University of Illinois at Chicago – UIC

My undergraduate degree in biology was such an amazing experience! My professor deserve a million dollars each! Staff is soooo helpful and school overall had awesome scholarship and grant opportunities for me that my debt was not huge!

Do make sure you research the hell out of the college you choose. Orientations do not tell the whole story.
I graduated from here in 2015. This school is not an Ivy League school however, there are Ivy League professors here which help to make the curriculum somewhat better than par.
If you want a degree and do not care about what your school looks like or is known for, then this is your university.
If you are like me, a transfer student from a community college with a high GPA, do yourself a favor, for another $ 40k in loans or FA, go apply to the University of Chicago, Northwestern, Dupage, etc. it will be most worth it and at least you won’t have to deal with subpar administrators who are way overpaid. Let me be clearer here, if you are hardworking and do not get a full scholarship to UIC, think really carefully.
I felt like a got a really good education at UIC thanks to the professors, no thanks to the administration or advisors which could not figure out how to apply my transfer credits for the 2 YEARS I went here. I had to check in constantly to make sure they fixed there errors and gave me the credit I earned.
If you transfer in, good luck getting Latin Honors because transfer GPA does not Count towards receiving the honors. Only UIC GPA which means if you had taken your principles at UIC then fine, but because you transferred in and may have a high overall GPA, you still won’t get Latin recognition. This was a big deal at the time for me so, yeah this point is a bit subjective, but important to share for others looking to transfer
Also, this college does not offer winter courses and if you take the summer session courses, they will lump both sessions together however, they bill you separately which may not be a big deal, which it isn’t but, if you are a GPA chaser, this lowers your GPA overall because of the combining of both sessions on your transcript.
The campus is not well up to date. Elevators always on the fritz, the yellowing walls and concrete has a penitentiary like appearence. Not a lot of color in the older buildings. Always felt bad for the engineering students because the engineering building was so outdated.
However, administrator salaries are not outdated, which is sad because the professors really do deserve better not the admins. The strike effected me for a week and we still had to take the final even though we lost classroom time and the money paid for those hours. That was fun.
Clubs are awesome, people were always friendly. All in all, I probably will look back and say I should of went to …

Guest lecturing a for the MBA program today. As they say, «in the land of the blind the one eyed man is king». They are an inquisitive bunch. I need a nap!

As an undergraduate student, I would not recommend UIC to most. The facilities at UIC are mostly worn down and unkept. As a science major, the labs were unsatisfactory because the equipment and labs were rusty and old. Most of the students there do not try very hard and I have witnessed lots of cheating in my classes during the first year I went there. I did not feel proud to be a UIC student at any point. Everyone and their mother is some form of premed student. Most of those kids do not know what they are getting into either. I mean all that matters is that doctors make the big bucks right? The quality of the education did not reach my expectations either. Most of the professors and TAs in the Science field don’t care about you. They are either more enveloped with their research or flat out don’t care. I have only interacted with one genuine professor in the English department out of all my classes.
You have to really work hard in order to succeed, but this is true for whatever you do in life. UIC doesn’t make this easier for their students. What really made me angry was the teacher’s strike that occurred in the year of 2013 – 2014 school year. Only a few classes were missed and finals exams were not effected for the spring semester, but it really goes to show how UIC doesn’t care about their professors either. Pay them more and maybe the students don’t get hurt as a result. I feel like the administration is screwing everyone else and we are all just a number in their system. In my experiences, the LAS advisors I have met were incompetent. The education is cheap for what it is worth and I respect all the commuters and community college transfers. The commuters are another downfall to this school. As a result to the majority of commuter students, weekends are dead and campus life is on a decline. The lack of community is a let down for such a great location. You can make friends and definitely be involved with extracurriculars, but the opportunities are low. This sounds over generalized so I will say that there are people who make lots of friends. The diversity is a great thing at UIC, but I don’t not feel it is cultivated at all. The diversity is there, but there isn’t much mixing of any ethnic group or race. I also over hear or read about racist or insensitive remarks about x race. The University just diversity for the sake of diversity. I love diversity, but their diversity feels a little fake.
The residence halls are hit or miss depending on where you stay. East campus is run down, smelly, and dirty for the most part. West Campus has a commute that is undesirable to most. South Campus is of the highest living quality and I would recommend living there. I have stayed at West Campus and it was a pleasurable experience. I recommend trying your hardest to get involved with school and make the most out of it. UIC has great opportunities to be a RA or PM if you show you are involved and genuine. Contribute and give back to the school and community. Most students give nothing back and don’t give two shits about their own school. Food around campus is great. Food on campus is bad. The dining halls are gross. I have had better food at my high school and I pay less there. It’s funny to see the residence halls try to spark up school spirit. The efforts are fruitless and I applaud their effort. UIC needs some spirit and life.
After my first year, I transferred to UIUC and I can tell you there is a BIG difference in how things are run down there. YOU CANNOT COMPARE UIC TO UIUC (for undergrad). I could go on more about this topic, but I won’t. Name really does matter. For the most part though, it’s what you put into your education most importantly. I did well for my first year as an undergraduate so anyone else can. All in all, this review is just one man’s opinion, but the facts are there too. The negatives outweigh the positives. Most people that will disagree with me either are probably UIC students or alumni. Every has different experiences. Maybe they are in denial? I have been through UIC and can compare it to other colleges. Now if you are considering any graduate programs or in a GPPA program. Disregard this review. There are a lot of changes UIC needs and I would have love to stay and try to do something about it, but in the end I am just another selfish UIC student looking after only myself I guess.

