University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Top Questions

To be honest I was relatively surprised with the makeup of the student body when I arrived on campus. First off whether the campus likes to admit it or not, it is segregated. It is segregated by race, looks, money, etc. From what I have witnessed there is little racial mixing outside of classes. The athletic teams might as well be a part of the greek system and those with money live in the most expensive housing on campus which is generally located in Champaign, more recently along green street. Beyond segregation however everyone is Illinois Orange and Blue all the way. If you are looking for a multicultural experience at Illinois chances are you're going to be missing out. Most people here are from Illinois and the majority of those from Illinois are from the Chicagoland area. You will likely meet people who already have groups of friends intact and know many people from their respective high schools on campus.

Absolutely no type of student would feel out of place at the U of I. There are people from every single racial group, ranging from incredibly smart to kind of average. Most of the students at U of I are from a Chicago suburb but it's not that uncommon to meet people from around the country and even around the world.

I feel like there's a wide range of students from diverse backgrounds so it's almost impossible to feel out of place because there are so many different types of people. Even if you don't like to go out, there's plenty of people that don't drink and like to hang out in dorms/apartments and other places.

There is a revolution going on at Illinois and it's starting in the tiniest corners of campus. It's in dorms, tables at restaurants and it's on the street corners. We're revolting against the hatred in the world and trying to reconcile people with one another to renew the campus. At least that's been my experience with Greek Intervarsity. We're just trying to live differently and it's really exciting not just as an experience but a permanent way of life.

Students are extremely driven. They all have tons of goals and plans and know where they want to go in life--at times it's a little ridiculous and there can be backstabbing to get ahead. People in large lectures cheat constantly off of their friends just to get ahead. Every sorority girl is the same, I know--I was once one of them, they all plan to be soccer moms but step all over each other trying to get there.

I think people are accepting but not necessarily understanding about issues like race, religion and sexuality. I don't think anyone would feel like they don't belong because there is a place for everyone here there is a lot of communities in this campus you can belong to.I think this is a very active campus and like I said there is a little bit of everything I don't think people understand it but they learn to live with it.

I've never had any problems concerning race or culture on campus. Most students are from Chicago area and central Illinois but there are a still lot of out-of-state students and international students. Most students in engineering and business become more politically conservative than when they entered.

I think the racial things are out of hand and a little too sensitive. The chief thing was crazy and we should still have the chief. It's sad that the minority had a larger voice than the majority and that the student population wasn't included. I think there is a lot of racism towards white students because we don't want to offend anyone, but there ends up being prejudice against the white population. Religious experience has been wonderful!! There are some of the "crazy" people that come to the quad and it makes me really upset because they approach Christianity the wrong way. It scares people away rather than welcome them. I don't think anyone would feel out of place at Illinois... there are people here from all over and from all walks of life. Students wear all sorts of things to class... pajamas, sweats, dresses, jeans, nicer clothes, anything! Sometimes different students interact... especially if the class requires it. Otherwise, I don't think so much. The tables - full of friends. Most are from the suburbs of Chicago... and it gets a little annoying, especially if you aren't from there. Seems like there is mostly middle class with some upper class. I would say between 30 and 40 percent are politically active. There's a good combination of all left, right, and cener. Sometimes but not much.

I do not think that any student would feel out of place at Illinois. There are students from every race, religion, background, etc., and although this makes for differences in opinion, everyone seems to work together well. From my experience within the College of Communications, I would say that a majority of the students and faculty would fall to the left on a political spectrum. Although most teachers are pretty good at keeping their own political views out of the classroom, sometime teachers make it quite clear how they feel about certain issues.