<p>I am a college transfer that has to an Illinois state college. My choices are, Eastern Illinois, Western Illinois, Northern Illinois, Both Southern Illinois Campuses, Illinois State, ect. You may notice I have not chose to include University of Illinois. This is because I do not want to go there. Of the colleges I have listed there are many similarities. If anyone can shed some light on which school may fit me best I would greatly appreciate it. I have 27 hours of transferable credit. My college GPA is in the high three's. I need to go someplace that is not a commuter campus (Why my first decision was bad). I enjoy sports alot! I want to be able to find coverage about my team! I am a biology major. I will be living on campus. Thanks.</p>
<p>Well, as an Illinois resident, this is what I have picked up from people attending some of these state schools. Southern sounds like a party school from what I have heard and it might not be the strongest school out there. Western has a nice campus-community feel, despite it being in the middle of nowhere. Northern has the best university feel, with a strong school spirit and good sports programs, so this is the one that seems the best for you, depending on your intended major.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for your input. I am looking very strongly at NIU. I have a music minor and NIU's music school is excellent. I have two alum parents as well!</p>
<p>Rugg's guide lists Northern for biology and biochemistry, SIUC for botany and zoology and animal sciences, and Eastern for botany and zoology.</p>
<p>"Northern has the best university feel" -- can you elaborate? I'd be worried about the suitcase school aspect.</p>
<p>SIUC - my nephew is getting a very good engineering education there.
ISU - I know a couple of kids who are happy with music ed. there.</p>
<p>Treetopleaf, you bring up some very good points. The Rugg's guide seems to be a good thing to look at. I do like the fact that SIUC specializes in the animal sciences because it puts less stress on chemistry (I can do it, don't like it. Physical chemistry scares me too :)) I was also afraid that Northern could be a suitcase school. Even though I only live 30 minutes away from the campus, I don't want to have to go home every weekend. These are some things to think about! Thank you.</p>
<p>This might helpful.
Percentage of undergraduates (all classes) living in college housing:
WIU - 45%
EIU - 42%
ISU - 35%
NIU - 33%
SIU-C 30%
SIU-E 30%</p>
<p>NIU, SIU-C and ISU have reputable sports programs, playing in the MAC or MVC.</p>
<p>ferryboat10, Thank you! This indeed is very helpful! The numbers for the SIU-C campus is very surprising to me. I will have to visit a few on the weekends to get a real feel on how the campus operates on the weekends. Thanks again!</p>
<p>Somewhere2012, is it safe to assume that you attended U I C?</p>
<p>Nephew is living off campus in an appt. They have plenty of affordable appts at SIUC, which may help to explain the low percentage in college housing.</p>
<p>Haha. Very good guess. No I don't, I am at Saint Xavier University. Their amazing scholarship program attracted me to the university. I had many other choices in and around Chicago. I'm looking for a public university because I am afraid that another private university might be too expensive. I'm looking to spend around $20,000 total. Right now I spend about $9,000 including books at SXU. Very impressive guess though. Thanks for the feedback as well.</p>