University of Illinois at Chicago Top Questions

What do you consider the worst thing about your school? Why?

Micala

The worst thing about the University of Illinois at Chicago is that it is super expensive to stay on campus. I am staying on campus and Im going to have to have tons of debt and scrounge on the little money I do have.

Gabriela

The worst thing is that the meetings for some intermural sports tend to be later in the day. I wish that a few more activities of that type were earlier in the day. I also wish that some of the buildings looked a little more modern.

David

The commute time from my home to campus is about an hour. This can be very frustrating because it essenitally removes two from my day. That is time that I can not use effectively and will never get back.

Sabine

The application process is a nightmare. Be prepared to pick up your phone regularly and check with the application office to see if your application has not been misplaced or the documents you sent are valid under their criteria.

Sumaya

Crime.

Bassma

The train stations are located far from the campus.

MONIKA

the bathrooms

Heleina

Many consider the worst thing about UIC is the social life. Known as a commuter school, many students only go to their classes and then leave immediately because they have a job elsewhere or live far from campus. However, UIC is trying to allievate this by building more dormitories and other such amenities to lure students to stay on campus and to create a diverse playground for students.

Robin

Safety

Sarah

Because the professors are primarily researchers, we were left with lecturers who did not know how to teach properly.

Christine

Uneducated counselors and financial aid administers.

Rocky

That it is such a big campus. In the winter months it is grueling to have to walk from building to building in such cold weather. Especially for commuting students, such as myself, it can get very cold out here in Chicago.

Dennise

The worst thing about this school was the job placement after we graduated. I wish there would have been more choices and more of a clear cut on what the pay would be once I began working.

Christopher

Nothing, it is a great school with lots of opportunities.

Esther

The worst thing about my school is that some of the teachers aren't very fluent in English so it's hard to understand what they are lecturing about.

Lusine

The worst thing about my school is that it is not taken care of. I remember sitting in my math class in the middle of winter with a broken heater that cracked loudly and wasn't fixed for weeks. The study rooms have dirty, moldy, couches and the bathrooms are hideous. The music department has broken pianos.They have rotting pipes, broken sinks, and absolutely no handles on many of the doors. It's incredibly unpleasant to attend this school due to these horrendous conditions.

Brittany

The worst thing about UIC would probably be the architecture during the winter. Campus can look pretty bleak, but there are many opportunities to get off campus and head downtown. Whether you like shopping, museums, studying, or even volunteering, there are many options for you at UIC.

Kelly

Parking can get expensive, and because its a commuter school, there tends to be less of a community feeling.

maria

Some of the buildings and the crime around campus.

Kristen

The worst thing about the school is the weather. In Chicago there's no telling what the weather will be no matter what the season is. That being said a lot of times you dont want to go to class becuase of how good or bad the weather feels.

Patton

The worst aspect of UIC is bi-product of one of its benefits. UIC is located in one of the premier urban centers in the US. While the location offers many benefits, they come at a price. UIC's location has problems. There is a high crime rate on this campus. The high cost of urban living usually does not factor into college choice. The space constraints affect transportation, the facilities, and the extracurricular programs. Football programs bring in vital revenues. UIC has received only four percent of its state funding this year. The tight budget is affecting us all.

Mohammad

Due to the fact that this school must attend to the needs of about 20,000+ students I usually retain my judgement. Really everything the school does is pretty efficient, however, if I must find something I would have to say the worst thing about this school is the late response in financial aid/grants, reponse from administrators, professors, etc.

Jaclyn

It is a commuter school so some of the students tend to stay with their old friends or don't make at all. Also, being in Chicago, the cold is a factor towards wanting to be at school except for the fact for finishing your degree.

Lauren

The science program. It is extremely hard and most of the professor teach numerous classes so it's very difficult to get in touch with them or recieve extra help from them. Many students at this school have to retake many of the phyics and chemistry classes in order to get their major. People seem overwhelmed in these classes like too much is being taught and not enough is being taught to know what is on the exam in order to pass.

