This is the case at a lot of schools, not just UIUC. Some majors, such as CS and Electrical Engineering, are very competitive for admissions. Undecided or undeclared students should not expect to get a “back door” entry into these programs by transferring in. It’s possible but definitely not a sure thing(except for CS which is technically impossible at UIUC). Liberal Arts majors would be easier to transfer into as they are not as competitive.
If your kid is undeclared, I suggest spending some time on the school website investigating different majors and what classes those students are taking in the first two years. While I don’t have any specific experience with transferring, I think it would be hard to transfer and finish in 4 years if you get too far behind the sequence of courses.
Yes, they do have options. Again, look at each school’s website. UIUC, for example, has a page specifically for undeclared students that outlines the process.
Based on that, at UIUC, if my kid wants to explore and discover what is the most suitable, enjoyable major then it wouldn’t be possible for some majors.
@Mwfan1921
Thanks for the link. They have at least 10 majors for which UIUC does not guarantee admission. And, I’m not exactly sure what it means?
Yes, but you will find that to be true at many colleges. I’m sure UIUC isn’t the only school with limitations on transferring. Do your homework on transfer rules before committing to a school.
More than 10 majors have either a GPA requirement and/or are space constrained. Your student has to go thru the transfer requirements for each major they might be interested in to see how easy/hard it might be to transfer.
Undeclared students have to work closely with their advisor to map out possible paths, starting with their selection of first semester courses. Some majors also require transfer by end of first year, for example, accounting. As some one else said above, it’s not possible to transfer into CS (from within UIUC).
Hello all experts! with more results coming in, I’m in need of your valuable inputs again.
would like to know how UIUC BioEngineering compares with Case Western BioMedical Engineering and Northeastern BioMedical Engineering (NU.In program).
They are all good. Have the student look at the course requirements for each major to see if any appeal more. If there are cost constraints factor that in. Which campus, vibe, and location appeals most? Is NU.In perceived a positive or negative by the student? You might also start a separate thread asking this question, so you can get more eyes on your post. More eyes=more feedback.
A couple of questions about Uiuc in general and not about a particular major.
How is the student experience, social life, leisure activities, and the like
-do students have opportunities to do anything else besides academics (excluding exports)?
-If a student wants to volunteer, do an internship or get a pt job is it feasible ? I understand Uiuc is located close to small cities so I wonder
-overall how is the academic rigor and competitiveness of the school (not specific majors)
are the students highly motivated and strive for academic excellence or not so much ( again overall not by specific major)
-anything else that u think stands out being a Uiuc student?
Hanging out with friends is probably the most common social activity for college students. These can be friends from dorms, classes, clubs, work and with the size of a UIUC, the student is bound to find their people quite easily. I am from California and every time I visit the campus, I feel like I’m at a UC in terms of diversity. The campus is beautiful and the facilities are really nice–two huge gyms one on each side of the campus. Check out the many YouTube videos put out by both the school as well as student vloggers. Big Ten sports are huge and some students like to attend games. Greek life is available if students want it but plenty do not rush. UIUC clubs are called RSO’s and this link takes you to a listing of more than 1000 clubs (some are probably not active since the school mentions more than 800) but there is certainly no lack of activities outside the classroom - Involved@Illinois
The bus system is comprehensive and used by most students to get around campus and to downtown. Campustown (one of three downtown areas) is right next to campus and definitely within walking distance…it is very lively in the evenings and on weekends with plenty of ethnic restaurants, boba shops, a Target, Walgreen’s and other retail shops.
Volunteering can be done by exploring the RSO’s. Definitely attend Quad Day which is usually held on the Sunday before 1st day of school. For internships, students can use handshake https://handshake.illinois.edu/ Part time jobs are definitely possible and available on campus although those on work study may have first priority. I know the dining halls are always looking more student workers. Campustown retail establishments are often staffed by students as well. Research opportunities may also be available to undergrads depending on school and department.
Feel free to message me if you have more specific questions. It’s hard to generalize student motivation. Some study hard…some party hard. Most fall somewhere in between. CS and Engineering students are likely to be more intense than other majors, but I am sure there are many exceptions as well.
