terribly slow and makes skyping or just plain using the internet difficult.

Buses Are the Way to Go

At the U of I the bus system is excellent. Buses are available at almost all times of the day and they are easy to access.

Opportunity for Diversity

There are lots of white students, but not a lot of Asians, Hispanics, and African-Americans. However, the problem mainly is with the students themselves, who tend to gravitate towards "their own kind". The opportunity for diversifying oneself is certainly present. The experience depends on the individual student being willing to venture outside of what they're used to.

UIUC Campus Housing

The dorms in my area, which is the Six Pack is decent. Location wise it is great, because it is very close to the campus, restaurants, dining hall, bank, etc. The dining hall food is a little below average. A lot of it is fried, making it very unhealthy. Sometimes, the variety isn't great. I'm more dissatisfied than satisfied. Depending on where you dorm, social atmosphere varies. Cost is a little expensive, but then again everything these days are. The process is easy

Campus Life

Guys and Girls at the University of Illinois are on average intelligent but very interested in going out and having a good time. People care about the way they look on the weekends, but not when they go to class generally students are not too worried on impressing anyone. Weekend attire includes keeping up with the latest trends; guys like to wear polos and nice jeans while girls wear dressy tops and high heels. Relationships are common and ever changing, freshman year people are not very interested in settling down and are more interested in meeting as many people as they can however you hear of many relationships with the upperclassmen. In spare time you can find almost every activity on our campus quad ranging from selling hair extensions and brownies to frisbee tossing and tight rope walking.

Humanities

At U of I you need to have a focus plan at the beginning because you are 1 person out of thousands and it is hard to get individualized advice.

Elementary Education...Harder Than You'd Think!

I am an el-ed major...well, trying to be. Here, first you must get accepted into pre-teacher education. After your sophomore year, you can apply for the major and have to get accepted. They only accept 125 el-ed majors and the average GPA is around 3.6 or 3.7. You must take a basic skills test at the neighboring community college (there's a bus) and complete 50 hours in the classroom. It is a LOT harder than education majors are deemed to be. However, at such a large school, it's nice to have such a small group of people in my major. Certain classes have a very heavy workload while others are honestly pathetic (these classes are few.) The facilities are pretty, yet a lot need to be renovated. If you're in the business or engineering facilities, however, these are nicer and newer. The career center offers a lot of internship and job opportunities and works well with students.

Apartment Hunting: NOT Easy!

Champaign apartments are pretty expensive. It is more expensive to lease an apartment on campus than off campus because everything is at your feet. Off campus apartments are kind of reasonable, but it is still pretty expensive. You will be lucky to find an apartment that has you pay $300 a month. Finding an apartment here is not easy, there is so much scouting to do. The quality of the apartments on campus are pretty nice and only some of the apartments off campus have good quality.

Being Greek Isn't Everything

Greek life definitely has a high priority on our campus but you do not have to 'Go Greek' to be accepted. When Greeks throw parties they are usually generous with drinks and allow different types of people from the campus to attend. Believe it or not, our Greeks are also heavily involved with campus activities as well. All the stereotypes about Greeks are not necessarily true.

Registration Process

I was able to register from out of state without any problems. The process is easy to understand and quick.

Psychology...And Biology

These programs at the u of i are excellent. The teachers are dedicated and know what they are talking about and sometimes the T.As are better for help as well. They are both extremely time consuming but you nkow that you are getting a good education so it is worth it. There are multiple opportunities for internships and projects in both majors as well.

Huge

Illinois has the largest Greek system in the nation. Enough said. Exchanges are awesome, block on the weekends is awesome, and last but not least: barn dances.

Molecular Biology and the Opportuities

Being an Molecular Biology major at the University of Illinois is quite interesting. The variety of courses available for the major are endless and the teachers really put time into helping the studuents. Although the curriculum is time consuming the quality of the information you receive is well worth it. In this major it gives you many opportunities to interact with the faculty and really cater to what you are trying to get from it. There is a large research department in the school and it offers many different types of topics that you can do research on. Teachers are looking for students to help with their research and it makes it easy for students to receive a position from teachers. Also you get to know the teachers on a personal level and this can give you connections to other departments and can help you land jobs in the near future.

Good, Cheap, Close

Your average fast food restaurants are abound, but in town there are many high-class bistros and what not, along with many brewerys and middle-rank restaurants

Variety

There are a variety of places to eat in Champaign-Urbana. There's Indian, Mexican, Thai, Chinese, Greek, American, Japanese, BBQ, French, Italian, etc.

Libraries

UIUC has one of the largest library systems in the country. There is always a supply of information for whatever you need.

Apartments Everywhere!

Most apartments available for students are relatively close to campus, and accessible by buses that run on campus. There are also quite a few apartment complexes located on campus. Sometimes they're not even as expensive as the room and board for campus dorms! Although they do go fast, they are advertised just as often as campus dorms are.

Work hard, party harder

U of I students know how to party. College students can be found stumbling down Green Street heading to several campus bars every night of the week. The best thing about the U of I bar and dance scene is that all campus bars are 19+. Fraternity and apartment parties on the Champaign side of campus are always popular choices on the weekends, although such events tend to be exclusive and invite-only.

Definitely Going to Miss It

U of I was a great experience for me as an undergrad student. I wouldn't change it for the world. I met a lot of great people and had the opportunity to get involved in all sorts of fun clubs and activities. There's something here for everyone. Definitely feels like home.

I Love the Fact That Everyone Here Can Be Both Fun as Well as Studious!

Before coming to the University of Illinois, I barely spent any time with boys who actually studied and did well in school. It was usually either you party or you study. After coming here, I met so many boys (as well as girls) who were able to do both. I find it astonishing that people actually take their studying seriously and when they are able to they can take a break and go out. There is a lot of programs that the school offers as well which really come in handy. The libraries are almost always open and there is so many of them. The greek system is huge and there is a spot for everyone. Even if you are not in the greek system, you will most likely find an organization that fits you perfectly. I also love the fact that the school is so diverse. I've been to other schools were almost everyone you see is white. Our school has a nice mix of every ethnicity as well as international students. It's an overall amazing place to go to.

Excellent University

top majors in the USA. excellent professors.

Off-Campus Housing

It is pretty good. There a re some nice apartments with really great prices and deals!

Off Campus Housing in Urbana- Champaign

There are many housing options, both on and off campus, for students. Most of these options are very expensive.

Nightlife

There are tons of parties all the time and plenty of places to go. You only have to be 19 to get into the bars on campus so a lot of people go to bars at night. There's a wide variety of bars for dancing or just sitting down and hanging with friends. There's a pretty good bus system here and its free for students so it's convenient and most buses run every ten minutes and pretty late into the night.

Safety

I always feel generally safe on campus. If any crime ever occurs the chief of police sends out a mass email to the student body so everyone is aware of the issue. Of course it's always necessary to be cautious at night like locking doors and not walking alone. There are always police officers driving around campus and even more at night. Also all the dorms have ID card access at night.