Northern Illinois University?

Question

I am considering applying there. I would most likely major in sociology. Does anyone have any information on this school? Anything would be appreciated. Thanks so much!

Answer 1

Northern Illinois has a profile similar to other directional schools (Directional schools: one with compass direction in the name -- like East Carolina, South Florida, West Texas, Northern Illinois -- Southern California is private, so doesn't fit into this scheme).

They are usually big state schools that aren't particularly selective, and not nearly as good as the nondirectional schools from the same state(Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina -- we make exceptions when the direction is in the state name).

You can get into NIU with 900 SATs (out of 1600) and mediocre HS grades. One can probably go there and skate through without learning much. On the other hand, like all large schools, if you pick your classes wisely and work hard, you can get an excellent education.

I've provided a link to Princeton Review that will give you more information. They also have a tool that will ask you about your background and desires & pick a number of schools that are right for you.

Before settling on you major, you might want to look into the kinds of jobs you can get with a sociology major. They don't usually pay too well (though some can be rewarding for other reasons).

Answer 2

Here's the link to the Sociology Department at NIU:

http://www.sociology.niu.edu/

Good Luck