University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Top Questions

Academics are rigorous at the University. Not just anybody can get in. Professors challenge you so that you have an idea of what will happen in the real-world as well as give you unique perspectives.

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University of Illinois has an academic life that has a lot of class and subject variety and every single major with professors that care enough to push you.

The academics depends on your major. Some majors have reputations for being harder than others. My majors, Anthropology and History, were full of great professors who got to know me. I had the opportunity to do undergraduate research in a molecular anthropology lab, which led me to my current career path.

Because U of I is such a huge school, classes can be huge. When registering, it is easy to look for smaller classes. Smaller classes are better because you can get to know your professor and won't feel like a faceless ID number. Large classes can be great too though. You are more independent and there may be less work. It is good to make friends in your classes and major, because you will have study buddies and people to call if you have a question. This will also make class more enjoyable and you will probably be able to learn more. Although classes can be large and intimidating, if you put time and effort into figuring out the system, you will make incredible connections with professors and students and walk away having learned so much from your classes.

Academics at UIUC are outstanding. While some programs are better than others, there are always challenging classes and more relaxed classes to choose from. Depending on the school and major you choose, there could be a lot of competition or there could be a more relaxed environment. However, most students take their academics very seriously and work hard to balance a thriving social life with a thriving academic life. In most of my classes, the majority of the class has been participative and engaged in the subjects. I credit my professors for this, too, because the professors try hard to foster class participation. I am a Recreation, Sport, and Tourism major, which is in the Applied Health Sciences school. Every one of my professors knows me by name and is always excited when I come to talk to them (as they are with all of their other students). The professors are lively and my academic advisor is incredibly helpful and caring. The requirements for my major, while challenging, are not at all impossible. I have to focus a lot of my time for schoolwork, but I still have time to play and to work a part-time job. It's not easy, but it's very doable with proper management and determination. I have certain friends who seldom study, but certain friends who are constantly asking me if I would like to go with them to the library to study. The overall academic environment is slightly relaxed, but students buckle down when things need to be done.

You earn your grade. If you put in time and effort, the results will show. Students study a lot, but it is well worth it. If you take the time to go to your professors' office hours they will be glad to help you with any problems you are having in class. Most students are highly involved in their academics and so class participation is common. The coursework can be challenging but you have a lot of free time compared to high school so it is nothing you can't take the time to work on.

The academics are some of the best in the country. Although lectures can have 700 people in them, there are 20-30 people discussion sections that accompany these so participation is required. All the professors and teachers assistants have office hours to help. The classes are challenging, but they will help in the future.

Good academics. Professors make an effort to know students and participation is always appreciated.

Academics are extremely intense. Our school is one of the top public schools in the nation and therefore it is challenging. It's nothing like high school where you can get away with not doing a little assignment. Also classes are pretty big until you start getting into the upper level courses of your major classes. So professors don't typically know your name. My favorite class was definitely my Latino/a Studies 100 class. I feel I learned a lot about my people and their history. The least favorite class I took was Political Science 201. The reading was far too much and it was extremely difficult staying on track. Class participation is key in smaller classes. However, class participation isn't big in the lecture halls because there's hundreds of kids. Most kids continue talking about the material after class if it was extremely controversial or fun. I am double major in political science and communications. I love being a political science because it allows me to see the world with different lens and the different sides to the stories . My education in this school is definitely geared towards going to law school. I would like to become a district attorney.

Class sizes will get smaller the longer you are here and professors will start to know your name once you are in those smaller classes. You get out of the classes what you put in to it. Make sure you keep up with your school work before big exams so you have enough time to go to office hours if need be. Libraries will get very crowded around exam crunch times.

Like most big public universities, 100 level classes are generally bigger (300-600) while major classes get smaller as you move up in school. Engineering and Business are the university's two most distinguished programs, but people study everything from dance to molecular and cellular biology. There are so many courses that most students can suit their interests. Course work is course work. There are tests and reading in the majority of courses. Some classes have more writing than others, but generally there are essays in most classes. Grading is relative to the course, so don't freak out if you get a 60{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} on an accounting test. Being a business major, it seems like the Business School really does a great job of setting up its students for careers ranging from marketing to finance. I'd say that there is a pretty healthy balance between partying and studying. Illinois bars are hopping on weekdays, so there's always that distraction. U of I is a work hard, play hard type of atmosphere. In college, that's the way it should be. Most people are smart enough to balance their time, but it takes practice.

Besides being active in extracurricular activities, students at UIUC are academic. There is a good learning environment where there are helpful professors and positively competitive fellow schoolmates. Needless to say, professors are knowledgeable and experienced. They encourage students to ask questions and start discussions in or after class. Also, they welcome students to visit them during their office hours, which makes academic help very accessible. Personally, I find the classes at UIUC very inspiring. One thing I like about the academic requirements of UIUC is that they are reasonable. They are high enough to ensure that all students are educated, and at the same time they are not too high so that students can go out there to experience new things and live up the college life.

