Alright…I’ll share my thoughts on Gies, UIUC and choosing a college in general.
First a little bit about me, so you understand where I’m coming from and my bias.
I’m a graduate of U of I and a former high school teacher. I live in a Chicago suburb and have 2 Gies kids. My DD graduated in 2017 with a double major of finance and supply chain. She lives (with 2 Gies friends) and works in Chicago at a Big 3 consulting firm. She has been accepted to two M7 MBA programs. She’ll be going full time in the fall and her firm will pay for it. My DS graduated last year with a double major in finance and accounting and a Technology and Management minor. He lives (with 3 Gies friends) and works in Chicago at a financial consulting firm. He passed the CPA exams by self-studying. He’s only been working about 4 months so there’s not much to share yet.
Anyway, I will start by saying cost of attendance is very important when deciding upon a school. We believed our kids would/could be successful in many environments. You asked for information about Gies so I’ll share what I know and ignore mentioning cost.
Two things I encourage you to do is to 1. think about your goals (long term and short term) and 2. do some self-reflection when it comes to the kind of environment that would help you thrive…educationally, professionally and from a personal growth standpoint. Gies helped my kids in all 3.
In no particular order consider the following things:
- size of the business program. Gies enrolls around 600 freshman, while Kelley has about 1,950 freshman. In our opinion, the number of students can be a positive and a negative. We wanted a large enough school so there would be a variety of course offerings and professional growth opportunities, but not so large where it might be challenging to acquire positions due to physical number constraints. (I hope that makes sense. Both of my kids gained invaluable experience through their business frat. Gies was great because there was a selection process...application/interviews...but the number competing for those spots was reasonable.)
http://www.dmi.illinois.edu/stuenr/abstracts/FA19freshman_ten.htm
https://kelley.iu.edu/recruiters-companies/undergrad/statistics/class-profiles.cshtml
- AP credit. My kids were grateful they didn’t have to repeat a course they took in high school. This afforded them the opportunity to have some flexibility in their schedule. They were in some upper level classes early on which helped them to not only explore their majors, it gave them the opportunity to make friends who also served as mentors at times.
https://admissions.illinois.edu/apply/freshman/college-credit-ap
- job placement (locations and starting salaries). My kids like the Chicago area. Illinois has a great reputation and strong alumni base here. A lot of Gies grads will work in the Chicago area. Do a little research for your accepted schools.
In full disclosure, my daughter was not enthusiastic to attend U of I, because of its location. Prior to attending it was a big negative. She wanted a large city. But as she came to realize, UIUC’s campus is an interesting “bubble”…a 2.5 hr drive, south of Chicago. When school is in session, there are something like 34,000 undergraduates who are roughly the same age, plus another 15,000 post-grads. When my kids graduated and moved into their apartments in the city, they both commented how strange it was to see little kids and old people! Lol. I’ll also add that now that they’ve graduated, they realize how fast 4 years (8 semesters) goes by…7 semesters actually, since both my kids did a semester in Europe. Oh well…delayed gratification can be a good thing. 
-study abroad. Gies has a great study abroad program. It was fun, but more importantly I saw a lot of growth with my kids. It was invaluable on so many levels. Comparing study abroad opportunities between Kelley, Ross and Gies we saw a huge advantage at Gies.
- majors. I’m not sure where your interests lie, but Gies is known for its Accounting degree. Finance is strong. I expect Gies will only get better with the influx of funding from Larry Gies ($150 million) and the corporate partnerships the school has developed. The BIF is a wonderful building that is an inviting place for business students to congregate before and after class, as well as on the weekends.
- Lastly, something that contributes to a great Gies experience is the College of Engineering. Yes, our strong engineering college brings lots of companies to campus. It also allows Gies kids to work with Grainger kids. Both of my kids participated in consulting clubs, where they did group projects for companies, working side by side with engineering students. My DS also completed the Hoeft Technology and Management minor where Business and Engineering students work together, while broadening their skill set and knowledge base.
https://giesgroups.illinois.edu/tandm/about/
Ok…I’ve been typing while watching tv so I don’t know if I’ve made a lot of sense. I know Gies is just one school you’re considering and it isn’t necessarily high on your list since you’re from NY.
My kids did not start at Gies with a set goal. They knew my husband and I expected them to apply themselves and figure out a path for becoming self-supporting adults.
@saltypretzel I encourage you to work on skill building (write well, speak well, act professionally, improve math skills, develop relationships, be inquisitive and creative, etc). Look for a school where you feel you can challenge yourself and the conditions are favorable to you. You have to know yourself and realistically assess what you are willing and able to do to achieve your goals. Good luck!