Hello, Tigers! Today I’ll be discussing some of the most popular universities in Illinois: their acceptance rate, tuition, campus, and overall vibe.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is the most popular university in Illinois. People know the Illini for their big name sports and great academic success. With over 150 majors, albeit mostly known for their engineering school, they offer tons of other exciting classes for students. With an acceptance rate of 45% and a cost of $17, 640 for in-state students and $36, 760 for out-of-state students, this school is the home of the IHSA State Basketball Final 4 and ranked 33rd on the national scale. This is definitely a school to consider, especially for our higher level students.
Northwestern University
Northwestern University has been called by some as the non-Ivy Ivy school given that it is one of the most prestigious schools in Illinois. It is extremely hard to get into with an acceptance rate of only 7%. The cost of tuition is an outstanding $22,386/quarter. Northwestern’s most popular majors are economics, journalism, biological sciences, and computer science. The school offer tons of other enjoyable majors as well. Although the university is not known for their athletic successes, the Wildcats have been improving and gaining popularity recently. They do make up for this with their academics, including a 94% graduation rate. People who have gone to Northwestern also have stated they have built a great network, especially when it comes to their future careers, so if you end up there, you will surely not be disappointed.
Northern Illinois University (NIU)
Being the 3rd most popular school in Illinois, Northern Illinois University is a gateway school with an acceptance rate of 71%. With a cost of $14,000, NIU is most known for their psychology, nursing, and health service preparatory studies programs. The school also is the 1st (out of 5) members of “the castle”. NIU has a smaller campus size compared to the rest of this list, but the university definitely makes up for this with the events happening around the campus. You will have a great experience if you attend this college.
Eastern Illinois University (EIU)
Now comes my 2nd favorite school in Illinois, Eastern Illinois University, which is known for great campus experiences. This school is filled with things to do. The school has an acceptance rate of 68%. It costs $10,428.90 and is home of the yearly IHSA Track and Field State Meet, held each year on Big Blue (the name of their all blue track). Eastern’s most popular majors include education, business, psychology, communication, and health professions. There is definitely a major for everyone here, however. It is also the 2nd member of the 5 to form “the castle”. You will most definitely have a great experience if you attend this school.
Western Illinois University (WIU)
Western Illinois University, the 3rd member of “the castle”, is the 5th school on our list. With an acceptance rate of 75% and a cost of $12,000, Western is known for law enforcement and justice administration, psychology, and liberal arts and sciences. Western also has an extremely exciting sports fan base. These students love to hype up their Bulldogs. So if that is the type of environment where you would like to be, Western is definitely the school for you.
Southern Illinois University (SIU)
Out of all of Illinois’s state schools, Southern Illinois University has the highest acceptance rate coming in at 91%. The cost is $16,000. Southern is known for having great business, management, marketing, education, health professions, transportation and materials moving and related support services, engineering, social sciences, and biological sciences programs. It is also the 4th out of the 5 universities to form “the castle”. The people at this school are extremely welcoming and you will definitely be able to call this place home after a very short amount of time there.
Illinois State University (ISU)
Now the last school we will be talking about today is Illinois State University. Having an acceptance rate of 89% and a cost of an annual tuition for in-state students around $12,066 (while out-of-state tuition is roughly $24,132), this school is the 5th and final member of “the castle”. This school has been the home of the IHSA Football State Game for quite some time. The most popular majors at Illinois State University include business, management, marketing, education; health professions and related programs, communication, journalism and related programs, and computer and information sciences and support services. You will definitely fall in love with this school and its beautiful campus.
The Illinois Castles
The “castles” in Illinois are actually distinctive castle-like buildings that were built in a Tudor-Gothic style on the campuses of several Illinois state universities during the 1890s. These buildings, known as “Altgeld’s Castles,” were largely inspired by Governor John Peter Altgeld’s strong belief in architecture and aesthetics. Altgeld’s term as governor was from 1893 to 1897.
Overall
There are tons of other fine schools in Illinois; here are just a few of the most popular for EPHS students. If you have any questions, please contact me. Make sure you tell me what you think about the story. Until next time. GO TIGERS!