Category - Academics

If you’ve ever found yourself fascinated by the built and natural environments around you, then Civil and Environmental Engineering might be a great path for you! Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) is a...

During my sophomore year of high school, I discovered my love for studying History (with a much needed nudge from my mom, as I was struggling with the realization that my goal of becoming a doctor was not going to...

An all-too-common misconception is that there isn’t much for a freshman to do that relates to and builds on the career the student is pursuing. The reality is that there are plenty of ways for first-year students to...

If you have no idea in what you want to major in, just know that you’re not alone. “I want to major in…?” As soon as I started my freshman journey here at UIUC, I didn’t have a clue to what I...

Gender and Women’s Studies has always held a special place in my heart throughout my almost 4 years at U of I. I have been a Gender and Women’s Studies (GWS) major *officially* since the second semester of...

One of the hidden gem majors at UIUC–which people are seldom familiar with when I tell them what I study–is Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS). Within the college of ACES, the #4 HDFS program in the...

No matter what age level or grade in school you are, everything is more different now than it has ever been before. Why I was excited? As a Special Education major, I was looking forward to this year. It was time for me...

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...

Since most of the classes at the University of Illinois this academic year have moved to an online platform, it is important for future and current students to possibly adapt to new note taking skills. I am a big fan of...

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...

For most students this year, like me, we are spending much of our time working from home. Whether home is our actual home, dorm, apartment, or anywhere else that’s not in a classroom, I know the transition can be...

Picture this: we are three weeks into the semester and your professor mentions Exam 1 is in one week. You start to freak out, and go straight back to your dorm after class to start studying. Minutes later, your roommate...

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...

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...

One of the important questions, or in this case, topic, in terms of taking notes during class is either using an actual pen/pencil with paper or your technology device. Depending on your overall process of absorbing...

In my last post, I talked about the projects that I worked on as a part of the WIE-GFX Global Sustainability Scholars class in Costa Rica over winter break, as well as a bunch of the places we visited and the...

During winter break, I had the exciting chance to go on one of my dream trips. Shortly after I applied to University of Illinois last year, I also applied to the WIE-GFX Global Sustainability Scholars program. This...

Several college students are currently faced with the task of choosing courses for the next semester or trimester, depending on their schedule. While picking courses sounds like a simple and even mundane task, it is...

A lot of people decide when they get to college that the major they thought they wanted isn’t for them. In fact, according to our Division of General Studies, over 50% of college students will change their major...

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...