Carbondale: The drunkest place on Earth

Introduction
When considering a school like Southern, the first thing I noticed was that you have to be able to get out and meet people in the dorms. I had an excellent time being roommates with a guy I didnt know, which enabled us to go out have a good time, meet his friends, he met mine, and we all met new people together. Freshman tend to drop out because either they fail out, or because they are homesick, or because they aren't getting along with the people around them. And the whole thing that says you should never be roommates with a best friend is true, you will drive each other crazy.

Campus Life and Social Life
The social life is much more apparent than the other Illinois schools. At Southern we do have a reputation to be a party school, though that title seems to have fizzled away. BUT, there are still a ton of stuff to do here. If you're an outdoorsman, then this by far is the best school in the state for: scenery, rock climbing, hiking, fishing, etc. We have a big bar scene here because the admittance age is 19, unlike most of the schools in the state of Illinois. House parties are still around but not as abundant anymore since 2003. The weekends pretty much start Wednesday night when talking about drinking, but I guess thats probably the case for most schools. In "Sports Illustrated on Campus" in 2004, we were considered the worst college sports town in the country, at that point we had the number 1 football team in the country and we still had more people in the tailgate than in the stands. The worst part about the social life here, would be that there isn't a whole lot to do for people outside of the white demographic. There aren't any clubs or bars to cater to minorities. Advertisement
Academics
People get the idea that dumb kids go to Southern, but that's not the case. The majors are all about on the same level as Illinois State, and Illinois. We do have a few top majors in the country, the Automotive program is #1 in the country, as well as our Aviation Flight program, also our Blacksmithing program is top ranked.

Student Body
The typical student would probably be just an average kid, from a suburb of Chicago, because that's where most of us come from. Wouldn't be in a fraternity because they aren't big around here at all. The typical student would probably be coming down to drink and have a good time over getting good grades. And the student would be damn glad that they are so far from home.

In Closing...
Good school, as long as you're focused, and have priorities set, you can graduate in 4 years. Don't get sucked up into not going to class early, and plan your schedule to cater your needs, because there is a lot to do down here.