<p>My D is going to visit the campus in a couple days. Is there any tips for the visit such as where to park and where to eat?
Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Unless you’re going for a specific event all parking is by the meter so bring quarters!</p>
<p>Thanks. That is a very good reminder. I’ll bring a jar of quarters.</p>
<p>There may be some free parking out by Assembly Hall with buses to the meeting location. That would be in your information email. Otherwise, there is a public lot at 6th and Green Street. You prepay for a max of 8-10 hours and can use cash or credit card. I think it is like $4 for the day. During the summer it should be easy to get a spot in this lot if you arrive early.</p>
<p>For eating, your best options are either eat like a student at the Ikenberry Commons Dining Hall, if that is an option. Otherwise, the campus town area has a number of places to eat. There are chains like Potbelly and Noodles. These will be exactly the same as back home. Or, go to one of the local spots. Murphy’s is known for great burgers, Papa Dell’s for great Pizza. </p>
<p>Our family favorite place to stop for an afternoon snack is Cocomera (check the spelling). It’s on Wright Street across from the Alma Mater (except she is our for repairs). They have about 15 flavors of frozen yogurt and lots of toppings. You pay by weight. </p>
<p>Another tip I would give you is to take some time to drive around and look at the entire campus, not just hat is on the formal tour. Drive by the fraternity and sorority houses, they are spread around, but for a quick look at a sampling drive down Lincoln Ave in Urbana and walk down Wright street in Champaign.</p>
<p>Take time to visit the Engineering Quad and the Business Instructional Facility. Do this even if your daughter is not interested in those fields. the buildings are new and quite impressive.</p>
<p>Finally, remember that you are going at the hottest time of the year (temp wise). It is actually a bit hot the first 2-3 weeks and last 2 weeks of the year, but is generally a very livable temp most of the school year.</p>
<p>Good luck with your visit. My daughter and I will be there on Friday. Thanks for your input, orngblu.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. We are already in town. We will arrive early tomorrow and drive around first.</p>
<p>I was there with my D in March. We had lunch at Ikenberry Commons and dinner at Papa Del’s. Good intro to UofI. Be prepared for a long wait for the deep dish at Papa Del’s, but it’s worth it.</p>
<p>We came back yesterday. The visit was nice. We found a meter spot under shade when we arrived. That kept our car cool. Then I moved my car to the opposite side of the street under another tree in the afternoon. I totally spent around $6 for meter parking. The campus tour was good although it was a very hot summer day. We went to the LAS session in the afternoon since Chemical Engineering is listed under LAS instead of College of Engineering. We should have gone to the engineering one instead as there is very little information regarding ChemE and we missed the engineering campus tour. Anyway, we just did a self walking tour after that session. The engineering campus is beautiful.</p>
<p>We also had a hot day for our tour on Friday.</p>
<p>A few people have mentioned in various UIUC threads here that they found parts of the campus to be shabby and dated. My take was that the new spaces, like the Engineering Quad, the Business Instructional Facility, the Recreation Centers, and the new dorms and dining commons, are beautiful and well designed structures. Recently renovated buildings like Lincoln Hall were likewise gorgeous. Some buildings like the Union are attractive structures if somewhat dated and worn inside. </p>
<p>I think too much stock can be put into evaluating a school by its pretty buildings, and it is easy to focus too much on the structures and setting on a visit outside of the school year.</p>
<p>My daughter liked the campus very much, and was particularly struck and impressed with the diversity of the prospective students in contrast to the other Big Ten schools she has now visited (Michigan, Wisconsin, UMN and IU- I know, not a list of the most diverse campuses!). </p>
<p>It’s a big, sprawling campus, but at least for LAS students, classes would be in a close cluster of buildings. </p>
<p>We stayed in the hotel in the Union, which was fine and reasonably priced. We didn’t have a car, and walked into downtown Champaign where we had a very nice dinner at Bacaro.</p>