Southern Illinois University - Carbondale

Date: Aug 01 2001
Major: Biology (This Major's Salary over time)
My experiences at SIU have been both good and not so good. The academics here are good, but the student body is not as goal oriented as they could be. The campus is very pretty, a few things are run down but they are quickly being replaced. Nightlife can be awesome for some,and just OK at the same time for others. There are quite a few bars, the social scene is very "clicky" though. The Greek system is too small, (which is mostly comprised of intelligent slackers who come from wealthy and successful backgrounds who wish they could have gone to schools such as Northwestern but couldn't get in), but the Greeks have the most fun it seems, they are the wealther, better dressed and most popular, they usually get better grades and are more likely to be successful after leaving SIU,(kind of like the elite 5% of students) and they rarely associate with other students, some of which can be somewhat "blue collar" or "trashy" and kind of "blah" towards the school. This diversity on campus is interesting, including race, background, and and culture. There are many internationals, blacks, asian, not many hispanics though. When I compare SIU students with other Illinois schools, SIU kids are quite smart but lazy, unlike ISU kids who are dumb but work hard. The city right off campus is good, but the surrounding area is pretty po-dunk. The only reason i would have gone to another school might be if it had a top notch reputation, like a Big Ten school with a bigger Greek life and more goal oriented students. In summary, though SIU can be "lacking" sometimes, is a lot of fun, and is a great university. Most people complain a little when they are here, but truely have fond memories after they graduate.