Higher education plays a huge part in our world today, but is college worth it? It depends. Here are some things to consider as you decide if going to college is a good plan for you. What can college do for you...
Category - College Prep
Balancing What You Want to Do vs. What’s Expected of You
Maybe your family is full of critically acclaimed authors, but you’ve always preferred writing code to writing stories. Maybe you’ve said you wanted to be a doctor since you were three but have found a new passion after...
“What Should I Major In?” Here’s How to Choose a College Major
Choosing one of the many college majors out there can be a huge source of anxiety. Maybe you have a gut feeling about what you want to study in college. Maybe your gut is telling you to start heading toward the ice...
How to Succeed in High School so You’re Set for Life
Everyone likes to talk about the best ways to succeed in adult life, but they may fail to mention how you can use your high school experience to prepare yourself for that wonderful post-graduation future. Here’s the...
A UIUC Parent’s Guide: 10 Things to Do Before Your Child Applies
Is your child considering the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in their college search? If so, this post was written especially for you! Read on for 10 ways you can learn more about our university and help...
Worried You’re Choosing the Wrong College?
Right now, you probably feel like you’re being forced to make decisions that will determine the course of the rest of your life. We’re here to tell you that they won’t—and that you’re going to be fine! While it might...
The College Application Process: 7 Ways to Organize Your College Apps
Our word of the day is higgledy-piggledy. Definition: what the college application process will be like if you’re not organized. We know you’ve got a ton going on already, and there are probably a lot of things you’d...
50 Questions to Ask on a College Visit
College visits can be overwhelming. You may step foot on your first-ever tour with no idea how to get the most out of it, what you should pay attention to, or what questions to ask. We don’t want you to feel that way...
Standardized Test-Taking Strategies: How to Triumph!
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will remain test-optional this year, meaning that high school students applying for fall 2024 admission aren’t required to submit SAT or ACT results. In some cases, a...
College Road Map: Your Guide to Planning for College
1. Talk to your high school counselor about your college goals. Chances are that your counselor is one of your high school’s best-kept secrets. Even if it’s not required, talking to your counselor is a great...
A Vacation From Vacations: 6 Reasons Why You Should Consider Summer Programs at UIUC
At first glance, going to school during the summer may seem completely backwards. After a year spent studying and scrambling over homework, why repeat the process when you could finally be sleeping in instead? But...
How to Make the Most of Your UIUC Campus Visit
You’ve signed up for your UIUC campus visit! Well done. If you and your Aunt Sue are heading all the way over to Champaign-Urbana, you’re going to want to make the most of your time there. Here’s how. How to Dress...
How to Prepare for College in the U.S. as an International Student
Making the decision to attend college in another country can be daunting. If you’re left wondering what you need to do to get ready, you’ve come to the right place! We’re here to help you learn about how to prepare for...
High School Tips: How to Get the Most Out of Your High School Experience
You probably had some vision of what “high school” looked like when you were little, but actually being a high school student is a whole different story. It can be weird, and even a little scary, to be at a point in...
The application is in … now what?
Applying to college and deciding where to spend the next four years of your education is important, just like how the application process is important. Getting caught up in the stress of it is easy, but recognizing that...
Search Not-Quite-Party: How to Navigate the COVID-19 Pandemic as a Future College Student
Life as we know it is fundamentally different from how it was last year. What’s happening right now is. not. normal. No matter what we say, all of you know that’s true, and to brush past what’s going on does a...
Things to Look For On a College Visit
Walking into my first college visit was one of the scariest moments of my high school career. I remember being so anxious that my hands were shaking and my lips felt glued shut. That anxiety led to me not hear a single...
5 Ways to Prepare for UIUC as an International Student
Making sure you’re ready for the college of your choice is always a challenge—especially when that college is in a different country! Today we’re giving you 5 things you can do right now to prepare for the University of...
The Hardest Goodbye
Four years ago, I was asked by Illinois Undergraduate Admissions to join a student blogging team. This blog, they said, would reach college seniors in their search for their collegiate home. Writing has always been...
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”...
