Good Education, Good Price, Good to be at EIU
Written: Aug 11 '03 (Updated Nov 25 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: reasonable tuition, small classes, nice teachers, plentiful computer labs
Cons: single section upper-division classes, parking far from classes, super size puddles, Internet access unreliable
The Bottom Line: If you want a good education at a good price EIU is for you.
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| barnes81's Full Review: Eastern Illinois University |
I am a senior at Eastern Illinois University in the school of business majoring in Accounting. This school year is my second at EIU. I transferred to EIU from Parkland Community College in Champaign. Unlike most students at Eastern I don't live on or near campus. I commute from Champaign, an hour away, the days I have classes or there's something else I want to do there. As such my perspective will be a little different than that of most students, but one that I think will be valuable to you as you consider Eastern as a possible college choice.
Eastern Illinois University has just under 11,000 students and is located in Charleston. As I said before, it's about an hour South of Champaign. It's about 3-4 hours away from Chicago, where many of Eastern's students come from. The campus is compact, which means it doesn't take too long to get almost anywhere on campus (unless you live in Greek Court or Carman Hall [freshman dorm] which are rather far out from everything else.)
Great things about Eastern
Class Sizes:
Most of the classes are small, about 30 students in a typical class. According to the EIU website, 91% of classes have 40 or fewer students. In my time there I've had 15 classes and only 1 large lecture class, so it appears that my experience is better than average. You have actual teachers teaching the classes, unlike many other schools. There are Graduate Assistants, but they do tutoring, help with exams in large classes, administer the teacher evaluations, and behind the scenes type things.
Tuition:
The tuition at Eastern is very reasonable, among the lowest you will find in Illinois. Annual Tuition and Fees now run a little over $5,000 a year for an in-state student. If you live on campus you will pay around $5,000 a year for that depending on what meal plan you choose.
Teachers:
I have generally found the teachers to be very nice. I've almost always been able to get help when I've needed it. The teachers know their subjects well, and present their material in a way that is understandable.
Computer Labs:
Lumpkin Hall (the building for the business classes) and the Library have plenty of computers in their labs. I've always been able to find one when I want to use one. It was definitely not this way at my community college. The quality of the network connection on these computers could be better, though.
Recreation:
At Eastern they have a bowling alley in the Union and a Rec center for your recreation. The Rec center has basketball and volleyball courts, free weights and weight machines, a jogging track, exercise bikes, treadmills, ping pong tables, and coolest of all, a rock-climbing like machine that has rocks attached to a belt that goes around as you climb up it. I enjoy it, although it took me a little while to get the hang of it. Now if they'd only get a real rock climbing wall with the harnesses and everything. Well on second thought, they'd probably have to hike our student fees a lot to pay for it. Just a thought.
Eastern renovated its bowling alley a couple years ago. It now has automated scoring (with humorous animations) and even cosmic bowling. It costs about $2 a game to play. They have a few video games in the bowling alley area, but they could definitely use more of them. You'll also find billiard tables there as well. Billiard tables and game machines can also be found in some dorms as well.
Not so good things about Eastern
Single Section, Single Teacher Upper-Division Classes:
As I mentioned before, I am an Accounting major. The 3000 and up courses usually only have one section offered during a semester. This doesn't give you many (if any) options for your class section. I am particularly annoyed at that this semester, since there are two classes I had to take that are only offered early in the morning (8 AM & 9:30 AM). I have an hour drive to get to school and I'm not a morning person. Luckily I have not overslept much. Most of the Accounting courses are only taught by one teacher, so you don't get any choice on who you have for those classes.
There is one class you have to take if you major in Accounting (and possibly other majors), Commercial Law, that is taught by a few professors. Definitely ask around before you take this class. The teacher you get will make a big difference in your experience in this class. I say this, since this was the only class where I was not happy with the teacher I had.
Sidewalks complete with super size puddles:
If you visit Eastern and it has rained at all, do not wear really nice shoes or pants. The sidewalks at Eastern are not the most level and when it rains there are huge puddles that at some places go across the entire width of the sidewalk. You sometimes have to take a very large step in just the right place to avoid splashing yourself (or someone nearby). This could be a real annoyance on the day they have the Career Fair, since I doubt the splashed rainwater look makes the best first impression with company recruiters :-).
Parking:
I don't think I've ever heard of a University that has really good parking available for students, and Eastern is no exception. There is almost no student parking available close to where I want to be. Almost all my classes are in Lumpkin Hall, which is just south of the Library, which is in the middle of campus. There is almost no student parking nearby, and the closest stuff is never available. I always park at the South end of campus and it is at least a 5 minute walk to Lumpkin from my car (although it seems much longer in the winter and when I'm late for class). Then there's the equally long walk back at the end of the day. Well, I will say one positive thing, parking for upperclass students is only costs $50 a year. If you are a freshman or sophomore you can have a car on campus, but you have to park in areas specially designated for underclass students. As you would expect, these are not the most desirable spaces on campus and you have to pay $150 a year for a permit to park in one of them.
Overall
Overall I have a good experience in my year at Eastern. There are the things that could be better, but that is the case for any college. The education experience is great, the tuition reasonable, and the teachers generally excellent. I am happy to be at Eastern and would be happy to see you there too.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
barnes81
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Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 2 members
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