University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Top Questions

School in college is a lot different than it was in high school. First of all, I have never had a class which taught through lecture. The class is basically split up into two class: the lecture, where the main teaching goes on, and the discussion, where you receive assignments and take quizzes. My lectures range anywhere from 50 to 300 people, making it nearly impossible to participate. The professor just stands at the front of the room and talks. Often, you will never have an interaction with a professor throughout the entire semester. However, the discussion is usually no more than 25 people, making it much more possible to get to know these T.A.'s (teacher's assistants). But even in these discussions, participation is rare because you are so unfamiliar with your classmates. Unless you devise a schedule along with another person, you most likely won't know anyone in the class. You eventually find people who are in the same lecture, making the class of 300 seem a little smaller. That is also useful when you miss a lecture and need to borrow notes or have questions about assignments. Another main difference between high school and University of Illinois is that here you are in class a lot less, giving you a lot more work to do outside of class. I am currently taking 4 classes: a philosophy class, a communications class, a math class, and an economics class. Each of these meet for lecture two or three times a week and then discussion once or twice a week. My favorite of these is communications. Coming into the year, I expected Philosophy 101 to be my favorite class. However, I was under the impression that the class would consist more of interactive group conversation than a teacher standing at the front of the room teaching us about philosophers and their work. However, my communications class is the same style, yet I have thoroughly enjoyed that class. My professor makes it interesting and the discussion is more interactive than most, and my T.A. in that class is a big part of that. The T.A. really has a lot to do with the class, as this is the person you would most likely go to for help and the person who grades the majority of your work. It is possible to switch T.A. discussion sections in the beginning of the year, and I definitely wish i had taken advantage of that. A bad teacher's assistant can ruin a discussion section. Luckily, the students in my classes don't mess around in class, making discussion much easier to learn from. Students at my university are generally very focused. Most of the people I've met here see academics as priority number one. My peers are always interested in the future, and it shows through the hard work I observe everyday whether in the library or the dorms. The workload is a lot, but it's manageable if you know how to use your time wisely, a skill which is learned quickly.

It's easy to not ever interact with a prof here. But if you want a good experience, it's definitely within reach. I'm in a 1.5 year MA program that I'm transitioning into, and it has permitted me to work closely with professors and administrators.

The academics are likely to be a change for most students. Some of the professors in my classes do not know my name, especially the ones in the larger lecture halls. While this can be a little frightening, especially participating in lecture with so many people watching you, making yourself approachable and talking to professors during office hours can really stand out; a few of my professors now know me because I had a conversation with them during their office hours. Participation is common and encouraged, professors will gladly help if you do not know the answer. I am currently majoring in Journalism, but may switch into Advertising/Business. Each department is extremely helpful in finding internships and any beneficial opportunities for students, especially the College of Media which I am currently placed in. I would say that the academics is certainly geared towards finding a job, but to find the job you have to have a quality education. It's a nice mix of making sure that you can find success in your field and receiving a quality education in other departments.

In regards to getting to know one's professors, I realize that it is a two-way street. If you take the time to get to know them, they will do the same for you. For this reason, it is vital to email them with questions or even speak up in lectures and discussions. My favorite class so far has been Theatre 101: Introduction to Theatre Arts, while my least favorite has been Spanish 103: Intermediate Spanish. Students often study be spending an hour or so at the library to clear their head, getting together with other students in dorm lobbies, or simply retreating to their rooms. Class participation varies depending on the size of the class. Smaller classes often have more participation, but it is less likely in large lectures, say the ones that take place in Foellinger Auditorium. One of my favorite things about campus is hearing the number of interesting conversations that students have about their classes. They are nothing short of fascinating and enlightening. Students here are competitive in a healthy manner. Seriously, they had to be to be admitted here! The most unique class that I have taken is either theatre or asian mythology. Their topics just feed the originality of some of the discussions I have had in these classes. I am a Broadcasting Journalism major in the Journalism department of the College of Media. While we are perhaps on the smallest and newest of the colleges, we really do know our stuff and enjoy it. The entire department is very personable and makes a habit of knowing the students. I have gone to a few office hours, and the staff is very nice! Overall, I feel that the academic requirements are where they should be. All in all ,the education here is a nice mixture of having you learn what you need to while also making sure that it will get you the right job.

It was definitely an adjustment transitioning from high school classes to classes at the University of Illinois. The main thing that is different is the class size. Going from 20-25 kids in a class to potentially 350 is really intimidating and it is hard to stay focused. Since this school is so big, many classes have many different sections accompanied by a lecture with hundreds of students. Unless the class is a specialized required class within a major, chances are the professor will not know your name. Class participation is also rare with these types of classes since professors usually will move quickly through material while students scribble down notes. Rarely have I chatted with professors outside of class and they will direct most of the questions towards their teaching assistants anyways. I'm a communication major, but my favorite class was actually NPRE101 which stands for Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering. That may seem difficult, but it was actually all about how different energy sources worked and required no background in the field. It satisfied a general education requirement and I learned a lot of really interesting information about subjects that I had previously known very little. It was also taught by a Professor Ruzik, who I would have to say was my favorite professor since I've been here. I'd say the education at this school is definitely geared towards getting a job. Many of the classes that I've taken can easily be passed by learning to pass the next exam. It doesn't seem like the material needs to stick, but that it is more important to get the grade. While I may be fond of that structure right now, I don't think that this will benefit me in the long run. Overall, the academics at the U of I are impressive, it just depends on what you're looking for from a college experience. Excluding certain majors, the general rule is probably If you can stay focused in a big lecture hall and can maintain steady motivation by yourself, then this school will be a piece of cake. However, a student looking for a lot of one-on-one time with professors won't find it here. That being said, this school offers so many majors and courses that it is relatively safe to say there is something for everyone.

