Northern Illinois University

The program did not adequately prepare me for a career in dietetics. I found the overall structure to be disorganized, which made it difficult to build a strong and consistent foundation in key concepts. At times, expectations and course content felt unclear, and I often felt that important areas of the field were not covered in enough depth. As a result, I did not feel fully supported or confident in my readiness to enter the profession. While there were some positive aspects, I ultimately felt... Read More that I did not receive the level of education and preparation that I had expected from the program.

While NIU is well known and respected for many areas of study, the education department that I was a part of was run very poorly and by people who did not seem to care about their students. I had several awful school placements where situations happened outside of my control, and instead of them listening to my side and supporting me, I was treated horribly and not given fair treatment, despite having the highest grades in my cohort. It was incredibly disheartening and sent me into a very negative... Read More cycle that I am still fully processing and healing from all these years later. I would definitely not recommend this school, or at least the education program, to anyone.

My biggest regret was enrolling in the online MAT (Elementary Ed) with licensure. I was super excited and considered the program to be a God send, however, about halfway through I quickly saw that I had made a mistake. The majority of professors are not approachable and helpful with the assignments they assign. The instructors are not teaching the same information as the others in terms of where it is appropriate to seek resources for assignments, which causes may problems when the next instructor... Read More assigns their work. It is like being apart of an organization that does not abide by the same mission and vision. Everyone was doing their own them and when a student used what the previous instructor had suggested or allowed, the student was ridiculed by their current professor. was too many classes in to turn around. I wish I had have known within the very first semester. I would have unenrolled in the program and counted a small loss. The instructors are very vague in their teachings in preparing "future educators" to become the educators of tomorrow's leaders. I believe that I could have learned from Youtube how to teach elementary education better than what I was taught during this entire program. The lesson plans they assigned were not influential and were just some recycled lesson they pulled from the internet. The math teacher, social studies, reading, and bilingual education instructors are completely out of touch in preparing students for success. When it comes to passing the ILTS, they have failed in preparing students for it. Students are completely on their own to teach themselves. I enrolled in this program because I thought that it would be an excellent fit and that I would be prepared to sit for licensure. If I could time travel, I would go back a couple years to never consider them in the first place. If it is at all possible, I know that I cannot get my time back, but I would at least be open to receiving a refund for all the trouble it cost me.

I was sold this program as a pathway to additional education in my field. Half the classes were consistently canceled forcing me into unrelated classes. What's more 90% of the courses were in fact 400 level courses the added a /500 to. The degree is an absolute rip off. Save your money you will learn more in 1 week on the job anywhere than in 2 years of this nonsense. The program is literally the same 5 concepts rehashed 80 times. There are only so many times that NPV and probability studies, or... Read More lean concepts can be covered before you are simply wasting my time and money to get paid. If I could give it back to them and get a refund I would!!!!

Northern Illinois University was a means to getting my degree. It is located close to the Chicagoland area, so I was able to feel the college independence, while still getting support from my family. My parents both graduated from Northern Illinois University, as well. Their prior experience helped me navigate through N.I.U.'s system. It is a big university, so I had to get used to being a number, rather than a name. Like any bigger institution, I had to design my own smaller community of friends... Read More and colleagues. Eventually, I was able to manage and navigate through the systems of support I needed to be successful. Given my learning disability, I found support in the Student Support Services Department. They gave me more individual attention in areas I needed; for example, the test taking center and writing center. When I needed more career advice, I went to the Career Planning and Placement Center and met a counselor who really listened and guided me in a new direction. All in all, I needed to learn how to navigate N.I.U.'s educational system. Once I did, I was better able to be successful in my program.

To be a greater part of the N.I.U. experience, I also got involved with Alpha Phi Omega. This is a co-ed service fraternity. APO focused on volunteer work, fellowship and leadership, and it succeeded in getting me more involved and building these skills within me. For example. through my APO experience, I attended a Leadership Seminar at another university. I also served as the leader of the Philanthropy Committee and raised funds to support a local domestic violence center. These experiences helped to build a well-rounded resume and, eventually, helped land me my first professional position.

Overall, I would say that I am incredibly satisfied with the quality of education I was able to receive at NIU. Many of the professors in the health science department are practicing clinicians who add a depth of perspective to the classroom experience. The campus is diverse and offers a wide range of research and extracurricular activities for students to engage in. In addition to that, NIU often hosts adaptive sporting events and various seminars regarding people with disabilities, exposing students... Read More to a variety of practical and hands on experiences.

Northern Illinois University is a very diverse campus. The networking opportunities are various and the people are genuine. The psychology program has some amazing and dedicated professors who are willing to go out of their way to help you succeed and prevail in the courses as well as in your future career. For me, the main influence in my undergraduate collegiate careers was my Industrial Organizational Psychology professor, Dr. Lisa Finkelstein. Although, I had no interest in her particular field... Read More of study, she provided me with the necessary resources, encouragement, and guidance to fulling my own personal career goals. In general, you get out of the school and program what you put into it. Try to get to know your professors, know some of the people who are taking the same courses as you, as well as some of the graduate students in your program. All of these people can help guide you into making the best decision that fits you specifically.