University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Top Questions

Simply academics is very broad. It really all depends on each specific class. I have had a few classes where there are over 700 students in the class. Yet, the professor still makes himself/herself available through office hours, and there are always TAs to help as well. Most students spend a good amount of time studying, even though it may seem at times like all people do is go out and party. The education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is definitely geared toward getting a job.

The largest class I've ever been registered for had 200 students, and broke down into discussion sections of around 20ish. My lecture had around 100 students, and my discussion section (where you go over material from lecture again in a more intimate setting) had 7 students. My smallest class ever is just me and the professor for my private lessons! I love being in the Music Department because it is such a nurturing environment and I know that my Professors both know my name, and care about me as a person.

Depending on your major, your classes can range from 300 person lectures, to 20 person classrooms, but it's really dependent on 1) your major and 2) which class. I found that class size decreases with age in school, mostly because you start taking more advanced classes and you also start getting taught more by professors and less by the TA's. I am a biology student and I've never been upset by the large classes, and in fact, the professors really make an effort to get to know you, I had one that memorized all 200 students names, major and a fun fact about them by the end of the semester. As much as you wont want to, you have to make your professors know you sometimes, so you have to answer and ask questions, introduce yourself after class, etc. It may seem awkward at first but you're not the only one that does it and the professors appreciate it. professors and TA's especially the TA's make this school run and really make sure you have everything you need to be successful. I know TA's that have stayed up all night to help their students finish research projects, or write a paper. The interaction between graduate and undergraduate students here is really positive and friendly.

The University of Illinois is a very big school, and therefore the lectures tend to have a lot of students. This makes it harder for students to get one-on-one time with the professors, but that's why they usually provide office hours. Students actually spend a decent amount of time studying, depending on your major. I am currently majoring in Accountancy and the program is well-known for being one of the best programs in the country so I spend a fair amount of time studying. I am very glad I am able to be a part of this program because they gear my education towards preparing me for my future career.

In all honesty, academic rigor depend on the major and how studious the person is. There are some majors that demand more work out of their students and other majors...not so much. I don't recommend picking a major based on how much money it will make you in the future or how easy the classes will be now. This is my own personal opinion and I know the job market is hard and a good degree and GPA means a lot, but there are more than 150 programs- you can find a major you will enjoy learning about, and if not...create one! Then it shouldn't matter how hard or easy the classes are because you will want to learn and study the material because it's something you like. Even if there is a future career goal that seems unrelated to what your major is, lots of people's majors have nothing to do with their jobs. And having a major unique to whatever occupation you're applying to makes you stand out. Again, this is my own bias, but I believe in picking a major you like so academics aren't so "academic."

Although opinions vary depending on who you ask, it seems like all of my friends (everyone from engineering majors, to English, business, history, education, math, music, etc.) agree that the work is rigorous here, but definitely not impossible. I can back that up with my own experience. I have a few easy classes each semester, but usually at least two that take a lot of studying. Most students take 15-17 credit hours each semester (like 5-6 classes, depending on what they are) without getting too overwhelmed. I'm a Food Science major, which is within the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences, or ACES. It's a mix of a lot of chemistry, microbiology, and a bit of cooking, statistics, and physics for good measure. My most challenging class has been organic chemistry, although physics and calculus were no picnic either. My most unique class so far has been Indigenous Governance which I took through the Campus Honors Program as a Non-Western/Minority general education class. It was so much reading, critical thinking, and writing, but I learned a lot and I think I gained a lot of perspective about past and current Native American issues. My favorite current class is Food Chemistry, but probably not a lot of people reading this will end up taking it unless you decide to become a FS major like me. In terms of the structure of classes and the availability of professors, it is a mixed bag. 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of my classes are fairly small (about 20-40 people) and I know my professors pretty well. Starting out, you will probably have some very large lecture classes, especially if you take entry level Econ, Chem, Bio, History, or Calc, but these are not as scary as you would think. Really! Big classes (I'm talking 200-500 students, here) are a lot of fun. You are getting the same lecture regardless of whether the professor is talking to 20 people or 200 people, and it's not any more distracting being in a lecture hall than being in a classroom (unless you bring your laptop and get on Facebook the whole time, which people totally do...don't be one of them). Also, most of the big classes divide up into small (15-20 people) discussions at the end of the week so that you can actually interact with the other students in the class and dive deeper into the material. My Calc class freshman year was a good example of this. We had lecture 3 times a week, and then we met in discussion and did group worksheets and quizzes as small sections. Our TA was nuts, in the best possible way, and we all became good friends who studied with each other outside of class and helped each other with the online homework. Never underestimate the power of a tough class to bring people together! Also never underestimate the power of asking for help. Professors are required to have office hours several times a week, and they are often just sitting alone in their offices, wishing a student would come ask them a question. Take advantage of those opportunities to get to know your teachers! My calc professor saw me last year in a Pilates class and still remembered me from those times I sat on the floor of her office while she explained tricky homework problems. If you need help, seek and ye shall find... Finally, it's one of those stereotypes of college that people sit around late at night and have highly philosophical conversations about life and politics and race and religion and identity and all that lofty stuff. Well, I can tell you that I've definitely had a LOT of those types of conversations in my time here. It's an amazing experience. If you have the right kind of friends (aka the best kind of friends ever), this can be a daily occurrence. Then again, if you hate that kind of thing, there's plenty of people here who hate it too, and that's okay. Different strokes for different folks. I'm ending this answer before I throw in any more cliches.

