Webinar Transcript: Featuring UIUC: A Conversation with Students and Alumni

This webinar was conducted on July 1, 2021. Please note that specific details may have changed by the time you read this article. A recording of this webinar is available here.

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Anthony Su: Good evening everyone. I really appreciate everyone joining today. We've got a special treat again: featuring our students from UIUC. Last week we had Northeastern. Today we're also going to take a look at a couple other schools – as a lot of seniors are thinking about their college list, trying to think about what's going to be a right fit school for them. We wanted to highlight a couple of these schools to make sure you guys get a chance to ask any questions to current and former students here.

My name is Anthony. Usually Elton's here, driving these webinars, and I'm behind the scenes But I'm glad that I can be here today. Elton’s taking a short vacation, so – perfect.

We'll get started pretty soon but, of course, I want to make sure that each of our panelists get a chance to introduce themselves first. How about we start with Aadi, and then Eunice and JC. Do you guys mind telling us a little bit about yourself – how you're connected to UIUC?

Aadi Anumala: Absolutely. So my name is Aadi. I am a rising third year student at UIUC. I'm going to be graduating next year – in CS plus chemistry. So that's my deal.

Eunice Leung: Hi everyone. I'm Eunice. I just finished my freshman year at UIUC – and I major in computer science. And I'm also from the Bay Area.

JC Chen: Hi. I'm JC. I attended UIUC back in 2011 as an international student from mainland China. After I graduated from there in 2015, I have worked as a software engineer in the Bay Area.

Anthony Su: [Laughs.] So we've also got a second theme going on today. We have a lot of computer science students as well! So any questions you have regarding that particular program – we've got three experts to lend their ideas and thoughts. Definitely don't be shy; feel free. You can use the Q&A or chat on the bottom of the Zoom webinar to go ahead and put any questions that you've got regarding programs – or, to be honest, anything you have you're thinking about during the conversation!

Let's get started. I would love to hear a little bit more about why each of you decided to go to UIUC. It definitely is one of the more popular schools that Bay Area students can think about – especially for computer science, right? So I guess, why UIUC and why computer science? What made you think that that would be a great fit for you?

Aadi Anumala: I think I can pick that one up. UIUC is, frankly, really easy to sell. It's a really friendly, very humble place. But I think that it really doesn't lose the energy and the hunger by being such a humble and friendly place. That's the selling point for me.

I really like that the CS program is incredibly strong. I have friends at Berkeley and Purdue, and other good colleges, and you’re occasionally like, “I'll exchange information about our syllabi, and what we're learning.” And you can really tell that we're very, very strong in terms of our teaching ability and our research strength.

But I think that the culture is really what makes it a wonderful place to be.

JC Chen: For me, I think back to the time when I decided which school to go to, and which major to choose. Computer science was not as popular as it is now. But I had heard some great stories about the entrepreneurs who emerged in Silicon Valley. And I think Facebook, by that time, was about to have its IPO in a year. I just wanted to pursue my career in this industry.

I did some research to find schools with a good, solid engineering reputation – and also match my academic skills and personal package. I found UIUC could be a good fit.

Eunice Leung: As a CS major, UIUC is known for their CS. So I think that's really one of the reasons why I chose this school.

I had the chance to visit it like two years before I was admitted. And I thought it was really nice. And after going there, the community is really good. It's very diverse. And you get to meet a lot of people that are from that area – instead of just, like in the Bay Area, where we're always in our crowd. It's really good to go out and meet other people.

Anthony Su: Another thing I want to bring attention to today is that all of our panelists have a range of experiences with regards to UIUC. Given COVID… and we also have JC – appreciate you being an alumnus, and coming back  to tell us a little bit about your alma mater! But, since you started school in 2011, what a difference that ten years can make for a major like CS! It has become one of the most popular majors for incoming freshmen when they're applying for admission.

So, from each of your perspectives, what makes UIUC unique – in regards to the campus culture? Whether it's what students do in their free time, or what they value. Potentially also highlighting: what do you think makes a student a good fit for UIUC? What attributes would be important to have or to bring to campus?

JC Chen: I can talk about my experience. Right now I can't recall exactly what my first impression was when I entered the university. I'm more coming from a point where I do reflection of my college years: what I learned from them, and how they shape into my current view of my career – and also my view of the world.

I think the first impression of UIUC was, “It's so big!” It took me like 40 minutes to walk from my dorm to the quad. And, as Eunica said, it’s very diverse – so that's the first time I was immersed into a diverse environment, where I met a classmate and the college mate and made a bunch of friends coming from different backgrounds.

