Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville Admission
Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville Undergraduate Program
Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville Application

The Facts

Southern Illinois University is a rather large branch of the larger public Southern Illinois University system which has several campuses throughout that region of the state. This particular branch is home to over 8,400 undergraduate students and approximately 4,000 graduate and part time professional students that are able to take courses in one of the university’s 7 undergraduate or 1 graduate school. These schools offer academic programs in the areas of business, education, engineering, arts and sciences, as well as nursing. These academic divisions offer broad majors in the areas of biological science, business, communications and the arts, (which includes a good dance department) computer and physical science, education, engineering and environmental design, (the largest of the programs) health professions, as well as the social sciences. Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville offers its students a fairly wide variety of majors in both the liberal arts and preprofessional studies, however, some of the most popular with students include majors in the areas of business administration, management information systems, as well as nursing.

Admission to Southern Illinois University is competitive, primarily because so many in state students apply each year that are all at nearly the same level of academic achievement. Last year, over 4,300 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 3,400 of those students were accepted. Eventually however, only about 1,700 of the admitted students actually enrolled for the coming Fall semester. The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 1050 to 1100, and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 20 to 27. Additionally, more than 65% of the accepted students were ranked in the top 10% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of about a 3.68.

Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, has a very manageable student to faculty ratio of 17:1, which is excellent for a school of its size. There are some general education classes that are held in lecture halls, however, they are usually supplemented by a seminar class where students get the opportunity to discuss the previous lecture’s meaning and content. Students also give their professors high marks in terms of accessibility and willingness to help students when they may need it.

The Social Scene

The town of Edwardsville is quite suburban, and because it is geared towards families, there isn’t a whole lot in the way of entertainment for students. However, the city of St. Louis, Missouri, is only about 20 minutes away by car, which many of the students own, making it a popular place to go on the weekends. The university is home to 16 national fraternities and sororities, and many students join a Greek organization at some point. The Greeks basically govern on campus social life, and their massive weekend parties are very popular. Drinking is definitely the primary mode of social interaction at these events, and keg parties are a frequent pastime.

The dating scene is quite vibrant, and the university is surprisingly diverse. You can expect to find a gem no matter what your preferences...

What’s Good

“Even though we are a large state university, our classes are remarkably small.”

“The party scene here never stops! If you’re in the mood to party, there will always be something going on.”

“The student organizations are great here, and they actually do stuff. It’s nice to see such an active campus community.”

What’s Bad

“The whole party thing still feels like high school to me. People start to forget why they’re at university in the first place.”

“A lot of the required general education courses are such a waste of time. It’s just holding you up from actually studying your major.”

“I’ve had a really difficult time talking to the administration, especially about financial and housing issues.”

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