State Universities (Chicago, Springfield, Champaign: credit, trip , rent)

[jessiegirl_98]

Originally Posted by Mathguy

I can definitely agree that a lot of the "teaching" at U of IL was done by grad students and much of it boiled down to "there's the book, I'm going to read out of it now".

Did run across some good professors etc. but definitely the school was more of a cafeteria (self service) than a restaurant for lack of a better analogy.

I had really great professors at UIUC....
Anyway, I would say that your daughter should definitly apply. If she gets in, then she should take the minimum courses and get set up with special services before classes even start! By law, every college has to provide services to those with diagnoses LD's. In classes I taught, it ranged from getting take home exams instead of in class, essay tests instead of multiple choice, copies of my notes, longer test times, etc.... The only students that I saw really fail because of their disability, were those who didn't try and usually didn't inform me of services (or after they failed said "hey, I have an LD, what can I do")
And, as others have suggested, back up schools are a must. If she likes the location of UIUC or has a lot of friends that go there, ISU is a good option (only 45 min, but I'm not sure of their agriculture program).
Good luck! If she gets in and works really hard, she can make it. If she doesn't get in, I'm sure she'll find her place somewhere else.

[Chinolala]

Originally Posted by karlsch

U of I Champaign-Urbana is the highest ranked overall. It's one of the top public universities in the USA.

Its engineering schools rank with the best in the world-right up there with MIT, etc.

It is also noted for computer science. The Web browser was developed there by a grad student. If you have Internet Explorer 6 on your computer, click on "Help" and then on "About." "Hal" the fictional computer in the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" also came from the U of I. Watch this and pay attention after the 4 minute mark:
YouTube - 2001: A Space Odyssey - "My Mind is Going"

Yep, I've heard it's the best one

[collected_eve]

Just a thought: Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) is just a hop away. Right on the Mississippi in Cape Girardeau, which happens to be a really cool town. Great school, though! FYI!!

[Drover]

And what a bargain, at probably triple the tuition.

[jenrik2714]

Drover, would you recommend Eastern Illinois University? I know a lady who sent her daughter there and her other 2 kids went to U of I and she said the one daughter that went to Eastern was better prepared to teach than her kids that went to U of I

[Drover]

Well I'm not terribly surprised to hear that. EIU was originally founded as a "normal school" (that is, a school for training teachers) and it continues to be a "specialty" of the university. For most other subjects though, I'd say that U of I is more academically rigorous and competitive (especially in the "hard" sciences), so being able to say "I made it through U of I" means a little more on a resume than saying "I made it through EIU." On the flipside, I also think a student can get a lot more individual attention at EIU because of a) small class size, even for most freshman gen-ed classes, and b) most classes are taught by profs and not grad assistants; IMO profs have a broader range of subject knowledge and experience to draw upon when trying to help a struggling student along, or just answering questions when a student is confused about a complex or esoteric topic. That sounds like it would be a better environment for someone with a learning disability, and your daughter is probably less likely to "sink" and more likely to "swim" at EIU versus U of I. Attending U of I doesn't mean a lot if you don't make it out the other side.

But it's already been mentioned and I want to re-iterate: EIU does not have an agriculture/animal sciences program. If your daughter wants to be in an ag program but wants to be in an EIU-type of environment rather than a U of I type of environment, I would suggest looking into WIU.

[nJohn]

Originally Posted by sonicreducer

But I think it's good to state that just because you got your degree from SIU or EIU or what have you, that doesn't mean it's any less valuable than the U of I diploma. Unless you are some sort of high-falutin' academician who wants to collect degrees and teach at an Ivy League school (or something where "status" really matters), I really doubt that people who look at your credentials some day and say "Well, she's great, but she'd be better if she'd gone to U of I..." People in the liberal arts are a little snootier about this than they should be, but most people in "professional", practical programs tend not to worry as much.

And the other Illinois state schools are actually really pretty competitive in the end (which is not the case in every state in the U.S.). They may not have big 10 sports teams, but they have many nationally ranked programs and great faculty and campuses all the same

Don't wanna get too far into that. Ivy league schools have earned their reputation at being amazing in the academia world; more than likely they have better professors and the student body beats any pudunk state school. Reputation attracts the best and retains the best more than often.

Also, it depends on what you study. A CPA is a CPA (accounting); a nurse is a nurse (nursing); a teacher is a teacher (education). If you choose this as your path then I'd would recommend almost any state school. More than likely it won't matter where you attend. Just get the grade and the experience and cross your fingers when you apply to med school.

On the other hand if one wants to major in the liberal arts then ranking and the strength of the program (school name does help) must be put into consideration. Like my dad says, "It's damn competitive." Might as well get the best while trying your best.

[nJohn]

Originally Posted by M TYPE X

Big universities: you're paying for the name and alumni base, not the edjumacation.

You sure about that? Be careful on what you type.

[sonicreducer]

Originally Posted by nJohn

Don't wanna get too far into that. Ivy league schools have earned their reputation at being amazing in the academia world; more than likely they have better professors and the student body beats any pudunk state school. Reputation attracts the best and retains the best more than often.

Also, it depends on what you study. A CPA is a CPA (accounting); a nurse is a nurse (nursing); a teacher is a teacher (education). If you choose this as your path then I'd would recommend almost any state school. More than likely it won't matter where you attend. Just get the grade and the experience and cross your fingers when you apply to med school.

On the other hand if one wants to major in the liberal arts then ranking and the strength of the program (school name does help) must be put into consideration. Like my dad says, "It's damn competitive." Might as well get the best while trying your best.

Well, yes, that's essentially what I was trying to say. In most cases, people who want to pursue a "professional" degree (i.e., a degree that will qualify you to DO a particular job-like teaching, accounting, lawyering, etc.) don't have to worry about school rankings as much as someone who does want to become a English professor--or for that matter, anyone wanting to get seriously involved in working in academic/research fields. I was also trying to encourage the person who initially posted this thread to not get discouraged if her daughter was unable to get into the U of I. For the fields that she is interested in applying to, the other state schools have excellent programs as well, and she would not come out at a distinct disadvantage. For other programs this wouldn't be the case.

I don't really think it's fair to disparage or totally discount lower-ranking state schools and the classes they provide though. A lot of these places attract high-caliber faculty members, and this is getting to be even moreso the case as graduate programs in highly-regarded Title I institutions crank more and more PhDs out. These people have to teach somewhere, and they can't all end up at Yale. I work in the academic world and see this first hand in a lot of disciplines. Not all academics are obsessed with status, either. An institution can offer their faculty different kinds of incentives based on their talents, abilities, or inclinations. Some people would just assume to take a cushy, tenured gig at a second-tier state school if it means they have to do less research, and be less cutthroat with their peers. This doesn't make them a bad teacher. They just have different priorities.

I think it's dangerous when people get so carried away with obsessing over arbitrary things like school rankings--and that goes for all kinds of schools. When you dismiss a school for failing to be "top notch", you oftentimes write off a lot of untangibles that can't be written into the metrics of a survey. Picking a school should be about finding the right fit, not about keeping up with the Joneses or what have you. But this kind of approach tends to put people off, because it's a lot more work than googling for top ten lists.

[Katiana]

A CPA is a CPA (accounting); a nurse is a nurse (nursing)

Excuse me?!!! Eveyone in the profession knows the reps of the local schools. Granted, I have seen good nurses from lesser known schools and vice-versa, but not very often. I will say, a few years out, it doesn't matter as much.