Depending on what you take or what your major is really affects how much work your going to put in. I started out as undeclared, then I switched to communications, and then I switched to biology. Each major was extremely different. Students in communications really only have to do about 5-6 hours of studying or homework a week whereas biology majors can put in upwards of 20-30 hours. Higher level major courses can get competitive but lower level general education requirement classes are pretty relaxed. Overall class participation is pretty common so if you're someone who likes to talk you can talk, or if you're more of a quiet type, someones bound to volunteer before you get put on the spot. Most of the professors are very helpful and make class interesting. Occasionally you will get a TA or professor that you don't care for that much but it's probably because you don't like the class that you're taking. Professors and TA's have a lot of office hours so it is easy to get help outside of the classroom. UofI has a lot of online homework sites that have discussion boards which can be used to ask professors questions or social network to find people in your class who can help you study.

Depending on what you take or what your major is, really affects how much work your going to put in. I started out as undeclared, then I switched to communications and then switched to biology. Each major was extremely different. Students in communications really only have to do about 5-6 hours of studying or homework a week whereas biology majors can put in upwards of 20-30 hours. Higher level major courses can get competitive but lower level general education requirement classes are pretty relaxed. Overall class participation is pretty common so if you're someone who likes to talk you can talk or if you're more a quiet type someones bound to volunteer before you get put on the spot. Most of the professors are very helpful and make class interesting. Occasionally you will get a TA or professor that you don't care for that much but it's probably because you don't like the class that you're taking. Professors and TA's have a lot of office hours so it is easy to get help outside of the classroom. UofI has a lot of online homework sites that have discussion boards which can be used to ask professors questions or social network to find people in your class who can help you study.

The University of Illinois is not just a default school where all in-state students go. Although many of the students here are from the state of Illinois, the University is much more than its proximity. The programs here are nationally ranked and the faculty include Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners. There are over 150 majors and thousands of classes available every year. It is a well-known fact that students should Google their professors to see what they did before becoming a professor. Some of my professors are published authors, national award winners, professional reporters, producers and practicing lawyers. In a school of 40,000 students it is surprisingly easy to develop a relationship with professors. They are willing to help students with their own class, help them find classes to take in the future and even find internships and jobs. I secured my internship because one professor asked her students what they wanted to do after graduation. She remembered my response and emailed me about a year-long internship opportunity that I could take for credit.

As a student in two very different disciplines-French and pre-medicine-I was able to experience a wide variety of classroom experiences. At times, I was in class with over 400 students, at times I was in class with less than ten students. Both experiences had their pros and cons. While being in such a large class can often seem overwhelming to students, the use of discussion groups, teaching assistants, and office hours helps to personalize the experience and make it easier to handle. In classes such as these, it is often up to you to decide how much to be involved. Smaller classes allow for a much more discussion-oriented atmosphere, which encourages learning from ones peers and working together to uncover answers. And while I loved both of my programs of study, some of my favorite classes were those I took for general education requirements or electives. At U of I, the choices are endless. While U of I does provide a competitive atmosphere with challenging courses, professors wish to see their students succeed, and will work with them to make that happen. U of I's challenging curriculum was overwhelming at times, but the difficulty better prepared me for my pursuit of medical school.