Currently U-Illinois accepts applications only through a proprietary application system. It is likely, however, that U-Illinois will soon follow the path taken by other public universities (i.e. U-Michigan, U-Connecticut, U-North Carolina, and U-Virginia) and join the Common Application system. (see below)
It is not at all clear that U-Illinois will make this change in time for your college applications next fall; if Illinois does go to the Common Application, it will mean less work for the applicants.
What is more interesting to me, and meaningful for applicants, is the shift in recruitment strategy that is behind the proposed change. This indicates to me a concerted effort to bring in more out-of-state applicants, who pay more than double the tuition than Illinois residents pay. According to this article, "This year, 22.5 percent of the entering freshman class came from out of state, up slightly from 20.6 percent a year ago, according to UI records." When College Bound Consulting began in 2007, about 10% of the entering class at U-Illinois came from out-of-state. U-Illinois must continue to balance its student body with representation from all counties in the state. So, as Illinois accepts more students from elsewhere, that can only mean that the admissions selectivity will increase for the Chicagoland applicant spots.
Bottom line: No matter the application system in use this year or next, the state's budget woes have made it tougher to get into U-Illinois.
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