I know UIUC is especially known for its engineering and STEM programs but what about the humanities? I was recently accepted as an English major and financially it is a really good option for me as I live in-state. Do they have a good English program, or am I better off looking at a smaller liberal arts school?
What else are you looking for in a college experience? Or is there anything in particular about majoring in English that you want?
Are there any activities/clubs you want to continue or join? Does the size of the school matter? Is name recognition important?
UIUC has a very large alumni network. Is that important? Some folks find job opportunities that way.
Are you wanting to also do secondary education? (High school teacher)
I’m planning on going into secondary education for English, so I am definitely looking for a school with a strong education program.
@matjanelson If you are interested in teacher certification (and you haven’t done this), you can visit the Illinois Board of Education for a list of in-state schools. Here is the link: scroll down to chart starting on page IV
http://www.isbe.state.il.us/profprep/PDFs/directory.pdf
You can look under English and see which schools in Illinois have an approved teacher certification program for that subject.
Now I want to warn you that this list does NOT INDICATE LEVEL to get certification from that college/univ. Meaning some college/univ offer certification at undergrad and some offer at graduate level. To find this out you have to go to the individual college/univ website. It may require digging. Some schools have it buried. Not sure why.
Some school districts don’t want to hire a teacher with a masters degree and no teaching experience.
As far as UIUC they offer English 2nd Ed at the undergrad level. As you may know Engish is in the College of LAS. You would also take education classes with the other teacher-to-be students from other disciplines. Those classes are from the College of Education.
I think UIUC LAS has a liaison person for teacher prep to the College of Education. That would be extremely helpful to look for in your college search. A friend’s daughter is doing English 2nd Ed at a small school with no “liaison” person. Even though the school was (and is) a good fit for the daughter, she gets frustrated occasionally because she has to follow up with the school’s College of Ed.
As far as college/univ having a strong program, I’m not sure what you mean. They will meet the State of Ill requirements for teacher education.
So as far as picking the college/univ it is some of the questions form post #1. What else are you looking for and do you have any cost limitations?
I usually don’t really like to discuss finances on the internet, but the main reason I’m asking about their English program is because I have my tuition paid for at all Illinois state schools (College of Illinois program). I have applied to several other smaller liberal arts colleges that will cost me way more $$$ but supposedly have higher rankings than U of I in their English program. Maybe it’s silly to put my faith in some college search website’s rankings. I really liked U of I because of its size and range of activities and opportunities as opposed to some of the other small colleges I toured and plan to go back to visit again before I make my final decision. It’s a lot different than most of the schools I applied to but it was still a choice in my mind. Here’s where the problem lies: my top choice “dream school” for nearly two years of high school deferred me and I won’t hear back until March if I was accepted. This college will cost me tens of thousands more to attend and is much, much smaller and actually religious (Wheaton College). It’s a good school, and I’ve had family attend there so I was encouraged to apply by them, but I’m starting to think U of I is a better option for me even if it wasn’t originally what I had in mind. Sorry for writing so much! You probably don’t really care, and maybe I answered my own question, but thanks for taking the time out of your day to respond!
Being able to have choices financially is great!
There are lots of reasons for choosing a college. Could be activity choices, location, study abroad programs, late night eating areas on and off campus, sports, work out areas, bicycle friendly, transportation to and from home, “hang out areas”. Sounds like UIUC caught your eye and has something different to offer you.
Good Luck and Best Wishes for the future!