University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Top Questions

illinois is a really great home. even though the student population is quite large, you end up seeing alot of the same students in your major required classes. activities and clubs also help to create a great welcoming atmosphere.

Illinois is a great institution with many traditions. This year, the administration made the decision to discontinue the use of Chief Illiniwek as our mascot. Personally, I felt this was ridiculous as the Cheif was only held in the highest regard. During sporting events when he danced at half time, students were always respectful and never mocked the chief. The student body size at Illinois is huge, but I don't think I'd change it. Students just get involved in the hundreds of Registered Student Organizations on campus to make it seem a little smaller. This helps everyone "find their place". One thing I'd change is the size of the Greek system. The Greek system is the largest in the nation and these students rarely hang out with GDI's (God Damn Independents). I feel this really inhibits something that is essential to a college experience-- meeting different people. While there are thousands in the Greek system, you don't find much variety. You rarely stray from the rich, white, suburbs of Chicago students. This organization makes Illinois seem a little like high school in that people rarely venture outside of their cliques to meet or talk to someone who is different.

The best thing about Illinois is the education and the independence it brings. My first class my first semester freshman year my professor said "I am not here to be your friend, I don't care if you come to class, if you take the tests and I definitely don't care if you fail. I will fail you. I wont talk to you about how poorly you did on the test. I like failing people." It was pretty scary, but I do thank him for that. He made me realize that no one will hold my hand to get through college, I have to do it all on my own. One thing I would change is the cost of living. I dont see that happening though. The school is a big school. I will tell you that, however, once you get into your major classes and you meet people you would be surprised how many people you run into. It gets smaller the longer your here. When I tell people I go to U of I people automatically think that I am extremely smart. That definitely isn't the case. The prestige of the college is acknowledged. I spend most of my time on campus at my apartment. But, the libraries are everywhere (which is nice) and the quad is an amazing place to meet up with friends and relax, play around and have fun. This is definitely a college town! I like that about it though. You can get off campus and its somewhat still of a college town. Not in a bad way though... its nice. I wish I had something good to say about the Illinois Administration, I just don't know too much about it. Latest controversy was probably the Chief still. I don't think it will ever die! And I like it that way. The Chief should stay. In my opinion if you go to U of I and you don't like the Chief go to another damn school. Its a disgrace. There is an extreme amount of school pride here! The whole community is like that. Its pretty amazing actually. Something you have to experience and I have never seen anything like it. The unusual thing about U of I, I would have to say is the bar age. To get into a bar its 19, but obviously you are supposed to be 21 to drink. They make lots of money with drinking tickets. I don't know how they get away with it, but its fun if your not 21 (unless you get a ticket) One experience I will always remember is the first night my best friends and I went out my freshman year. It was rediculous and we have all been inseperable ever since.

Always wear your orange and blue! Chant ILL-INI at all Illini sporting events to show your Illini pride.

The best thing about Illinois is that fact that it's isolated from the 'real world', that three hour drive takes you into a world that is unlike reality. It's fun you feel free, you can grow as a person and develop intellectually all the while being independent. I think my school is just right in terms of size. When I tell people that I go to Illinois they are impressed and proud of me. I spend most of my time on the quad. It's a college town hands down. I am not too familiar with the administrative aspect of Illinois, sorry. The biggest recent controversy was over an exchange between a greek sorority Delta Delta Delta and fraternity ZBT entitled "Tacos and Tequila", the reasoning behind the controversy was because they had members of their sorority dressed in urban clothing and pregnant clothing while the guys dressed up as landscape workers with fake tattoo tear-drops. This event was huge but our school tried hard to keep it under wraps, which I believe they did a good job, only the local newspaper published an article on the event. There is so much school pride, Illinois students are the proudest of their school. I don't think there's anything unusual, well actually there is a dormitory that's the farthest from campus which happens to be the dorm that minorities are assigned to...segregation perhaps? The experience that I will never forget would have to be my freshman year, the first week had events catered to the entering freshman. I loved it! The most frequent complaints would have to be politics with the 'Chief'

The fact that a lot of people are from Illinois can be an advantage. It is easy to stay in contact with friends from school over breaks and after college. The school is very big, but it doesn't feel that way. The Greek system is extremely present but it is not necessary to join. With so many people, there is a lot of school pride which makes for fun sporting events/tailgates/celebrations. The library system is one of the best in the country so most of the professors are extremely intelligent and often have published books, etc.. They have high expectations of their students and a lot is to be learned from them. While it is a big school, there are tons of resources to help students with academics as well as sports and clubs.

