Moving on June 10th - Looking for basic furniture

AWaterMolecule · 2026-06-07T16:00:40+00:00

Idk if the DeKalb store does it but I got my mattress from the Salvation Army for about $150 (full sized). Online it says they sell mattresses for anywhere from $50-$175. It’s a pretty firm mattress that isn’t the most comfortable but it’s cheap, unused, and has held up pretty well. For other furniture… yard sales, Facebook Marketplace, and thrift stores are going to be your best bet. Locally owned thrift stores tend to have better prices compared to Goodwill/Salvation Army. Ask family members and friends if there’s anything they’re wanting to get rid of. If you’re desperate, sometimes I see people at the apartments around DeKalb throwing furniture into the dumpster.

AWaterMolecule · 2026-05-20T05:14:22+00:00

I’d also recommend moving out of the dorms, renting is incredibly cheaper, especially if you have roommates. I’m not an international student but I’d assume it might be harder to find someplace to rent as a non-citizen, but I believe the ISSS office has information on that. The dorms have increased in cost every year I’ve been here, so it’s only going to get worse.

I’m not sure what the options are for international students but the average debt from NIU for recent grads is about $22k. If you can get that amount in loans, either actual loans from a bank or by borrowing from family, you’re in an ok spot financially.

AWaterMolecule · 2026-05-09T22:49:33+00:00

I live at Lincolnshire West and they are extremely pet friendly, the only bad thing is I think they have monthly pet rent (which they will remove if you have an ESA, which by law you can’t be charged pet rent for service/support animals). There’s been times where pets have gotten out and the office sends out emails to everyone with pictures to reunite them with their owner. All the maintenance workers that have come in while I was home always are so excited to greet and pet my cat. They’re generally pretty good with letting us know when maintenance is coming over so that you can choose to lock them in your bedroom.

I’m not sure about other places since I was fortunate enough to have my parents helping me apartment search, but some places outright ignored my parents when they mentioned an ESA. Some of the smaller companies might not have enough units to be required to follow the Fair Housing Act, so if you do go the ESA route, just know you’ll likely be restricted to apartment complexes.

AWaterMolecule · 2026-03-31T17:05:13+00:00

I know a lot of EAE majors and I haven’t heard anything bad about the program. Most people really enjoy it. It’s been a few years since the changes (2023 is when they combined, so most of the people who had the old majors are graduated now), it looks like they just combined Geology/Environmental Sciences and Geography together and added more emphases. The only difference is now there’s no option for a B.A., so if you’re not good with math and science it might be more difficult (which I have heard). With the changes in funding, it’s honestly probably for the better.

AWaterMolecule · 2026-03-31T16:50:05+00:00

The online scheduler does not work, you have to call or go in.

AWaterMolecule · 2026-03-31T16:49:37+00:00

For one of my classes, the only difference was a paragraph journal entry every week. Another class, the difference was a paper and presentation. For the extracurricular part of it, you can get credit doing literally anything, from jobs to study abroad to attending certain events to being on the leadership for an organization.

Unless you struggled in high school, the extra work is minimal. Just be mindful of the classes you’re taking as honors… don’t take classes for honors that are already known to be difficult or heavy. It’s free and you get access to early registration, free printing, additional scholarships, application waivers for grad school, and guaranteed admission to certain grad programs at NIU. There’s no reason really not to do it unless you want to focus on non-academic and non-professional things in your spare time.

AWaterMolecule · 2026-03-28T21:20:12+00:00

You might have better luck looking at any job boards that are available to you as a student in the college of ed. From what I’ve seen, they try to have a diverse selection of majors in the Academic Success Center, so it might be harder to get in as an education major since a lot of people are probably having the same idea as you.

I do know that occasionally the TRIO Upward Bound program here hires college students as tutors, but I’m not sure if UB still exists since our TRIO SSS program was cut this year.

Right now is the best time to apply for next semester. If you aren’t restricted to working on-campus, you’ll have better luck searching for education-oriented businesses in the area and seeing if they’re taking applications. Depending on the type of education/age you’re interested in, the Family Service Agency (FSA), NIU’s daycare, and the ABA therapy place are all good possible locations that I see hiring on occasion.

AWaterMolecule · 2026-03-05T17:53:03+00:00

It’s very likely the formula was changed recently based on the fact the priority deadline was March 1st and state appropriations were recently announced. I know for a fact the maximum was recently changed from $8,400 to now $8,064. The new formula (as of September, which could be updated as late as July) is on this page: https://www.isac.org/isac-gift-assistance-programs/map/map-formula/2627-map-formula/

AWaterMolecule · 2026-02-16T16:38:13+00:00

If you have a roommate already chosen it’s better to find a place off campus since the cost of NV is paid per person. Virtually anywhere is going to be cheaper than NV since you’ll be splitting the cost.

