What's A Themed Living-Learning Community?

Illinois State University offers a variety of places to live, one of those options is a Themed Living-Learning Community!

Congratulations! You are going to Illinois State University! Now, where are you going to live?

High School graduation is right around the corner and the beginning of your education at Illinois State University is coming up quick! Illinois State University offers a multitude of housing options. Something special that Illinois State offers are Themed Living-Learning Communities, or a TLLC. A TLLC offers a unique environment for students in a special group that share a common interest or experience. Some different types of themed floors are Business, Mennonite College of Nursing, IT, Teacher Education, International, Leadership & Service, Mathematics and many others. With lots of options, there are lots of ways to get involved and meet new people who have similar interests as you!

We talked to four different people about their experiences on different TLLC's

Meet sophomores Miley and Sarah!

Sarah Schumacher / Via facebook.com

What do you like about living in a TLLC?

Svenson_IV / Via reddit.com

Miley: A really good thing about living on the music floor is you get a lot more homework help because we are all in the same classes so it makes it really nice

Sarah: It's also really cool because we are in classes with all theses people, but we get the chance to get to know them outside of class which kind of hard to do with other people

How did you find out about TLLC's and what made you decide to live there?

Illinois State University / Via housing.illinoisstate.edu

Sarah: I found out about the themed living from [Miley]

Miley: And I found out from a pamphlet I was reading from Illinois State and they said they have TLLC's. I knew I wanted to live Manchester and I looked and saw a music floor in Manchester which I thought would be perfect because we are both music majors

How did you two room together?

Sarah Schumacher / Via facebook.com

Sarah: We went to the same high school together. We found out we were both going here [Illinois State] and we thought hey, we know each other but weren't super close, so we thought we knew each other well enough that we could live together and it wouldn't be an issue.

After living here/together for two years, what have you learned?

Cheezburger / Via cheezburger.com

Sarah: We have been living on the floor for two years and what was really cool the first year were the sophomores that were on the floor, so we could go to them ask them for help because they have taken some of the classes we were talking and experiences some of the things we were experiencing which was helpful. Now that it is our second year, it is really cool because now I can give them advice and help them now.

What are some of the benefits of living on a TLLC?

Illinois State University / Via housing.illinoisstate.edu

Miley: You already have a sense of community and you have something in common with everyone on our floor. I can go to someone else's room and ask them questions from a class we are in. I wouldn't have had to get to know them at all because I know that they are in my class and they are interested in music. That makes it an easier transition from high school to college.

Meet Riley! He is a sophomore, music education major. He is the Resident Assistant on the Fine Arts floor.

Riley Nahlik / Via facebook.com

What do you like about being an RA on a TLLC?

Illinois State University / Via housing.illinoisstate.edu

The biggest benefit of being an RA on a TLLC is having that instant connection I have with all my residents because we all have this shared interest in the arts. Whether is's music, theater, dance, art, and any of that stuff. It was a really good way to engage with my residents at the beginning of the year and still even today.

Going from being a resident to an RA, what can you say are the benefits of living on a TLLC?

queenof-newyork / Via queenof-newyork.tumblr.com

Being a resident on a TLLC floor for one year has provided me a lot of insight and experience with the kind of environment that it has. Living on these floors will provide you with a connection to 47 other students who you may be seeing in your classes or in extracurricular's on campus. It is really nice to have all of those friends right away.

Meet Alison! She is sophomore accounting major. She lives on one of the Honors floors

Alison Leczycki

How did you find out about a TLLC and what made you decide to live there?

Illinois State University / Via honors.illinoisstate.edu

I found out about the Honors floor through an Open House that I went to. There was an Honors Advisor there that talked about it was an option to live there. I thought it was cool to live with like-minded people who want to study. I chose it because it was a quiet place to study and I could meet friends who wanted to study with me. Mostly, to meet other people in the Honors Program.

What do you like about living on the Honors floor?

Hey Arnold / Via nicksplat.com

The best thing about living on the Honors floor is the community. Literally, all of my friends live on this floor. At any point in time, you can just go to someone else's room. The Honors floor has such an experience and such a community that we all have become friends.

If you are eligible to a part of a TLLC, you can fill out this application!