And I would say what makes UIUC unique – and I haven't been a student at any other university! I think great universities share many things in common. But I think one of those characteristics is that they provide the platform for you to fully leverage your talent. It depends on what kind of person you are, and how hard you are trying to network, seeking resources and seeking help. But they don’t set an upper limit for you. It's solely based on you, yourself – on what person you're trying to be.

I remember, when I first took CS lessons, I thought the syllabus was overwhelming! And each course consisted of multiple midterms: machine learning problems. They have a quiz every week. And if you miss something, you cannot get an A! I was overstressed for the first semester.

But then my professor gave me some advice: “Focus on the long term. Treat this as sustainable output. Do not feel too much peer pressure. It's okay if you miss some step, but do not just give up there. Focus on long-term growth. Do it slowly, and compensate, and eventually you will be there.”

So that's something I learned. I think that's a point to see how many resources you can get from UIUC. Because it's a public school, you may not get as much attention as you can get from a small college or private school. But the resources there are up to you to discover. Do not be shy. Just be outgoing, and be vocal, and ask for help.

I think  that’s the type of student that can be a good fit for UIUC.

Aadi Anumala: Totally agree with JC there. I think that one of the best qualities of UIUC is that the university will never hold you down. I feel like, if you are bringing a certain level of energy, and you're bringing a certain level of ambition, it's always going to try to match you. It's going to try to bring the resources that can actually give you a platform to stand on.

But I think that the key – that JC brings up – is that you just have to be willing to ask. There’s a wealth of resources that are out there. But you're not necessarily going to be handed everything all at once. You might have to ask somebody for it. So you'll have to ask an advisor, “Hey, I'm interested in this kind of stuff.” And they'll point you to the right resources. The onus might be on you to do that initial asking, but the university will take care of you once you do that.

Eunice Leung: Adding onto the point of resources, the school is really big. So they do have a lot of people and a lot of opportunities. Which I think is what makes UIUC a good school. And, yeah, if you just try to go find those resources, I think you will be able to get the resources.

Anthony Su: I think that's an important thing to recognize. Effectively what you guys are saying are the pros and cons of being at such a large university. Your class sizes might be large. But if you go out of your way to ask those questions – to go and tackle things outside your comfort level, whether it's resources or research opportunities or internships and things like that – you're not gonna be held back by the school. They're not gonna tell you no. You need to wait in line for this particular program, or something like that, but you'll have the opportunity to go and seek that out.

So that's awesome, because I think that's going to be something that a lot of students have as a priority – that they would want to come to the school and not be limited by it. To be able to excel, and do what they want to do. Especially for something like CS, that is going to be so applicable. Sure, there’s the typical software engineering. But I'm sure there are a bunch of novel problems that students are thinking about solving, and ways that they want to apply what they want to do.

So, first of all, I really appreciate everyone commenting about the campus culture. Now with regards to highlights of your experience here at UIUC. Is there a particular moment that you guys can think of that you're saying, “This is an experience that I really enjoyed”? Or something that you've taken away from the school? Whether it's a course or an interaction with a professor – or anything like that. That's kind of at the top of your mind?

Or, I guess, what would you feature about UIUC to students just learning about it?

Sorry, long question. I know a lot of things could fall into this category. Maybe I can narrow it down a little bit. We had a conversation about the job fair and prospects as a computer science grad coming out of UIUC as well.

JC Chen: Yeah. One of my couple highlights that I enjoy a lot is they have a super nice gym. Most of my time is divided between the dorm, the classroom, the computer lab, and the rest is spending time in the gym.

I was skinny when I entered the United States. But I think I put on some muscles during four years working out there! So I really enjoyed the gym facility there.

Another thing I really enjoy is the food. Especially if you prefer eating international food. There are so many good choices! I think, since I left, there are more restaurants that opened up there. There are five or seven boba teas on campus right now! So it's kind of like the Bay Area. You won't feel too unfamiliar.

Aadi Anumala: For sure. Totally agree with JC there. We have two gyms: the ARC and CRCE. Both are awesome. They've got everything that you can think of, and more! They've got rock-climbing walls, and a bunch of swimming pools. Ii've also been hitting the gym more this summer – so that's been a fun experience.