Adebisi

Allowing non-English professors to teacher classes. it makes it impossible for students to understand what they are teaching. Also, it makes it hard for student to pass the course.

Alexandria

It's a commuter school, many students return home on weekends or at the end of the day so it's more difficult to build frienships.

Tanner

The dorms were pretty disgusting, and the bathrooms did not get cleaned often enough, it was awful. Some of the TA's speek awful, indistinguishable english, extremely frustrating.

Roman

The campus is very ugly, and there is some crime prescence in surrounding neighborhoods.

Nicole

The worst thing about my school are the buildings because they are outdated. Many of the buildings on campus are the same buildings from when the school first opened, so they are not the best looking buildings to look at. However, the university is beginning the process of knocking down some of the buildings and building new buildings. The new buildings are great to look at because it is a part of the university's plan of going green.

Erica

There is no social life. Many people go home on the weekends and keep to themselves while they are here.

Jacqueline

A lot of the professors here cannot teach. Especially in Science classes and math, you have to be able to learn things on your own because the professors are horrible at teaching. The pre-nursing program is horrible as well. You must be upperclassment to enter the nursing program. UIC students don't get priority to enter the nursing program.

Vanessa

What I consider to be the worst thing about my school would probably be the weather. The Chicago weather is crazy. When it snows, they barely shovel the snow, making it very dangerous when walking around campus and also ver difficult. Also, some professors really seem to not care about their students, which makes it very difficult because it gets us very upset to see professors who do not care about us.

Ryan

im not used to how diverse it is because i grew up in a 98{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} white town and it was hard to adjust to how different uic is

April

Probably the worst thing about my school is the fact that a lot of people commute, so the dorms are pretty dead on the weekends. Also, the buildings could be a little prettier.

Kristine

The worst thing about my school is that some people working in the offices or who answer the phones can be incompetent and don't offer sufficient assistance.

Melissa

The worst thing about this school is when is either snows or rains, there are lakes of water everywhere, also when it is warm outside the heat is on so the classroom is warm, and when it is cold outside the classrooms take a while to warm up.

Lindsey

Some professors are hired on their research, not teaching abilities- but those teachers usually have TA's that are helpful.

Alicia

the worst thing about my school would be the pressure to do well. not a lot of attention is given to students who aren't on one of the extreme poles of acedemics. If you're an average student you could get lost along the way.

Chaise

The worst thing about this school is the lack of classes offered in certain majors.

Terry

Not as much school spirit, probably because most people go home on weekends.

Tina

The science class sizes were way too large and therefore one on one interaction with the professor was very difficult. Many professors did not have proper teaching methods and did not show interest in their students but were rather only there for their own research. Many of the professors were foreign and did not speak proper or clear English so understanding their lectures were very difficult. You basically had to teach yourself much of the information in challenging classes and subjects.

Stephanie

The fact that there's really bad drainage so when it rains you'll be walking around in puddles. Also the fact that most of the students here are commuters. Its hard to make good friends unless you live on campus.

Yelena

Many of the professors speak very poor English. They are difficult if not impossible to understand. They are completely unsympathetic and the curve is huge in most science and math classes, among others.

Alana

It's almost impossible to be involved in the school without living on campus.

MICHAEL

The worst thing about my school is that it is pretty old and there are some buildings that look depressing from the inside. Also, there are some teachers that can barely speak English.

Alison

Academic Advising placed me in so many classes I don't need that in 2.5 years at UIC, I have one year worth of credit toward my degree.

Jamie

the cliques and thefreezing winters

John

You are basically teaching yourself. There have been only a few professors who honestly were interested in your academic success.

Yannis

It's very easy to get discouraged because it is a much more difficult curriculum than most would think or expect.

Katherine

The worst thing about my school is that the students tend to feel very unsafe on campus. I think students should not have to feel this way about our school. Students should be able to feel comfort and secure when they are away from home. I feel that the university security is not doing their job very well. The school police has been trying to enforce safety awareness by speaking to the organizations on campus to help spread how to be safe on campus. There still has been many crime alerts over the past month with no signs of improvement.