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What Students Say
Likes
- One of the most important things about the college experience is the ability to have good experiences. This is an integral reason to pursue a degree abroad. At UIUC, there are numerous places where you can go in your free time and enjoy. UIUC is a prominent party college and the parties there live up to their reputation. There are also numerous activities on campus that one can do, like bowling, play all kinds of sports and take a stroll in the beautiful gardens.
- The academics are great. The teachers are extremely helpful and will give you extra attention if you need. The office hours are critical in revising certain difficult concepts. The professors are willing to put in extra efforts for individual students as well and questions are answered in class as well as after.
- The people are especially warm to everyone and there is not even a hint of racism. The community is very progressive and accepting of people from all walks of life.
Dislikes
- There is a lot of use of substances across campus, drugs and alcohol are prevalent so that is something to be aware about. People are also doing this in the open so it is helpful to be careful.
- The academics might be incredibly good but you also need to put efforts because it is equally difficult. The level of the students is extremely high and it is critical that you do not leave anything for the last minute. The grading is also extremely difficult.
- The food is great but it is quite expensive so it is good to keep a check on your spending. The dining hall is fine but not all too great. Additionally, there are minimal choices for people that are vegetarian.
Course Curriculum
- The difficulty level of the course curriculum was especially difficult and required a lot of focused attention to the content. It was a mix of both theoretical and practical learning for most courses. However there were some courses with complete focus on theory.
- The positive aspects about my course would be the quality of the professors present to teach the content.
- The negative aspects would definitely be the level of difficulty of some of the courses being extremely high.
Admission Experience
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I applied to 10 colleges:
Duke: Waitlisted
Carnegie Mellon University: Rejected
Princeton: Rejected
Caltech: Rejected
GeorgiaTech: Admitted
UWisconsin-Madison: Admitted
UIUC: Admitted
UMichigan: Waitlisted
UCLA: Waitlisted
UC Berkeley: Rejected -
I might not have got accepted at some of the universities above because of their extremely competitive admissions process regarding extracurricular activities along with academics. I also applied to one of the most difficult and competitive programs at each of these universities and this could be one of the causes that I did not get accepted. Another thing they focus on is the personal essays at the universities and maybe mine weren't as strong as some of the other candidates.
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I chose this particular university after carefully considering all my options and weighing the pros and cons. UIUC has a top 5 program for Computer Science and is one of the best overall universities for STEM degrees. It is also extremely good for job placements after graduation and has top notch academic facilities. It is a pioneer for innovation in engineering and related fields. I also weighed the fact that it is a bustling party school and it was definitely a factor in my decision. Additionally, I had a few friends attending the university as well which played a part in my decision to attend it over some of the other universities.
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The admissions process was quite straightforward as it only required you to submit your common app essay and 2-3 additional personal essays along with your profile. There is no interview process or anything else.
The eligibility criteria is also very simple as they consider your application holistically, there is no need to take any exams but they accept the SAT/ACT and the IELTS as well. Again, there is no minimum score required but anything above the 95th percentile is considered good. -
The overall admission experience was very swift and easy. I did not face any challenges along the way but the highlights were definitely anxiously waiting for the decisions to be released at strange times in the night.
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I applied to UIUC early admission. UIUC has its highest acceptance in the EA cycle so that was my reason to apply early. Additionally, my academics were pretty good early so it made sense for me to do so.
The admissions process was about 3 months long. Writing the essays and fine tuning as well as completing the profile section took about 1 month and the decisions took about 1.5 to 2 months to release.
Class Schedule
- The typical day would be 2-3 classes between 10am to 2 pm.
- The average number of students in a class would be based on the type of class however the minimum number of students would be 20.
- There are a large number of Indian students enrolled in my course, upwards of 200.
Faculty
- The faculty to student ratio is somewhere between 20:1 to 30:1 The quality of education is especially high at the university because of highly specialized and industry leading professor being present at the university.
- Interaction with faculty is also quite frequent because of the sheer number of people available to help you out. The teaching methodology is also great at the university and the course content as well as the teaching approach is great for securing a job in the field. UIUC is a target school for most STEM fields because of their extremely strong engineering program which is in part due to the teaching methodology, which employs the top professors in each field.
