<p>Hi,</p>
<p>After the problems the school have been having leading to the President of the school resigning and the recent budget cuts, where will U of I rank in the 2013 US News Best College Rankings (currently #45)? Also, what do you think the admissions rate will be? Thanks.</p>
<p>The president resigned because he had lost the trust of the faculty. He had been moving rapidly on administrative changes to streamline the budget and implement his priorities. The faculty wasn’t on board with some of the changes that he wanted to make, and did not like the way his team went about trying to implement them, thus losing their confidence. If anything, his leaving will make the University of Illinois stronger. He’d already saved millions in the current budget, and it shows that the faculty, your professors, and the administration are both equal partners in making the U of I the fine institution of higher education that it is today.</p>
<p>As for budget cuts, the governor proposed that the U of I receive no cuts in state funding this year, requesting that the state portion of the budget remain flat. If anything, that should help U of I in the rankings since many other state institutions are still having their budgets cut for next year.</p>
<p>Also consider that US News’ College Rankings should be used as a guide to the relative prestige of the institution when compared to others. Rankings go up and down from year to year, but institutions within 10 positions of each other should be considered relatively equal in overall prestige. Other considerations should weigh much more heavily in your decision as to where to attend. If you’re instate in Illinois, U of I is still going to be cheaper for you than paying out-of-state, or private tuition and fees elsewhere.</p>