火爆社区

Illinois College located in Jacksonville, Illinois is a 鈥減rivate, liberal arts college, affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church. Built on 鈥渁 strong educational foundation and history,鈥� academics are 鈥渃hallenging, but in an extremely satisfying way.鈥� Small classroom sizes foster 鈥渋ndividualized learning as well as close connections with professors,鈥� whose students count as Illinois鈥檚 鈥済reatest strength.鈥� Faculty and staff 鈥済ets to know you on a personal level and will do anything in their power to help you,鈥� offering 鈥渙pportunities for experiential learning, and funding for such opportunities if the need is there.鈥� The student-faculty research is highly valued, offering 鈥渇irst-hand鈥� experience, and undergrads believe the chosen pedagogy leads them to feel 鈥渆xtremely confident鈥� in 鈥減ublic speaking, presentation giving, writing,鈥� and participation in 鈥渃lass discussions.鈥� The faculty makes 鈥渂ig contributions in the world and send students all over the world to get some valuable experiences.鈥� Programs such as 鈥淭RIO, a mentoring program done through the [Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] ODEI, the tutoring program, and the campus writing and speech centers鈥�are great resources for students,鈥� assisting with both academics and to get help 鈥渁cclimating to life at college, particularly for those who are first generation college students or who are minorities.鈥� Students believe the liberal arts education they receive is 鈥渁bove-average quality.鈥� Financial aid is generous, as 鈥渆veryone gets some sort of scholarship.鈥�

Illinois College is a 鈥渄iverse family.鈥� 鈥淚 use family,鈥� one student says, 鈥渂ecause it鈥檚 really hard to walk through campus and not see a smiling face that you know.鈥� There is a 鈥渦nique blend of urban culture, mostly coming from students from Chicago and a surprisingly large number of international students given the size of the college.鈥� The 鈥渆nd result is an inescapable exposure to the culture of the rural Midwest for any student at IC and the opportunity to learn about other nations and areas,鈥� for students who come from out of state. Based on the student body, one student remarks that the college appears to 鈥渓ook at applicants鈥� participation in clubs and organizations鈥� and 鈥渟elects well-rounded and caring individuals.鈥�

Students praise the 鈥渇ootball program, made great by the coaches and elite players鈥� that the college recruits. Students like to party, and when not in class, 鈥渞elax with鈥�friends.鈥� Local food options include fast food and family restaurants like 鈥淗ardee鈥檚, Little Mexico, Buffalo Wild Wings, Norma鈥檚 North Star, Lonzerotti鈥檚, and Steak n鈥� Shake.鈥� Students enjoy going out to 鈥淟ake Jacksonville and fishing鈥� when the weather permits. The city of 鈥淪pringfield is nearby for shopping.鈥� In general, 鈥淭hursday nights are when a lot of students go to the bars. The popular places to go are Don鈥檚, KJB鈥檚, and The West Morgan County Depot.鈥� One student offers an example of a life one can have at Illinois: 鈥淚 am treasurer of the Black Student Union, and also Special Committee chair for Student Activities Board, so I spend a lot of time planning my events in the Center for Student Involvement. Between all of that I go to meetings for my other clubs and extracurriculars.鈥� Students take part in 鈥渟ervice fraternities such as Alpha Phi Omega,鈥� which engage 鈥渋n community service鈥� and put on events. 鈥淎lmost everyone鈥� on campus is involved in 鈥渁 sport, theater, choir, and literary societies.鈥� Students are involved in 鈥渋nternational projects,鈥� 鈥渟tudent senate,鈥� and many students work on-campus jobs.