Some of the buildings do look depressing, but they made major renovations on Douglas, Lincoln, and Grant Hall, which looks fantastic. I’m sure they are not done yet. It’s an affordable school and you get what you pay for.
Now, for academics, it really depends on the professors. Some of the professors are a hit or a miss. I learned that bad professors stay at this school because of their reputation and the same goes for the good professors. Students hear it and they will talk about it.
For the college experience, it really all depends on you. In my opinion, UIC does not have that college experience. It’s best to seek it on your own or with a group of friends.
The people here are not that open to each other, but you will find a few of those that are and they are great to talk to and even be friends with. I hate to say it, but it is like high school when it comes to meeting people. I get one of the most strangest looks whenever I talk to people outside my race. Then again, every school has those and it is not much different in the real world. Good luck undergraduates and have a good life.

If you’re looking for a place that never has the bathroom stalls equipped with such amenities as available toilet paper; you’re in luck! This place never has any rolls available. Good thing the floor is absolutely littered with it though just in case you do actually need for some.
I often wonder if this school has any janitorial staff at all.
Soap dispensers are constantly empty, garbage cans full, etc.
Not to mention that the motion «sensing» faucets fail to pick up your waving hands for a minute before they decide to work… If they even decide to work at all.
The bathrooms have also mysteriously all lost their coat hook in the stalls in the Library. Which made it really convenient this past winter with all the many layers and no place to put them while using the bathroom.
The waste bins are all mixed together be it recycling or trash. Or they’ll only have a plastic recycling bin available on the entire floor. Which is useful when you only have paper recyclables.
Many of the schools buildings are literally crumbling apart (take a closer look at UH) and the buildings have one temperature; excessive. Be it way to hot or way to cold this place knows how to make for a comfortable learning environment.

Horrible experience going to school as an undergraduate here. There are so many problems with this school. It is broken down, depressing, and frankly not worth your money. Sure, you get your degree– and maybe you’ll enjoy some classes. The students here aren’t very open to each other and the «college experience» the school claims to have is nothing more than fake enthusiasm — trying to be something they’re not. I’m lucky to have met some wonderful people here though
The campus grounds are horrible during winter. Beware if you are a commuter– it might take forever to get here and to class because of snow and ice.

I have attended UIC for the past 3 years and it was a big mistake. Part of the my problem was I got the idea that UIC was like UIUC or Iowa or better than NIU, which in reality it is not, but worse. The buidlings are terrible, dank, dark and very dirty. I would get lost in BSB and SES and both buildings are so depressing. The campus is really crowded during the day and it is hard to find a place to sit and study on campus. Someone told me that there 3000 more students than previous years.
This is a real sink or swim place with most Profs. and College advisers care too little. It feels more like a poorly kept junior college, than a 4 year research University.
I just do not know what is the value of an UIC degree in poly sci. or anthro. I just did not get the feeling that I was part of the excellent school that was going places. UIC has this old mediocre feel and school spirit for sports is non-​existent. The best thing I can say is that it is cheaper than most schools, but you do get what you pay for.

