<p>What are your Pros and Cons of University of Illinois? </p>
<p>Any information would be appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>-PacaMed-</p>
<p>This is basically what my thoughts were on UIUC when I chose it (I’ll be a freshman there in the fall)</p>
<p>PROS:
-Less expensive than top-tier private colleges
-AWESOME engineering program
-Great athletics
-Lots of extracurriculars to get involved in
-Big research university
-Somewhat diverse (for a midwestern state school)
-Well-respected</p>
<p>CONS:
-More expensive than most other state colleges
-Huge college, somewhat impersonal
-Programs outside engineering and business are not as well-known
-Stingy with financial aid (because they don’t have much money to give)</p>
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<p>Yes, but so what. If you’re instate Illinois, then the comparison to other out-of-state college’s instate costs is irrelevant.</p>
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<p>Not sure how much weight you should give this Paca, since he hasn’t attended yet.</p>
<p>What you need to do is visit, and see for yourself.</p>
<p>Thanks you guys for the input. I plan to visit myself, but was just wondering other peoples views on their visit or knowledge.</p>
<p>My opinion is similar to the first reply.
Some other Pros (aside from the first post):
People here tend to focus on good health and staying fit (nice facilities for you to work out)
Convenient bus route
Really easy find someone who can relate to you
IMO: It is easier to obtain a higher GPA here than many other colleges (I guess it would look good on transcript if you are going for Grad)
People are laid back, still competitive but not backstabbing
Other than good business/ engineering program there are a few others: Psychology, Computer Science, Library, Physics
Party school (if you are into that)
Some good majors are TOUGH, but not exactly extremely stressful unless you want to graduate early or something.
There is always a place that can help with something that you need.
You can dress up in the weirdest clothes here and no one will judge you, but I’d say the most common attires worn are tshirts and shorts with flip flops. U of I is a comfortable and laid back college I’d say
If you are into yummy beverages, there are a lot of places for this.
Cons:
definitely not the safest place, there are occasional crime alerts about once every 1-2 weeks…
rains a lot and occasional tornado warnings
loads of swarming gnats and lady bugs during hot weather. One time, I caught 21 lady bugs in my dorm.
if you do not have a car, bus ride to the mall = 1/2 hour.
Groceries tend to be pricey when it is very close to campus…you need to go to the mall area for a better price
this place is OLD, there are so many renovations going on. Plus most facilities are just moldy , dim, and confusing.
the campus is pretty big, if you are good with directions then you will be fine, otherwise it might be a little tough
Even though it is cheap for instate, it is not that cheap if you are in Business or Engineering approx (30k).</p>
<p>@rainyswish: Thanks a ton! What are you majoring in?</p>
<p>I was originally in DGS, but now I’m majoring in Finance. :)</p>
<p>If you are thinking about applying to UIUC I wish you the best of luck!
It might take a short while to adjust to UIUC because it is in the middle of nowhere, but you’ll get used to it.
Bottom line UIUC IMO is relaxing. You always see people out participating in some kind of activity.
Nevertheless, it seems the selectivity of admission is getting tougher year by year (they reduced the admission rate by like 10%; used to be 75% now it is 64%?). Some instate students that had similar High School transcripts as me were rejected this year and I am even from out of state!
UIUC no doubt provides great education, but it is really up to you if you want to learn. Most courses are not too tough especially if you came from a highly competitive high school. Mine was, and IMO my high school is harder than UIUC.
A lot of students probably had TOO much fun, thus their education did not improve much or some went down hill.</p>
<p>I’m glad your liking college! I’m a junior in highschool so I have time but I really like UIUC. I’m looking into the pre-med side of things.</p>
<p>Pre-Med is great! I must warn you that the Chem courses are hecka difficult and may require some extra studying :/.</p>
<p>Thanks for the heads up! That’s okay though. I know I’m going to have to study a ton. What year are you if you don’t mind me asking and how is the financial aid at UIUC?</p>
<p>I’m sophomore, 
I am an international student so I’m pretty much paying everything out of my own pocket (well my parents’ as well). I have no knowledge about the financial aid, other than I heard they don’t really give much. But money is still money, I would gladly take it</p>
<p>Ah, that’s cool! That’s true, money is good!</p>