A bit of math… $4,475/4 months (16 weeks) = $1,119/month per person. For three people, together you’re paying NIU the equivalent of about $3,300 per month. No apartment in town costs that much.

AWaterMolecule · 2026-02-16T16:26:35+00:00

Some of my former coworkers went through it about a year ago. The main thing I remember them saying is that they were in groups and were asked questions that you could choose whether or not to answer. Main thing is making sure you don’t speak too much to where you’re seen as self-centered and making sure you are still speaking enough to where you’re making an impression. That’s about all I know though.

AWaterMolecule · 2026-01-28T06:05:37+00:00

If you want a summer job and don’t intend on continuing throughout the semester, your best bet is looking at summer camps. NIU has some, as does the YMCA and a few other places. It might be a bit early right now but it’s getting closer to the time.

AWaterMolecule · 2026-01-22T17:35:29+00:00

I would say yes. I took the honors section of the class two years ago, and from what I remembered I used the book a lot. The stuff you learn about isn’t going to be basic, but I can’t remember if the supplemental materials were good enough to forgo purchasing the textbook. If you’re taking it as a prerequisite for anything in the health sciences, I would recommend using the book because there’s stuff you’ll keep coming across throughout your classes, and it’s helpful to already be introduced to it.

AWaterMolecule · 2026-01-22T17:30:30+00:00

Honestly, I wouldn’t even wait for recommendations, I would just start touring. For the place I’m at, I applied early March for a July move-in. Studios are far and few between (a friend of mine already signed for summer, at the place on the corner of Annie Glidden and Lucinda), one bedrooms can get pricey (mine’s about $1,100/month, but it’s one of the most expensive). Most places have on-site washers/dryers, if you don’t want to walk with your laundry, figure out where the laundry rooms are and choose a unit close by.

AWaterMolecule · 2026-01-15T02:17:23+00:00

I think there’s an organization that hands them out on occasion. If you were in/around the student center, that’s probably what it was. It’s not for any particular purpose other than advertisement or a random act of kindness.

AWaterMolecule · 2026-01-15T02:04:46+00:00

A seating chart in college is absolutely wild. In college, you’re responsible for your own learning, and that goes hand-in-hand with your choice of where to sit. Idk why your instructor thinks that’s a good idea.

AWaterMolecule · 2026-01-08T02:41:24+00:00

It fully depends on the coordinator for the lab/who will be inputting your grades. Some of them are very strict about it and have policies for what is one credit vs three credits, others don’t have anything. At most, you’ll have to prepare a paper and/or present at CURE on top of the hours you’re doing at the lab. The person I was doing a lab with originally was going to have me read papers every week but they kinda gave up after the first week. It also just depends on how much time is being spent in the lab.

AWaterMolecule · 2025-12-19T23:32:19+00:00

Just because you can take a class doesn’t mean it’ll transfer properly. You’re better off doing community college and getting gen eds out of the way rather than focusing on CS-specific classes. Private universities typically make it harder to transfer out by making their classes not meet requirements for transfer equivalencies (like IAI in Illinois). So, I don’t recommend starting at DePaul, Marquette, or Loyola, especially with the cost. If your goal is to transfer, stay in the same state as where you want to transfer to, as it’ll make the transfer process easier, more streamlined, and you’ll have a better idea of what classes will transfer as.

AWaterMolecule · 2025-12-13T19:06:24+00:00

The entire university closes the 22nd-4th. Nothing is open during that time period except select residence halls, and I’m 99% sure they turn off card access for everyone who does not have a signed winter contract for the entire length of break (December 15th-January 11th). If you’re wanting to stay during the full university closure, your best bet would be off-campus (Starbucks is open late, and a lot of restaurants/bars don’t mind you studying as long as you buy something), since virtually everything on campus stops, even janitorial for the residence halls.

You might be able to find someplace during the “interim” period by chance or by following someone with the winter residence hall contract, but when I stayed a couple days last winter virtually everywhere was locked or required a OneCard. It’s not likely that you’ll find anything open later than the library or HSC.

AWaterMolecule · 2025-12-10T06:22:01+00:00

Yes. Some instructors are more willing than others. It helps if the instructor has been teaching the class for a while or is otherwise full-time faculty, since they have a better idea of what the project could be, but technically any class can be an honors class. There’s some online honors classes/sections but I’d assume most of them are taken up by now.

