Does ISU do a bad job capitalizing on its name

[Drover]

Originally Posted by nJohn

One state university that achieves this LAC feeling is Eastern Illinois University. The size of the university is ideal and the classes are usually small while the professors are mostly competent. Now if it can find funds to beef up some of its departments it'll gain ground that'll be an asset to the state when it comes to relatively cheap higher education.

Speaking of which, how was your experience there? I remember you asking about it a few years ago when you were considering going there.

[nJohn]

Originally Posted by Drover

Speaking of which, how was your experience there? I remember you asking about it a few years ago when you were considering going there.

My previous post pretty much sums up my educational experience. I can't say I was truly disappointed. Both of my departments were solid and I was lucky enough to form relationships with many of the professors/instructors I've encountered. At times I felt isolated since not many students took their instruction as seriously as me, but it was okay, we got along and found common ground. I think was the only one in my department that actually was interviewed - let alone hired - by a Fortune 500 company. Not sure if I was an anomaly.

The complaints about Charleston and Mattoon are understandable. I made do with what was available. Downtown Mattoon has a lot of potential in my eyes; architecture there kinda reminded me of JJ Abrams Super 8 since many of the scenes replicated that small town vibe.

Overall It was a pleasant time with a few gripes here and there. Just took what was mine and it turned out better than expected.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by linicx

Yes there area. Eureka College is fine example. Not only did it graduate a US President with a double major, it is also a Top 25 Liberal Arts College in America.

Let's say you live in a small town in North Dakota and you have a smart kid who was accepted/ full scholorshiop at UIC, ISU and Eureka. .What do you think your child's first choice is: cornfields or bright city lights?

Chicago is a magnet cty. Kids are far more interested in the location and bragging rights associated with prestige than what the school offers them. Two years down the road they will have a different perspective of what is important when it comes to employment.

Ten years ago I had the occassion to meet a Chicago student on line. He was working on his Master in Engineering. He worked part time at McCormick Place, rode a bike to school and lived in a crummy apartment with a friend to conserve money. He graduated with honors and was hired by Motorola at $80K/ perks. The first thing he did was buy a used car. He found a nicer apartment and then he flew his parents from India to Chicago for a two week vacation during the Christmas holidays. He had not seen his parents in 3-years.

He said he did not date because he did not have the time or money. His spaare time hobby was studying. The brightest kids in any school do the same thing: they put their dream first. My friend's dream was to become a engineer and make his parents proud.

He could have accompllshed the same thing in any school, but he chose Chicago because he felt it offered better job opportunities.

Chicago is a magnet city.

a lot of the rural locations where public universities stems from rural areas still dominating their states in the early part of the 19th century and even well into the second part. This was the era of true growth for major US universities.

Today I think there is a tendency to see what cities have to offer for students who go to school in them as an urban plus. But another plus comes from what the universities can generate themselves from being in urban settings. I don't think that it a coincidence that the two most prestigious universities in the Midwest, Chicago and Northwestern, are here in the Chicago metro area.

Metro areas offer advantages to universities. One advantage for the future would be to watch NIU. How will Northern benefit and distinguish itself from peer institutions as it has what no other public university in Illinois (including UIUC) has:

being part of a high tech corridor along I-88 which made a real name for itself in DuPage County but has been moving steadily westward across the Fox River heading to DeKalb, as well.

That corridor will bring advantages to both NIU and DeKalb and cement their role as being the western fringe of Chicagoland.

[linicx]

You eloquently make my point. Chicago is a magnet city. It is, imho, idiocy for downstate schools to try to go head to head with Chicago schools - even if they're much better. The best course of action for the rural schools is to sally forth and seek its own path. NIU students study cadavers; I don't know if the others schools do or not? Do you know?. .

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by linicx

You eloquently make my point. Chicago is a magnet city. It is, imho, idiocy for downstate schools to try to go head to head with Chicago schools - even if they're much better. The best course of action for the rural schools is to sally forth and seek its own path. NIU students study cadavers; I don't know if the others schools do or not? Do you know?. .

one of the things that makes UIUC great is that in so many ways, it isn't a downstate school, but a virtual Chicago area school. No, I'm not trying to take away the state wide connection or the downstate students. But the vast majority of U of I students are from the Chicago area and the school is connected to the Chicago area in so many ways that, despite those 160 or so miles, Illinois tends to be a local university in many respects.