On the fun side, I think some people worry about Urbana-Champaign, because it's like, “Hey, you're not really going to get that city environment.” We all joke that we're in the middle of nowhere; we're in the middle of a bunch of cornfields! But the reality is that I can't really think of the last time that I was on campus and I felt bored. I don't feel like that's something that happens a lot – because the community is so nice. You've always got people to spend time with. And the university – just by its sheer size. You've always got something going on.

For July Fourth, actually, at Memorial Stadium they're doing fireworks. I'm going to go there with my fellow Research Park Intern buddies and I'm gonna watch the fireworks. There are all sorts of things constantly going on – either put on by the university or by organizations around Urbana-Champaign – where you can have a lot of fun.

But one of the funnier times in which I was spending time with friends – just to highlight the culture – is when the girls in our group wanted to have a fancy girls’ night. So the guys were like, “What are we going to do?” We hadn't really planned anything. So we decided to have a little bit of a goofy, fun, fancy “guys’ night”!

We all dressed up in suits and we walked in formation to McDonald's. We all got happy meals. And people were staring at us on Green Street like, “Who are these crazy people?” We walked back and we had our Pikachu Happy Meals. That's the fun energy that I feel like you can find on campus. And these are the fun people that you can easily interact with, and the experiences you can have.

But on the more academic side of things, I think that, if you want to do CS research, choose this school. It's number one: very accessible, and number two: really strong. I was able to get research here as a part of the Peng lab – where they're working on ML techniques to determine whether certain cancer patients would be right for immunotherapy or not. It combined two of my big interests: chemistry and medical problems, and computer science!

So I feel like, even for a niche like that, you can really find strong research – regardless of what it is. Research-wise I think we're really strong.

Eunice Leung: I guess, starting with the fun stuff – even though I've only been there for a year, and through COVID… But I was on campus. I saw, in spring semester, the university try to put more events out there for students to attend. Things were opening back up, and they were like, “These students are bored, so we should give them something to do.”

Although we're not a city, we're still a campus town. So there's always something to do and people to hang out with.

For the academic side, I haven't really been able to delve into the research opportunities. But I do see, in my inbox every other day, there's always an email from someone looking for someone to help out in their lab. So I'm pretty sure there are a lot of opportunities out there in academics.

One of the experiences that stood out to me in my freshman year was the intro to CS course. Our professor was really open and inviting and welcoming to everyone. I think his catchphrase was “You're never alone” or something like that. It was like he was always trying to make every student feel welcome – even if they weren't really good at CS. Everyone in the community is really welcoming for sure.

Aadi Anumala: Kind of leapfrogging off of Eunice's point there, I’ve found the quality of the CS education at UIUC to be really wonderful. For my computer architecture course, or for the computer architecture course that everybody takes – it's taught by a professor whose main focus in research is CS education. And you can really tell – because the way he teaches that course is just amazing! I don't know if Eunice has taken that class yet, but get excited for 233. I love that class. Even though I'm not really excited about lower level architecture, I found that class to be wonderfully taught.

I think a lot of the professors, especially at the introductory levels, really understand the art of teaching – and just do a wonderful job of it. You don't really feel the gigantic size of the course because they do a really good job of distributing teaching between TAs.

And to answer the question that's in the chat, yeah, all of the courses are actually taught by the professors themselves. The way it's run is that lectures are all done by professors, and you can always email them and always get a hold of them. They have their office hours. And TAs have discussion sessions. You can also catch them at office hours and talk to them.

So, yeah, I never felt like a class was badly taught, or that sufficient energy wasn't put into designing the course.

Anthony Su: I think, again part of going through this process of finding the right fit schools  and things like that – as students are thinking through this – is evaluating, “How is the CS curriculum taught? What resources are going to be available if I need to catch up, or if I need extra help?”

There are a lot of TAs – and you're saying that they're running those discussion sessions. It's easy to get a hold of professors. Research opportunities are readily available; people are emailing students who are looking for RAs, right? Definitely those resources are there for students on the lookout – and trying to go through those next steps.

I wanted to highlight a bit about, also, a career path going forward  and research opportunities as well. What’s your experiences seeking internships and research opportunities there? And how available those are.

Also, maybe, JC, bring the perspective of how you felt UIUC prepared you for a career in software engineering.

JC Chen: After a couple years of working as a software engineer – and now I'm also serving as an interviewer – when I look back at what I learned at UIUC I would say the course is well-structured to prepare you to be a solid engineer. Not only in your knowledge base, but also… in order for you to succeed in the UIUC CS course, you not only need to passively absorb all those things taught to you, but you also need to be very active. You need to have a relentless work ethic to handle it. I would say the workload is heavy. So you need a work ethic to handle those workloads, the many projects, and collaboration.

