University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Top Questions

Typically, schools are given this tag of "party campus" or rate themselves based on how crazy the weekends, and sometimes weekdays, tend to be. I feel that's not an accurate stereotype and doesn't tell a whole lot about any given school because, let's face it, partying goes on at every college campus. I refuse to say mindlessly, "our school stereotype is that we party a ton." We have the largest Greek system in the nation, which pretty much labels our school right off the bat. Most people assume that if you're an Illini, you're affiliated with some Greek organization, whether it's social, cultural, honors or major-based. It's unavoidable here, there is an entire street about 4 blocks long littered with frat houses, not to mention our architectural masterpieces, the sorority homes. Let's just say it's a big deal here. If you don't run into at least 50 Greek-lettered shirts or hoodies throughout your day, you just might be starring at the floor. Another thing we're known for is our intense engineering program. Many of those students are far and away from campus, considering they have such a rigorous program. You can often tell who's an engineering major by how little you see them. The stereotype here is that you are always in the library or labs. The 5-year program is popular as well. There is even a library dedicated to that program and an entire section of campus laid out for them. There's even bus route named after the program! It's a big deal here just like Greek life.

The stereotype of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign students is that we're all from Chicago and most of us are engineers, because we're one of the top engineering schools in the country. The truth is many students, like myself, are from the rest of Illinois and the world, as we have a very strong international presence. And we're not all engineers, the other colleges in the school are also some of the best in the world and account for most of what goes on here. Another stereotype is that we're another Big Ten party school, with so many Greek houses (more chapters than almost any other school) and the stories of what happens on Green Street and holidays like Unofficial. While this stereotype's more or less true, it takes away from the fact that we're also a school that studies hard, and has its share of quiet Friday nights and general sense of nerdiness.

The best part of UIllinois is that, yeah, there are definitely distinct social groups - sorority girls and frat guys, Engineering library regulars, hipsters and hippies, athletes and pretty much anything else you can think of - but there's always crossover. I'm in a sorority, for instance, but that's never really defined who I was at Illinois. I've made friends from working on the newspaper, from living in the dorms, from my classes.. you get the picture. UIllinois is massive, but the best part of such a big campus is that you will inevitably find people who are like you.

I've seen plenty of them in my time, but usually it's a phase. There are plentiful of naive freshmen on campus in the fall and many think U of I means one thing -- it's party time. However, it really does not take long for reality to kick in and excessive partying to take a toll on your grades.It wasn't a personal problem, but I saw several acquaintances go through the phase. Partying and socializing isn't bad in moderation. And to be honest, while it may seem that everybody parties on this campus, it's not true. Don't worry, it's a common misconception. But there are plenty of people far too busy or those that don't like the scene and decide to partake in different social events.

I wouldn't say there is a particular stereotype on this campus. Greek life is pretty large with 50+ fraternities and around 30 sororities, which is including ethnic greek life. There are a bit of international students, but I would say the campus is pretty diverse.

One of the most repeated stereotypes I heard about the University of Illinois when I was still trying to decide where to attend college was that everyone was heavily into Greek life. While this campus has the largest Greek system in the world by membership, only around 6,000 of the 43,000 students on campus are in Sororities or Fraternities. As a freshman from a super small town, I came to campus knowing absolutely nothing about Greek life. Almost all of my freshmen friends on my floor rushed except me, which made the first couple of weeks a little uncomfortable. However, this gave me the opportunity to find plenty of friends who were not Greek or planning on joining. (As a side note, I do not have anything against Greek life, it was just something I knew I wouldn't have time for.) While I spent the first couple of weeks believing I was the only student on campus who wasn't going Greek, I now realize that there are plenty, actually the majority, of students here who are not involved in Greek life. Many rush and don't care for it. It is simply preference. But if you are worried that not going Greek will kill your social life, you are heavily mistaken. The U of I has over 1,000 Registered Student Organizations (RSO's) and plenty of nightlife on Green Street and the surrounding area to keep you busy for the next four years and beyond! Many of my friends are now Greek and I totally respect them and don't allow it to interefere with our relationship. So while it may at first appear that the entire campus is run by Greek life, that is definitely not the case!

When I told my family and friends I was applying to the University of Illinois, the first thing they all said was that the U of I was a 'party school' and all the students do is PARTY! Well, I am here to say that is not true. I've met a lot of students who have a pretty balanced life. As a college student at the U of I you learn to work, word hard and play when neccessary. As much as the media and movies portray college to be....I found it to be quite the oppostie. Yes, there are parties, do not get me wrong, but for many (like myself), it isn't one of those things that's consuming. We also have a huge Greek community. I do not belong to one personally, but I have many friends who are. And they love it! And if you are not a partier, there are plenty of student organzations and groups to join. There is something for everyone. One particular club, I found interesting was the October-lover. Yes, October Lovers. The group host tons of activities and events centered around fall themes. The Illini Union, the student union on campus, host open mic nights, movie nights, free food and prize give-a-ways on Fridays. No matter faith, race, gender or ethnicty....there is a place for you here at the U of I.

The university has a large Greek life, which definitely has its pros and cons. Fraternities and sororities have the potential to help build connections with your peers that you cannot find anywhere else. In theory, the Greek system is a great idea. However, sometimes the stereotypes regarding fraternities do exist. There is definitely a large chunk of frats that are highly involved with drinking and behaving in ways that are less than ideal. If you can find the right fraternity or sorority for you, more power to ya. But because there is such a large campus, finding a core peer group shouldn't be too difficult, no matter what your personality/interests might be. Nonetheless, there is a dominant "work hard/play hard" mentality here.

U of I has the stereotype of being a party school, with obvious people who attend these parties. That is true in most cases-students like to take it easy on the weekend, go out and have a good time, but its still not a free for all. U of I students still know how to get their homework done and spend those Sundays catching up from the weekend. Just because you have a good time one night doesn't mean we can't keep things together!

That we party a lot.