The University of Illinois

When I got into the U of I at Urbana Champaign, I knew that no other university would interest me. After that I got accepted into 6 other universities, but none of them could live up to the name of U of I. I had heard a lot about it for many years now, about the department, the location, the faculty, the perfect study atmosphere, about everything.
Now that I am on campus, I feel that this university has lived up to it's name and reputation. I am proud to be a part of this esteemed institution.


The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign began in the year 1867. The University is in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana (total population 180,000) in east-central Illinois. Situated about 140 miles south of Chicago, 125 miles west of Indianapolis, and 180 miles northeast of St. Louis.
It boasts of :
37 campus libraries
130 buildings with wireless access
70,000 computer connections on campus
The college of engineering is ranked 5th in the USA while my department of Aerospace Engineering is ranked 7th in 2008.
Facilities - 286 main campus buildings, 2.3 square miles (1468 acres)
559 total buildings, 7.7 sqyare miles (4938 acres)

Sports
10 & 11 Number of men's and women's (NCAA) teams (respectively) with 14 major facilities including Memorial Stadium (62,000 seating), the Assembly Hall (17,200 seating), Atkins Tennis Center, Huff Hall (4,000 seating), Illinois Field (3,000 seats for baseball), Eichelberger Field (1,500 seats for softball), the Illini Track and Soccer Stadium, two 18-hole championship golf courses with driving range and the newly opened Demirjian Golf Practice Facility.

470,000 square feet of recreational space between two newly expanded campus recreation and wellness centers. Includes indoor tracks, leisure pool with slide, climbing wall, basketball and racquetball courts, indoor and outdoor 50-meter pools, and much more; other recreational facilities include an ice arena, outdoor adventures center, inline skating rink, and several play fields.

Population
6,450 Undergraduate students living in 15 Private certified housing units and 63 Greek Houses.
1,700 Single graduate students or students with families living in two University-owned apartment complexes; two residence halls are home for 720 graduate students.

1,000+ Registered student organisations, coalitions, honorary societies, and teams.

5,378 international students in 2007 from 123 countries; ranked #4 in the nation’s “top 20 Research Institutions” in number of international students.

42,326 Total students: 30,895 undergraduate and 11,431 graduate and professional students, 53% men, 47% women, 6.0% African-American, 6.0% Latino/a, 11.0% Asian-American, 0.26% Native American, and 12.7% International.

Faculty
2,971 Members; 1,402 tenured, 570 tenure track, and 1000 other faculty.
22 Nobel Prize faculty and alumni winners; many noted scholars, including one Crafoord Prize and 19 Pulitzer Prize winners; others recognized with memberships in prominent national and international societies, academies, and foundations.

Campus
The campus is one of a kind, really beautiful. Soon, I'll write about the campus in detail, the places I hangout, the amazing transport system and the sheer efficiency of everything that is done on campus.

Go Illini!!!!!

I realize that I am here now..... it's been a month..... I just stood in front of the Alma Mater(photo above).... just like I did on the first day when I got here....... I've changed the time on my blog from St.Petersburg time to Central Standard Time....

..............times have indeed changed!