yeah i go to school here. and.
everything — i mean almost everything except for a few buildings that were renovated recently — are filthy, old, nasty; lazy, inconvenient, inconsistent, illogical, and nobody gives a shit, all the way down from janitors upto school administrators .
i generally dont want to talk anything bad about people who do hard labors like janitors, who for the most part get paid low wage for kind of work they do and we couldnt function without their work.
that being said,
there are a lot of janitors and environment cleaners who are constantly ‘cleaning’ or hiding around in empty classes and act like cleaning whenever i am in class… and the best part? nothing is clean. i’ve never seen school with so many janitors and every class room is filthy.
as far as facilities go, there are a few renovated buildings that are clean, but most buildings and classrooms smell like land looks like sewer.
as for professors and TAs, i don’t really care if they have accent or whatever since i have one too, but it is another problem if they can’t properly communicate the material we are suppose to master, and since they take forever to formulate words in attempt to teach us, we just waste time and get no time to ask questions, or get hesitant to ask questions about what they just said because we dont feel like offending them.
most professors teach like you should know this stuff already attitude especially as you go 300+ courses. i mean… why the hell am i paying to LEARN in this school if i already knew everything? and the best part is 99% of professors rewrite textbook on lecture sessions like we are kindergarten who could not read. they dont teach, they are just there and they dont give a shit and they make it obvious.
ive taken all kinds of courses, and most 100 level courses are stupid easy,
and some advanced courses are stupid hard, like clueless-​most-​of-​the-​time hard, because professors talk to you like they are giving a conference to another group of professors.
all that being said, i must say ive learned some of the most important lessons in my life by going through this school —
1. patience
2. study textbook on your own and dont really need to attend lecture to ace the course
3. be able to tell professors are agitated or not every other week.
4. be able to understand all kinds of broken english spoken by non-​native english speakers
5. be able to pay attention to lecture with foul sewer smell in every classroom.
6. go to office hours and professors are rarely available.
7. get tested on exam about topics professors said we are skipping or should not worry about.
8. get tested on advanced topic that has little relevance to original topic we were learning.
9. get B with 60% average or C with 45%, due to some seriously heavy curve.
10. did i say study your own yet? i MEAN it…
overall, if you are into getting liberal arts or business major, UIC is not really that bad since they are easy, but if you are aspiring to become engineer or into some hard facts based science majors, i recommend you attend non-​research university.

Lots of smart people roaming around but boy is the engineering building out of date :(I am taking a couple classes here (post graduate level work) and so my view may not be similar to that of an 18 year old undergrad that lives here…

I attended UIC from 2001 — 2004 as an LAS Economics major, Criminal Justice minor student. I also complete the additional coursework for the Undergraduate Certificate in the Teaching of Economics (UCTE) and was member of the Honors College.
Overall, I really enjoyed my experience. I felt the LAS College was a bit disfunctional, but it is the largest bureaucracy on campus. I felt the College of Business was very good, however, and believe it compares favorably with other institutions with «higher rankings». I think UIC is a liberal university and embraces its Chicago roots. The student body is also very diverse — many students of Asian origin (including Indian). Very welcoming all demographics. I felt the school was also very military friendly and is a great school for transitioning service men and women. I really felt the economics and criminal justice departments were top knotch! Econ is very math-​based and theoretical at UIC and less «applied». I will note that the school has a strong research focus and not a school that «prides» itself on teaching. UIC teaches many courses through TAs, which I didn’t like, but that is not the case at the upper classman levels or 300 and 400 courses (full-​time PhDs). Great place to attend graduate school too. I never felt crazy overwhelmed, but I definitely believe I earned my degree at the same time. Very good balance in that regard.
Campus lacks school spirit and would benefit from more competitive sports programs. I’m looking forward to the new Curtis Granderson Field (brand new baseball park). Commuter Campus tag is accurate and also leads to a very un-​engaged, dull campus environment/​life. Chicago is a great city, school has convenient access to public transportation, the 290 express way, a large full-​time police force, and is well maintained. Very «blah» campus. Chicago’s West-​side I don’t personally think is very exciting, but there’s stuff to see around and they have revitalized the Maxwell Street, Roosevelt Area — «University Village» which is very nice. I
I would highly recommend UIC at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and believe it is a great value school. I honestly believe the quality of education is on par with many, many larger, more recognized schools and far exceeds what it is given credit for.
Go to UIC and don’t look back!

I went to UIC from the Fall of 2006 to the Spring of 2008. I was a History major. My experience at this school was terrible. The lecture halls were way too big and most of the classes I had had way too many people in them. Many of the classes I took there were such a waste of time. Most of the teachers I had weren’t very good and a majority of the T.A.‘s I had were bad. I wasted two years of my life at this place. I transferred to Columbia College Chicago and I went there from the Fall of 2008 to the Fall of 2010. My experience there was much better than my time at UIC ever was.

