Isabel
I think the U of I campus is beautiful especially the Engineering and Main quad. I will always remember when the men's basketball team made it to the final four. There were hundreds of people celebrating on the quad and on Green street, chanting and yelling. It was amazing to see us all come together as a University to cheer on our team. I will also remember the day after when there were several public places you could see the next game on projectors such as in the Union and different lecture halls.
Chris
Our college town is nothing less than amazing. Everything is at your fingertips and only within a few miles from campus. The night life is great. I think that our college is too big and that a lot of Parkland(community college in Champaign) students try to seem like they go to our school, which I hate. The best thing about Illinois is our school spirit.
erik
Great school. I wouldn't take back the past 4 years there for anything. Met great people and will always be friends with them and remember the times there.
Zach
Big campus, but homey. There is anything and everything for anyone here. Plenty of people to meet and hang out with- most all of whom are very friendly. Champaign is a great place to hang out, and the quad is beautiful. The only problem are the buses. They are the most unreliable thing on campus, so having a bike is a great idea. Plenty of school pride, we still love the chief.
mike
Going to school at Illinois is a challenge, not only because it is one of the best colleges in the country, but also because it is a party school. It is easy to lose focus on the overall goal (graduating and getting a job) and become someone who does nothing but have fun. That being said, I think the part of reason Illinois is a great choice is because the student body overall consists of very intelligent kids who like to have a good time.
Jerry
I think Illinois is the perfect campus. It's large enough that you feel like you are in a small city, but you still have that security knowing that everybody that walks by you is a student or faculty. There is always so much to do: campus-sponsored events, bars or restaurants on Green Sreet, or shops, bars and clubs in Champaign and Urbana. The mall is only 15 minutes away by bus. The bus system is amazing, you can get anywhere you have to for free. I have never met someone that goes to Illinois that does not love it. School pride here is immeasurable, everyone wears Illinois gear, and sports games are filled with students cheering.
Kevin
The best part about Illinois is that there is something for everybody. There are clubs for every interest and then some. With such a big greek system, this also carries over into fraternities and soroities. Not every house on campus is made up of the stereotypical frat/sorority guys/girls. You can pick and choose and you will find that there is a house for just about everyone. Another nice aspect is the college town feel. We are located in Champaign which is a terribly small podunk town. The main thing there is the university so, for the most part, everyone you see on a daily basis will be a student of U of I. All the restaurants on campus are campus restaurants with mostly student employees and student customers. It's not like a school that is set in a big major city.
Dana
I LOVE U of I, and most people who go here adore it as well. I love the size of it too. Guaranteed you will find someone with similar interests and personality. And there are soooooo many ways to get involved, in clubs, sports, have fun, everything. Even if you like the weirdest thing, there is a club for you. There is a club called October Lovers- for people who love the month of October! I mean, there really is everything. And there's really awesome diversity. You will find people of every race and background, country, everything. Thats the cool thing about living in the dorms; you meet so many new people in the same freshman situation. Champaign is a really cool town too, it's got a little bit of everything. And it's not like going to some hick town where theres not a McDonalds or anything- Champaign has it all.
Jamie
The campus is enormous. There is a huge campus body. But the school can be as big or as small as you like or make it.
Brian
The campus is great, and while a lot of people come and say it's too big for them I think students that are at the University would agree that it's not all that big once you're there and realize that the campus is organized fairly well and you won't be everywhere on campus so the size really doesn't come into play all that much. Campus Town is a good place to eat and there are a lot of places around campus you can go but usually campus town is the best place considering its proximity (and believe me, you'll want to go eat there a lot...the dorm food is pretty terrible...and I have quite a few friends that would agree).