For finding resources for academics, career, and research opportunities, the best piece of advice I would give – no, SHOUT – to everybody, from incoming freshman to second-semester seniors, is to “CHECK YOUR EMAIL!!!!”. 

Here are just a few of the mailing lists I get in my Outlook inbox: 

• Statistics Undergraduate Advising 

• LAS Career Services 

• University of Illinois Research Park 

• Engineering Career Services 

• corporate@lists.cs.illinois.edu 

• The Career Center 

• Siebel School Undergraduate Advising Team 

The Statistics department and the University of Illinois at large are constantly providing its students with information on opportunities like research (checking an email for a research position is how I got involved in research last year), new classes (new electives like STAT 430 are announced to statistics students), general advising opportunities, and career events. Checking your emails is the first and probably easiest step in finding resources on campus, and it’s something everybody should be doing! 

Apart from checking your email, there are many other ways to find job opportunities. Handshake @ Illinois is a great platform to get directly connected with university recruiters. Additionally, career fairs are a great way to get face-to-face contact with recruiters and possibly score an interview! Make sure to bring business-casual attire and an updated resume to the Hire Illini: Career and Internship Fair happening February 26th in the Union. 

There are also great resources for building research and project experience. For the former, make sure to apply for the Masters & Undergraduate Research Experience in Statistics (MURES), a program that pairs students with faculty mentors to work on semester-long research projects. Notice of the opening of MURES applications is typically sent in the weeks leading up to each semester via, you guessed it, email! Another underrated way to find opportunities is simply talking to professors during office hours. Office hours don’t have to be just for homework help – they’re one of the best ways to build relationships with faculty, learn about their research, and discover opportunities that may not be formally advertised. As for building project experience, RSOs like StatCom and Illinois Data Science Club are great ways to work with other statistics students on single semester or longer projects. The former provides a fantastic opportunity to gain experience working with real clients and real data. The latter allows you to learn data science concepts in engaging workshops and work with other statistics students on cool projects in the Data Dive. 

Finally, meeting with the advising team is a great way to get questions answered on planning courses, transferring majors, and especially for getting connected with other resources on campus. For career advice, make sure to talk to Aaron Surratt, the Department of Statistics’ career services advisor. 

Looking back, most of the opportunities I’ve had – research, projects, networking – came from keeping my eyes and ears open and being proactive. The university is constantly providing us students with countless resources and opportunities, but it’s on us to take advantage of it. So, open Outlook and get started! 

Welcome back from winter break! Hopefully you also got a chance to relax and recharge for this upcoming semester. Now is a chance to reflect on last semester’s habits and start fresh. Below I will share some tips I personally use to set myself up for success in the new semester.

Mapping out the Semester
At the beginning of each semester, I like to go through each course syllabus and take note of important information such as exam dates, weekly deadlines, assignment weights, and different platforms used by the course. Keeping track of exam dates in either a physical planner or electronic calendar makes it easy to visualize the semester. Doing this makes it easy to tell which weeks require a lot of focus and which weeks allow you to take a breather. I also map out the weekly assignment deadlines in addition to memorizing the course schedule of each day. The schedule and deadlines are likely quite different from the routine that you got used to last semester, so taking some time to map this out will be incredibly valuable. I also take time to mentally prepare for where all my classes are located and which method of transportation to use. For example, buses are usually more full at the beginning of the year, so I often opt to take one time slot earlier than usual for the first week or so. Additionally, I try to think about what format of notes I want to use based on how the professor delivers the material, whether that be written or typed notes, annotating slides, etc. Lastly, I create bookmark folders for each class since the number of different links required for each course is usually overwhelming to keep track of. This allows me to easily access anything I may need, from discussion boards, assignment submissions, and course websites.

Balance + Extracurriculars
Now that you are able to visualize your course load and commitments, it’s time to evaluate if it is manageable. A successful semester depends on a careful balance of coursework, extracurriculars (RSOs, jobs, research, etc.), social life, and physical health. I know that it’s a lot to balance, and sometimes hard to stay motivated, but you don’t have to be perfect. As long as you are always making an attempt to progress towards these goals, you will find yourself right where you aspire to be. Be wary of overcommitting yourself. As important as it is to be driven to be part of many extracurriculars and career advancing activities, too many will have a negative effect against everything you’re working towards. You want to have a sufficient amount that is both aspirational and manageable. If you find yourself with extra time on your hands, be on the lookout for possible board/committee positions of RSOs you enjoyed last year since they often open up around the start of the semester, as well as potential research and internship applications. If you find yourself overwhelmed, I highly recommend getting some fresh air, spending time with friends to rejuvenate your spirit, or discovering new spaces (study spaces etc.) to get out of your usual routine. The sense of novelty is always inspiring to me and going out for fresh air is always a reminder that everything will be ok!

Signing Off
College is full of opportunities to explore, so I encourage you to always be on the lookout! I hope these strategies and pieces of advice can be helpful to you and I wish you the best in this new semester. I believe in you, your hard work will pay off!