My husband and I came to Champaign for a wedding. Being an alum, my husband was excited to show me…read morethe University of Illinois campus. This was my first time visiting the University of Illinois in many years. He took me around to the Alma Mater Sculpture, the Illini Union, and then we walked around the quad outside of the Illini Union. It is a very nice campus. There were many students and we saw many prospective students going on tours. If you're visiting the Champaign/Urbana area, I recommend taking a scenic walk around the University of Illinois campus.

Terrible graduation parking experience, ZERO traffic control, 6 police officers in the stadium…read moreprotecting 4000 students and 30000 guests, a terrorists wet dream. It's like the school said: we're not getting anymore tuition, it's miller time, go home. What a joke.

I used to promote PC Dental Clinic to everyone. All the chairs used to be occupied by patients…read more Students were guided by teachers who cared. I would go to my regular dentist every 6 months and then Parkland the other 6 months. I have never had pain or bleeding during dental cleanings. I floss every day and do not have any issues that would lead to periodontal disease or bleeding gums. The last few years however, have not been as pleasant. I have also noticed that not all clinic chairs are occupied, which in today's financial climate, I find odd. The last time I went to Parkland my gums were bleeding during probing. I always find probing a pleasant experience and get teased because I think it tickles. I had 2 students working on me because, again, Parkland can't seem to fill patient chairs anymore. One started by telling me my teeth were yellow and zigzagged. I have 3 teeth on the bottom that overlap, otherwise my teeth are fairly straight. I get complements on my "lovely natural looking smile". I am older and my teeth are not as pearly white as they used to be, but are not yellow. I felt those statements were very unprofessional and rude, especially when I haven't heard them before in the last 60 years. Chair side manner must not be taught anymore at Parkland. One student told me that I actually have to move the toothbrush around my mouth to get them clean. She didn't discuss the bass technique or anything else just that I need to move my mechanical toothbrush around my mouth. Gee, I thought I could just place it in there and let it do its thing. Seriously, does she think anyone is that dumb. Then she proceeded to tell me I need orthodontics. Why would a 60 year old, with no issues need ortho? That was completely wrong on her part. The first student had a light touch and was doing a good job. I told her that it seemed like she had been doing this for years. The other one had a heavy hand and was leaning on my jaw. I have TMJ, so it was very uncomfortable. When I winced and shifted in the chair, the instructor came over and reinforced bad technique and lectured me for being rude. She then proceeded to "rake me over the coals" for being rude to the other girl. I never said anything to her; I just didn't complement her like I did the first girl. I felt the instructor was very rude and unprofessional. She definitely lost her cool and blamed the entire thing on me, the patient. It's my body and my choice and having never experienced such heavy handed cleanings before, I have the right to say, "Hey that hurts." If I had bleeding gums at every dental visit, I would agree, there's a problem. But if it's only every other visit at PC, I would say it's technique. As an instructor you should be guiding safe and effective techniques, not reinforcing bad habits and behavior and blaming the patient for responding to pain. How else do they learn? I never bleed after dental visits at my regular dentist, why are some students shredding my gums. My gums bled for 3 days after this visit. I understand that they are students; I was once a student as I am a retired dental health professional. I'll bet they didn't know that and proceeded to blame the patient instead of constructively educating the student. I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO PARKLAND. Not because they are students, but because the current teaching staff have a lot to learn about teaching future Hygienists. I think all the good ones must have retired.

Parkland has moved more, & more of their classes online. I fear that one day all of their class…read morewill be online only, those seem to be the only class they don't cancel. My sibling have been going here for three years now and every semester their is a least one class that has been canceled. I've heard they have had declining attendance for 8 years straight and if that is true then it really shows.

Went for a concert, the lines to enter went fast. We had to stop and ask for directions to the…read morebathroom and we're to go in for our seats, everyone was very nice. Once we got to the door there was an usher to take us to our seats. There were no lines for the bathroom. And everywhere was clean. They had the food stands open, plus alcohol if someone wanted to drink. And parking was super cheap!