- The faculty members are also influential with assisting students get internships as well as jobs post college. I especially find my Math and my CS faculty members to be great because of their knowledge in the subjects as well their overall teaching method.
Campus Life
- My college has 3 campuses in total. One in Urbana-Champaign, one is chicago and another in Springfield. All these campuses are in Illinois.
- There are numerous facilities present at UIUC. They have around 700 buildings which have numerous libraries, sports facilities and a dedicated hospital and medical facility.
- The main campus festivals are like the Diwali celebration as well as the Holi celebration. They also have an excellent independence day celebration.
- There are a lot of cultural events as listed above and extracurricular activities include playing sports on the fields, intramural activities and also around 800 student organizations that range from Indian Association to Latin RSO.
Part Time Jobs
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There is a large number of students that secure the position of TA, RA and DA. In percentages it would be somewhere around 10-15% of the students applying for such a position. The pay range would be anywhere upwards of $15/hr It is usually 2 dollars above the minimum wage in the state at that time.
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There are a lot of volunteering positions in the form of paid on campus jobs available for students. Their wages are comparable to the pay for the TA/RA/DA positions. The maximum hours of work allowed per week for an international student is 20 hours. It is very easy to secure campus part time jobs.
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Most Indian students prefer working part time as TA/RA/DAs. These positions pay upwards of $15/hr for their work. It is extremely easy for students to secure part-time employment while studying. The usual process for students to apply for part time jobs is applying with their course schedule as finishing some essays on the online job portal.
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There are also some questions about previous experience, it helps having previous experience but it not necessary. All the job openings for campus jobs are available on the virtual job board and submitting applications is also through them. Interviews are extremely informal and in person.
Placement
- Approximately 85-90% of the graduating batch secures employment within 6 months of completing their course. The average salary range depends on the college however, an estimate would be between 85k to 120k USD on average irrespective of major.
- There is a strong culture of on campus placements and internships available at UIUC and along with those applicants apply through online job portals and network as well.
- I am currently in university and dont have any information about the placement of my batchmates. Major companies hiring graduates from my program are: Microsoft, Apple, Meta, Netflix, Google, Amazon as well as TESLA, Citadel, JP Morgan, Jane Street, AQR Capital, Mckinsey, Bain, BCG and comparable companies.
Accommodation
- I opted for on campus accommodation for my first year and then continued to taking off campus accommodation. I found my apartment through a mutual friend and online platforms.
- The monthly rent is around 1000 USD with utilities and facilities include, a gym, a pool and a game room. The main challenge was finding a good place for a reasonable price which is quite difficult due to the large number of people trying to find off campus accommodation at UIUC.
- My recommendation for future students would be to start looking early and speak to your seniors about finding good places. My accommodation is approximately 10 mins away from campus and most indian students stay around where I am staying.
Exams
- There are no external exams required for admission to UIUC, however, having a good score in the SAT/ACT helps and giving the IELTS/TOEFL helps show English proficiency.
- The documents for admission required are your LOR, Common app essay, 2 personal essays and your CV. Additionally, you had to fill the profile section of the common app which included your awards and honours as well as your activities.
- Interviews were not a part of the application process for UIUC.
Fees
- The breakdown of the fees is approximately 20k USD for tuition + 6-7k USD for hostel + food for each semester. There are no other charges. Any miscellaneous charges get added to your tuition. The per semester tuition is approximately 30k USD.
- The feed is charged semester-wise at UIUC. However, if you exceed a certain number of credits per semester then it also increases.
- There is no expense on transportation and rent for the first year. However, if you choose to live in an apartment, then the rent is approximately 900 USD per month per person for a good apartment and regular expenses include groceries which come up to 500-600 USD a month when living in an apartment. There is no need for groceries when living in a dorm.
Scholarship
- I did not receive any scholarship during my time at the university.
- As far as I know, there are no scholarships available for international students but there are numerous scholarships available for US citizens and more for instate students.
- I do not know of any of the specifics about scholarships for American citizens and I know 5 batchmates who received scholarships but there were American citizens.
