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A LOT of Options.

I lived off-campus and there are a lot of options for dining. Uptown Normal is right across the street from campus, and there are several restaurants to choose from--Firehouse Pizza, Emack and Bolio's (gourmet ice cream shop), Windy City Weiners, Maggie Miley's (Irish Victorian pub with great food), D.P. Dough (calzones, so big that I always got two meals out of them--$7 for two meals is pretty good in my book!), and the Coffee Hound are the ones I can name offhand. Avanti's is across the street from campus in the opposite direction from Uptown, and they have GREAT food. It's an Italian restaurant that is famous for their Gondola sandwich, my personal favorite. It's a lot of food for not much money. Next to Avanti's is Potbelly's and Noodles and Company, and they just built a Meatheads and a Chipotle there too. Fusion Brew is a popular place to study and hang out, especially for tea/coffee drinkers. There are several pizza places near campus, as well. They just put in a diner north of campus, too, and Denny's, Arby's, and Pizza Hut are just up the road. There are Subways on the first floor of two of the dorm buildings, and there's a Burger King, a Pizza Hut Express, and a McAlister's Deli in the Bone Student Center. That doesn't even begin to describe all the restaurants in Bloomington-Normal, especially in College Hills and near Eastland. In short, if there's a type of food you like, Bloomington-Normal probably has it.

Drinking/Bar Scene Very Popular.

There are a lot of bars around campus, and a lot of parties thrown in the apartments and Greek houses. Willow Street is Greek row and when I lived there it was a big party scene. I was never really involved in the drinking scene, but on the weekends (starting on Thursday night because a lot of people didn't have class on Fridays) it seemed like there were plenty of options for parties off campus. There's also a party bus that people can catch to the bars so they don't have to worry about calling a taxi or having a designated driver. The people who got caught with drugs were mainly caught in the dorms, and the police do warn parties if people call them with complaints about noise or people being obnoxious.

Options If You Know Where to Look.

People looking for internships should let their advisors know early that they're looking for one--the advisors are the point people who hear everything about their departments and can pass along information. I had an internship for credit my senior year--for a 3-credit internship, interns were expected to put in either 12 or 15 hours (can't remember) hours of work a week. My internship, which I found out about through the professor that ran it, was on campus (I was part of a group conducting research and putting together a new marketing plan and website for my department) and it was hard work but so rewarding when we saw our work and our website put into use by the department. I was also a teaching assistant for credit, and my professor asked me personally, which is how most teaching assistants got their jobs: the professors ask the students directly or ask other professors for recommendations. Undergrad TA's get course credit for being a TA, but it's like any other class in that you have to pay tuition, etc. for it. It's still a good experience though. In the education program, which ISU is famous for, they're really good about finding places for people to student teach. I wasn't an education major but I had a lot of friends who were, and from what I know of them it's a great program.