University of Illinois at Chicago - [In-depth Review]

Rochester Institute of Technology

8.1(7 Reviews)

Northeastern University

7.5(51 Reviews)

Arizona State University

7.6(67 Reviews)

Illinois Institute of Technology

7.7(8 Reviews)

Reason for choosing my college

• The ranking and the location UIC is one of the best colleges in the US, constantly putting amazing ranking numbers each year and the rankings also don't do it much justice. The inside of this college is just amazing.
• The culture, the people—everything about this university is what is expected from a top-tier college.

University of California

8.0(11 Reviews)

University of Southern California

7.8(37 Reviews)

San Jose State University

7.6(12 Reviews)

Reason for Rejection

• Too expensive for all the California colleges that I applied to. I knew in the back of my mind that even if I got in, I might not go there because the cost of living is really expensive. I actually got into San Jose but I chose not to go there because of this reason.

• A good GRE Score and CGPA are really important in the SOP research about the professors whom you might want to learn/work under and write that in your SOP, have 3 LORs and a GRE score more than 310 with a CGPA higher than 3.4/4.0 it should be enough to get you in.

• My uncle lives in Chicago so it was a pretty easy decision for me. The ranking of UIC is amazing and also, my uncle said its a good university and I also wanted to go there and I don't regret my decision one bit. Coming to UIC has been the best decision I made.
• A lot of courses are offered by UIC; you can check the catalog through their website; its pretty detailed. I took UX courses AI courses and computer algorithms because those are my areas of interest. My overall experience till now has been great.

• It depends on the classes you take. I took 3 classes in the first semester and I had classes every day except on the weekends. Now in the second semester, its only on Monday and Wednesday. The class timings start as early as 9:00 am and the last class goes on till 6:30 pm but then again, it depends on your own schedule.
• Indians in the CS course are abundant and a good chunk of your time will be gone in self-study and assignments UIC is extremely clear about their plagiarism rules so just study well and don't copy, because if you are caught, you might even have to drop that subject and the entire semester later.

• 1 teacher to 30 students [ depends on the class you take] if you niche course, then it may be even 1 teacher to 10-15 students, so it all depends on the course. The highest it can be, 80 students for courses like AI because they are popular.
• My favourite was Prof. Andruid Kerne in the first semester I took UI Design class. The class was really fun and yes, the professors play a major role in recommending you for a TA position. Also, they can involve you in a project if they have funding at that current time.

• UIC is taking us to Missouri free of charge to watch our basketball team play other teams. All hotel and bus rides are paid for so that speaks loads about how much they care for their students well-being.
• They have a club for everything from archery to swimming; everything is covered. A library, sports facility, badminton court, the best gym , also UIC has a medical center on the campus itself.
• I am the Vice President of the Computer Science Graduate Association. I deal with students in CS who come in to UIC as new students. I help with placements, seminars with people who have landed amazing jobs and just fun activities all year around. So if you are a CS student and are proactive, there is a high chance we will bump into each other.

• So due to the market being down recently, the jobs were affected drastically. None of my friends, including me, could find on-campus jobs for the first semester here but all of us landed part-time jobs in the second semester. However, you have to be proactive on handshake; you have to keep applying and keep on the lookout for upcoming opportunities.
• The average base pay is 16.20$/hr and it goes up from there. The highest a student can make here is 32$/hr, which is the pay for TA's and RA's and you can work for 20 hours a week.

• TA, RA is really competitive since UIC is one of the prestigious colleges in which a TA/RA, on top of getting paid the highest hourly wage, also gets their tuition fee waived off so there is a lot of fighting for this role.
• You need to have a lot of engagement with professors and have a 4.0 CGPA in the first semester to be even considered in the pool. Take part in leadership events. Even for other on-campus jobs, its difficult to land; however, UIC does its best to give a chance to people who are struggling to make ends meet. The maximum allowed working hours is 20 and in vacation time, summer breaks are 40 hours.

• The average salary for a CS graduate student at UIC is upwards of $80,000; easily most of our seniors who have landed jobs have the pay range around that. We have an application called Handshake, and that is where most opportunities are posted both on campus and off campus.
• On top of this, there are big career fairs but I feel those are too crowded; you are better off finding them through online platforms and handshakes. I am not too sure about the lowest salary but I know the highest we have is around $200k through FAANG companies so it all depends on your caliber.

• I am living off campus with my 3 flatmates. I used a company called University Rental. These guys are pretty good and have been helping students live off campus for a long time so if you are a student who plans to live off campus, this is a pretty good option.
• They have a lot of houses to choose from, varying in size and price. The range is mostly around 600-800 dollars per month, depending on how close to the campus you take the flat. The process was pretty smooth; they are really helpful; they have their own app to pay the rent and if you need any help, their office is also pretty close by; they can drop in anytime and help you.