University of Illinois

In July 2009, the University of Illinois launched a salary freeze for administrators, faculty and other academic professionals without considering how much a person earns in a year, or whether the salary is from the university or external funding or grants. More than 65 administratives in the University of Illinois each make $200,000 to more than $450,000 annually. Since they make big sum of money in a year, the freezing doesn't hurt them at all. The president of the University at Urbana makes $450,000 annually.

The previous posters are correct, but for the wrong reasons. UIUC is not a public school Ivy- its engineering program actually blows the Ivy Leagues out of the water according to US News and World Reports and has a lot of program directors at Stanford and MIT very nervous about their own rankings. UIUC is also strong in the hard sciences, math, and actuarial science. Its accounting program is currently beating Wharton's (and the other Ivies). I don't know what the earlier poster was talking about when he mentioned grade inflation. Engineering and Math courses typically curve to a C+/B- average. If you graduate with a 3.5 GPA from UIUC in Math or Engineering, that's a pretty impressive accomplishment.

I can't believe the shit I'm reading on this site. From the reviews of read of this University alone it appears that the only people writing reviews are huge tools or self-absorbed assholes with no self-confidence. To the person below me, when you say it's just as hard to girls in college as it is high school....maybe it has nothing to do with the school bud. I think it might be you. In fact if you can't find a nice girl at this school there has to be something wrong with you. And is it really the schools fault that you only hang out with your high school friends. Come on man, get out and meet people. I agree fraternities are a great way to meet people, but if you are really as bad at socializing as your writing makes you sound I seriously doubt you will be able to get into one. I'm sorry to anyone that is here looking to get a real review, I needed to get that out of my system. You see the problem is I think that the University of Illinois might be simply one of the bes... Read more

For all of you who think Illinois is a conservative school were not on Green Street or at the Quad (or anywhere else in Urbana-Champaign) when Barack Obama was elected president. I couldn't make it to Grant Park, but the Illini campus was just as active. As far as meeting people and so on you are pretty much right on. I find that I only hang out with friends from high school, even though I live with a random roommate and we get along very well. That is why I plan to rush in the spring because it is really the ONLY way to meet new people, even though I do not resemble the typical "frat guy." Getting girls in college is just as difficult as in high school because they are all snobbish bitches or soroity girls that love to have sex with "what's his name" when they are intoxicated drunk. I feel like I am a self motivated and hard working person, but most people are not. The resources are there for those who want to succeed. To most of you, you probably think I am relatively a dum... Read more

UIUC is just terrible both for in-states and out-states. This university is filled with chicago-surburb kids that still hand out with their high school friends all the time. If you are from Illinois, do not expect to meet people from different backgrounds. Yeah there are some diversity, but they are really self segregated. If you are from out of state, it is not worth the money. It may have good engineering school, but you are still from "University of Illinois." At the end of a day, what matters is which university you are from.. You are much better off going to ivy school or other public ivys. Social scene at this school is close to none. There are only 3 or 4 campus bars that are filled with frats and sororities. Other than that there are nothing else to do. No mountains or lake or anything... As an undergraduate student at UIUC, I strongly recommend everyone to avoid this school at all costs if possible. If you are looking foward to worth while college experience, then this is not ... Read more

This "university" is terrible. After graduating from a prestigious academy in New York, I was forced to return to the Midwest for college because my father lost his job. I was admitted to Harvard, Cornell, Yale, Northwestern, the University of Chicago, and Georgetown, to name a few schools. Sadly, I had to come to the mediocre, mundane Champaign-Urbana. There is no culture here. The only culture that survives on campus, whose voice is heard, is that of the bar scene and of the fraternity/sorority scene. If you are a driven undergraduate student, you will be very disappointed. The campus is dominated by white, middle class (who think they are upper-middle class; rather funny) suburbanites who are conservative racists. In short, do not come here.

If you are a social person who wants to meet attractive, open-minded people and be part of a cool social scene during your college years, this university is not for you. I remember applying to colleges in high school and constantly convincing myself that Illinois is worth it because of the academics. Ive found that it really isnt. I have twice as much fun with people I dont even know when I visit other big ten schools like Wisconsin, Indiana or Iowa, and I could have attended the latter two for much cheaper! The social scene here is ridiculously lop-sided, with your only choice being to join a fraternity/sorority if you want to have more than ten friends. The people who arent/werent part of the greek scene will try to convince you otherwise, but those are the defensive people that just cant admit the truth. There are a few fraternities that are considered the best here, and I joined one of them. It definitely has not been as much fun as I imagined, namely due to the fact that fr... Read more

