<p>I have been on this board with various majors, but when it came time to apply; I chose to apply as an industrial Engineering major to five colleges and now I can't seem to figure out which one to attend.</p>
<p>Engineering schools I applied to
-UIUC December 13th- If I get into UIUC I am unsure if I would attend
-Iowa State U -accepted
-UIOWA accepted
-MSOE accepted
-NIU accepted</p>
<p>Financial Estimation based on NPC, Scholarships, and money available
-UIUC 15K-20K in loans
-Iowa State 15K-20K in loans (if I don't receive full tuition scholarship)
-UIOWA free
-MSOE free
-NIU free</p>
<p>Facts about me
-I want to live in Chicago or any other city in the Midwest that is close to Chicago
-I want to have a job that I find interesting so a college that attracts awesome companies is a plus
-I also want to go to a college where I will most likely succeed and help me achieve my goals
-I want to go to a college where people are friendly, there are fun things to do on campus, and professors do research </p>
<p>So do you think UIUC (if I'm admitted) or Iowa State are worth the loans?
Also if I'm admitted to UIUC should I attend if I am unsure if I will succeed in such a competitive environment?</p>
<p>Do any of them have outstanding internship programs. My husband hires engineers and those with internships certainly have a leg up. Also intern as often as possible. It helps you determine what aspects of the job you like as well as gets you experience. Finally, some schools partner with companies so you would be interested in those with Chicago contacts.
Iowa state is a good college, and honestly you need to know what they will give you which I hope is a full ride.</p>
<p>Lots of University of Iowa graduates are from Chicago and come back to work here. It has a fine engineering program. The other schools are good too but I would put NIU a bit lower as far as competitive environment. Have you applied to UIC’s program, it is somewhat less expensive than UIUC and is right in Chicago.</p>
<p>I didn’t apply to UIC because I want the college experience. I also visited to UIOWA and I didn’t feel like it was the right place for me, but if Iowa State is going to require loans do u think I should just go to UIOWA because I am concerned that it won’t give me as many opportunities as Iowa State</p>
<p>Momo77 I got the full ride at Iowa State so it looks like UIUC is history :)</p>
<p>Iowa State has an excellent CompSci program, if you have electives to take I’d recommend taking some there… Congratulations!</p>