University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Top Questions

My freshman year was fine. I was actually a senior in high school, yet a freshman in college. I was doing the dual study program.

My freshman year was fine. I was actually a senior in high school, yet a freshman in college. I was doing the dual study program.

If I could tell my high school self one thing it would be to put more emphasis and hard work into my academics. If i knew then what I know now I would be in less student loan debt. I would also tell myself to apply to those dream schools instead of letting my HS Counselor enroll me in Community College because they didnt think i would make it. If I could tell myself one thing it would be to work hard, have fun, but remember education is key.

When I first arrived at college, I wish that I had known the bus routes. As a freshman, it was intimidating to explore the campus because the campus was so large. Not only was the size of the campus large, but the bus system was also complicated. The color-coded bus maps were extremely hard to read because there were so many overlapping routes. However, as weeks passed, memorizing the bus routes eventually became extremely useful. By knowing the bus routes before college, it would have allowed the freshman class to be more oriented and comfortable with the campus.

It´s almost exclusively in-state students, so if you're looking for a more diverse group, Illinois might not be right. But it does offer a very wide variety of interesting majors and extra-curricular activities, so there is certainly no shortage in academics or social life aspects. The Greek system is also completely overpowering on the social scene.

I wish I would have known of the resources available to students. Sometimes students learn the hard way about all of the tools at hand for academic success. One critical skill students need to learn is how to ask for help. Had I known about the overwhelming support I had from faculty and administrators, I would have finished my degree much earlier and with greater success. Even though the University of Illinois has over 44000 students, they do a lot to give individual attention to each students. It is the student’s job to find and use those tools.

I wish I had known about everything the school has to offer so that I could take advantage of all of its opportunities. I wish I would have checked in with my counselor more for advice on classes.

I wish I had known that there were so many resources available to students that many people don't know about. The resources could range from help with writing to free printing in certain cultural houses to free tutoring.

I wish that I had known in high school to take 4 years of spanish because having to unexpectedly take spanish for 3 semesters threw off what I had planned to take. My counselor in high school told me I only needed to take three years of spanish, but my high school spanish classes did not prepare me at all and I had to start over once I got into college. Also, I wish I had known how to study better and focus before going into college.

I wish I had known what area of study I wanted to focus on. I jumped around a lot before settling on one. Illinois allowed me to explore many areas of interest, but I could have easily double majored if I had been a little more organized earlier on.

Last year in April, I received a letter in the mail informing me that I had not been accepted into the university I wanted to attend the next fall. I was crushed and devastated, and had to settle for a school I wasn't as interested in. I spent all of my summer worrying that I wasn't going to enjoy my time there. But now, already into my second semester at this school, I can proudly say that love being a student here. I wish I had known that everything happens for a reason and it all works out.

High school does not prepare you for college, at all.

I wish I had known that the weed out classes were very difficult and not to take them until I was more used to college life.

To explore everything and not be afraid to try new things. It is important to find something you are interested in and take advantage of all the amazing and free resources campuses have. Yes, you are a freshmen, and yes everyone knows, but embrace it and live it up! Really all the sophomores, juniors, and seniors are just jealous you are a freshmen because they wish they were just beginning college. This is the best opportunity of your life and you need to milk it for all its worth. Don't be afraid of anything and definitely be prepared to embarrass yourself once in a while.

College is nothing like high school. Don't get behind, at all, because it's extremely hard to get back on track and come out with a good grade. And if you've overloaded yourself with classes and credit hours- and can't handle it- DROP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND TALK TO YOUR ADVISORS. Everyone is different and some people can handle more credits and harder classes than others- just don't get in over your head. Success is vital.

I wish I would have known not to worry so much. In high school, I was used to receiving perfect grades on my assignments while here I would struggle to do so. I used to get frustrated when this happened but now I use it as a learning tool. In addition, I wish I had known to take better notes because unlike in high school, one does not normally get a study guide but instead one most look over their notes to decide what to study

You can't be everyone's parent. Sometimes your friends from high school will change, and you won't want to be friends with them. Sometimes they won't want to be friends with you. It isn't possible for you to worry about your friend's struggles and your own. You'll just tire yourself out. People have to make their own mistakes. Remember that no matter how hard it is to watch someone you care for fall apart, if they don't want help the best you can do for them is take care of yourself.

I wish I had known how to say no, I just don't have time to do that. I wish I had known more about my major. I wish I had known more about careers in environmental fields.

I wish I had known more about specific colleges and majors at my school. I started out in Chemistry, but then switched to Nuclear Engineering. In high school, the classes are all very general and not like the choices of majors in college. It would have been useful in deciding what I wanted to study if I had a glimpse of what it would be like beforehand.

I wish I had known I to better organize myself before I came to this school. It is sometimes challenging to balance everything in my schedule. Doing homework, getting involved on campus, and having a social life surround many college students lives. However, I wish I would have known how to organized my time in a productive manner. Overtime I have learned that by simply making a schedule I can manage my daily tasks more productively.

I wished I have known a couple of things before coming to this school. One was where to get the best deals for buying my books. I would have liked to known where to go to get the cheapest price for my books. I also wished that I would have known the different procedures concerning finances and how much I would have to pay if I wanted to switch to a new residential hall during the semester. An example of a procedure concerning finances would be how the biling of different items to my account works.

I wish I knew more about the bus system beforehand. Throughout the first month of school I had trouble taking the bus to class and always ended up passing up my stop. I spent the whole month walking or riding my bike to class until I finally got used to the transportation system by observing took and by knowing where the classes were from walking to them!

