<p>i have been admitted to uiuc however there are some factors which impedes me from wanting to go uiuc whole-heartedly.(actually not looking forward to going thre very much :S )</p>
<li><p>Location
uiuc is in a rural area and the weather is horrible! </p></li>
<li><p>if i go to santa monica college and transfer to usc or ucla, im not sure if i would enjoy those unis as compared to uiuc…my dream sch is actually ucla but i did not manage to get in this fall </p></li>
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<p>3.i think i will enjoy california much more than illinois hahaha</p>
<p>what should i do? is going to a 4 yr uni better than going to a community college??</p>
<p>well sounds like you'd be unhappy with uiuc.
and dreams are not what they always seem.</p>
<p>i think smc is the best choice because it gives you time to think of what you really want, and in the end i'm pretty sure youd at least be able to get into uiuc.</p>
<p>actually as an international student(im from singapore which is located south east asia) i do not really know what uiuc is like so again, i may be wrong in my views about uiuc.by the way im undeclared for uiuc.</p>
<p>I agree with Brutus. UIUC is an excellent university. It may not be quite as popular or well rounded as UCLA and Cal, but it is not far behind. In Engineering and the Sciences (particularly Chem, CS and Pysics), UIUC is right behind Cal, Caltech, MIT and Stanford. </p>
<p>And even though Urbana Champaign is rural, it is a sizeable college town with enough to keep students busy. Besides, as Brutus points out, Chicago and St Louis are both within reasonable driving distance (3 hours or less). </p>
<p>In short, UIUC is a sure bet, getting into UCLA or Cal as a transfer isn't.</p>
<p>Of course, if you wish to major in a Social Science or Humanity, going to UCLA route may be best.</p>
<p>^^ I think you underestimate california community colleges. Something like 20% of the students at berkeley went to CCC's. Hell people from stanford come from ccc's every year. If you have any drive/desire you'll be a shoe-in for one of Berkeley or UCLA.</p>
<p>The weather in Ill is hardly horrible. Fall is nice. Winters are not that bad most of the time and summer is warm and lazy. For engineering UI>>>UCLA in most areas. The campus is nice with lots of college stuff nearby.</p>
<p>If you do well at SMC, you will get a 90% chance at UIUC and a good shot at UCLA. If you are confident that you can maintain a 3.8 at the lowest, SMC is your school.</p>
<p>UIUC vs. community college... This is actually a good question!</p>
<p>I attended a community college and then transferred to UIUC. In my experience, the community college actually offered stronger courses at the freshman and sophomore level. Admittedly, the community college was one of the strongest in the US. Regardless, it's not that surprising, when you think about it. Community colleges offer smaller classes, typically 20-30 students. Research universities like UIUC stuff hundreds of students into freshman and sophomore classes.</p>
<p>Also, UIUC tends to be cliquey, homogeneous and intolerant of differences. Someone like you who is from another country might have difficulty being accepted.</p>
<p>Additionally, for most UIUC most students, the lifestyle revolves around getting drunk, to an even greater extent than most other US universities. You'd find a wider range of activities and interests at California universities.</p>
<p>You don't list your gender. Are you male or female? I wouldn't recommend UIUC to women for safety reasons. This is doubly true for an international student, who isn't going to know the unwritten rules people from Illinois know.</p>
<p>US$25,000 per year to attend lecture halls with hundreds of students on a campus with a horrible atmosphere... WHAT?</p>
<p>Take3 i'm sorry but you're mistaken on several points</p>
<p>UIUC has the LARGEST international student population in the entire country</p>
<p>This is what princetonreview has to say about the student body at UIUC:</p>
<p>"While "Most students seem to be White upper-middle-class suburbanites from metropolitan Chicago," "There are many people that contradict that stereotype and "Diversity isn't really a problem." You'll see more than your fair share of "super-skinny sorority girls and buffed-up frat boys" here—the type who "go to class in pajamas, but out to the bars all decked out"—but you'll also find lots of minorities and "a lot of students from foreign countries, such as China, Taiwan, Korea, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates." Undergrads report that "students here at U of I are typical Midwesterners with the joyful addition of international students." If you're looking for the outliers, know that "they can be found in the living-learning communities. The LLCs are really nice because they contain both your average White suburbanite and your atypical person and provide a wonderful place for intellectual stimulation and expansion. LLCs rock!"
(I dont think anybody would dispute the fact the PrinceReview is a repectable source)
Theres actually a facebook group for incoming freshman who dont drink at all and there are already a 100 who have joined. With a university of the size of UIUC theres no way you can go and say that every single one of them is exactly the same. You will find alot of people who share the same interest as you</p>
<p>SMC - 32,000 undergrads
UIUC - 30,000 undergrads.
I highly doubt that SMC would offer you considerably smaller classes than UIUC. Besides, I really dont think you should judge a university based on class size. You dont know how qualified the teachers at a community college are. You dont know how well they can teach. Whereas large research universities generall have highly qualified, tenured profesors teaching the large lecture classes. Now i'm not sayin professors at UIUC are amazing or anything but I'd much rather sit in huge lecture taught by intelligent engaging professors than sit in a small class taught by someone who may not even be qualified.
(I say this in general and not with regard to SMC or any other community college)</p>
<p>I know SEVERAL people who studied or are studying at UIUC and not a single one of them would ever say that the campus is unsafe in anyway. (Still trying to find hard statistics. I'll get back to you on that)</p>
<p>cnxf, many of my high school friends (international students) attended UIUC and they never had any issues assimilating, nor were they ever in any danger. Take3 must have had a bad experience. I recall his asking about safety issues at Wisconsin in another thread.</p>
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