And there will be some unexpected situation that will happen. You need to take responsibility  instead of whining about your teammate. That's one thing that prepared me for real time for a real job.

Back to the school – maybe I have mentioned this before – each semester they will host two series of job fairs for the engineering school. All the companies you can name – they will have an appearance there. And the night before the official job fair, each company will host their info session to give an introduction about the company. Also, they will let their alumni come to give some personal experience. And, most importantly, they have some free food!

Besides that, I think our career center also does a good job. They provide some general job seeking advice. They help you to write your résumé – and help you to fill in the gap where they see something missing.

I think back to a time when each of the CS students was assigned with an informal mentor. The mentor was a professor that doesn't directly teach you. So, during lunchtime, you just do some chitchat – and, by observing their working habits, and how they handle their career, you can learn from them. Treat them as a role model – and they will give you some wise advice!

Actually, I didn't land my current job in the job fair. I was offered an interview at that job fair, but I didn't pass. Although I didn't pass, I got to know some alumni who work in that company, and we built a relationship. In the future, they gave me some advice for preparing better for the interview. And they gave me some internal referral – and eventually helped me get to where I am.

Aadi Anumala: I totally agree with JC there. I think that, in terms of resources for how to get internships or how to get jobs, totally go to the engineering career fair. I think that the university provides a lot of resources, and a lot of avenues for you to be able to get an internship and job. I think that having the UIUC label on your résumé definitely boosts it in the eyes of recruiters!

And, yeah, it's also really easy to reach out to some of the alumni from UIUC at these companies – to ask, “What's your experience like as a former student? How is it like getting in there?” So in terms of opportunities, I think that is really easy.

I actually opted to go for an internship at Research Park – which is actually on campus. It's on campus, and there are a bunch of companies there. Yahoo is there. Caterpillar is there. John Deere. Nvidia. Just a bunch of companies; you can check them out at researchpark.illinois.edu. You'll find them.

I actually interned at Motorola Solutions at Research Park. That's definitely been a very fun experience. I would definitely recommend people go for a Research Park internship; it's definitely a very fun experience.

I think that it's also a really rewarding experience. This summer I was working on all sorts of full stack technologies that are very applicable for today's current workforce. All the fun hot topics, right? Our tech stack includes Angular, Node, and Flask… We use Kubernetes and Docker. We also use Azure PostgreSQL database. So you end up touching all of these technologies throughout the entirety of that internship.

We also have other interns that are working on more ML-based technologies. So I think that Research Park is definitely a wonderful resource. And that is, by the way, exclusive to Illinois students!

And, definitely, they give you a lot of resources to find internships around the country and the globe.

Eunice Leung: I don't have much to say, since I haven't had the chance to really get into these opportunities. But even through COVID, career services offered a lot of online resources for us. They had websites where you could submit your résumé, and they would give you feedback – which I used.

Anthony Su: Aadi, do you mind going back and just giving a quick overview of Research Park. Is it that these companies are doing research with UIUC students or faculty members there? Or is it that they're working on projects related to their companies? Just to get a quick overview.

Aadi Anumala: So Research Park, despite the name, doesn't necessarily mean that you're doing research. It's really like a company office on campus. And because it's a little bit small, in size and nature, it ends up having a lab-type environment. Like an R&D lab environment.

But, yeah, you're definitely doing hardcore development in CS. They're depending on the work that you're doing. You might have connections to other actual labs at the university – and you might be working in tandem with them, which is pretty cool.

But for us, we're just working on purely Motorola stuff. And that's definitely been a fun experience!

Anthony Su: Perfect. We'll start to wrap up, and talk about audience questions. I see a couple more questions coming in for Q&A. Of course, feel free to use the Q&A chat. We'll get to those questions.

But just as a takeaway, again, since a lot of students are thinking about applying, what is something that you might want to tell like a student who is about to apply to UIUC, or considering going to UIUC? What do you think they would need? Or what do you think they should prepare when getting to the campus and getting to the school environment?

Eunice Leung: I guess I could start, since I think I'm the one here who most recently applied to the school. One of the things they have at UIUC is early application. Apply early. I did that  and I think it's easier to get in, or you're more likely to have a chance to get in. And you finish your application before December, which is really nice.

