University of Illinois

Introduction
The University of Illinois is for students who are independent, willing to work hard and aren't scared of a challenge. Navigating a 41,000 person university is not easy, especially when some of the most challenging classes can have over 800 students. If you don't want to, you could probably make it four years without talking to a professor or seeking out advising. No one will notice if you don't show up to class or aren't fulfilling your graduation requirements: that's YOUR responsibility here. Despite the negative aspects of going to such a large school, though, the University of Illinois is an AMAZING place. Students are incredibly active, passionate, intelligent and willing to make a difference. There are over 1000 registered student organizations, and the school has the largest Greek system in the country. While there are a lot of in-state students, people's interests and backgrounds are very diverse. You can meet top graphic designers, civil engineers, modern dancers, journalist and chemists who are all extremely driven. If you're not positive about your major, there are 120+ here to choose from, many being among the best in the country. (Agriculture, Advertising, Accounting, Journalism, Kinesiology, Chemistry, Engineering, and Physics are all ranked among the best in the country!!!) I chose Illinois because it had the 3rd best program in Journalism, it gave me a full ride my freshman year and offered me a seat in the Campus Honors Program which is taught directly by top professors in a very small class setting. Four years later, I'm graduating with highest honors in Kinesiology and Chemistry and going to medical school.

Campus Life and Social Life
At Illinois, if you don't like 90% of the people, there's still several hundred that you can enjoy. As the school's size can be very isolating (big classes, big dorms, big everything), it's really really important for people to find their niche. Most students do this through their major, dorm floor, greek house or student organization. Due to the number of organizations on campus, student life is very active and there's always concerts, performances, protests, lectures, sports and lots of parties to choose from on any given weekend. There's no reason to be bored. Bars and frat parties dominate the social scene, with most students going out Wednesday-Friday nights (Saturday night is more chill so people can study on Sundays). Bars are all along Green Street and let 19 year olds in. Bars all have their own personalities, and there's lots of barcrawls where groups get together and go to 5+ bars in a night. If you're not into drinking, it'll be a little harder to find your place, but there's also a HUGE Christian network with alternative programming. If you're into your own race/ethnicity, we also have cultural centers that hold all sorts of social events. Academics
Agriculture, Advertising, Accounting, Journalism, Kinesiology, Chemistry, Engineering, and Physics are all ranked among the best in the country!!! Intro classes tend be HUGE with several hundred students, but upper levels can be extremely small (I had a class with 3 other kids...yikes!). Engineering and business draw in the top students. Engineers tend to have a very, very hard workload but most seem to balance it well. Business kids don't have classes on Fridays but have companies visit all the time during the week. Professors are really variable, as some are here strictly to research and others love to teach. It just takes some research on the part of the student to find that out ahead of time and choose classes wisely. TAs are usually extremely helpful and can easily relate to students as their just in graduate school. Research is also HUGE here, with lots of students working in labs alongside professors.

Student Body
The student body is primarily from Illinois, but this also means that you get a crazy mix of kids who grew up on farms, in innercity Chicago and in the Chicago suburbs. We've had a lot racial tension over the Chief and the lack of diversity, with students orchestrating huge protests and forums regarding race, power and privelege. Most minority groups tend to stick together and each has a distinctive sub-culture at Illinois. As a student at Illinois, you'll most likely make friends who are carbon copies of yourself and hang out with them for four years. You will have to push yourself to appreciate and experience diversity, but it's possible and worth the effort.

In Closing...
When I was in high school, I thought Illinois was just a big party school that received all the same clone-ish kids who fell in the top 5-15% of the class. I couldn't have been more wrong. There are a lot of questionable students here, but the majority of the people here are smart, driven and really interested in what they study. If you're willing to work hard, this place gives you a million and half opportunities to succeed.