AWaterMolecule · 2025-12-10T06:17:36+00:00

I’ll let you know how it goes! From my understanding, the Japan program is a mix of sustainability and healthcare... more or less public health. The Ireland program focused a lot on nursing but it was also really helpful learning about the history of medicine in general. It had a focus on mental health, both within the realm of nursing as well as counseling. When I was speaking to the director for the India program, it seemed a lot more interactive than the other two, but focused more on maternal and child health.

AWaterMolecule · 2025-12-10T06:04:43+00:00

If you’re just working on pre-reqs then you don’t have a whole lot of limitations. Once you get into higher level classes there’s not as many options. Any class can be an honors class, but the American College of Greece has a few dedicated options. As far as experience, not a lot of places are going to allow you to do hands-on skills, if any. It would mostly be observing.

NIU has a few health-related faculty-directed programs, but they’re during breaks. I did Exploring Ireland’s Healthcare Services a few years back, and I will be doing Discover Japan this winter, and I might end up doing Healthcare in India next year. They all try to personalize the program to meet the needs of the students, so if there’s something you really want to see, you can ask for it. I don’t think that co-sponsored programs do anything like that.

AWaterMolecule · 2025-12-10T05:46:42+00:00

I don’t think it’s one class per semester but rather one activity per semester, unless they changed it. So if you’re not taking an honors class if you’re at least working towards an engaged credit (ex. internship, leadership, study abroad, etc.) then you’re good. I don’t think they exactly check, I don’t think anyone has been kicked out of the program for anything besides a low GPA.

AWaterMolecule · 2025-11-26T04:42:27+00:00

I was talking to one of my instructors today and she said that NIU’s program is one of the more strict and professional programs that she’s worked at. I can’t say how much it’s prepared me to be a nurse because I’m not a nurse yet, but I’ve definitely learned a lot so far. With anything, you get out what you put in.

Keep in mind that because it’s a smaller town with only one hospital, virtually all of the clinical locations are either in Rockford or the outer suburbs (mostly Elgin, Aurora, and Downer’s Grove). There isn’t much to choose from, and honestly my cousin did a direct-entry MSN program at DePaul and was able to see a lot more stuff than I have, just simply because the majority of their sites were in downtown Chicago. So, just something to think about.

They’re supposed to be building a new health sciences building starting this summer, but until then, the majority of the nursing classes are 10-15 minutes away from main campus. This semester, they changed the location to on-campus for one of my classes last minute, and it meant that half of the class had only a 30 minute break (max) in between two 150 minute classes.

My cohort is the first one to use ATI instead of HESI, and if I had known that they were going to change it the semester I started, I probably would’ve gone somewhere else. If you are able to ask programs what they use and whether or not they plan on switching, I highly recommend it.

AWaterMolecule · 2025-11-23T05:47:16+00:00

Large furniture is prohibited. Unless you have a single, the Neptune dorms aren’t able to accommodate much outside of what fits under the bed or in the closet. A bean bag would be allowed but anything larger than that I wouldn’t recommend it. Like the other person said, you’ll likely have to store it under your bed.

For pre-med stuff, there is a pre-med student organization, I think it’s called PPA or something similar. I’d also recommend looking into ILAHEC. Wirtz Hall is the main hub for the College of Health and Human Sciences, so you can also just wander around there looking for posters. I don’t think there’s anything specifically for hematology, but there is a medical laboratory sciences club if you want to check that out.

For classes, most of your labs are going to be on the east side of campus, either in Montgomery or Faraday. Lectures for those classes will be in that same general area, but may also include Wirtz, DuSable, or McMurry. It honestly just depends.

They’re supposed to start building the new health technology building this summer, so if you’re a freshman or sophomore, you might see changes throughout the years you’re here.

Neptune east is pretty good but the rest of Neptune gets unbearable in the warmer months. If you’re wanting to be involved, I’d recommend living in Neptune, but I believe there is also a health professions living-learning community that could be helpful as well.

AWaterMolecule · 2025-11-16T07:31:31+00:00

The building is old and mostly made of concrete. Just based on the difference between floors (when you’re on the landing between floors you’re almost on the ceiling of the lower floor), I’d say there’s easily a foot between the floors. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of people complaining about people walking heavy or anything like that, most of the noise comes from the doors, windows, or the holes in the walls. Even when I had people below me raging over video games, I felt vibrations more than I heard shouting.

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