And the school - since it's in Illinois, it snows there! So if you’ve never lived in the snow, it's quite an experience. But it's okay. It's not too cold.

Aadi Anumala: What did I wish I had prepared? I don't really know. I kind of went in pretty well-researched. I feel like the resources that you need are pretty out there. And, honestly, if you're coming to this webinar, you're probably good!

I honestly think that there are not a whole lot of secret things that you really need to know. There are some cool tools out there that you might not know about  that can tell you about historic grade trends and classes.

Those are useful in terms of understanding what your workload is going to be like for future semesters. Definitely for planning out your graduation: thinking about, “When am I going to graduate? What courses do I need to take?” I think you should definitely do that.

All of this information is there on courses.illinois.edu. You'll be able to find all that stuff.

In terms of the weather, I feel like, frankly, a lot of people were like, “Oh, honey, the weather's gonna be so bad. You're coming from the Bay Area. You're so spoiled. This is going to be a terrible experience!”

And I feel like, just because everybody told me how bad it was going to be, it’s not reaching those expectations! It's not bad. It's fine. The nice thing is that all the buildings are kept at a very toasty 75°. So just bundle up when you're walking, get in the building, take it off, and you're fine!

Honestly, I think my parents and I stressed out about it too much. I really think that it's pretty easy to get into. We don't have cars, so we don't have to deal with scraping the ice off of windows and stuff like that. Just get to where you need to be, and you'll be fine.

JC Chen: Frankly, I think now it's harder to get into the CS major at UIUC compared to when I applied. But one suggestion I would give to students is… I think this is the first time you make your own choice for yourself. So try to make up your own mind – and just bear whatever result comes to you.

So you should do tons of research and dive deep. Especially if you live in the Bay Area, for sure you will know someone working in the tech industry. And even if you are not thinking about going into computer science, for other majors, like business or the liberal arts, find someone in that domain. Have a coffee. Chat with them for 30 minutes. A talk with them can give you so much insight – rather than you imagining what your future career would be like.

As Aadi just said, UIUC is a platform with tons of resources. But they won't be handed to you. You need to fight for them – not fight, you just need to ask for them, they will hand them to you. Yeah.

JC Chen: Okay. Regarding the weather, I would say yeah, the Bay Area is so much better. But if you’ve lived in the Bay Area for your entire life, maybe just switch to another place. And then, when you come back, you will better appreciate what you get in the Bay Area. You won't take the good weather for granted.

Eunice Leung: I wanted to add something more about the application. As high schoolers, you probably take AP classes. I think looking up the AP credits you can get from a school could help your decision. I know that UIUC, compared to some other schools, takes a lot of AP credits. So if you are considering UIUC, I think if you take more APs, or try to get those AP credits, it will be really useful when you start your freshman year.

Aadi Anumala: Totally agree with Eunice there. UIUC is really nice about AP credit. So if you've taken a couple of AP classes and you got credit, then you're probably going to get credit for most of them. For like 75% of them. You're going to get a lot of credit. But I would recommend, also, don't feel too bad if there are still gen ed areas that you can't cover. I would highly recommend looking for classes that intersect multiple gen ed areas, and going for those.

But also looking for classes that actually interest you. I've never been a huge history buff. I mean, I watch documentaries, and I generally have fun with history, but never classes; I just never really vibe with it. When it came to deciding a history class that I need to take to complete the gen ed requirements, I was just like, “I'm not super excited about Roman civilization, so I'm not gonna do that.”

And you have so many options. So I chose U.S. history post-Civil War, because it's the most recent, and it's relevant to today. And you learn so much! I found that class genuinely engaging! So I feel like, even for classes that you wouldn't be super excited about, you'll find the most exciting portion of that. If you have a decent outlook on it, you'll gain a lot from those classes for sure.

Anthony Su: I think those are good tips. Definitely come in be well-researched: understand the school, the curriculum, and the AP credits,  which can be dramatic in regards to giving you credit and skipping out of gen eds. And as JC was saying, be adamant. Go out of your way to ask those questions. It won't be handed to you, but if you go out of your way – you know what you want and you ask for it – it'll be there. You'll have the opportunities there on campus.

 So let's just get started with Q&A. A question about CS. I think I heard you guys talking a little bit, briefly before the webinar, but is CS part of the engineering school at UIUC? What other options are there for CS students coming in?

Also, Aadi, there's a question for you about the CS + X program as well.