I had such a great undergraduate experience that I came back here to work! As a suburban kid who grew up in the cornfields of northern Illinois, I craved for the type of experience that UIC could offer — solid academics, a diverse and welcoming student body, while in a city that offers tremendous cultural, social and economic opportunities. I was a double major Liberal Arts student.
The English department was top notch with a program that matched students with local writing internships (which resulted in my first job after college). As a sophomore political science student, I worked with an Illinois state representative (who also taught my class), and met several local politicians during Dick Simpson’s Future of Chicago lecture series.
I also was fortunate to get involved on campus through Volleyball, Alternative Spring Break, and the College Democrats, where I met most of my lasting friends from college.
I see some of these other reviews and definitely agree UIC is a place where you need to step up to get involved, but it offers a great experience for those who don’t mind expending a little effort.

The elevators in SES never work. As a handicapped friend, this is unacceptable.

I really enjoyed school life here from freshman to senior, gonna graduate soon. Bye-​bye, my loved university. UIC, your the best !!!

Honestly I am now a graduate from the bioengineering department and I was not overly impressed with this university as a whole. I started my degree at ASU where the tuition was much less and the labs and facilities were 1000x better. I don’t think that they have updated anything for the engineering department in some time. I did have some professors that were good but most were barely okay. Overall, I’d look elsewhere before pursuing engineering at UIC

I’m a huge fan of UIC as they send thousands of dollars to my bank account every month.
What more can one really ask for? In exchange, I show up Monday-​Friday and listen to people’s computer problems and then walk back to my office and forget about them. I kid!
In all seriousness, it’s a great place to work, a great place to go to school, and just an all-​around great place. It gets a bad rap sometimes because 50 year olds went to school here when it was in the middle of hell and was a glorified community college. While some of the buildings may still look the same, this is an entirely different place.
The residence halls house thousands of students and many of the brutalist buildings have been remodeled inside (and some outside) and the campus has greenery and trees everywhere. Instead of being in the middle of hell, it’s surrounded by Greektown, a thriving west loop, a resurgent Taylor Street and million dollar homes in University Village.
I think that any student interested in skipping the college corn field experience should look closely at UIC. While you’re in the middle of everything, it isn’t quite as urban as Columbia or other downtown schools. UIC has athletic fields and green grass and everything your standard corn field campus has, packed nicely into a few miles just west of downtown.

My perspective of UIC is one of a post-​bac (non-​degree seeking graduate) student taking science pre-​requisites for medical school. I graduated from DePaul and have also taken some classes at Loyola (as a result of being raked over the coals at UIC actually…) So I’d say I’ve made the rounds as far as city universities go.
I can sum up UIC basic science courses with a few choice words, MANY lazy cheating students and probably just as many apathetic professors who care more about their research than any student they teach. I witnessed cheating first-​hand in EVERY single course I took there, and when a group of cheaters were caught red-​handed in my Gen. Chem course, the professor opted NOT to report them to the university, instead giving our entire class of over 200 students, a whole new test. For an honest student like myself, my blood boiled when that happened. (By the way people! ALL these little cheating bastards are trying to become your doctors, pharmacists and nurses. Talk about scary!!!)
Also, be aware that if you choose to do the non-​degree path for pre-​reqs to any professional school (and I encountered many fellow non-​degree people along the way), you get last in line registration priority, which means that every single semester, every single class I needed was closed long before I ever got to register. Keep in mind, you are paying graduate tuition for undergraduate courses, and nobody there gives a damn if you get into the class you need or not. There is no such thing as an override either, so when no spots open up, you will be told «Sorry, you’re screwed» by the head of the Chemistry department just like I was. So I said «Screw you too UIC!» and took that tuition money and used it at Loyola.
Two stars because my list of cons has far exceeded my pros for this place. If 2010 Margaret could go back in time and talk to 2008 Margaret, she’d say «Go to any other school NOT named UIC.»
On a final note, famous architect or not, the crackhead who designed the Science and Engineering buildings (and many other campus buildings) is a moron. After 2 years, I still got lost in SES looking for a professor’s office, the interior of that building is straight out of an M.C. Escher drawing.