I'm definitely biased because I work here but I love GSLIS. Coming off of a BS at the University of…read moreIllinois, I was really wary of another huge campus, small fish in a big pond experience. However, this school is nestled very nicely within the larger University administration without all of the anonymity of most programs. I was able to get an assistantship in my first year (with the fabulous Help Desk) and found that most classes were insightful and well timed. I look forward to seeing where this school is headed and will always remain a proud alumna!

Great state of the art facility, funded by the very generous Thomas Siebel. A lot of the research…read morethat changes the world goes on in this facility. It's spacious, busy yet quiet, and full of amazing people working all day long.

The best building for learning computer science. This is where I had many difficult times, but…read moreended up learning more than at any point in my life. I owe my career to this building.

This is a great alternative to the bookstores on campus…read more It's a forum to buy and sell textbook much like one would on Craigslist. What makes this system so unique, is that it's run by the students, for the students. After creating a free account at www.illinibookexchange.com, you are immediately able to buy and/or sell textbooks from/to other students. Because there is no dealing with the middle-man (i.e. campus bookstores), you're able to buy a textbook for less than you would on campus, and sell them to other students for more than you would be able to sell them to any bookstore on campus (as you'll be setting the price). There is no transaction fee, either, so the list price of the book is the most you would need to pay. Like Craigslist, you set up a time with the person you're dealing with (I suggest a public location such as just inside the Illini Union Bookstore, the Union, etc.), exchange cash/book, and you're good to go! Additionally, many students are willing to negotiate prices, so you may even get a better price than the one listed. Obviously, certain risks exist for this system, such as the fact you won't be able to sell your textbook (you will be competing with other students looking to sell their textbook as well, mind you), there is no quality control regarding the condition of the book, stuff like that. CAVEAT! Many people utilize this as a means to get older versions of course packets, older editions of textbooks, etc. which is all fine and dandy (and also a lot cheaper than having to splurge on a brand new, hard cover edition of a book where the content is the exact same), but keep in mind, you then run the risk of not having the adequate materials. Make sure to check with professors beforehand if using an older edition (especially of course packets) is okay, or if they've changed up the syllabus much over the semesters.

Had a visit at the Illinois College of Law on the main campus at Urbana-Champaign. Very nice…read morebuilding at the corner of the campus...loads of grounds and roomy. There are really two sections in the law building...on the right as you enter the front you have the law library taking up most of the first floor and a significant portion of the second. The main reading room in the law library is stunning...rows of large tables with beautiful lamps. The library has mostly these tables for the students in the reading room as there are only a few of the more private carrels for students. Surrounding the library perimeter on the outside are the administration and faculty offices on floors two and three. On the left side of the building just the other side of the common reception area when you enter are the seminar and lecture rooms, and the main auditorium. These are all nice but somewhat dated facilities. The law library has stood up to time better. Illinois Law had an unfortunate incident a few years back where a single admissions person phonied up some admission numbers to make the school look more selective than it was. It was unfortunate because the school really did not need that push as it and its faculty were well regarded and, in the end, the school took a bit of a hit in enrollment for a short time. The school still has a distinguished faculty and remains a force in law schools...it just has to live past the PR nightmare. We were out looking at law schools and stopped by for a visit...our self guided tour of the facilities was fine. My only complaint was when we went to see the admissions people, they were all out to lunch. You'd think a major program at the State's flagship school would have at least one person sitting there to answer the telephone and hand out brochures, especially since campus was pretty busy with a lot of undergraduate tours and orientation. This did not reflect a sense of urgency. Still and all a neat law school in Illinois.

My decision to study at this College rests entirely on its professional staff and hard working…read moreprofessors. Those here with few exception encouraged me and offered thought provoking insight into varied and difficult topics, which are of personal importance, in our world today.

I'm absolutely THRILLED with Mathnasium of Champaign! My daughter is a 3rd grader, was testing at…read morethe first grade level in math, and scored in the 7th percentile on Aimsweb scores in August 2020. Recently, her fall Aimsweb scores were sent to me and she tested in the 24th percentile and her 9 week grade for math at her school was an A-. As a special education teacher, I was ecstatic to see this improvement! I would HIGHLY recommend Mathnasium to any student who is struggling with math!

My daughter went to Mathnasium for 6 months. She has improved not only in her skills, but in her…read moreattitude and confidence towards math. She enjoyed going to her sessions each week, challenging herself and setting her own goals for getting through her cards. I would highly recommend Mathnasium to anyone who struggles with math!

