Northern Illinois University Top Questions

What's the one thing you wish someone had told you about freshman year?

Alex

I wish I had realized just how much it would cost me. No college is really 'affordable'.

Olivia

The smell is awful because of the feces used to fertilize the soil around the area.

Jamia

i wish i had known that on campus apartments are really high and all of my financial aid doesn't cover it.

Tatiana

I already knew alot about NIU before I came here because my relative also attended NIU. The only thing that I wish I knew more about was getting scholarships and how to find the right ones for me.

Harley

I wish I knew a little more about the dorms before I chose. This way it would have been even easier to select the dorm hall that best suited my personality.

Malcolm

I wish I knew that the work would be more crucial. I don't feel that the work is harder, but you have to be more involved in it. I've learned that in college the goal is to "understand." In high school it is sort of forced upon you to just "remember" material. Remembering can sometimes be a short time thing, and what is the point of remembering if you don't understand the concept.

Brittany

I wish that before I came to this school, I had better study skills. I also wish that I would've known how to study better and stay focused. I now know that it takes a lot out of a person to stay focused and be able to be the best possible student I could be and thats what I'm currently doing. I'm being a focused, college bound student.

Kate

I wish I had known how frigged the winter was going to be.

Amy

Nothing, I loved coming and not knowing really anything about it.

Julia

I wish I had known how hard it is to get across campus. NIU is big, with my parking pass I can only park in certain lots, but there are so many students, it'd be hard to drive between classes anyway. I also wish I'd known where the off-campus bookstore is.