The purpose of my being at GSU was due to my daughter's school having their Winter Festival in their auditorium. It was a great time. I think it is wonderful they GSU allows local schools that dont have the rokms/space to put on plays and concerts to utilize their beautiful facility! Plenty of bathrooms, space, lightening and clean up crews!!! My family has been attending concerts at this venue for the last 3 years!! Again, very thankful that a space is available to Southland College prep HS- not just for their showcase, but for practices during the week to prepare for their big show! read more

See all

I went with my family to see the Sons of Serendip, who competed on America's Got Talent. I am a new fan! The music and the storytelling were amazing and compelling. The venue itself is very nice. It is a bit of a walk from the parking lot to the Center for the Performing Arts, but for people who need it, wheelchair service is available. The theater was beautiful and the University is so big and open and displays art throughout the halls. The attendants were so helpful and guiding us to where we needed to go and showing us to our seats. There is a bar that sells mixed drinks, beer and wine, and a few snacks. The bartenders were lovely, but the two drinks I ordered were lackluster. I don't think the bartenders have a ton of experience, but their positive attitudes and friendliness made up for it. read more

Governors State University - After the show, we took a picture in front of one of the many art clad walls. - Colleges & Universities Near Me - University Park, Illinois

See all

Avoid the PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision Program. You will be attracted to the tuition price and the "3 years" it takes to achieve. Once you get there, they will tell you it takes at least 5 years, no support from the program. The teaching staff are unprofessional, unfriendly, disorganized and overall do not know what they are doing. There are many online programs that give you a better education with less headache and drama. read more

I'm in the process of obtaining my MFA in film. The professors go above and beyond to help each student at the level their at. The classes are small and the tuition for this program is not as costly as some of the other universities in and around Chicago. Overall, I'm satisfied with my experience and education I'm receiving at Governors State University. read more

I thought that taking online courses would be more convenient but the system I would like to say, is extremely ridiculous!! There's always an error message If you try to access the blackboard from your phone, which I have an iOS iPhone, and an iOS iPad. I'm not able to access any course content unless it's from a desktop and even then you have to log onto blackboard, from there you have to click on myEcon lab from there You have to go to Pearson, you need like three different sign ins, three different passcodes. All this should be under one app or in one category, but it's not. And assignment due dates are all different when you're looking at them from your phone, iPad, or a desktop! Definitely needs a lot of improving. Extremely frustrating. read more

Everything about this university is trash. Don't waste your time or money. The admissions process will be your 1st frustration. Ok, cool. You made it through the 1st "set-up-to-fail" system at GSU. Next will be academic advising and financial aid. 2 words = good luck. ALWAYS triple check and do it again and expect something to be wrong. If you made it this far, the next process: class. This had to be the worst quality education experience ever. This was like kindergarten on GMO. The teachers/staff here? NO. If you just need to get a degree and nothing else matters (not even the extremely, extreme student fees), then Governors State University is your choice. BUT even with that, those $2k-$3k-$4k fees every semester just don't add up. I do NOT recommend this school to anyone who even cares a little bit about their learning experience or their personal finances. If you by-pass this and decide to do it, you deserve to be a GSU student. read more

Waste of time. My daughter applied here for the Masters program in speech path. Just like the other reviews, the admissions people are terribly unprofessional. This school looks to be lacking in funding and I've read they struggle to hold their accreditation. My best advice seek your education elsewhere. read more

It's been a few years, and it's a long story why I had to take classes here for a year in the middle of my regularly scheduled 4-year program elsewhere, but I was very pleasantly surprised by how nice the experience turned out to be. The instructors were wonderful, and the folks in the various offices were all very good to me as well. The campus was even pretty, and it's more affordable than a lot of other options. There was a time when I thought paying more for your education meant something better, but having taken classes in both kinds of places, Governors State was just as "educational" and in some ways even better if the focus is on a degree. The thing that's unique is that this school is designed for students who have already completed an associates degree or similar amount of classwork, and it's very much geared toward adults wishing to complete a more advanced degree. Even back when I was there and the whole idea of "distant learning" was newer, I was able to take a few classes remotely (just popping in for exams). Now classes are available online as well, so it's got to be even simpler. If I found myself back in the area wishing to learn some more, this would be the first place I'd consider again. read more

I also went through the admissions process for my master's. This place is really unorganized and the staff is rude to top it off. Many of them act as though they are too busy, or don't have the patience to do their jobs; you know, the jobs that your tuition pays. This is a school that's in a rural area in the middle of a corn field. Sounds pleasant right? But the demographics of this school will completely blow you away. I grew up in Chicago and attended schools in Woodlawn and Englewood communities. I certainly don't want the same....same. If you want a solid college experience, try going to a school that's a little more diversified and save yourself some serious frustration. I know, I know, it will cost a few more bucks to go somewhere else, but it's worth it, and you'll have a degree that wont embarrass you. Just look at the curriculum and requirement for their Interdisciplinary program. It's a joke. Really. Now a word for veterans, even if you have the Illinois veterans grant. This school will try and NOT recognize your transcripts from the military. Every soldier/sailor has an ACE transcript already on file with the military and those credits can be applied at any college. Schools will often say they can't except credits because they want you to take the course again$$. If this happens please educate yourself on what's called the SOCAD agreement. This is an agreement between practically ALL colleges and universities throughout America, with the Military. The agreement requires that they accept your credits. I went to a college in Virginia that refused my credits and I wrote a complaint of double billing the government and suddenly they started taking everything. I went from a freshman to junior overnight.If you got credit once for a course the government/military paid for, and GSU wants you to take it again.....that's double billing$$. The reason I know is because they did this to my stepson, who unfortunately didn't know about these tactics until he was committed. So VETERAN BEWARE. read more

