Oskee Wow-Wow, Illinois

Introduction
This campus is pretty large and there are many impersonal 200-some-odd person lectures. If you want to know each and every teacher, this isn't where you want to go to school. However, it IS likely that you will get to know at least a few of the professors for your major pretty well. I chose this school because it has the nation's best band program (if you can trust the opinion of John Philip Sousa) as well as the largest one anywhere in the world (not exaggerating, at least on the size part. The other is a matter of opinion, I suppose).

Don't come to U of Illinois if you have a problem with Native American mascots. Although it may be wishful thinking on my part to say this will change, the Chief is going to stay around for quite a while.

Campus Life and Social Life
Your average weekend activity for a lot of students on campus is drinking and partying. Last year we had the undisputed best basketball team in the nation, and the experience of such unity across the campus was one of the most amazing things I've seen in my life. It was an awesome thing to be a part of.

There are clubs and activities all over campus for pretty much any interest. One of the interesting ones I've heard of is called Students Against Pants. If you can think of it, there's probably a club for it. Live music is in abundance across the Champaign-Urbana area, and there are constantly shows, activities, and informational programs.

One thing that grosses me out about this college's traditions, though, is Unofficial St. Patrick's Day. It happens about 2 weeks before actual St. Pat's Day, and is basically an excuse to get drunk. The whole campus reeks of puke and green beer, and it looks like we've adopted green as a third school color. Lots of people like it, though, so you might not see that as a "worst" of the campus life here. Advertisement
Academics
The U of Illinois has a the greatest band program ever, and the Engineering program is, of course, a top program. I know two English majors who both graduated over a year ago, though, who are still looking for jobs, so don't plan on coming here for that. (Ed. Note: this is happening to English majors all over the country right now, regardless of where they went to school. Don't let that deter you from checking out U of I's program).

Most of the professors I've encountered are fairly reasonable and fun, but a few of them have been difficult to understand due to thick accents. The TAs do a good job of making themselves accessible and telling you their office hours so that you can come in if you need help.

The workload is usually pretty reasonable too, but like any University, you get bogged down with tests, essays, and research around midterm time and at the end of the semester. For the most part, though, if you keep on top of the homework, it never gets too bad.

Student Body
Most of the students at the U of Illinois are from either the Chicago suburbs or the more rural Southern part of Illinois. On campus, a lot of the students are in fraternities or sororities, but that's not the only way to make friends. It's easy to meet people simply because there are so many of them here.

Your average UI student is into music, TV shows, and following Illinois basketball. A lot of them like to drink and party or go out to bars on the weekends. The campus is also covered in trends, since so many people are from rich suburbs...so you will see load upon load of iPods, Ugg boots, and North Face fleece.

In Closing...
The U of I has a pretty good public transportation system, the MTD, which is a blessing on a campus this size. Make sure you look when you cross the street, though, because a girl was hit and killed by a bus earlier this year. I would recommend having a bike on campus, which helps greatly in the struggle to get to class on time. And if you choose to be a pedestrian, be careful not to walk in the bike paths or you are liable to get "Schwinned," or sideswiped by a bicycle.

The parking situation on campus is ludicrous, so if you need a place to park, start looking into it by the beginning of the summer or you may find yourself out of luck.

Beyond that, this campus is a fantastic place to be. The atmosphere is almost always quite agreeable, although the same does not hold true for the weather. There are lots of things to do, people to meet, and fun to be had.