It's small, it's got fewer students than some high schools, and it's in a town with very limited entertainment. It's Illinois College and I absolutely love it. IC, founded in 1829, is the oldest school in Illinois and is only 11 years younger than the state of Illinois itself.
Now most students have pride in their colleges or universities, after all, there's a reason why you picked it. But Illinois College is not your typical school. It is often attacked by its own students for its size, it's lack of faculty in particular fields, and of course the cafeteria food. Some of these complaints have some merit, sure. Still, I never have a moment of regret for picking the Hilltop. Here's why.
1. The campus is gorgeous.
When I came to my first visit here at IC in the winter of 2015, the first thing that I noticed was just how beautiful the campus was. Keep in mind that this was in February, and the ground was covered in snow. It wasn't the glorious sight it usually is in the spring and the fall. Even with it being 20 degrees outside and covered with snow, the campus still looked amazing.
I still walk around campus and admire the beauty of IC today, and I notice something new on the Hilltop every day. The feeling of walking to class, admiring the scenery while the chapel bells play the Illinois College Alma Mater is always a sensation that words can't describe. I often look around and wonder how a guy from a family in poverty was able to go here.
2. The benefits of being small.
I have visited many universities all around the country. University of Kentucky, University of Northern Iowa, West Virginia University, Boston College, and Indiana University all come to mind. I remember learning that there were over 40,000 students at Indiana University-Bloomington. This blows my mind. I came from a town of about 5,000 people. I simply cannot fathom the idea of 40,000 people going to one school.
Luckily for IU, Bloomington is a college town. There is so much to do there that it makes the small city of Jacksonville look laughable. The city was so alive and exciting, and you could find any type of restaurant you wanted. Basically, the opposite of Illinois College in Jacksonville.
Yet, I prefer IC. It's true that there's a lot more to do in a big college town, however, I think that the benefits of being small outweigh the benefits of being big. Here at Illinois College, most classes have 15 or fewer students. This creates a lot of opportunities for meaningful discussions with fellow students and professors alike.
The biggest class I've ever taken had about 50 people in it, yet the professor still knew everyone's names. Compare this to the lecture halls of giant universities, where hundreds of students gather to listen to a professor talk for an hour and 15 minutes. At IC, almost all the classes involve some type of discussion and are small enough to be facilitated as such.
At Illinois College, you're a person, not a number. Oh, and you can take a nap up to 5 minutes before your next class and still be there on time. So there's that.
3. The professors are superb.
I remember one of my high school English teachers telling me that when I get to college, the professors will not want to be there teaching. He said they were there mostly for research and teaching was just something they were forced to do. Well, the good news is that's not true at IC.
The professors are here because they want to be here. If they wanted to just do research and only teach because they had to, Illinois College would have never hired them in the first place.
Every single professor I have or ever did have knows my name, and they're never too busy to talk if we run into each other on campus. I'll even have lunch with some of my professors at the dining hall. Also, I'm convinced that almost every professor here is an expert in their field.
Some professors even use textbooks that they themselves wrote. We have professors that have gotten their Ph.D.'s from Ivy league schools, including Harvard and Yale. One of my professors has four separate degrees in four separate areas of studies, which includes a Ph.D. and a law degree. Almost all of the professors will give out their personal phone numbers just so the students can contact them if they have any questions.
4. The opportunities.
As a citizen of Pittsfield, Illinois (population 4,500), I've never really been exposed to much except cowboy boots, country music and big trucks. Yet since I've been here at Illinois College, I've had so many opportunities to meet people from other countries like Iran, Germany and Albania.
Talking to these people from different countries always offers new perspectives on almost everything from social norms to politics. On top of meeting people from all around the world, IC has helped me get more in touch with local government. On multiple occasions, I have had the opportunity to go to our capital city of Springfield and lobby on the issues that are most important to me.
Now while it is true that I could have done this all alone, Illinois College paid for the trip and started me out with connections in the legislature, and I am eternally grateful for that as someone who has thought about lobbying as a later profession.