Aadi Anumala: For sure. I think I can tackle both of those in one shot. So there are fundamentally two CS programs. One is CS in the engineering college. So CS in Grainger Engineering is its own thing. And then you have what are known as the CS + X programs – which are in the college of liberal arts and sciences.

The reality, I've learned over time, is that – as far as recruiters care, grad schools care, and as far as, frankly, anybody cares – there is really no difference between the two. The only difference is that, in your + X, you will be taking a decent number of classes in your X program. You're gonna be spending a lot of time there.

But I actually have a lot of friends in the CS engineering program, and most of them are kind of like… there's no sense of supremacy between that and CS + X. If anything, they're kind of like, “Wow, we’re only CS. Y'all are CS and something else as well!”

One of the things that I've realized is that CS as a field is really about CS intersecting with other things. It's always about using computational power applied in another area. I'm totally biased, by the way – but I would definitely recommend going for the CS + X program!

I think that even in high school, when applying, there was this feeling of, “The + X is lesser than…” But I have never once felt that way in college. I don't feel like anybody feels that way. And the nice thing with the + X program is it's a flexible degree – so you can shape it how you wanna shape it. I shaped it to be a little bit more heavy on CS than chemistry – but you can decide to do what you want to do with it.

JC Chen: Yeah, I would say the major doesn't matter that much. Maybe I shouldn't say that. I think I'm just looking into the back mirror… and I think what is most important is computer science, rather than major. It's more like a core cognitive skill.

And I wish… I think, in the future, everyone should possess that type of ability. And if you want to pursue a tech career path, what you just learned from the textbook and from the lecture definitely won't be enough. What really helps you is to build the ability to learn by yourself, to seek resources, and how to give priority to each resource – and then, by yourself, to build up that skill set.

I think most great entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley are dropouts. They don't bury themselves!

And also CS + X: I think that's the future! You need to find some field to lend the CS to. CS is just a tool, using a computer to solve some problem. And if you both possess the CS ability, and also possess domain knowledge and domain insight, you will be very valuable! Although we know, currently, which companies are the giants, who knows who will be in the next five years, or in ten years.

Anthony Su: Perfect. So with CS + X, you get to also choose and build a curriculum around what else you want to also spend your time on, and emphasize. Perfect. I think that you're saying your chemistry program is part of that. So you have the opportunity there.

A question going back to Research Park. Do you know if that's exclusive to UIUC students – or do they just generally prefer those students?

Aadi Anumala: I'm pretty sure that it's exclusive. I know with Motorola Solutions it's definitely exclusive. I'm pretty sure for the other institutions it is also exclusive.

Anthony Su: Perfect. And also, back to JC when you commented about that informal mentorship, you're talking about reaching out to professors, right? Is it one of those things where you're saying, “You need to go out of your way but people would be willing to do that”?

JC Chen: Mentorship gets assigned by the college. I wish I could be more outgoing, and seek more mentorship from different people… So that's one thing I regret.

You don't even need to like to have a regular session with a professor, even. You hang out with your TA… and those TAs – they are like PhD students. They graduated from well-known universities with even bigger brand names. So by hanging out with them, you learn from them.

I think anyone older than you can give you some advice. And you should really just be outgoing. You don't need to sit down face-to-face every time we have a meeting agenda to go through. No. You just need to hang out with them – just grab a quick launch or something.

Aadi Anumala: For sure. I definitely became pretty good friends with one of my early CS TAs for one of my theory classes. She graduated from CMU. She's doing her PhD here. Wonderful person – absolutely wonderful! And definitely just a good person to know in general. So I think it's definitely really easy to become pretty close with professors and TAs like that.

Anthony Su:  So it looks like you'll at least be assigned one mentor to chat with and learn more from. But again, going out of your way asking for advice from others: different companies, industries, and career paths – those are all going to be helpful. Especially when students are thinking about making that decision, right?

And Eunice, I see you're also typing a couple answers for people. So Eunice might also help you guys a little bit. I think you guys can see the text answers that Eunice is putting down.

So there's a question – a two-parter. Question one: what type of student do you think is best suited for UIUC? And two: what is it like on campus? Is it fun? Is it serious? Is everyone studying? Are there a lot of clubs? Social life?

What do you guys want to start with there?

JC Chen: I don't think there is a stereotype for students who would better fit at UIUC. I think it's all about your personal choice. It's all about balancing.

