Illinois State University Top Questions

As a student attending their second choice college the best piece of advice I have about choosing a college is keep your mind, and your options, open. Not being able to attend your first choice college can be a blessing. When I entered Illinois State University I was not excited. I viewed the school as second rate and had every intention of transferring to my first choice university when the year was through. As first semester progressed I began to realize that, academically, Illinois State was top notch. Being an average student in high school I wanted to improve in college but figured it would be difficult to break my old habits and develop new ones. That was not the case though! The classes I took and professors I had motivated me to achieve my best. The small classes and availability of professors made it easy to excel. Involving myself in other activities of interest on campus also provided me with a community of friends willing to help by offering support through study groups or movie nights. So please, keep an open mind about your classes, professors, peers, and your university, it will make your college experience enjoyable and memorable.

My advice would be to visit all the colleges yourself of your child is interested in. In your visit look around, talk to students, talk to teachers, and ask plenty of questions. This gives you a feel of the campus. After all you will be spending years there. Don't hesitate to ask questions, because whoever you ask, will have once been in your shoes. The visit is one of the most important aspects in chosing a school. It's like shopping around for a car, you always test drive before you buy, so for college, you browse campuses and test them all out.

Make sure to not send your kids to Lincoln College Normal. It is the most terrible eductational institution you will ever see. Choose a place where friends are close, but the friends that are close actually are intellectually stimulating.

Choosing which college is right for you may be one of the most important decisions of your life. College is the place where you make your lifelong friends; the place where you learn the skills that you will use for a lifetime, whether they are your career or people skills. The actual place or campus that you land on is not the most important part of your experience. Always choose the place where you feel the most comfortable because you will be yourself in that environment and let other people see the real you. College is not about the classes that you couldn?t get into because you had a late registration date; college is about the new friends you made to complain to about not getting into that class. Making true friends is the most important part of college. They are to stay up late with you to prep you for an early exam, go out on the town with, and make the most of a crummy situation. Make the most of every situation and never waste time because you always think that you have much more of it than you really do. Four years really does fly past.

The best advice I can give to students or parents about finding the right college is to experience what your college has to offer in your decided major hands-on. I am an acting major at Illinois State University, and I truly knew that I wanted to attend ISU when I saw one of their main-stage shows that was done absolutely superbly. The show was "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," and the acting was phenomenal, and the costume design and set design looked like something on Broadway. When I saw that ISU could produce such an amazing show, something that I wished I could've been apart of myself, I knew right then and there that I wanted to learn from the faculty at this school, because they were able to produce shows of the caliber that I wanted to be apart of. I had experienced theater at other schools that didn't even compare to what ISU had to offer, but I'm glad I had both experiences so that I could know in the end, that ISU was definitley the perfect choice for me. Therefore, truly experiencing what a school has to offer is the best way.

Visit the college you are planning on attending or applying to. I had no desire to attend my college until I walked on campus for the first time on a tour. I fell in love with it and really felt at home. If you aren't going to feel good about the campus you are going to be living on there is no point in going there no matter how good or bad the school is said to be.

My advice goes to parents, please be supportive of your students' right to choose. I know you feel you have a say in it because of the financial aspect, however, please let your students make the choice, let them decide and find their niche. And my advice to students is to find somewhere you feel at home, and enjoy your time in college, it's the best time of your life. Good luck!

Go for what you want, listen to your heart. This is the place you will be attending for FOUR YEARS, or more, of your life! You want to enjoy it. Take everything into consideration, but really think about where you fit in and where you think you would flourish.

The advice I would give parents and or students about finding the right college is to make sure that school fits you as a person. Make sure the school has a reputation for something good rather than being the biggest party school. I also would look to see whats the graduation rate and how likely you are to get a job fresh out of college. Also take a visit of the campus. If the campus is too big that might affect a person in a negative way. I think if you use this advice you are bound to find a good college!!!!

One piece of advise for students trying to pick the right school to attend is go where you want to go. Do not go somewhere because your boyfriend or girlfriend is going to that school because you never know what could happen. If the student does not do what he or she wants to do then their college experience will not be everything that they want it to be. Going tothe same schools is fun. I myslef did that. Both my freshman and sophomore years of college I have roomed with someone that I have know from my home town. This is not always the best thing simply becasue this does not allow one to get out of their comfort zone and meet new people. If one rooms with someone they know from home it is fun, but I would suggest from experience to go with random roomemate. Sure, sometime it will not work out becuase college is all about growing and meeting new people. Also, pick the school that feels best to you when you go visit not the one that your parents liked the best it is the student that has to live with their choice.