The Hundreds of Reasons to Join the Illinois Family

The Hundreds of Reasons to Join the Illinois Family Its hard to believe that May 1 is approaching so quicklyâ€"which means so is the deadline to accept your Illinois offer of admission! If youre looking for a reason or two or 200 to choose Illinois, youve come to the right place! In fact, we currently have a running list of 221. Although I highly recommend looking through all 221 reasons, Ive included just a few of my top ones below: The Campus Community Illinois is currently ranked the #2 college town in America! We have a phenomenal bus system that will take you anywhere you need to go, whether that be on or off campus. We were recently named the Best Midwest Food Town, and for good reason! I would highly recommend stopping by either Huaraches or Black Dog BBQ if youre on campus. While youre out, I also suggest checking out some live music at Cowboy Monkey and the Iron Post. Were also centrally located between Chicago, St. Louis, and Indianapolis. This makes it easy to go home on the weekend or go on an adventure and explore a new city. The Opportunities With a surplus of study abroad programs numbering over 300, youre guaranteed to find a program thats a great fit for you! With all of these possibilities, over 25% of students participate in study abroad while theyre at Illinois. Illinois has more than 1000 Registered Student Organizations on campus, including philanthropic, athletic, political, cultural, and social groups to join. Youll have the opportunity to join as many of these organizations as youd like the Sunday before classes begin on Quad Day. Additionally, 68% of our undergraduate students participate in research. Research is being performed in all fields of study, and youll have the ability to get involved in these projects as early as your first year on campus. The Traditions Illinois is now officially over 150 years old, meaning it has an abundance of history. Just one of these rich pieces of history is the Marching Illini, the nations premier college marching band. Youll find plenty of ways to enjoy traditions on campus. You can cheer on the basketball team with Orange Krush or the football team with Block I, or just take in all the orange and blue during homecoming. We also have one of the largest alumni networks of its kind! Life After Graduation While enjoying your time and getting to know the great community at Illinois is almost guaranteed, its critical to think beyond graduation. No matter if you decide to start your career immediately or choose to pursue an advanced degree, resources such as the Career Center will prepare you well. We host many career fairs, where 76 Fortune 100 companies recruit Illinois students. As a matter of fact, 89% of Illini are employed or continuing their education within 6 months of graduation. To top it all off, we have the #1 return on investment in the Big Ten! Ive rattled off just a few reasons to choose Illinois, and those are just my personal favorites. You can check out the full list on our website and pick your own favorites! Evan Admissions Counselor I graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology with minors in both Communications and Business. I come from Aurora, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago and one of the largest cities within the state.