Author - Franklin

Undergraduate Research at Illinois

My plans after Illinois are to attend graduate school and do research in Astronomy. Because of this, I’ve tried to involve myself in as much research as possible at Illinois. For those of you wanting to be STEM...

My Favorite Things About Illinois

One disadvantage about living abroad is how difficult it is to actually know what campus is like. Before I came to Illinois, I had never taken a campus tour and had no idea what Champaign was like. I wanted to write a...

Day in the Life: COVID Edition

It’s kind of weird to think that we’ve been in quarantine for nearly a year now. The last day of in-person classes almost feels like yesterday – I’m surprised by how quickly time has flown by...

An Unconventional Move-In Checklist

You’ve probably seen tons of posts about what you should bring to college. I know that my mom did – she had a very long list of ‘college dorm essentials’ when I first moved in. However...

Astronomy at the University of Illinois

My last blog post was about being a STEM major – for today’s post, I thought I’d jump into specifics and talk about my major. I’m a junior majoring in Astronomy, and I intend on going to graduate...

So, you want to be a STEM major?

Did you know about 1/3 of college students change their majors at least once? Picking a major is tough, and I get it! There are so many interesting fields of study, and it can be really difficult to settle down on one...

Dorm and Apartment Essentials

One great thing about living on campus is that you have the freedom to do pretty much whatever you want with your living space. There are no parents to tell you what you can or can’t have in your room! During my...

Joining an RSO … Virtually!

This semester is a weird one for sure. You’re probably swamped with Zoom meetings, online class websites, and a million emails. Joining a student-run organization could be the last thing on a lot of your minds...

Mental Health and Quarantine

Quarantine and self-isolation is definitely hard. You’re stuck in your room, with nothing to do but go on your laptop or watch TV. Don’t get me wrong – binge watching Netflix shows is a great way to...

Spending Your Summer Efficiently

It feels like summer has already started. I’ve been holed up in my apartment for nearly two months now, and I’ve lost track of time. Nonetheless, I need to plan what I’m going to do over the summer...

Keeping Up With Online Classes

I hate online classes. They’re hard to keep up with, and I don’t absorb as much material from lectures. Going to a physical lecture is a much better way for me to learn. Unfortunately, in light of recent...

Why I Chose the University of Illinois

My brothers and I are triplets, and we applied to college together. This morning, one of them sent me a screenshot of a letter—on this day two years ago, we were all rejected by one of our “reach”...

What to Do Over Spring Break

Although my classes have been going great, it’s nice that we’re about to go on spring break. The first half of this semester has been a steady stream of busy days and hard work—I’m in dire need of a...

What’s It Like To Be a James Scholar?

Last semester, I started a series of posts where I talked to someone in a particular program at Illinois. I want to add another post to this series and talk about what it means to be a James Scholar. I was admitted into...

Applying for Summer Internships

The first two weeks of last summer were rough. I found myself sitting on my couch all day, binge-watching show after show. Although I had just finished a busy first year of college, I still felt like I needed something...

Reflecting on My Semester

I still find it weird telling people I’m a sophomore. It’s hard to believe that a year and a half of school has flown by so fast. As I approach the end of my third semester, I realize how much I’ve...

Holding an Executive Board Position

With over 1,800 registered student organizations at Illinois, you’re bound to find a group that you enjoy being in. The opportunities are endless—you can try a new sport, build robots, or even just watch squirrels...

On-Campus Jobs: Are They Worth It?

I know a lot of people with on-campus jobs, and a lot of people without. Some people conduct research with professors to build their resumes, and some work at campus facilities to make a couple extra dollars. So, is it...

Frank’s Midterm Survival Guide

I hate midterm season. You’re stressing out all week, spending the majority of your day in the library, and sleeping late to cram material. Worse yet, you have to balance studying with all your other classes going...