I remember when my family members would say to me, "when you get to college, they won't care if you get your work done; unlike high school, no one's making you turn in your homework." That has been relatively true for the most part, however, I've discovered that the good teachers really want you to succeed. And for the most part, they actually do care about your grades. The general rule of thumb is that you get out of class what you put into it. I'm by no means a slacker, but the classes that mattered to me the most were the ones that my professors pushed me the hardest in. It's a typical tough love situation: U of I professors will work you hard, and you'll thank them for it later. Some of my professors were down right pathetic, and some were profound in that they challenged us beyond what we thought we could handle. Even though I faked a smile most times, I realized that they only wanted the best from me because the real world does as well. I did, however, learn something from the bad ones: effort matters. If I really wanted to do well, I had to force myself to figure out how to do it. After dealing with some of the worst professors, I've learned to be resilient and self-starting, because sometimes you have to go the extra mile on your own to get what you want. I especially enjoyed class sessions that operated like a law school would, that is, the discussion were lead by the students. Rather than endure a long, boring lecture with an occasional picture, we got learn from each other and listen to varying views for comparison. That's valuable in it's own way, not to say that lectures are meaningless. It's important to learn to participate in class discussion because you'll often find yourself confused if you can't relate to some of the material and share thoughts openly. Many professors on campus operate like law school to get the students to essentially teach themselves. They are meant to challenge us and gives us room to grow, and U of I faculty does this very well. I'd say that we are a very intellectual university. Most conversations I hear are about what someone did last night, or some party, but that's just typical of college life. I don't really find it that difficult to stumble upon a conversation involving politics, current affairs, campus inclusiveness and student code adjustments. Students here really care for their rights, and yearn to be heard. There are an abundance of programs and events that allow for students to communicate their interests and concerns with today's problems. Any and every topic is discussed in forums, panels and other speeches our campus organizations set up. We have more than 30 libraries on campus, including one with one of the largest collections of volumes in the nation. There's no shortage of places to study, and students take full advantage of that. We take academics seriously, and take the opportunities to improve our grades regularly. Two of those libraries stay open 24 hours- that goes to show that U of I is focused on preparing its students for success. The work that students put in after class is where it counts. We've earned our academic reputation from the hours spent laying across scattered papers at 4 in the morning.

The academics at the University of Illinois are taken seriously, but professors do not make classes so impossible that academics completely overrun a student’s life. One thing that surprised me at Illinois was the friendliness and overall concern professors have for their students. One of my professors has asked us several times to let him know when we have performances and other showcases outside of class because he would love to attend. Even in my lecture of 300, the professor knows the names of many of her students. The Teaching Assistants (TA’s) are also friendly and willing to get to know you and assist you in any way. And despite popular belief, they can be very understanding as they are students themselves. Students do not openly discuss it, but this is a competitive place. At freshmen convocation we were told that 29,000 individuals applied for the freshmen class, and 7,000 were accepted. With that acceptance rate, it is natural that the students here are motivated and intelligent. However, you will find a variety of students here. Some would be happy to spend six hours in the library on a Friday night, while others are more interested in the social scene. By Sunday afternoon, however, dorm cafeterias and libraries are full of students preparing for the coming week, confirming our reputation of being excellent at balancing our social and academic lives. My department, the College of Media, has been great to be a part of thus far. It is a very professional environment, and the advisors are very motivated in helping us with intern and job placement, even as first semester freshmen. I receive multiple emails daily from one of my advisors with new internship opportunities and various ways to be involved in the College of Media.

The academics at U of I are world-class, reflecting the size and reputation of the school and its acceptance rate (about 74{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}). The classes are larger for gen ed classes, usually about 100-200 with 20-person discussion sections, then shrink dramatically for more focused classes in a student's major, going from 10-20. Whatever you're preference, you'll find it amongst U of I's hundreds of available classes. Participation ranges a lot, which is natural considering the vast diversity of the student body here. Some students are a bit lazier, and some are competitive and completely into it. There's always someone to talk to, from the professors to your classmates to anyone around campus. The professors are very accommodating and really love what they do, and all the ones I've had have plenty of experience and awards and really know what they're talking about. My favorite class was Comm 275 with Robert McChesney, a world-renowned media scholar and founder of Free Press- and a lot of people around campus have said the same thing. My least favorite class was this English class I took, Enlightenment Literature- but I hate English. For the most part, the school's academic requirements are consistent with most 4-year state universities, and really depend on the student. Similarly, there's a lot of room for gen eds and electives and minors, so students can both get a job and do some higher learning, if they choose to.

The academic makeup of a student's career here is hugely dependent on what a person is studying. I'm a journalism student, so my academic experience has been so much different than, say, my friend who is an engineer. While she has huge classes and is a lot more anonymous as a student, I have small classes and have had the same professors multiple times. As a result, students are pretty close and by senior year we all know each other from classes and working at the newspaper or at other campus publications. Journalism classes are usually very small - a lot of the classes don't have more than 10 students - so we are able to get to know each other and the professors very well. Our classes are very involved, so we do have a lot of out-of-class work but not many exams or mindless homework assignments.

The best part of classes on this campus is that professors personalize their lectures. They are not afraid to take their teaching outside the boundaries of the classroom. It is not rare for a professor to relate topics learned in class to everyday situations. After being to lectures on other campuses, I realize that U of I students are particularly lucky have great professors that want to interact with their students. Often times, professors are also very accessible, even though they have TAs.