I was debating whether to add my input to “UIUC Reputation in Illinois”, but decided to start a new thread, which I hope may be helpful to people considering UIUC/Gies.
This was a good week for our family. Both of my kids, recent Gies graduates (D17/S19) got good news. I wanted to come here to encourage those who will be making college decisions, (especially in-state admitted Gies students) to consider the incredible opportunities at UIUC Gies.
The good news my kids received was due to their hard work, but also to the educational, professional and personal growth opportunities they benefited from at U of I. D17 is in her third year at a Big 3 Consulting firm. This week she got great news. She was admitted to TWO top MBA schools…and her firm will pay for it! S19 found out he passed his 4th CPA exam after graduating in May of this year…without having to go for a 5th year!
Yes, both were high-stat, focused students, but my point is Gies provided what they needed to successfully navigate their 4 years on campus and gave them a pretty good launch into young adulthood.
It was around this time 7 years ago, we, as a family, were going through the college admission process for the first time. We chose Gies, but I confess you naturally wonder “what if” at times. Now, roughly 6 months post-graduation of our youngest, I can honestly say that Gies fulfilled our expectations and then some.
So to those who ultimately choose to attend Gies, good luck and make the most of the experience! Four years go by quickly!
Thanks for sharing that. A good friend of mine sent her son to UIUC (for pre-med) with a twinge of disappointment that he didn’t get into a higher ranked school (or at least not one as affordable). I assured her it was an excellent choice and I would be proud to send my own DD there some day. Fast forward a year and the kid is doing great, extremely happy with his education, loving his housing options for next year, and has some amazing-but-totally-unexpected opportunities that he didn’t realize would be open to him. Mom is now a super-proud Illini parent.
@saltypretzel My son was accepted to Indiana (business) and Michigan (engineering), as well as in-state Illinois (business). He was not a direct/pre-admit to Ross. (This was 5 years ago and I believe they’ve made some changes at Ross.)
In hindsight, comparing Ross, Kelley and Gies was a good exercise in clarifying priorities and goals. Good luck with your future decision.
Completely agree with @88jm19 - my kids have had the same great experience and post graduate success. I have a current Gies Business honors student as well. What schools ( business major admits) did my kids turn down? UWisc, ND, Indiana, BC and Villanova. Internship and career placement at UIUC is top notch. My graduates went to work in IB, Consulting and Big 4 accounting… Golder Acadamies and Illinois Business Consulting provide great opportunities for students.