The best thing about Illinois is there are so many academic opportunities. There's a class for everything, and if you can't find a class, you can always do an independent study of what you like. There are many research opportunities, if you're interested in that. I would change how many professors lead their courses - the courses tend to be huge lectures and there is little time for students to ask questions during lecture or to go up to talk to the professor after the lecture. The professor generally assigns office hours where you can go ask questions, but often, you will have a course during these office hours, and many professors are not happy to do office hours by appointment. This all really depends on the professor, but this is really typical in the science majors (in LAS, I can't really offer an honest opinion about engineering). The university is way too big - it does not have the resources to accomodate everyone. There is little unity except at sports events - most of the time, students compete with one another (it's cut-throat competition). White students hang out with white students, Hispanic students also hang out with just themselves... There's plenty of diversity, just no unity. When I tell people that I go here, the intelligent ones act very impressed. The athletic ones have their own opinions about the different teams here. And people who don't fall into either category sometimes aren't familiar with the university until I tell them we have one of the best engineering programs in the world. It's sad that people only know this university because of the engineering program, but the university is not interested in using any money or resources to make the school just as great in all the other departments. They just keep building up the engineering school. Illinois's administration has no idea what's going on, ever. An E-mail from them is a big joke. Nobody ever takes them seriously. The biggest recent controversy on campus was getting rid of our symbol, the Chief. It was not Native Americans who were offended by him, only African American and very liberal white students. The fact is there are very few Native Americans here, and the school claims that getting rid of the Chief will attract more Native Americans - but actually, the percentage of Native American students here is about the same as any other university in this region. We all know the university just caved because they felt they could receive more money from anti-Chief alumni. They actually never received more money. Many students are angry about this, but many students continue to wear Chief apparel every day. The controversy has FAR from gotten rid of the Chief!

Illinois is the perfect size. The best thing about it is that the teachers are approachable and helpful and if you are bored there is always someone around and open to new experiences. The thing I do not like about school is that there are bad bug problems in the public dorms that are not attended to for days. There is a lot of school pride; however, it is usually only associated with Unofficial and Sports Games. Student complaints are that they can never get into the classes that they wish to take.They often complain that there are too many general requirements on top of major requirements that there is not enough time to take all the other classes that look appealing. Also students complain because the LAS advisors are not as helpful as major advisors.

Even though Illinois is a large campus with many students, it seems to have gotten much smaller since my freshman year. Walking around campus with one of my friends, I wave to people I know as we pass, and she comments "You know everybody!!" It really does seem like that some days... People seem impressed when I tell them that I go to Illinois. The school is known for its academics, and they have recently raised their admission standards for out of state students. Champaign-Urbana, or "Chambana," is a fun college town. Green street, which is our main drag of restaurants, bars, and other stores, is always busy and there's always something going on. The Illini Union plans fun activities, including movie nights, live comedy, and even bowling and DDR tournaments. Also, some of the buildings on campus (Gregory Hall) regularly screen movies at a discounted rate, including Pirates of the Carribbean II and other new releases. Overall, Illinois is a great school. I have found the faculty to be extremely accessible and very helpful. If you're willing to go the extra mile, they're definitely right there with you. The academic advisers in my department (Psychology) are excellent, and have all won awards for their work with students.

Love the size of the school. Feels big but the smaller colleges make it feel just right. Example the business college is smaller than the whole university. The college of ACES is great. It is easy to not feel like just a number and the professors are very great and considerate. People pride themselves about this school and the alumni are awesome. It is easy to find jobs thanks to these alumni. Sports are amazing, don't miss out on that experience. I do wish that they would have kept the Chief, I was a freshman the last year he performed and he was amazing, it was a sad day when he left.