University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Top Questions

My freshman year was fine. I was actually a senior in high school, yet a freshman in college. I was doing the dual study program.

My freshman year was fine. I was actually a senior in high school, yet a freshman in college. I was doing the dual study program.

If I could tell my high school self one thing it would be to put more emphasis and hard work into my academics. If i knew then what I know now I would be in less student loan debt. I would also tell myself to apply to those dream schools instead of letting my HS Counselor enroll me in Community College because they didnt think i would make it. If I could tell myself one thing it would be to work hard, have fun, but remember education is key.

When I first arrived at college, I wish that I had known the bus routes. As a freshman, it was intimidating to explore the campus because the campus was so large. Not only was the size of the campus large, but the bus system was also complicated. The color-coded bus maps were extremely hard to read because there were so many overlapping routes. However, as weeks passed, memorizing the bus routes eventually became extremely useful. By knowing the bus routes before college, it would have allowed the freshman class to be more oriented and comfortable with the campus.

It´s almost exclusively in-state students, so if you're looking for a more diverse group, Illinois might not be right. But it does offer a very wide variety of interesting majors and extra-curricular activities, so there is certainly no shortage in academics or social life aspects. The Greek system is also completely overpowering on the social scene.

I wish I would have known of the resources available to students. Sometimes students learn the hard way about all of the tools at hand for academic success. One critical skill students need to learn is how to ask for help. Had I known about the overwhelming support I had from faculty and administrators, I would have finished my degree much earlier and with greater success. Even though the University of Illinois has over 44000 students, they do a lot to give individual attention to each students. It is the student’s job to find and use those tools.

I wish I had known about everything the school has to offer so that I could take advantage of all of its opportunities. I wish I would have checked in with my counselor more for advice on classes.

I wish I had known that there were so many resources available to students that many people don't know about. The resources could range from help with writing to free printing in certain cultural houses to free tutoring.

I wish that I had known in high school to take 4 years of spanish because having to unexpectedly take spanish for 3 semesters threw off what I had planned to take. My counselor in high school told me I only needed to take three years of spanish, but my high school spanish classes did not prepare me at all and I had to start over once I got into college. Also, I wish I had known how to study better and focus before going into college.

I wish I had known what area of study I wanted to focus on. I jumped around a lot before settling on one. Illinois allowed me to explore many areas of interest, but I could have easily double majored if I had been a little more organized earlier on.