Eastern Illinois University Admission
Eastern Illinois University Undergraduate Program
Eastern Illinois University Application

The Facts

Eastern Illinois University is a moderately sized, state-assisted school located in the town of Charleston, Illinois, and is home to over 9,100 undergraduate students and approximately 2,000 graduate and part-time professional students. The students are able to take classes in one of the four undergraduate schools or the graduate school, which offer academic programs in the areas of the arts and sciences as well as professional studies. These academic divisions offer a broad range of majors in the areas of biological science, business (which offers a unique degree in finance specifically), communications and the arts, computer and physical science (which is home to a terrific geology program), education, engineering and environmental design (which consists solely of an innovative program in industrial engineering technology), health professions, and social sciences. Some of the most popular majors include elementary education, business, general education, biological science, and physical education.

Admission to Eastern Illinois University is not terribly competitive; however, the number of qualified students who apply has been increasing with each passing admissions cycle. Last year, more than 10,035 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 7,900 of these students were accepted; of those, about 3,000 enrolled for the coming Fall semester. The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 1050 to 1120, and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 22 to 30. Additionally, more than 50% of the admitted students were ranked in the top 10% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of about a 3.5.

Eastern Illinois University has a very manageable student to faculty ratio of 15:1. It is rare to find a class at any level with more than 18 students, and they usually are even smaller than that. Students agree that one of the things that drew them to the school in the first place was the attention students receive from professors. Everyone really has plenty of opportunities to engage in interesting debates, and to really have their voices heard.

The Social Scene

The town of Charleston is quite small, and doesn’t really offer students much in the way of entertainment. However, in recent years, locals have been making an attempt to live up to their status as a college town, and a few cute shops and cafes have sprung up in various locations. Most students own cars, making weekend road trips to nearby cities like Chicago and Urbana possible and quite popular. Eastern Illinois University is home to a whopping 25 national fraternities and sororities, and over 25% of the student population belongs to a Greek organization of some sort. The Greeks basically govern the on campus social life, and their massive parties draw students from all social groups. Drinking is definitely the most popular mode of social interaction at these events, so if kegging isn’t your thing, stay away!

The dating scene isn’t terribly diverse, but people are very friendly, and ready to meet new people...

What’s Good

“I love our campus because its so centralized, and it helps to foster a sense of community here. We can all congregate in the same places.”

“There is always a party going on, even on the weekdays. It’s great for when you need to blow off some steam or just relax.”

“The classes are so incredibly small, especially for a state school. It’s really nice for your professors to really know you well.”

What’s Bad

“I really wish there were more social options here besides going to frat parties and drinking nasty beer from a keg. It gets old very quickly.”

“Unfortunately, you really need a car to get anything done around here. It’s not a very pedestrian friendly town.”

“You can never actually skip class because your teachers will notice right away and get you in trouble.”

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