<p>Say you had a choice between UIUC, CMU, or Georgia Tech.</p>
<p>I'm in-state for Georgia and obviously Tech would be the (much) cheaper option, but the campus life there and professor helpfulness just sound terrible. UIUC looks a more promising, but at a higher price (roughly 30k more). And CMU... well noone on the East Coast has ever heard of it, and it is one of the most expensive universities in the nation (which doesn't appeal to my parents very much), but it would still be my #1 choice nonetheless.</p>
<p>I'm doing undergrad Electric Engineering btw.</p>
<p>"And CMU... well noone on the East Coast has ever heard of it, "</p>
<p>Correction: Only the uneducated ones have never heard of CMU. It's a prestigious university.</p>
<p>Actually for engineering, UIUC is the best among the three, but it's more for graduate school. In terms of prestige in the undergraduate level, CMU is the best since it has higher selectivity and better environment. However it comes with a price as it is a private school. So, personally I would narrow down the list into UIUC and CMU, and finally decide between them by taking into the account the financial issue.</p>
<p>"Only the uneducated ones have never heard of CMU. It's a prestigious university."</p>
<p>Haha, you do have a point, but you'll be suprised how many uneducated ones there are down here. Plus, it's been a HUGE pain trying to educate my parents on the school; i've printed out reviews and rankings, but they still remain adamant. </p>
<p>They say they'll pay that kind of money for a Stanford / MIT type school, but I argue that isn't CMU on that type of level as well, except with less prestige?</p>
<p>on the west coast, nobody talks about CMU much. You mean Carnegie Mellon, right. If i said CMU here, peopel would say "what?"... but they're at the level of familiarity to know carnegie mellon. Its the best school you have gotten in to by far.
Be notified, I've heard that they're one of the most conservative campuses/student bodies in the nation.</p>
<p>All three are great schools. What do you want? What do you like? Is money an issue? You definitely have your work cut out for you. Chosing between those three is tough.</p>
<p>farnsworth: what is your intended major. If it's science or engineering, Carnegie Mellon is a great choice (although there's nothing wrong with UIUC and GaTech).</p>
<p>CMU does offer financial aid scaled to actual need. Did you apply for financial aid on your application? Did you provide financial info to CMU?
If so, you will get a letter outlining the aid they will provide.</p>
<p>If you did not indicate you were applying for aid, get on the phone with them next week and try to apply. They may still let you do that.</p>
<p>I like working computers and to a certain extent solving physics and math problems. I play lots of games but also am into a lot of amateur dancing and sports. (don't know if that answers your question.)</p>
<p>I want to learn valuable job skills while still positioning myself well for a job in the future. I want to probably work with computers in the future.</p>
<p>Money... well, it's not like we're dirt poor, but my parents aren't going to get out the piggy bank to pay for something they feel isn't worth it. We're probably upper middle class. They said they would do it for the right school, but not for a school they know nothing about.</p>
<p>joemama: I did select CMU as a school when a did my FAFSA, but I didn't do anything else. Our family is pretty much normal middle class, makes 200k combined... should we get our hopes up?</p>
<p>Visit the campuses and decide which you like most. All three are excellent in EE. UIUC and CMU have a slight edge over GT, but all three are awesome academically speaking.</p>
<p>Ga Tech would be fine academically, but have you ever hung out there? Quality of life of a navy ship. UIUC compares to CMU in getting a job, and its cheaper. Plus the best social life. Go there. If you hate it transfer to Michigan.</p>
<p>The OP has some great choices, but also a tough decision. Here's how I would do it.</p>
<p>First, rule out any schools you wouldn't go to if you weren't an engineer. Why? Stats show that 2 out of 3 EE students quit before graduation! See the trade newspaper, <a href="http://www.eetimes.com/issue/fp/OEG20020712S0041%5B/url%5D">http://www.eetimes.com/issue/fp/OEG20020712S0041</a>. I'm sure this ratio is better at some schools (which of course means it must be worse at others), but it should be something that sticks in your mind. You know the line in that old movie, Paper Chase, where the grizzled prof says "look to the left, look to the right, one of you won't be here next year?". In engineering, make that "look to the left, look to the right, only one of you will make it thru EE!"</p>
<p>Now, visit each school that's left, preferably for an overnite stay. You want to get a feel for the school and the people that go there, what they do in the day and their free time, what people do in their free time, etc. Most of the books on college admissions have a chapter on what to look for on the campus visit, so read thru one of those and you'll be more prepared when you're looking around.</p>
<p>farnsworth: on the CMU application there should have been a question "Do you intend to apply for financial aid", that's how the school knows you are applying. This is from CMU's website:</p>
<p>How do we determine eligibility for financial aid?
Eligibility for federal, state, Carnegie Mellon and most private aid programs is determined by using Federal Methodology, a formula established by Congress. </p>
<ul>
<li>
How do we determine your expected family contribution?
We use the information that you and your parent(s) provide on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the Carnegie Mellon Financial Aid Application and 1040 and W-2 forms to determine the amount you and your parent/s should contribute to your education at Carnegie Mellon. </li>
</ul>
<p>When do I know if I've received financial assistance?
If you apply for financial assistance and you're admitted to the university, you'll receive a financial aid notification letter shortly after you receive your letter of admission. The financial aid letter will state the dollar value of any assistance you may be receiving from Carnegie Mellon. </p>
<p>Anway, here's the bottom line:
If you did NOT fill out the forms and request aid, then call and ask if you can still apply and do it as soon as possible. The private schools will usually bend over backwards to accomodate admits.</p>
<p>If you're lucky, CMU --with aid --might be close to the price of the state schools, maybe even GaTech.</p>
<p>One correction about CMU..."be notified, I've heard they're one of the most conservative campuses/student bodies in the nation."</p>
<p>There's a good # of engineering students who usually are on the conservative side, but overall I'd say CMU is liberal, where anything goes and is tolerated. There's a good size fine arts school that includes future actors, musicians, artists. It's an interesting mix.</p>
<p>"UIUC compares to CMU in getting a job."...curious, anything to back that up or just an opinion?</p>
<p>It's also in the midwest, but actually, so is Pittsburgh, really. But I heard that CMU has more of the East Coast competitiveness, while U of I is pretty chill. We (I only say "we" cause of the basketball team, I don't go there) have a real good engineering program, a lot of my friends would love to go there. Aslo realize that U of I is a Big Ten public school...upwards of 25,000 people. I'm not sure about CMU, but I always htought it was under 10,000. If it is, that's a huge difference.</p>