Illinois State University Reviews

"ISU's graduate program was flexible and friendly. All of the classes were organized and not overwhelming. The surrounding area gave plenty of places to quietly study or meet in groups. It was a great experience."

"Tell us about your college experience.The truth is yes. My school was a good fit for me. In the end, I was able to graduate in 4 years and received a double major in 2 fields that I am passionate about. My college experience taught me a lot about myself upon leaving. However, I had thoughts about transferring to a more prestigious college since I had a 3.79 in college.Would you get the same degree if you could start over?Yes, as much as I like my 2 degrees, they are pretty useless. I took political science thinking I would go to law school afterward, but the mistake I honestly made was that if I attempted to get a job with just a Bachelor's in political science, I am not going to get paid in the workforce with much money. The same applies with Theater Studies in Directing. I was originally an acting major, and the acting program was phenomenal. When I had been recommend to change majors, I picked up directing as it still applied to my field and could graduate on time. However, the MFA program for directing was taken more seriously than the BA in Directing.What advice can you offer other students?Look at college majors and look at how much money you can obtain for entry level positions in your field. Let this effect the field you choose to study first. Then, use your strengths. For example, if you're good at mathematics, look at jobs and schools with good mathematics programs or similar fields like Actuary Science. I listened to my heart and chose 2 fields where I would be happy. And even though I obtained good grades, it's tough competing against students who went to more prestigious colleges. At the end of the day, I had to rely on networking. But, now I'm in graduate school at GW as I discovered in my senior year that my calling is in higher education. (Again, a field that doesn't make much money initially. And a field that requires lots of education and debt.) This is why I recommend having a plan or coming up with creative ways with how your degree can be applicable in other ways."

"Tell us about your college experience.Overall my college experience was what I expected it to be. My school was an overall god experience though I wish my degree program was structured a bit better.What advice can you offer other students?Major in something that will be benefitual to the job market, not a soft major."

"The best thing about my grad degree at ISU was that I met my mentor for life here!"

"The graduate program can offer me the opportunity to continue to further my education in a graduate program. Other positive attributes for the program is that it may not be based completely on academics so the program can give every student a fair share of achieving financial aid that can be used toward school or repaying back outstanding loans. I appreciate the graduate program for offering some financial support to students experiencing financial difficulties. The only drawback of the graduate program is that it should consider students who are in need based to be eligible for the program so that students who depend of financial aid can get a chance to receive the awards."

"I feel that my program is very good at making sure the students are learning. All the students have a close relationship with one another. The workload is a lot but that is what is expected in graduate school. The child life program has an internship at the end and the professors help the student get one. They do this by preparing them for applications and interviews. I would say the only con is that we do not have more electives available to us. There is not much choice in what you get to take. I also think that graduate students should have a better parking pass as well. Our sports programs often get in the way of parking and graduate students are left to walk across campus at nighttime."

"I have an excellent graduate program. Every class that I have taken thus far ties in to other classes. I don't feel as if I'm taking classes that are not practical. I love the faculty. The only down side is how small the faculty is. They work really hard for it to be just two professors over Music Therapy."

"Great teachers and structure. The local doesn't provide any cultural environment."

"Faculty wants students to succeed, and shows it. Very passionate academics, and a quality education is attainable for those who work hard."

"I believe that one pro of the graduate program at Illinois State University is that the professors are eager to help you beyond just class time. They want to make sure that your questions are answered and that you understand the material being taught. I also feel that another pro about the program is that this academic competitiveness program keeps you working hard! It is very challenging, and empowers students to do their best work. A con about the program is that most classes are only offered at night. This cuts out of having a social life on campus since many of the activities are after normal school hours since majority of the students are done with their class work. Another con about the program is that financial aide is hard to receive within the graduate program. There are a lot of scholarships for undergraduate work, but not as many for graduate students."