From my personal experience, I still carried the mindset I got from my Chinese background. Every time I would be paranoid if I didn't get a good score in one midterm exam or something. And I thought, “Oh damn, I'm doomed! I won't be able to land a good master’s school offer. I won’t be able to land an interview.”

But that mindset quickly changed after I got more advice from my professor and from senior students. I think they gave me a mindset that it's not a zero-sum game. You just need to do your own pace, and keep improving every day, slowly – and eventually you can reach whatever goal you set for yourself. Aim big, but do it slowly.

And I would say, besides academics, I had a lot of fun at UIUC. Because it's a big university, there are all types of friends you can make. And especially for the CS department, there are so many similarly minded students, we have become friends since then.

And even when I'm moving to the Bay Area, many of my college mates are also living here. And as we progress in our careers, we can also lend each other a hand when we face some choices – like we want to switch companies, or get some advice.

Anthony Su: Do you, Eunice, or any of you want to touch on part one: what types of students do you think do well at UIUC? As JC was saying, it’s such a large school, so there's room for everyone there, right? But also what’s the experience on campus? Fun? Serious? Everyone's studying yadda yadda?

Eunice Leung: I also don't really have an answer for the first part – but in terms of studying, I think the program is really big. So there are a huge range of students. Those who slack off more, and those who study really hard. But I think overall there's a good balance. You'll find your group of people. You don't have to sit in your dorm and study all day; you can still manage to have some fun!

And I think you shouldn't be scared that it's gonna be a lot of studying. You shouldn't be too scared about it. You can put in the amount of work you want to put in.

Anthony Su: That makes sense. You're going to have students of all types. You will find your crowd: your type of people.

Let's see; Aadi, did you want to add anything? Otherwise I'll move to another.

Aadi Anumala: Sure. I feel like I really summarized the amount of fun that I have on campus with my little suit story!

I feel like the vibe on campus is pretty chill. I think it's really easy to find your people – the people that you can gel with the most. And you'll likely also be surprised by how diverse your people are. “Your people” doesn't necessarily mean CS kids from the Bay Area. It means something a little bit deeper than that.

So I think that it's really easy to find really friendly, humble people around, that really make life feel good.

Anthony Su: Awesome. Let's talk about… there was a question about dorms or renting off campus. Do you guys want to talk about that experience of living on campus versus off campus?

Aadi Anumala: Sure. So your first year you're forced to stay in the dorm. But it's actually a really good experience. I feel like the dorms are a really easy way to make friends as a freshman. Having a bunch of freshmen packed into one space is a really nice way to meet people and spend time with others.

But usually what happens is, for subsequent years, people will go and rent apartments nearby. And that's one of the things to keep in mind, actually. You'll quickly realize that signing leases for apartments for next year you'll have to do kind of early. Late November/early December – by that point of time you should probably have that lease in. Or be really in the process of doing that. It's kind of scary to have your entire next lease planned out – with roommates and all – in the fall. But, unfortunately, that's the way it's structured. So that's something to keep in mind.

But if you can't, obviously a good number of people go back to the dorms. And as somebody with more seniority, you can get into the nicer dorms more easily.

Anthony Su: It sounds like people plan ahead. You have to get in early, thinking almost six months in advance to get a place off campus!

Great. And a couple more questions. I think I'll read two more. A question like, “UIUC is a larger school. Is it easy to get the classes that you need, or the classes that you want, while registering for courses?”

Aadi Anumala: I'll tell you a little bit about my story. So I came in as a chemical engineering student. I had the wrong impression about what chemical engineering was. I figured that it would be similar to bioengineering – where you have different tracks, and where you can go into more of a computational field. But I quickly realized that what chemical engineering actually means is you're kind handling the manufacturing of chemicals. So within a week I was like, “Shoot, I gotta switch majors!”

So I wasn't a CS major for my entire first year. And I took a lot of advanced classes. Never once did I not get into a class that I wanted to get into. And I don't know a single person who didn't get into a class that they wanted to get into – despite it being a highly coveted CS class!

So I wouldn't stress too much about it. It might be a little scary, because spots might not open for a couple weeks, and you'll be sitting in lecture – you'll be doing your stuff – and you'll be like, “Shoot, will I get into this class?” But I can safely guarantee you that you'll probably get it.

JC Chen: Yeah. CS courses, especially intro level, are very popular

I used to write scripts to secure a spot. But I think they no longer allow that. I was detected and I was summoned. They just like told me nicely not to do it again. But they praised my creativity!

