University of Illinois Urbana Champaign Admission - University of Illinois Urbana Champaign Undergraduate Program University of Illinois Urbana Champaign Application

The Facts

The University of Illinois is an enormous public university located in between the twin cities of Urbana and Champaign in the heart of the heartland: Illinois. The university is home to over 27,850 undergraduate students and about 11,230 graduate students. U Illinois consists of eight undergraduate colleges including schools of liberals arts and sciences, agriculture, consumer and environmental sciences, engineering, education, communications, applied life studies, commerce and business administration, and fine and applied arts. The university even owns its own airport where students interested in studying aviation can get hands-on experience. The school also offers some great preprofessional undergraduate programs, including veterinary studies and premedicine.

U Illinois offers over 150 undergraduate majors. Some of the most popular choices include engineering, business, biological sciences, social sciences, and psychology. Like any other large state-funded institution, most classes are quite large, especially introductory-level required classes, which are almost always held in massive lecture halls. The student to faculty ratio is 12:1, and while some students say that if you seek a professor out, they will usually be willing to give you some one-on-one time, the majority say that it is quite common to feel very anonymous at the school and usually, your professors don’t even know you exist.

Admission to U Illinois is actually quite a bit more competitive than it is at other large state schools. Last year, over 22,300 students applied and about 14,000 were admitted; of those, 6,811 matriculated. The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 1190 to 1390 and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 25 to 31. Over 86% of those admitted were ranked in the top 25% of their high school graduating class.

The Social Scene

U Illinois’ campus is a massive 1,450 acres, with an extremely efficient bus system that can easily get students from one end to another. Most students have cars, though, as their families often live quite near, and it is convenient for frequent (or not-so-frequent) visits. The bus system can also get students to the town’s movie theaters and shopping malls. The towns of Urbana and Champaign are not the safest areas, but students usually stay on campus for their fun anyway.

U Illinois has a huge Greek scene; it is known for being one of the most spirited and party-apt schools in the country. The Greeks are constantly throwing huge weekend bashes at one of the houses, and drinking is the on-campus activity of choice, even with the administration’s recent crackdown on alcohol (it hasn’t seemed to help very much...). Sports are also a huge deal at the school, and their basketball team is in the Big Ten league. The dating scene is quite vibrant; expect a lot of buff jocks and former teen queens who just happen to be into engineering and psychology.

What's Good

“Despite the huge state-school thing, the school offers really world-class academics and the professors are the real deal.”

“This is a great school to have the real college experience.”

“The campus is awesome and is like its own self-contained city.”

What's Bad

“The school is so big that it is really impossible to feel like an individual here. Everyone just blends in.”

“There are a lot of people here that still think they’re in high school... it’s just obnoxious.”

“The frats and sororities think they are so cool... everyone who isn’t involved is usually labeled a total loser.”

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