This school is unorthodox by charging you for classes you never attended online and have records show you were locked out the system by two different departments there. No one gives anyone correct information and according to the staff they don't know anything. So, when I'm a mother of two needing my transcripts to enroll in school I can't get them because this school is charging me for classes online they didn't give me access to attend classes online. read more

This school is pretty alright. It's supposedly the cheapest university in the state. Not too many people know about it & it's in the middle of a corn field about 30 minutes from my house in the south suburbs. All the classes I know of don't start until 12:30 & caters to working adults. There are also weekend courses. It's a transfer school meaning you have to start off as a junior. Most of my gen eds transfered over so it will take me 1 year to get another bachelors followed by a masters degree. I like that they have the school of health professions...occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech pathology(my major) etc. They also have a cadaver lab that I've worked in. read more

Passing all my classes here. I'm so relieved that this college is a lot better than College of Dupage. The professors here know what they were doing (of course they are experienced), the Leadership along with the Board of Trustees are organized, financial aid office gave me 100% respect along with their knowledge and not gave me a bad attitude and/or a cold shoulder, and even the cashier's office workers were also respectful. Even the Veterans Office gave me a lot of guidance and not screw me over like College of Dupage. Man I sure love Governor's State so far. Here its all about the students and their educational goals and future. College of Dupage; 90% of the faculty and leadership's mentality is all paycheck, paycheck, paycheck and could care less about their students educational goals and future. read more

admissions takes forever. I tried to contact the admissions office about the masters program i had applied to and i didn't hear back.

The unique thing about the University is that it's an upper division college (only juniors and seniors) this automatically weeds out annoying freshman and sophomores that disrupts class and not as serious about their education. It also caters to the working adults so the schedules are pretty flexible. Tuition is also very good and the quality of education is fantastic. Now the bad.....There aren't really any sport teams in the school so the school spirit is pretty much impassive. Its also takes about 45mins to get there since I live up north(the school is located in the far south burbs basically in the middle of no where) But in general I think the school gives you plenty of bang for the buck! read more

Always remember the faculty and staff at GSU for their assistance in my continuing education classes as well as those taken in the past. From the time I completed classes as a teenager, I recall the kindness of faculty with academic degrees from notable universities such as Cornell, University of Chicago, University of Illinois Center for the Study of Reading, University of Wisconsin at Madison, and Harvard, to name a few. Patiently, each shared instructional strategies with students and always had time to review scholarship and answer academic questions. Many were known by their first names to students and staff. These university professors and staff not only held high expectations for academic achievement and demonstrated respect for all of us, but unknowingly became our role models when we later entered the teaching community. Sadly, unprecedented times have affected opportunities for continuing education opportunities due to scheduling constraints. "If I have seen far, it is because I stood on the shoulders of giants." read more

Governors State University has the worst admissions process I've ever encountered. I submitted an application along with my transcripts three weeks ago. The admissions office has had my information for the last two weeks.They have yet to make a decision. I've called numerous times to get a decision in order to register for summer school which starts in 1 month. Today I saw on their website that they offer Instant Admission Days called Transfer Thursdays. Well, I called and asked if I could take advantage of Transfer Thursdays over the phone and was immediately put on hold for 10 minutes. The receptionist finally returned to tell me that the option was only for transfers that visited the campus and has already submitted their application and transcripts. I informed her that I have submitted all required information and I'm waiting on a decision. She first told me that I should have led with that, she then asked for my name and of course placed me on hold for another 10 minutes. When she finally returned to the call, she informed me that my documents have been received but the admission decision will take two weeks. I attempted to get a better understanding by asking how it was possible to give an instant decision to students that were applying the same day but couldn't give me a decision after having my documents for two weeks. The receptionist then got loud saying, "I can't help you! This conversation won't change anything!". I'm very frustrated. I did my research and read reviews before applying to this school and I have no idea why it has so many great reviews. I now wonder if the 5 star reviews are even real. I just hope my honest review shares light on this school for the next applicant that doesn't have money to waste on an institution that doesn't attempt to meet the student half way. With 3 transcripts and the application fee, I have wasted $70 dollars and I should be reimbursed due to their unprofessionalism and laziness. read more

I recently applied for the theoretical sequence for my masters in psychology...to say the least I've reached out numerous times to admissions the director and also the provost only to receive a email saying the program isn't available we wish you the best of luck, even though I applied, paid and had all materials were in. I've been reaching out to receive a refund for my application fee and haven't even heard back from anyone. Very unprofessional. read more