That it was one of the most sought out school in Illinois.

I wish I would have known that I would be struggling to pay for tuition before I came to this school. It has been difficult since I am paying for school by myself.

There are many things I wish I had known before attending the university; one thing is that I would actually need to study, or that calculus 3 is extremely hard, another being the actual layout of the campus, and never take a class before 10 am. But beside these things that most people figure out soon enough I also enjoyed not knowing things, such as social experiences and meeting new people, some things are always at their best the first time they come around.

The professors and teacher's assistants are always willing to help you out so do not be afraid to seek help when you need it, otherwise you will find yourself falling behind and unable to keep up with the pace of the class. Also, do not skip classes, you learn essential things in lecture/discussion and it's just not worth it to skip because you did not feel like showing up.

I wish I would of known more about the different opportunities on campus that are offered to Black students. I also wish I would of had more guidance on filling out applications because books alone cost a lot of money. I also wish that I knew more about the campus period because there are many opportunities out there that I did not know about because I did not know much about the campus. Before I came to this school I also wish I would of knew how much tuition was and waht it went towards.

That scholarships weren't going to be readily available.

I wish I had known exactly what career path I want to go, but I'm glad that U of I is giving me a chance to find what makes me truly happy.

I wish I had done more research about what certain classes I should take and what would help for the major i intended to go into. I took classes that ended up being too difficult for me or about things I was not really interested in so it made it harder for me to do well in the class. More research and information prior to registration needs to be available for students on what they would like ot take.

I wish that I would have known about what was needed in the dorm room. My room is really small and I ended up bringing way too many things that are stored and never used. I suppose I figured I would need a lot of things like I have at home. But I quickly realized that I don't use most of the things I brought. I wish I had known what I would've needed before moving in because I could've packed lighter, traveled easier, and had some extra space in my room.

I wish I had known how easy it was to adapt to living on a large campus. One part of my decision process was trying to determine if I would thrive better on a small campus or a large campus especially coming from a smaller school. It took less than a week to figure out my way around campus and to adjust to the large classes. I would havce been able to make my decision a lot faster.

I wish I had known more about the opportunities for scholarships. I also wish I knew more about housing options. Otherwise, this university was very easy to adjust to without too much research.

There is nothing really wrong with the school. I wish I would have learned more personal things like how to handle my spending money.

I wish I had known about the process of signing up for registered student organizations. I went to "Quad Day", where representatives of all the registered student organizations set up tables/booths on the main quad and sell themselves to students. I thought I was signing up to attend the first meeting of the organizations and then deciding later if I officially wanted to join or not. I was actually signing up to be a member of that organization on the spot. If I had known, I wouldn't have been a member of seven organizations my freshman year.

Going to college for the first time, I was unaware of all of the job opportunities of each major available. I probably would have chosen differently to start out with had I known my options. I also wish I had known about the translation and international business certification programs before I came so I could have planned out my four years to fulfill both programs, my major and a minor in linguistics. I don't know if I'll be able to fit it all in now.

Before coming to this school, I wish I had known how many activities would become available to me. The sheer number of opportunities to improve your personal and social life are astounding. I would have spent some time researching what activities were available, so that I could find some which strongly interested me. Instead, I have slowly found out about these opportunities through integration into the college environment and missed the chance to participate in certain things.

I wish I had known how huge the greek system is. I had an idea that it was a large part of the social life but I really had no idea how influential it is on the whole campus lifestyle. I wish i had researched what sorority recruitment was or how it worked. If I had known about it I may have given it a chance and been able to get more involved that way.

I wish I would have better prepared myself, academically, for this instiution.

The night life and hot spots of NY

I wish I had known how to handle living in an environment with another person. I have never been very good with change and the first couple of weeks was a difficult adjustment for me. The worst part though is that my roommate and I are completly different people, we conflict on a lot of aspects of college life which makes the change even harder.

I wish that I would have been more outgoing. There are so many opportunites to get involved at this school. You just need to take some steps outside of your confort zone so that you can experience new things. You never know what you might like so you just need to try!

I wish I had better information and knowledge about being able to pay for college. When I came to the University for my freshmen year, I had recieved much financial aid and scholarships--but after that first year, I did not recieve much financial aid anymore. This was upsetting to me because I needed that financial aid to pay for my schooling. It became extremely difficult to gain financial aid and I have taken out many, many personal school loans to pay for college becuase I have been unable to recieve any aid from FASFA or from the school.

I wish I would have truly understood just how big the campus was. I underestimated where all of the buildings were located and sometimes didn't plan my schedule to accommodate enough time to get to each building.

Nothing really. I really like being able to learn new things on my own. I had a great time experiencing everything brand new.

I wish I had known about how big the school really was! I walked around and had a tour but I wish I had looked at a map. I also wish that I had know how to apply for scholarship money throguh the Univeristy. There are some places to look online but no one really comes out to tell you. It is up to you to look yourself.

To get involved right away! Its hard to make friends right away so you need to just jump in and meet people! nobody is just going to come to you

I did not experience any surprises at this university.

Well, I still haven't any classes at U of I, but I would like to know where I'm going to live when I get back for Senior year. As far as the school I'm going to now, (Ecole d'Architecture de Versailles) it would have been nice to know some of the students before and it would have been helpful to know French.

I wish I knew about college life more, what really happens at college and so on. An understanding of classes and tests would have been nice and helped early on. Responsibility is something important to know and time management.