I attended a workshop for the software Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) at the National Center for…read moreSupercomputing Applications (NCSA) the 5th thru the 10th of June 2016. We focused on the physics used in QMC, potential applications in physics not statistics, and had hands-on time were we worked though exercises using the software on a supercomputer. Getting to use the software ourselves while learning about/how to use it was awesome. Some workshop participants came with applications already in mind and used their extra time to run those simulations. I was working on finishing a project and writing a paper using Density Functional Theory at the time and so chose to stick with the exercises provided as part of the workshop. NCSA is a perfect venue for a small workshop, it has meeting rooms with projectors as well as a common area with moveable tables and chairs. We used the common area for meals and discussions as well as a poster session. Bulletin boards were available for the poster session, which workshop conveners arranged in a line side-by-side. It was nice getting to talk with the people presenting posters in a line. Didn't feel like any of the presenters were pushed off in a corner and forgotten. I stayed on-campus at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign and liked the walk between our lodging for the workshop and the NCSA Building. The campus is large and spread out and I enjoyed getting to take in the University's landscaping and architecture on my way to/from each day's events. Zero complaints.

My son just completed his ninth year at Holy Cross (K - 8) and if I had to go back, I would…read moreABSOLUTELY choose Holy Cross again. School: There were realistic ups and downs which you will find at any school (and in LIFE!) I loved my kid's classmates and teachers. The other parents are supportive. The school (and the parish) has a working-class vibe to it (more working-class, less country club), which I am VERY comfortable with, because I come from a family of teachers, police officers, & firefighters. The student body is diverse (the outgoing 8th grade class was ~30% children of color). Scouting and band are our two favorite extracurriculars! Academics are the focus of this school. I am a public school teacher in Champaign, and I feel like a lot my time and energy is focused on behavior issues (which, unfortunately, leaves less time for teaching and learning). The kids at Holy Cross are still "squirrels" but they are not running the show. The Parish too... The biggest plus is that the whole family is now a part of a greater, Christ-centered community. We are a mixed-family: one protestant, 2 Catholics. We are known and loved, through our child, and through fun volunteer work for the school and the parish. It's actually changed my life for the better. When my kid was in Kindergarten I was a Catholic by name-only, and pretty-much living my life as an atheist. Without anybody hounding or harassing me, just by attending Mass and learning how to pray I've willingly come back into full communion with the church... and it's better than ANYTHING. (If you're on the fence, church is not about rules... it's about love and worship). Come on in! And make sure you volunteer for all the stuff... working together makes it feel like you're part of the family. : )

We chose Holy Cross School for our children when searching for options before our oldest entered…read morekindergarten 3 years ago. We couldn't be happier. First things first: the academic environment is outstanding. My kids are thriving with a challenging curriculum combined with a teaching philosophy that leads to lots of personal attention. Their classrooms set high standards for behavior, which means that not only are they learning in a comfortable environment, they are also developing skills in self-discipline, personal responsibility, and respect that are going to last them a lifetime. It's clearly working not just for my kids, because the average student at Holy Cross School is performing about 12 months ahead of their peers elsewhere. The best part for our family, however, are the things that are taking place beyond the typical academic courses. There is a huge emphasis on service - the classes take turns bringing fresh fruit and milk every week to the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen, and classes at every grade level make community service a central focus of their time (assisting and visiting the elderly, feeding the hungry, helping the Humane Society, etc.) I can't overstate how awesome it is to have a school partner that is so invested in helping create kids who know how important service to others is, and who take a look at the world around them and want to know how to help. Another big difference I've seen with Holy Cross School is the effort they put into healthy peer relationships and a joyful, supportive school culture. They pair younger kids with older student mentors starting in kindergarten, and have a great multiage/multigrade "house" program for those especially tough middle school years. Holy Cross is a Catholic school but it's about as diverse a group of students as you could expect to find, which is another nice bonus for us. All kinds of faith backgrounds, many different family backgrounds, so it creates a very welcoming community for anyone and everyone. They are launching a preschool program for 2014-2015, so while the school is K-8 now, it will soon be for 3 year olds through 8th grade.