The classroom would be packed up with people. But trust me, after the first assignment or after the first midterm, there will be so many empty spots that show up. People will just give up. So really have dedication, and be very persistent. Show you are serious in CS – show you took some lessons in advance; you learned from Youtube; you learned from Coursera. If you show you have some interest, eventually you will get those classes. Just show some dedication. Like Aadi did – he switched his major very quickly, after one week. And it doesn't hold you back.

Eunice Leung: So far I haven't had many troubles getting at least into the CS courses I wanted. That could be because I had a few more AP credits coming in. It gives you registration priority, which is something people can look into for general education.

There are always those easy A courses or ones that are more popular – that might be harder to get into. But you have eight semesters at the school. So if you want to take a course, you have a lot of chances to try to get into it.

Anthony Su: So be persistent. Don't write a script to sign up for your class, right?

[Laughter.]

But as long as you do that, I think you'll get into the course you want, right?

Let's tackle this one last question: “What's one thing about UIUC you wished you knew before joining the school?” Or any final thoughts or advice for students thinking about coming to join the campus community?

And while you do that, I'll also launch this one last poll about a free consultation.

JC Chen: I can go first.

So my advice, if I'm able to give it to my past self, is just to chill out. Everything will be fine. For a short term task, do not be too attached to what already happened. If you see your classmate was able to land an internship for this summer, and you say, “Oh damn, I'm already left behind and I can never catch up!” It's never a race between you and your classmates. It's not a zero-sum game, as I said before. You just need to focus at your own pace.

But do not be lazy. Do not give yourself excuses, and do not possess any wishful thinking. Just be very objective of what's happening, follow your own pace, and grow skills that polish your skill set. Gradually improve, and you will be fine.

And when you enter UIUC as a freshman, I think it's too early to consider landing a job in Silicon Valley. That's too early. Just have fun. I didn't have as much fun as I expected, because I was too paranoid for the first semester. But later I chilled. I wasn't able to land any internship during my first four years there, but I'm still fine.

I will definitely say, for those engineering majors, it's very in demand. So as long as you focus on your academic work, and you build a solid foundation, you will eventually be very in demand on the job market.

Aadi Anumala: For sure. I definitely agree with JC there. Don't sweat the small things. You'll be fine. Life is good; it's okay. Everybody goes through a rough midterm.

In terms of resources that I didn't know about until much later, I can't really think of anything. I think that if you just sufficiently reach out to your advisors, and other older students, you'll get the right resources that you need access to. You'll probably be fine.

Just please don't be afraid to speak up. The university really is there to help you. They make that clear in their words and their actions.

Eunice Leung: For me, a year ago was when I first was going to start my freshman year. Something I would tell myself is be more open, or less nervous about going there and meeting new people. Because everyone there, in that first month, is there to meet new people! So just say “Hi” to everyone – and try to meet more people.

Academics-wise, one thing I learned later on was to reach out and ask for help. Or I'm still working on that, I guess. But in courses you have your TAs and your course assistants – and they're always there to help you.

Sometimes you might want to figure something out by yourself, but if you're spending too much time… I think there's a good amount of time that you should spend, and then after that you should go and ask someone for help. There's always someone there to help you – whether it's the course assistant, or you can ask other students. Or, yes, you can teamwork and work together.

So I have served as a course assistant in my senior year. What I learned is, as a TA, you will sometimes be hesitant to offer students help if they don’t ask for help. I was just afraid it would be interpreted as too intrusive, or too offensive. So I would really appreciate students telling me, “Hey, JC, could you give me a hint on this one? I can't figure it out, though I've spent hours on this!”

But I would really appreciate if students show how they think through it, as elaborately as they can. Show some deep thinking before you ask questions.

Anthony Su: Awesome. This is, of course, going to be great advice for UIUC – but also going to any campus community. Being open with yourself, meeting others, asking for help, right? Definitely going to be helpful in almost any circumstance you end up in!

So JC, Aadi, Eunice, I really appreciate you guys joining our webinar. And I hope our audience is able to get a couple of points of wisdom from these students!

So I hope that you guys can join us again as we do a couple more webinars. I think our next webinar is on writing the Common Application – I think that'll be next week. So feel free to register and join us there.

Otherwise, big shout outs – I really appreciate Eunice, JC, and Aadi for joining us today. All right.

Aadi Anumala: Thank you so much for having us, Anthony.

Anthony Su: Yeah, absolutely.

JC Chen: Thank you.

Anthony Su: Hope to see you guys around, okay. See you. Bye.