Edwin DayOverview
University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign is a public institution that was founded in 1867. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 33,683 (fall 2020), its setting is city, and the campus size is 1,783 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign's ranking in the 2022 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, #47.
The University of Illinois is located in the twin cities of Urbana and Champaign in east-central Illinois, only a few hours from Chicago, Indianapolis and St. Louis. The school’s Fighting Illini participate in more than 20 NCAA Division I varsity sports and are part of the Big Ten Conference. The university boasts one of the largest Greek systems in the country, and almost a quarter of the student body is involved. It’s not hard to find something to do on campus with more than 1,600 student organizations, including professional, political and philanthropic clubs. All freshmen are required to live on campus.
The University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign comprises 15 colleges and schools. Its School of Information Sciences, College of Engineering and Department of Psychology are among the best in the country. The school’s College of Business, College of Education and College of Law are also highly ranked. The University of Illinois is considered a school with the highest level of research activity, according to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
Acceptance Rate: ~63%
Notable Rankings (US News)
- Overall: #47
- Engineering: #6
- Business: #14
- Computer Science: #5
What Students Say...
The Good
- "U of I is a great school for independent ambitious self-starters. If you seek academic support or nurturing faculty, look to your peers, as most profs teach to large lecture halls and rarely know students personally in the larger degree programs (Business, Engineering, etc.) Made life-long friends at U of I - great people! Ambitious, hardworking, and high caliber.... U of I’s strong academic reputation is largely fueled by the highly selective nature of admissions, where top students produce top results for the school. Research is a priority for many of the profs."
- "As the University is a large institution, it offers students so, so, sO many diverse opportunities! For example, I wanted to study abroad in a Spanish-speaking country, and the university offered multiple study abroad programs! I also wanted to get experience presenting research at conferences as an undergraduate, and I was able to present at a different on-campus conference each year--starting just my first semester of freshman year! Need a grant to do research as an under classman or upper classman?? Fear not! The university has research grants that students can apply for and use on campus or anywhere in the world. PS. The university's pervasive drinking culture may very likely annoy you, like it annoyed me, if you are not into drinking."
- "I love attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I love how the college has a tight-knit community of students and faculty ready to help each other when needed. One of the best things about the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is that there are so many resources available to students free of cost. For instance, the writing center is a great free resource for students who are writing an essay for a course and would like someone else to proofread and give feedback before they turn it in."
The Not-So-Good
- "Most of the classes I have had are asynchronous. The student body is widely international students, so to account for them, many of the courses are asynchronous for fairness. As far as actual academic performance goes, a lot of my friends and myself included felt a lack of motivation to do work. It felt as if there was no obligation to do work. Everything just felt like a deadline."
- "A wide variety of fun classes to choose from. If only any of them ever had enough seats. This school is overpriced for what it offers, including double dorm rooms smaller than a typical bedroom just about anywhere that cost more than any apartment in the area, advisors that call students idiots and ask how they got into the school, and a bookstore that upcharges >30% on everything it sells. Everything here is designed to take your money; if you really want the big state school experience, go to a community college first, and then don't come here at all."
- "It is unfair to lump together all of the residences considering some of the dorms on campus are actually very nice. That being said, a large number of the buildings on campus are old, unclean, dingy, and overall not worth what the university is charging for residence.
Notable Alumni
- Barbara Turf, Former CEO of Crate & Barrel
- Jack Welch, Former CEO of General Electric
- Max Levchin, Co-Founder of PayPal
- Hugh Hefner, Founder of Playboy Magazine
- C. E. Woolman, Founder of Delta Airlines
Student Life in Pics
