I am an International student from India and would be applying to UIUC early action. I didn’t take the TOEFL exam as it is very expensive. Now I emialed the UIUC people that is it necessary to take the TOEFL exam.
The response was that, ‘It is strongly recommedned to international students to take the TOEFL exam. However, If you want to waive your TOEFL requirement, email us after you have applied to UIUC.’
What does this mean. Am I good to go even If I don’t take the TOEFL???
Thanks in advance 
UIUC no longer requires TOEFL or IETLS from international applicants from countries where English is not the predominate language. However, it does “strongly recommend” one or the other, see http://admissions.illinois.edu/FAQ/applicant-freshman-international, and it requires you to “prove” your English proficieny when you apply and recommends TOEFL or IETLS for doing so, see http://admissions.illinois.edu/Apply/Freshman/process.
So, yes, you can apply without a TOEFL score and will be considered for admission, particularly if you are from an area that does not have easy access to something like TOEFL. However, you still need to demonstrate English proficiency and exactly how you do that without TOEFL or similar is not an easy task. Considered as helping would be high English and Reading Scores in the ACT, or a high reading/writing score from the new SAT, plus taking the essays (which are normally not required) and scoring high on those. Meanwhile, you should consider it advisable to explain why you cannot submit a TOEFL in your essay. However, claiming it is too expensive rather than unavailable is not likely to help much, particularly considering that UIUC provides no need based financial aid to internationals and to be able to get the necessary visa and attend you need to show you can afford to pay first year tuition, fees and expenses, and if you can do that you should be able to afford the cost of a TOEFL.
Thanks for such a detailed reply @drusba .
I want to also ask that if I can afford UIUC.
My parents can afford at most 40000$ per year. Is that enough? My major is Physics.
2017-18 costs for tuition, fees and room & board have not been determined yet, but for 2016-17, you would have been looking at this for the first year for an international majoring in physics (which has the same tuition as engineering):
Tuition: $37,782
Campus Fees: $3662
Books and Supplies: $1200 estimated
Room and Board: $11,308
Other: $2840 estimated (but likely more if coming from India; it is an estimate to cover travel expenses and everyday living expenses including some spending money)
Total that was thus estimated for this year’s international freshman in physics: $56,792
See https://registrar.illinois.edu/ug-rates-engineering-1617 and https://registrar.illinois.edu/ug-additional-expenses-1617
Tuition, fees, and room and board will likely go up some for 2017 freshman, but the above are basically the figures you would need to establish you can pay to qualify for a visa. UIUC does have scholarship funds and you might qualify for some but do not expect a large amount absent being a very stallar applicant.
where do iget to explain why i didnt take ielts or toefl? im an int student as well and I required one of the admission offices to get rid of that requirement from my application and they did. But i never got a chance to explain why. do i have to email them separately for logical explanation?