I’m deciding between UC Irvine and UIUC right now and wanted to know if anybody had any information on the two schools and the majors. I’m constantly going back and forth with which school I like.
Some info:
UCI is in-state and UIUC is out of state.
I got in UCI as an education sciences major, and UIUC as an elementary education major.
I know that if I go to UCI, I would have to do a program after I graduate for my credentials/masters. If I go to UIUC, I would get my credentials within my four years.
Also, can someone tell me about the differences between a quarter system and a semester system? I’ve heard quarter system is a lot harder because it goes at a faster pace.
I love the people at UCI, but academic wise I’m worried. I’m not the strongest student, so I’m worried that I wouldn’t do as well in classes (especially gen. ed classes). I’m also worried that I wouldn’t get a decent GPA to meet the requirements to apply for creds/masters programs after I graduate. In high school, I’ve had a mix of A’s and B’s (1-2/sem).
I’m not an expert but know a few teachers so I’m paraphrasing what I’ve heard from them. One very important factor is whether you plan on teaching in CA. If so then a CA school may be a better fit (and you probably should have applied to some CSU schools).
The story I’ve heard is that CA does not make it easy for people from OOS schools to qualify to teach in CA. Spend some time looking over the material at https://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentials/teach Of course there are teachers with OOS degrees that teach in CA so there must be a way, but you should investigate now before you pick a college so you know what it will take. An since you are a CA resident you should talk with the guidance staff at your HS.
Although UIUC has, arguably, one of the best education programs in the country, it will also be expensive for an OOS applicant, and as a teacher, your income will be low, so saving money is a very important factor here.
So UIUC is likely to be more difficult AND more expensive.
Since I have only ever taught and studies on a semester system, I cannot answer to that.