University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Top Questions

Although I don't see it myself, I hear stories about drinking incidences. There is also a off the record holiday that occurs around St. Patricks day where people use any excuse to drink. I don't attend such events so I cannot say I have been directly affected but stories are heard here and there.

The worst thing about U of I is probably the cost of books. I tend to spend $400 dollars on books each semester and only get $150 back if I'm lucky. I've heard of schools renting books out...that seems cool if its real. Books tend to take a big chunk out of student's budgets.

I had some terrible advice from my academic advisor

Some of the general education requirements and even some of the requirements for each major seem kind of unrelated to a person's area of study and therefore seem like a waste of time.

It is a very large school and for some this could be very intimidating. Some classes may be hard to get in to because of the large number of people enrolled. You may not always get your first choice for classes, but the school does offer rewards to students who have high gpas, by offering them early registration for classes.

Since there are so many students, it is very easy to get lost in the crowd. If a student is shy and has a harder time making friends, he/she can easily feel alone, especially as a freshman. Though, since there are a variety of students who attend, in the long rung, everyone makes friends, but the individual has to make the initiative.

The binge drinkers who tend to fight.

Rules in dorms are far to strict. Judicial system on campus is often baised and very unfair.

Kinda isolated.

the distance to class and amount of alcohol

The worst thing about this school is that if you don't like big classes, you won't be fitted for this university. There are 40,000 students, and not a great deal of space to teach them all in, so many classes are over 500 students in lecture halls listening to a professor on a stage. You have to get used to taking notes and doing work on your own, because the classes aren't usually that involved on a one to one basis. If that's what you want, don't come to the U of I.

The size. It is difficult at times to meet new people unless you are in a sorority or a fraternity. People who get into fraternities or sororities tend to stick to others in the greek system and those outside are generally more accepting of others. But the fact that the school has over 30000 attendants makes it difficult to establish solid friendships at times.

I honestly think the worst thing about the school is the fact that it is located in the heart of a great expanse of farm land. This is only a problem because it makes for a pretty monotonous surrounding, especially when compared to the mountains or forests of some other campuses. Because the land is all so flat, that creates some pretty strong winds in the winter that definitely don't help the cold temperatures.

the size

I spend lotsa time on homework.

The University of Illinois is well known for having the largest percentage of it's student body in the Greek system of any public university. Sometimes students participating in fraternities or sororities feel like they are better than the non-greek student body. There also are conflicts between different greek houses and the large number of greek students causes an increase in the frequency of this.

the worst thing about my school is our football team. We suck :(

The worst thing is that the school is located far from a big city. Although the campus is very big, so sometimes you forget you are far from a city.

The lack of one on one interactions with professors

Sometimes I think it's difficult to open up to people if you aren't a very outgoing person. I don't think there have been enough programs or activities for new students to get to know more people.