I have recently been admitted to aerospace engineering at UIUC and FYE at Purdue and is having a difficult time choosing between the two. I have already done an extensive search on the backgrounds of both schools and they are surprisingly similar in many aspects including graduation employment rate, starting salary, etc.
I am not really concerned about completing the FYE program first at Purdue, the only thing I am worried about is the internship and co-op opportunities that these two schools offer. According to the Illini Success Profile, only 62% of aerospace engineering undergraduate students received an internship opportunity, but I could not find anything on Purdue’s website. Looking at the job fairs that these two schools provide, Purdue seems to offer a wider selection of companies, but ultimately it is still very similar and down to personal achievements.
It would be greatly appreciated if anyone could share their stories or offer any advice on the outlook of the career networks as internships are crucial in developing a good profile. On a side note, the headquarter of the Boeing Company is based in Chicago, Illinois, so will that have a location advantage?
Purdue runs one of the largest career fairs in the country. The career center, internship, and coop program is extremely strong. My d landed her coop as a freshman.
Aero industry ties at Purdue are also very strong.
That said the aero industry is currently taking a very big hit. Who knows how that’s going to impact career options going forward.
I also think Purdue is better run fiscally than UIUC which may be a consideration going forward.
Are both school the same cost for you? That should also be a consideration. I think these are peer schools for engineering and I wouldn’t pay extra for one over the other.
From what I have heard from others, I totally agree with your point, but I don’t seem to find any detailed information on the co-op programs they have or like any statistics. Purdue does indeed have a strong aero industry background but I am sure that UIUC is just as good.
Since I am oos for both, cost is not really a problem.
Both are great schools, congrats! It’s been 30 years, but when I was at Purdue, everyone who wanted an internship/co-op secured one. Some didn’t want one (co-op), choosing to try and graduate in 4 years. But I know of not a single student who was shut out who desired one, regardless of the discipline.
I also did recruit post graduation at many of the Midwestern colleges, including Purdue and UIUC. Purdue’s engineering job fair was the largest and most complete of any of the fairs I worked. I don’t know if it was the largest overall for engineering, but it was by far the largest of the ones I worked in the Midwest.
Good luck on the choices. FWI, my son turned down UIUC for computer science four years ago because of the financial state of Illinois. Hind site is always perfect, but that was obviously a decision that didn’t really matter. It’s a great school. However, only one of the two schools put the first man on the moon.
They are two excellent schools. My D is a Purdue grad and I saw a post this week that should be considered by all potentially Purdue-bound freshman - the President of the college has declared that they WILL start on campus next Fall.
Per his statement they are going to manage covid risk through isolating high risk staff and faculty from low-risk students as well as other ways to minimize spread and protect higher risk individuals. I think it’s very sensible but it’s pretty amazing at this point in 2020 when everyone else is saying “we’re figuring out if we can open in the Fall” to have Purdue say “we’re doing it”. Committing as a school to managing pandemic risk on campus requires a lot of guts, organization and work… but I have faith they will pull it off. I don’t know that any other school has committed as an institution to tackling this challenge in ways other than remote education… so imo this is a pretty big deal.
Thank you all for the help. Since affordability isn’t an issue, what’s drawing me back from Purdue is that its overall academic profile. There is no doubt that the engineering department is one of the best out there but other areas might slack a bit compared to UIUC. Since the rankings are so similar, I wouldn’t suspect a massive difference in education quality and career opportunities, and campus life with all those extra-curricular aren’t a huge concern either as it ultimately comes down to personal involvement.
Internship opportunities seem great at Purdue but I still can’t seem to find anything from UIUC, so I’ve decided to reach out to them and see if I can find anything helpful. Thank you for the kind help everyone!
Just curious where did you end you going? My son has the same 2 choices for aerospace engineering and we are oos as well. Hoping to learn more from you.
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