Northeastern Illinois University? (Chicago, Albany: spring break, dorms, neighborhood)

[joshthegreat]

Hey everyone, I will keep this short. I recently moved to Austin and I am not liking it so much. I am not here to bash Austin, so yeah. Thinking about moving to Chicago for the spring semester......I am nervous about another move and want to make sure it is a more permanent choice. So ANY help would be great!

I love Chicago. I have visited it whenever possible(recently taking my family there this spring break....they LOVED the 33 degree weather). Anyways, I have been looking into NEIU for some time, but I have some pointed questions.

1. Is it a good school? By that, I do not mean is it known nationwide as a great school. But is it taken seriously? Are the majority of students there taking their education seriously? I ask this because I have looked at many reviews on the school and I am getting a very mixed image.

2.Here at Texas State U, where I am attending now, its NOTHING but frats and seemingly endless supply of 18 year olds. Don't get me wrong, I KNOW I am in college, but its insane here. Also, I am kind of out of the "college party scene", which is huge here. So here is the question, is NEIU really not a place where a new person could meet people? I am wanting a change from my current school, but I do not want a TOTALLY different experience. I am looking for a happy middle.

3. Is North Park, Albany Park, or Jefferson Park safe? (I know there is a thread for this kind of thing, but there doesn't seem to be much info on these hoods, and I am quite interested).

4. How are the people of Chicago? I know this question is too broad a question for such a city, but what could one expect overall with daily interactions with others. I have had no bad experience in Chicago, other than aggressive homeless, but than again, I haven't been actively trying to create bonds and explore more intensely.

BTW, I am 23, girlfriend is 18, and I am a history major. If you do not know the specifics I am asking, just some info in NEIU(aka real experiences) would be really cool.

Thanks in advance guys.

[Avengerfire]

This thread would have been perfect for your post:

//www.city-data.com/forum/chica...ow-school.html

Mod: can you move it?

[Drover]

Originally Posted by joshthegreat

1. Is [NEIU] a good school? By that, I do not mean is it known nationwide as a great school. But is it taken seriously? Are the majority of students there taking their education seriously? I ask this because I have looked at many reviews on the school and I am getting a very mixed image.

Northeastern Illinois University is on the bottom tier of Illinois public 4-year schools. It's the kind of school you attend primarily for the purpose of being able to put a 4-year degree from somewhere, anywhere, on your resume.

Originally Posted by joshthegreat

2.Here at Texas State U, where I am attending now, its NOTHING but frats and seemingly endless supply of 18 year olds. Don't get me wrong, I KNOW I am in college, but its insane here. Also, I am kind of out of the "college party scene", which is huge here. So here is the question, is NEIU really not a place where a new person could meet people? I am wanting a change from my current school, but I do not want a TOTALLY different experience. I am looking for a happy middle.

NEIU is not a traditional college campus; it's a commuter school. There are no dorms on campus. There is no campus "social scene." People don't move from other parts of the state to attend like you find at at most traditional colleges. For all intents and purposes, it is a 4-year community college. People drive/bus to campus from whatever part of town they live in, go attend their class, and then drive/bus back home. Also, the substantial majority of its student body is non-traditional students; people in their late 20s through late 30s. Most of them are already married and/or have families and have no use for a college scene. You will not find the "happy middle" you're looking for; what you'll find is the extreme opposite of what you have now.

Originally Posted by joshthegreat

3. Is North Park, Albany Park, or Jefferson Park safe? (I know there is a thread for this kind of thing, but there doesn't seem to be much info on these hoods, and I am quite interested).

Yes, sort of, and yes, respectively. Albany Park is a little rough around the edges (I mean that figuratively, not like "the middle of Albany Park is fine but it's the edges you need to watch out for") and there are parts of it you won't want to habitually wander through at night.

Originally Posted by joshthegreat

4. How are the people of Chicago? I know this question is too broad a question for such a city, but what could one expect overall with daily interactions with others. I have had no bad experience in Chicago, other than aggressive homeless, but than again, I haven't been actively trying to create bonds and explore more intensely.