Oh man, I love UIC. I am speaking from the viewpoint of a transfer and English major (after skimming the reviews, I’ve found this is important).
From an English major and transfers perspective, here is a simple plus/​minus list.
minus
–ADMINISTRATION confusing, confused, uninformed, angry, unavailable.
–Some programs, I’ve heard, are fairly disorganized. I can’t tell which for certain, but from my peripheral the Spanish department and Education department were not-​so-​good. I’m sure if you read the low ratings you can get an idea for what might not be working…
–architecture
plus
–Cost
–instructors (depending on your program)
–the diversity of the student body
–the mission of UIC (very centered on diversity)
–location
–library
–writing center
This school gave me an amazing liberal arts education, and truly prepared me for graduate school.
However, it is such a big school… you need to research your program and professors… I sought out professors that were challenging and engaged, and they delivered.

I’ve been putting off this review for awhile just because I can’t really decide what to say. Everyone at this university has two different experiences at this place: good and bad. There really isn’t ever an in between at UIC; just good and bad. And everyone has both — you can’t escape the bad.
I can’t give this place less than four stars because I’d be a hater. I’m now the proud recipient of a Bachelor of Arts degree in French Literature and an Illinois state teaching certificate holder. Can you really, honestly hate a place that gives you a degree? I didn’t think so.
First thing’s first: French Department. Awesome. The department is small and the professors are great. They are all experts in language and literature and I could not imagine learning from any other scholars. They are definitely amazing and I owe most of my French knowledge to them (shout out to McClure and Ireland). All of the students in the department were always nerdy and in love with French so it’s a good crowd of people to have around you during your time at UIC. Administration of this department is great because they are your professors — they know you so it’s easy to have access to advice. I’ve never had any logistical problems with the major.
English Department. Great. I absolutely loved all of my professors (especially Nilges and Benn Michaels). The curriculum is well-​organized and offers a huge variety of classes for every area of interest. I was an English Theory major and I loved every minute of it (requirements changed last minute and I wasn’t allowed to graduate with the degree… long story). The administration of this department isn’t exactly functioning but I think they made the right decision by hiring the current Undergraduate Studies Director. There was a lack of communication between the department and majors before this current placement, so a lot of people got screwed.
Education. Blah. I enjoyed some of the professors but the Secondary Education program is horrible. Sure, you usually never learn anything in education classes anyway, but these classes were definitely more than worthless. The Secondary Ed people can never seem to communicate or coordinate with Liberal Arts and Sciences which makes it impossible to get anything done. The process to become a teacher is made up of a bunch of hoops to jump through and nothing more. A lot of it is pure formality and not actually worth anything. Don’t bother complaining to anyone in this department because none of them care. They won’t answer e-​mails, phones, etc.
Performing Arts Department. Stellar. Superior. Under the direction of Dr. Michael Anderson. Need I say more? I didn’t major in music but I was in choir the entire time I was at UIC and I loved every single second of it. I could not have asked for a better experience or a better group of people to work with. The department is great, the professors are amazing and the choirs are excellent.
Administration. Shitty. Sure, it’s true of all bureaucracies. There is absolutely no communication between departments and it’s almost impossible to get a problem solved. Granted, a lot of the staff members of the «standard» office positions are a lot less stupid and annoying than other companies (namely CPS) that does not mean they’re not stupid and annoying. Don’t go to the Financial Aid office. Just don’t. You know what? Don’t go anywhere in SSB. It’s worthless and frustrating and horrible. Also, don’t bother going to an adviser if you’re in the college of LAS. They usually don’t know what they’re doing and they give a lot of bad advice. Read your student Course Handbook, pick your classes wisely and stay out of the third floor of UH.
Study Abroad. Great. I enjoyed my study abroad experience and the staff was OK to work with. It was a bit frustrating before we left on our trips to work with all of the staff members but it was great once we were abroad. There were very few e-​mails and most of us usually took our questions straight to our UIC professors or department heads instead of bothering with the Study Abroad staff. You’ll have an awesome experience so do it. It’s worth it.
Housing. Ridiculous. In a good way, of course. There’s very few spaces (3500 now?) but the dorms are fun as hell. I lived in MRH for one year and it was great (who doesn’t love apartment-​style housing as a freshman?!). We also lived in Presidential Towers in the Loop because MRH closed for one year so that was also amazing. 40^th floor of a high-​rise apartment building — it really doesn’t get better than that, especially when UIC footed most of the bill. Most of my friends now love the dorms and they speak very highly of MRH/​TBH and JST.
Of course, not all is bad at UIC. I cannot even begin to write about all of the thousands of good times that I had at this university. I loved my undergraduate experience and I would choose UIC all over again if I could.