The college experience is unlike any other. Most students are recent high school graduates who are leaving home for the first time, so it is important to find a school that will allow the student to feel most comfortable in his or her new surroundings. For every student, that comfort could mean something different, such as a well-cooked meal or a dorm room in the woods. Picking the right college can be difficult, but I am here to let all prospective students know about one school in particular from my personal experience. That school is Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville.
The cost of school and financial aid is a big issue for some people. For me, my education depended on it. I applied for financial aid, and was pleasantly surprised to find that almost all of my costs would be covered, either from grants, loans, scholarships, or work-study. What I didn’t know was that the work-study program does not guarantee a position. I was awarded the full amount for work-study, but during the four years of attendance, I never received it. The reason being that I had to find a job myself. SIUE does not place a work-study student into a job. I tried and tried and tried, applying to every place that I could, but most of the jobs were already taken…by students withOUT work-study. I felt cheated. As a heads-up to everyone depending on work-study financial aid, you are better off finding a job off-campus.
Many students that attend SIUE are commuters from the St. Louis metro area. I’ve known people who were willing to drive over 45 minutes every morning to come to class. With gas prices reaching sky-high, it may be in a commuter’s best interest to move closer to campus. The campus itself is completely separate from the rest of the city, surrounded by woods and rolling hills. It is a beautiful campus. The only people who are in walking distance to class are the students who actually live on campus, either in the residence halls or in the campus apartments. Everyone else must either drive or take the Madison County Transit bus. For those who drive, get used to long walks. Even though the campus is separate from the rest of the city, the student lots are not close to campus at all. On a good day, I could find a decent parking spot and walk briskly to class in about ten minutes. Other days, finding a parking spot can be a nightmare. Campus police are constantly patrolling the parking lots, so don’t even think about parking in the grass. It’s a guaranteed ticket. Don’t forget that Illinois has very harsh seasons, so hauling an umbrella around is a smart idea. If students choose to drive to campus, it is imperative to set aside at least twenty minutes to hunt for a parking space and trek to class.
For those students who choose to live on campus, there are two options. Either live in a residence hall, which is a glorified name for the dorm rooms, or live in the campus apartments. During the four years that I attended SIUE, I have lived in both. Freshmen are not allowed to live in the campus apartments, and since I lived about 100 miles away, living in the residence hall was my best option at the time. Since I didn’t have any friends attending SIUE, I took a compatibility test to find a roommate with similar interests and cleanliness. I was pleasantly surprised that I was matched with a roommate with a similar major who was about as messy as I was. We never quite became friends, but we were great roommates, and living in the dorm complex allowed me to socialize and get to know a lot of people. Everything I needed was within walking distance, and it was nice knowing that I didn’t have to worry about monthly bills. Living in the residence halls is a great transition for someone leaving home for the first time.
By the end of my freshman year, I felt like I was ready to move up to a full apartment. I missed having my own kitchen, and sharing a bedroom the size of a matchbox was starting to make me feel claustrophobic. One of the friends I met my freshman year wanted an apartment too, so we decided to live in a campus apartment our sophomore year. The typical campus apartment has two or three bedrooms, with either three or four people living there. Some people paid extra to live in their own bedroom, some chose to share a bedroom. I shared a bedroom with my friend, and we were put with two other girls who each had their own bedroom. This time there was no compatibility test, and my friend and I soon discovered that we were living a nightmare. Our roommates were cleaning Nazis, while my friend and I were on the messy side. We had arguments that led to a lot of un-welcomed stress. The next year, we decided to live in the campus apartments again, but a different apartment, with different roommates. This time, we shared an apartment with one other girl with her own bedroom. We thought this year would be much better, but it wasn’t. It was much worse. This girl was mean and nasty towards everyone, including guests, and was the self-proclaimed “head chicken” of the hen house. My grades went down, and I felt like I had to tiptoe around her in my own home. I feel to this day that I still have psychological damage from living with her. I don’t recommend living in the campus apartments, solely because of roommate incompatibility. It’s hard enough to deal with the stress of school, no one should have that much stress at home.
The faculty at SIUE are very knowledgeable, and I have learned so much from my teachers. They are passionate about their work, and very willing to help. The class sizes vary. For me, my smallest class had three students and my largest class had close to seventy. I never experienced a “bad” teacher or had slipping grades because of the teacher. SIUE is a great school as far as academics is concerned, and I don’t regret my experience there. There were just a few things that I wish I would have known about beforehand, such as the housing, work-study, etc. so that I could have made better choices. Hopefully this article can save someone else from the mistakes I’ve made.