What is this complaint about nothing to do? You're a loser if you don't get out and explore things. Champaign-Urbana is a very well cultured, ideal college town. The Krannert Center is constantly putting on shows, with live theater and numerous art galleries that are constantly changing. The best thing about UIUC is that it has one of the best small town mass transportation systems in the country. Everything is a 5-10 minute bus ride, whether you are into the bar scene, clubbing and dance scene, or enjoy some stand-up comedy, or if you want a smoke at a hookah or billiards cafe, it's all here for you at a college budget price. The coffee houses always have live music or something soft and pleasing to the ear, and the Assembly Hall hosts one or two major big ticket concerts every month, so no need to drive up to Chicago. And of course, the restaurants are wonderful for the variety and price. Both campustown and downtown champaign are lively urban places, with people walking arou... Read more

Good if you like watered-down Big State U Degree Factory academics, corn fields, boring Mid-Westerners, and bitter cold weather. Undergrad engineering is a glorified trade school, but they do have a pretty solid graduate program. Overall, it's good if you're a Ph.D student.

poor athletics (cept basketball) and the 3 people i know who went to school there said it was intolerable.

Ivy League education on a working man's budget! ( OK, I am an Alum it is really a 4 Star school. ) If you want to party 2-3 days a week; don't go here. If you need your hand held when you cross the street, do NOT go here! If you want to learn, interact with brilliant people from all walks of life, and many different cultures, but can't affort MIT or Harvard; you will love University of Illinois at U/C. When I attended it was one of the top ten schools for Agriculture, Engineering, Education, and Accounting. They expect you to take responsibility for your education and, if you can't; too bad, they will find someone else in the next semester!

U. of Illinios an ivy at a lower price? My wife had to give me smelling salts after she found me passed out at my computer after reading such sh#t.

I graduated from one of the most prestigious private high schools in Chicago and was accepted by an Ivy League school when I was a senior. However, I could not secure enough funds to attend. I ended up going to UIUC and I received a B.S. in Applied Mathematics. In my advanced level mathematics courses I was competing with students from the top engineering schools in China and Japan. My professors were geniuses from Russia,Hungary,Germany, etc. The courses and students were definitely top notch and the engineering facilities were outstanding. There are many people from my High School that come to UIUC to study either engineering,math,finance,accounting,biology/chemist ry,or psychology. In general, the students who are studying these subjects do not think that U of I is a party school...AT ALL. Many of my friends have gone on to Harvard, Yale, U of C, Stanford, Dartmouth for graduate study in a variety of areas. My GPA was a mere 3.2, but I took the GRE Mathematics Subject test and damn ... Read more

Comments like Illinois has been the academically most powerful university in the Big Ten are what makes other schools hate you. You are currently rated behind Northwestern, Michigan, and Wisconsin in the Big Ten in US News and World Report. You are an AVERAGE Big Ten School. Don't kid yourself. Illinois fans are the most fair weather sports fans in the Conference, and the one road game no student at any other Big Ten school wants to go to.

At big state U. clearly you will not be able to get as much attention accademically, however this is still a top 50 institution at an extremely low price especially for an in-stater who can't cough up the cash for the more prestigious Northwestern of U of C. Furthermore, and on a party note, the campus is gregarious, yet extremely cliquish-due to 33% frats and sororities-The rating is getting a three merely for the cachet that comes in the engineering and in the business dept. In parting, as a former student, who transferred abroad, I must say, It can be a blast for two years, then get out. KUDOS U of I on a job...done

I have to disagree with the person who said this is not a good place for the lazy or disinterested student. I myself am a lazy/disinterested student and I'm doing fine academically. In my experience, there is a lot of grade inflation here. It's not uncommon to turn in average level work and recieve strong grades for it. This is first and foremost a research institution, and academics will always be secondary. There have been a lot of budget cuts at the U of I, which has resulted in a reduction in the number of classes offered. However, there has been an increase in the number of students enrolled. So, you can expect larger class sizes and increased competetion to get into the classes you want. Parking is a hassle. There are an extremely limited number of places to park, and you will have to pay for any space you get. Plus, the parking enforcement officers are Nazis. If you go 4 years here without either getting a ticket or towed, you are an anomaly. There is a decent public transportat... Read more

Illinois provides great real-world diversity with Ivy League academics. In the novel and film "2001 Space Odyssey," the computer, "HAL," was identified as having been built in Urbana, Illinois, because that is the location of one of the world's best Engineering programs.

For the past century, Illinois has been the academically most powerful university in the Big Ten.

One of the two best (with Michigan) universities in the Big Ten, definitely a "public ivy" school, but it's not a good place for the lazy or disinterested student.

weather in urbana champaign area sucks ass hell, full of ugly girls and mostly conservative. and for courses in freshman and sophomore, too many students. professots don't really care about undergraduates here, care more about their research. cornfield(which is in middle of nowhere, nothing to do!!!!)

Best school for the $$$ by far! Especially for "hard" sciences.

I can't speak for campus at Chicago or Springfield, but UIUC is great. Come and check it out for yourself!