@MWolf: UIUC enrollment is not increasing?
I thought it was.
OK, I found this (UIUC boasting about record enrollment): https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/692740
@PurpleTitan Those numbers, which are more flat than increasing, are not evidently the real numbers as they show up in the data on UIUC’s Division of Management Information: http://www.dmi.illinois.edu/cp/ The numbers on the DMI show a clear drop in number of Freshmen in the past years, and a general trend of decreasing in Freshmen enrollment numbers since 2011. It looks like this is being somewhat off set by transfers, since almost every cohort has increased in numbers from Freshman to Senior years at least since 2009.
^ Financially, the CC->UIUC route may make a lot of sense for families.
In fact, UIUC has a formal CC transfer program in to their engineering school:
https://pathways.engineering.illinois.edu
@PurpleTitan You are absolutely correct, and I know of many students who have done that. The only students for whom it may not work as well are engineering students, since it reduces the chances of internships. A student taking all four years at UIUC has the opportunity for three summers of internships, a kid transferring after a year has only 2 summers, while transferring after two years leaves only one summer. For most other degrees, though, it’s a very cost effective way to get a UIUC degree.
@MWolf, well, for engineering, transfers can do co-ops or semester-long internships to build up work experience. They don’t have to absolutely graduate from college 4 years after graduating from HS.