Illinois State University Opinions (Chicago, Carbondale: best schools, live, internship)

[EyesInTheSky]

Originally Posted by MANaret

[Deleted..] I can't say much about Western, SIUE, or SIUC. None of them have spectacular reputations. I'm pretty sure SIUC is considered a party school (at least it used to be). So, if that is your scene, then you will probably want to head there. Also, and this could be just my personal bias, I always ranked ISU, NIU, and SIUC about equal (each having their own specialities) and Western, Eastern, and SIUE lower.

Good point and I tend to agree with you. Perhaps the major distinction is both SIUC, ISU, and NIU are all PhD-granting national universities and to varying degrees have a research mission. (And among these three, SIUC has by far the largest research and PhD programs. In fact the research budget at SIUC in 2007, which is the most recent figure I have, is larger than ISU and NIU combined.)

Through the years we've had a few graduate students from SIUC attend our summer Research Experience program here at UIUC and they seemed pretty sharp and held their own just fine. To my knowledge we've never admitted any graduate students to our summer research program from the other state schools under discussion in this thread, although I've encountered a number of regular UIUC graduate students with undergrad degrees from just about all of them. I do agree that Carbondale is known as a party town, although I think they've worked mightily to rid themselves of that reputation in recent years. Ironically, it's now Champaign that is starting to get a reputation as a party town for college kids. One thing I really do like about Carbondale and southern Illinois in general is the natural beauty of the region; it's by far the prettiest area of the state, and I always enjoy my occasional trips down there.

Also, by comparison, WIU and EIU are considered master's-level regional universities and their overwhelming emphasis is on undergraduate education; these two schools do very little research and have very small graduate programs.

[smltwngrl0570]

Im suprised to hear that about SIUC. I had no idea the emphasis they placed on their research and graduate programs. I wasnt looking for a huge party school, so maybe the point you made of them coming out of that reputation would help in my choices. I think overall, ISU may offer the best education and location of all of the schools for me. Thank you everyone for you input! I really appreciate it

[skipcromer]

To sum up what I think this thread has shown...

For undergrad, your going to get a very decent education at any of these schools, its really about which one fits you best.

[EyesInTheSky]

Originally Posted by smltwngrl0570

Im suprised to hear that about SIUC. I had no idea the emphasis they placed on their research and graduate programs. I wasnt looking for a huge party school, so maybe the point you made of them coming out of that reputation would help in my choices. I think overall, ISU may offer the best education and location of all of the schools for me. Thank you everyone for you input! I really appreciate it

I didn't mean to overstate the point about SIUC. Although they have a larger research program than both ISU and NIU, I wouldn't call them a research powerhouse or anything like that. In the pecking order of research productivity for Illinois universities, the rankings from highest to lowest for the 5 largest programs is: UIUC, Northwestern, University of Chicago, UIC, and then SIUC. Further, SIUC is in a somewhat distant 5th place, substantially less productive than 4th place UIC. (And to any of you Wildcat affiliates that disagree with UIUC productivity being ranked ahead of Northwestern, this difference is mostly a function of quantity, not quality.)

As for your likely selection of ISU, I do think you can get a perfectly fine education from that school. If you keep solid grades in your finance program, you could then go on to a first-tier MBA program, if you so desire. Good luck!

[Paxtonian]

Sure, give I.S.U. a try. I went there, and it isn't all that bad. One can get a sound education there, and it isn't a budget breaker like some other places. As for reputation, it's kind of the K-Mart of universities. You get value there, but no one quite believes it to be especially high-quality. That said, one may get one well in life even with a degree from an obscure, minor university.

[At1WithNature]

Don't go to SIU...it's where all the goofballs go plus it isn't very diverse. It is mostly black, by a large margin. ISU is alright...but that's where the kids who couldn't get into the University of Illinois go. I think you would be better off attending a school in downtown chicago like Argosy University (strong business program), Roosevelt University or National Louis University. All 3 have more prestige than ISU.

http://www.argosy.edu/locations/chic...n/Default.aspx

http://www.roosevelt.edu/

http://www.nl.edu/gateway/

[skipcromer]

Originally Posted by At1WithNature

Don't go to SIU...it's where all the goofballs go plus it isn't very diverse. It is mostly black, by a large margin. ISU is alright...but that's where the kids who couldn't get into the University of Illinois go. I think you would be better off attending a school in downtown chicago like Argosy University (strong business program), Roosevelt University or National Louis University. All 3 have more prestige than ISU.

Chicago Downtown - College Degree Programs at Argosy University

Roosevelt University - Liberal Arts, Sciences, Business, Education Colleges in Chicago and Schaumburg

National-Louis University

Wow, that is just not true at all.

[At1WithNature]

Thanks for the brilliant insight.

[MANaret]

Originally Posted by At1WithNature

Don't go to SIU...it's where all the goofballs go plus it isn't very diverse. It is mostly black, by a large margin. ISU is alright...but that's where the kids who couldn't get into the University of Illinois go. I think you would be better off attending a school in downtown chicago like Argosy University (strong business program), Roosevelt University or National Louis University. All 3 have more prestige than ISU.

Chicago Downtown - College Degree Programs at Argosy University

Roosevelt University - Liberal Arts, Sciences, Business, Education Colleges in Chicago and Schaumburg

National-Louis University

I'm going to agree with skipcromer on this one.

According to U.S. News here are some rankings of Master's granting colleges in Illinois:

Bradley - Tier 1
University of Illinois-Springfield - Tier 1
SIUE - Tier 1
Eastern Illinois - Tier 1
Western Illinois - Tier 1
Roosevelt University - Tier 3
National-Louis University - Tier 4
Argosy - Not listed anywhere

(Here's the link to the rankings: Master's Universities (Midwest) Rankings - Best Colleges - Education - US News and World Report)

Note that Illinois State University, SIUC, NIU, and UIUC are all PhD granting institutions. So, they aren't on this particular list, but in general, PhD granting institutions are more prestigious than Master's granting institutions. Also, Master's granting institutions are more prestigious than bachelor granting institutions. i.e. PhD> Masters > Bachelors. Additionally, as already discussed, ISU has a better reputation than SIUE. SIUE is listed higher on the rankings than any of the schools you listed. So using a standard proof:

If ISU > SIUE and SIUE > Roosevelt/NLU/Argosy, then ISU > Roosevelt/NLU/Argosy


Now, if you have any evidence to show that the reputation of Argosy, Roosevelt, or National-Louis have a higher reputation than ISU, feel free to post it. I don't know everything and I admit I may have missed some key information/statistic/evidence that would lead to other results than I indicated above. If that is the case, please let us know. The world will be a better place with more information.

[At1WithNature]

ISU isn't that good of a school but it sure is better than SIU Carbondale. your source is biased and objective driven. here, get the facts right from the horse's mouth:

KEY:

Roosevelt > ISU

http://www1.studentsreview.com/perce...demic%20School

Either way, it really doesn't matter. Out of the schools the OP listed, ISU is the best choice.