University of Illinois at Chicago Top Questions

What is the stereotype of students at your school? Is this stereotype accurate?

Jacqueline

One stereotype is that most of the students are Indian; however, this is not true because UIC is a very diverse university.

Iacov

no

Norma

UIC stands for "University of Indian & Chinese." Everyone is a transfer from a community college. Everyone is a pre-Med major. I hear all of these a lot, and at first, it does seem that way! The truth is that UIC is a really diverse school, and that's one of the things that makes it great. Students come from mostly Chicago and surrounding suburbs, but there are also many students that come from other countries and students that come from all over the U.S. UIC is mostly a commuter campus; the campus is bustling and busy, and may seem overwhelming at first, but if one is ready for the fast-pace, they'll definitely enjoy their time here.

Alisha

I have heard people say that UIC stands for the University of Indian and Chinese. However, this is an inaccurate stereotype. UIC embodies many students of various ethnicities, backgrounds, goals and ambitions. UIC is one of the most diverse schools I have seen and it is great because you can always find great friends.

Andrea

Our stereotype here at UIC would be that it is difficult to make friends or acquaintances. Often times new students are hesitant about speaking to current students because of the fear of being rejected. This is absolutely untrue. As a current students myself, I have never felt more welcome in such a diverse community.

Jille-Anthe

Our school is known for being high in diversity! You will almost never know or be able to identify all the many ethnicities that we have on UIC's campus. It's very exciting to see new faces everyday and since this is such a huge city, that means the student body is large too. It's very rare that you will see the same face twice. The best part about our school is the diversity because you will be hanging out with people that you never would've hungout with back at home. I'm an African American student here at UIC and some of my best friends are not African American, infact their Arabic, Hispanic, and Asian! Yup, we're a huge melting pot and it only gets better and better! GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE AND COME TO THE BIG CITY!!!

Mirjana

It is true that the majority of UIC's students are commuters, but we are definitely not "just a commuter campus." Our university village is growing and our community has all of the benfeits of a campus town with all of the resources of the big city. You will find the UIC letters and student specials in a large number of businesses around the university. There are plenty of bars and restaurants that are perfect hangout spots for UIC students and you will be sure to run into UIC students all over the neighborhood!

George

Our school is stereotyped as being a research school and that's it. No one understands the hard work and education many of the students go through that are not in the research programs.