The University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign

“I did things that look good on paper, basicallySep 02 2013Other
I did things that look good on paper, basically. Good grades, taking somewhat difficult classes, and a high ACT/SAT score will greatly contribute to getting into U of I. I feel I'm fairly intelligent, if a bit lazy, so I think I earned my place here (my family definitely has zero pull anywhere in the administration). But please remember, these things mean so little once you start classes. If you thought high school was easy, you're in for a wake up call for college. You actually have to study. For those who found high school difficult, maybe you shouldn't come here, unless you went to a fancy academy with all AP courses.

I do think my essays helped a lot. Don't BS your essays. One of mine asked about a favorite service project or high school group (one of those), and I was very happy to talk about the things I did. If you are involved in even one group or even a sports team, and there are things you did in that group that you enjoyed, talk about it! Communicate on paper how much you loved it! Or maybe if the question involves goals for school, talk about what you want to do. I am very much in love with Japan and Japanese culture, so I know I talked about that for a related question. The essays let them know about you, so tell them what little you can in your 200 or 300 words.

Also, go do a campus visit. Make sure you get to know the campus a little before committing. It's a very large, overwhelming school. You should know ahead of time if that's what you really want out of college, or if you prefer a smaller, closer knit college experience.
ACT: 31 Female

“Its not that hardMar 23 2013Biology
Its not that hard...if you are qualified you are pretty much guaranteed to get in because its a state school. You can look up the average...I had a 29 on my ACT and my grades were alright (3.3 hs) but I was in an obscene amount of AP classes. I did some extracurriculars...nothing fancy. I'd say this university does not care too much about your essay and they really don't care much about your high school extracurriculars. Just do some stuff you really like and get involved in those.
ACT: 29 Female

“I had goodFeb 14 2013Unknown
I had good grades in high school, good recommendations and pretty good test scores.
ACT: 27 SAT: 1820 Male

“29 on ACT and 3Sep 27 2011Education
29 on ACT and 3.6 GPA, wrote pretty good essays. Nothing special. They just view everyone as numbers based on their ACT and GPA.
ACT: 29 Female

“I wrote three essays to get into this universitySep 15 2011Undecided
I wrote three essays to get into this university. I was fairly active in high school and never had a GPA below 3.5.
ACT: 28 Female