@edragonfly, thanks for all the great info. I appreciate it.
I read in some forums that uiuc is big on greek life and that most of the students social life goes around it. As a parent, do you have a particular knowledge about it?
Googling I also found that uiuc is considered a party college? I don’t know what to think about it since engineering is great at uiuc. It’s hard to imagine students will have time for that much partying with such a demanding major. So I don’t know what to think about it.
Engineering and business are the jewels of the school. So I wonder how much academic excellence is in the other majors? do other majors offer the same academic rigor than engineering/biz?
Based on your experience, do uiuc are able to get valuable, meaningful internships? I’m guessing this depends on the student a lot. I thinking how much opportunities are presented to them?
Uiuc is solid and we like it so we want to learn as much as possible about it.
TIA
About 20% of UIUC students participate in Greek Life. The other 80% of students have plenty of social things to do, if they choose to do so.
UIUC is large enough that there are students of all types. There are many students who don’t party at all, some who only go out on weekend nights, some that go out many nights.
On average, even in other schools like LAS and ACES, students are relatively strong. UIUC is getting harder for in-state students to get in, and they generally have to be in the top half of their class (with the exception of students at highly competitive schools, where students in the bottom half of the class can sometimes still get into UIUC). Students can make any major as rigorous as they want.
At all schools it is up to students to get internships and post-grad jobs. Nothing is handed to anyone. There is handshake with job postings, and campus career fairs (which unlike many schools are open to everyone, of any major which is different than many schools)…but students need to be motivated and hustle for opportunities, which is true anywhere.
IME, UIUC students are generally quite happy with their college experience.
My kids graduated from UIUC’s College of Business (Gies). They had a wonderful college experience that they value to this day. They graduated in 2017 (DD) and 2019 (DS). They are successfully launched, career and friendship-wise.
UIUC has many opportunities for the focused, motivated student. If your son/daughter goes to campus prepared to work hard and seek out these opportunities (as opposed to waiting/hoping for someone else to tell them what needs to be done), your kid can meet not only academic goals but also social ones as well.
As a DGS student excellent grades are a priority. However this should not come at the expense of not becoming involved on campus. In fact campus involvement will probably be an important factor when determining one’s future major. Use the resources online to become familiar with possible RSOs. Realize some of the more desirable ones have an application process so don’t become too focused on a single one.
Use the summer to come to campus prepared in order to make the transition to college life easier. The kids who think they’ll use their first semester to “get used to living away from home and to make friends” sometimes regret the missed opportunities. I would encourage your kid to join something…and it could be more than one thing.
My kids made most of their close friends from their extracurricular activities (RSOs). The time and energy invested in prioritizing campus involvement pays huge dividends in my opinion.
Here are a couple of links you might find interesting:
Thank you for all the info. We really like UIUC and have more questions.
As a student in the DGS, if my kid wants to major in creative writing then all good.
If my kid wants to major in some type of engineering ( No CS), What are the chances to transfer to engineering ? ( no cs) I’d like to know a %
— Does any of your kids transfer to engineering? How was their experience?
We don’t know if my kid will select engineering, so I’m asking because it’s very competitive at uiuc.
——Also, I’d like to see some data/numbers/stats from prior years about how many students applied and got accepted to engineering, and other majors, the transfers acceptance rate by major, and student stats.
Does uiuc has that kind of data? I couldn’t find anything like that.
Thanks in advance. I’d really appreciate any info.
One does not have to stay in DGS for two years. Students can declare a major and move into the major/school for start of soph year (this can be major dependent). About 23% of incoming first years are in DGS, that’s the second most populous school for incoming freshman.
Has your student researched DGS in-depth? There is quite a lot of information on the website. They should be spearheading this, not you (which I know is not always possible if they are in sports season for example, but they should be driving this process).
I seem to remember a chart showing the majors that DGS students choose, but I can’t find it.
I linked this for you before, but some of the majors in the last group requiring an application that don’t guarantee admission can be highly competitive to get in to. Declaring your Major | Division of General Studies
Have your student call someone in DGS and ask their questions.
