<p>So I'm almost positive UIUC is my number one choice... I visited the campus and absolutely fell in love with. Just altogether the perfect school for me it seems... but...</p>
<p>I've done all the research on the academics and such and am quite happy, but now I'm more concerned about the whole "college experience." What are the dorms like, how strict is partying/underage drinking, what do kids do for fun, etc. I just wonder how well I'll fit into this social atmosphere... A friend of mine who is also looking it U of I was told by a friend 3 things that highly worried/bothered me..</p>
<p>If you're not in the Greek System you are nothing and have no social life.
If you're not majoring in engineering, you're wasting your time.
Barely any professors can speak fluent English.</p>
<p>Can somebody please tell me if any of these things are true or anything relating to them would also be welcome. Also, how's the social life, living, etc?</p>
<p>Very untrue about the greek system. U of I has a big Greek system, but also has a huge GDI system as well. You absolutely do not have to go Greek to have a great Social Life. </p>
<p>There are many other great majors besides engineering. I was a finance major, (also a journalism major and a psychology major in the earlier years), and I knew people from all disciplines. The school is world class in terms of engineering but top 25 for everything else. Truly a fantastic school.</p>
<p>I cannot comment on professors that speak English. When I was there, this was not an issue, but it was awhile ago. </p>
<p>You will LOVE it there. I cannot say enough great things about it.</p>
<p>I definitely agree. The social experience and living arrangements are entirely what you make them. If you want party, you can. If you want to study or hang out with a tamer crowd, done. You can pretty much pick your own experience at U of I since on a campus of 40,000+, there's always something going on and a group to hang out with. I just completed my freshman year in engineering, but I can tell you that plenty of other majors are well known as well, particularly within the business college and majors within LAS, etc. Additionally, I feel that U of I is a respectable university that will look nice on any resume.</p>
<p>All in the all, the school is entirely what you make it. I commend you on making U of I your first choice, and I doubt you'll regret it.</p>
<p>Yeah, I think that he possibly just wants me to end up at the same school as him, which is not U of I...but the reassurance definitely helps just the same :)</p>
<p>Well, I'm going to reply to each statement seperately:</p>
<p>-"If you're not in the Greek System you are nothing and have no social life."
-Not true. At. All. I think it's ridiculous when people say this, because while a large percentage of the student body IS in the Greek System, they are by no means the majority. I'm in the Greek System, and I'll be the first to tell you that all my non-Greek friends have just as awesome a social life as I do. Anyway, if you are thinking about joining, go through recruitment and see if it's something you might want to do. </p>
<p>-"If you're not majoring in engineering, you're wasting your time."
-See the posts above me. Haha. </p>
<p>-"Barely any professors can speak fluent English."
-I'm not going to lie, this is somewhat of a problem in some of the more "mathy" and "sciencey" departments. I had a calculus prof last year with a thick Russian accent (it was business calc, so it should have been easy) who I could barely understand. I had to rely solely on my T.A. (and thankfully, I had a good T.A...if I hadn't, I'dve been screwed) to get me through the class. Don't let this deter you from going to the university, though! There are plenty of professors that speak English perfectly well.</p>
<p>The Dorms are a good way to socialize with various people. It is true that some dorms are less social than others, but, you can always find the type of people you are looking for anywhere.
Even though underage drinking occurs, the dorms are pretty strict against underage drinking. I am not really sure what the punishment is against such an offense, but don't try it in the dorms. Well, there are clubs for everyone here so feel free to join anyone of them. And if you are not the kind of person who is really interested in joining clubs, then you may issue books from the library or watch movies with friends or play video games with your dorm mates. </p>
<p>The University has one of the biggest Greek Systems among all universities, but that does not mean that there is no life outside the Greek System. Just do what you want to do. </p>
<p>Agreed that engineers might spend more time studying than other majors, but that does not mean that you are wasting your time if you do any other major. The Business, Accountancy etc. departments here are really good as well.
All professors can speak English. They may not be native English speakers, but they can speak English to a satisfactory level in order to communicate with the students.</p>