Here's the difference between southern hospitality and Chicago hospitality: down south, people are polite even to people they can't stand. Whereas in Chicago, if someone doesn't like you, chances are you won't be confused about where you stand with that person. We do not consider subtlety a sport or a fine art. If something is on our mind and we think it needs to be said, we say it straight-forward. We are generally gracious and courteous people, but our graciousness and courtesy are finite -- at the end of the day we don't suffer fools lightly around here. If you get under our skin, we'll knock you down a peg.

Some who aren't used to it think it's a little cold. We prefer to think of it as being honest. We tend to see pretenses of friendship to and from people we don't like or know as disingenuous. That doesn't mean we're never civil to those who are not our favorite people or that we don't hold doors open for someone whose hands are full and the like. Just don't make like we're pals if we both know better.

On the other hand, if you're on someone's good side, you'll know it then too. The flipside of the "no fake kindness for people we don't like" coin is bending over backwards for people we do like.

So the bottom line is Chicago folks are mostly "what you see is what you get." We don't have elaborate social rituals built around appearances. If we like you, you'll know it. If we don't like you, you'll know it.

Finally, the pace of life is a lot quicker up here, at least in the city and all but the outer suburbs. We've got no patience for dallying, foot-dragging or indecisiveness. If you don't know where you're going or what you're doing, stay out of our way.

Originally Posted by joshthegreat

BTW, I am 23, girlfriend is 18, and I am a history major. If you do not know the specifics I am asking, just some info in NEIU(aka real experiences) would be really cool.

I took a class at NEIU so my knowledge comes partly from general knowledge about the school and partially from personal experience.

If you ask me, the school you're really looking for is University of Illinois at Chicago. Its reputation is far better than that of NEIU, it's more academically challenging, and it has that balance of "student life without the frat-meathead" scene you're looking for. It too is mostly a commuter school (it didn't even have on-campus housing until a few years ago) but unlike NEIU it does attract people from all over the state and even out of state who move to the campus area to attend school there. The business district around it at least partially caters to a college crowd whereas there is absolutely no such thing up by NEIU, so there are more opportunities to socialize with fellow students.

[joshthegreat]

Thanks Avengerfire.

Drover, I see you post a lot on here, so I can take your word. You pretty much have confirmed what other people have said, and that disappoints me. I REALLY wanted to like it since I like that its far north, and is CHEAP. I thought the whole "commuter campus" would be a cool change, but I don't want too a drastic change.

I have a lot to think about, deadline for application is like in a month. Thanks again.

[Drover]

Yeah, NEIU is cheap for a reason -- not much demand. I just want to reiterate, consider UIC if you think you can get in. It may be more expensive, but that's because it's more in demand and it will open a lot more doors for you than NEIU will. And it has exactly the social scene you're looking for.

[Dncr]

I was just going to post what Drover said. Check out UIC, DePaul, or Loyola. I'm guessing you want to pay as little as possible, so UIC is your best bet. It's not that difficult of a school to get into, and it has a lot of great programs. I'm sure you'll find exactly what you're looking for at UIC

The only thing you'd need to be wary of is that the school does somewhat die later at night and on the weekends. There are a lot of commuters, but the vast majority of students dorm. Anyway, good luck!

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Dncr

...UIC...There are a lot of commuters, but the vast majority of students dorm...

I don't agree. Even with all the dorm buildings built in the last 15 years a majority of the students are still commuters.

[Jesse69]

I went to one NEIU Data Structures class and it wasn't so great. My aunt know someone who graduated CS degree from NEIU and he has no IT career 5 year out of college. AN NEIU degree is not reputable.

[prairiestate]

Originally Posted by Jesse69

I went to one NEIU Data Structures class and it wasn't so great. My aunt know someone who graduated CS degree from NEIU and he has no IT career 5 year out of college. AN NEIU degree is not reputable.

I wouldn't go that far. I'm pretty sure it began as a normal school (teacher's college). If you are studying education or a related field, or maybe something in the liberal arts I'm sure the degree is just fine. But I probably wouldn't choose it for computer science or if I'm an aspiring investment banker or some such field where reputation really counts.

[grapico]

I have only heard not so good, but not necessarily *bad* things about NEIU. As another poster said, it is where people go just to get the degree I would imagine. Not a stellar school or anything. And if you are paying for it... I would look into others in the area or in the state. This is also not to be confused with Northern Illinois University, which is a good deal better.