There are many different kinds of class in our school. Some large lecture hold with 300 students, which professor won't remember all students' name, participation is mainly use i-clicker. In this way, everyone have chance to participate in the class. Most of the class in hold with 20 to 30 students. Many discussions and in-class activities in this kind of class. The students in our school are competitive. Most of us care about our grade.

It depends on your major. Usually the engineering majors are the people who never go out their first several years when other freshman are partying out crazy. Professors generally don't remember your name, unless you try to impress them. Yes, try that in your 400 people MCB150 lecture, or 100-200 general size classes I had over the years. It's a public school. They believe in getting things into your head by tests and homework, not teaching skill or class projects.

UIUC has one of the best engineering departments in the world, top10 I'd like to say, especially electrical and computer engineering. You can easily find a job in big companies after 4 years. But you have to work really hard to get a good GPA here. The competition is brutal.

The atmosphere at the University of Illinois is very competitive. Yet, the competitiveness is hardly detrimental to your learning ability. Class participation depends on the College that you are in. For example, an Engineering class has less class participation then an English class. Because it is such a large school, the teaching abilities and styles of the professors vary greatly. For most classes, this allows you to be able to choose which style you learn best from and helps you further your academic career. As an undergrad, the professors will not go out of their way to make sure you are doing well. So, academic support must be found with your peers. Also, the office hours are a great way to get to know a professor but each professor has different expectations of their relationship with their professor. The education at the school is mostly geared toward getting a degree. There are resources for you to take advantage of if you would like to further your career after college but these must be sought out by you.

It may be surprising that Illinois actually has 6{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of classes that are larger than 100 students and 66{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of classes that are smaller. Academics are among UIUC's strong point. We have several departments that are nationally ranked and I feel no matter which career path you choose you are prepared very well for with your major. My favorite class was an upper level biology class, Ecology, which was a large lecture hall of about 300 students. My professor made it a point to know each of us by name; she would stop in our lab sections to talk with us individually and has become a mentor for me in my future career. She even helped me get a job on campus with a recommendation letter. This type of experience has happened a few times with my professors over the years. My least favorite class was an online anthropology class; not because the material was horrible, but simply because I found the online classes challenging and hard to stay motivating. I feel I get a better experience in class, lecture, or lab. Study time is very important for success at Illinois. Our classes can be rigorous and outside effort is necessary to succeed, along with class attendance. We have over 40 libraries on campus and you will always find them buzzing with student life. There are many extra amenities to accommodate students to assist with good study habits. I have enjoyed all of my classes here, in all different topics. I feel that my coursework has prepared me for getting a job as well as the opportunities I have had at career fairs and online job sites specific to Illinois’ students. I am excited and well prepared for my future.

My graduate program is very competitive; professor are very helpful (as well as TAs). I engage in a lot of intellectual conversations and attend multiple dept- related gatherings to interact with professors.

School in college is a lot different than it was in high school. First of all, I have never had a class which taught through lecture. The class is basically split up into two class: the lecture, where the main teaching goes on, and the discussion, where you receive assignments and take quizzes. My lectures range anywhere from 50 to 300 people, making it nearly impossible to participate. The professor just stands at the front of the room and talks. Often, you will never have an interaction with a professor throughout the entire semester. However, the discussion is usually no more than 25 people, making it much more possible to get to know these T.A.'s (teacher's assistants). But even in these discussions, participation is rare because you are so unfamiliar with your classmates. Unless you devise a schedule along with another person, you most likely won't know anyone in the class. You eventually find people who are in the same lecture, making the class of 300 seem a little smaller. That is also useful when you miss a lecture and need to borrow notes or have questions about assignments. Another main difference between high school and University of Illinois is that here you are in class a lot less, giving you a lot more work to do outside of class. I am currently taking 4 classes: a philosophy class, a communications class, a math class, and an economics class. Each of these meet for lecture two or three times a week and then discussion once or twice a week, meaning that most of your time is spent out of class. My favorite of these is communications. Coming into the year, I expected Philosophy 101 to be my favorite class. However, I was under the impression that the class would consist more of interactive group conversation than a teacher standing at the front of the room teaching us about philosophers and their work. While my communications class is the same style, I have thoroughly enjoyed that class. My professor makes it interesting and the discussion is more interactive than most, and my T.A. in that class is a big part of that. The T.A. really has a lot to do with the class, as this is the person you would most likely go to for help and the person who grades the majority of your work. It is possible to switch T.A. discussion sections in the beginning of the year, and I definitely wish i had taken advantage of that. A bad teacher's assistant can ruin a discussion section. Luckily, the students in my classes don't mess around in class, making discussion much easier to learn from. Students at my university are generally very focused. Most of the people I've met here see academics as priority number one. My peers are always interested in the future, and it shows through the hard work I observe everyday whether in the library or the dorms. The workload is a lot, but it's manageable if you know how to use your time wisely, a skill which is learned quickly.