My son (from Calif.) got in UIUC aerospace and U. of Texas at Austin mechanical engineering, also on the priority waitlist on Carnegie Mellon Dept. of Information Systems (not in the engineering school). CMU’s priority waitlist is binding, meaning if he is off the waitlist, he must attend CMU.
My son likes aerospace engineering but other people advised he should study mechanical engineering to have job flexibility in the future. We don’t know much about the CMU Information Systems, but the department website seems attractive. Should we accept the priority waitlist? Is Information Systems a good major? Or should he study mechanical engineering instead? Thanks!
@connectoc this very subjective question , it really depends on what your son is passionate about , for example I’m passionate about computer engineering but not really about mechanical , so if i had to do mechanical i would fail . do what he likes and he’ll do a lot better in college . All three universities are top tier so it really doesn’t matter where he ends up going/graduating from
@connectoc It looks like your son doesn’t really have a say in the application process at all 
Send him to study whatever he’s passionate about. All of these institutions are very reputable and you can’t go wrong at either of them.
Information Systems isn’t really that much of a good major imo but it’s a major from Carnegie Mellon so it’s worth it. If your son loves Information Systems, go for it.
@connectoc CMU is a very strong school for Computer Science with amazing internship offers. If your son ends up moving to Computer Science along the way or if he can double major/minor, there will be lots of opportunities. Of course if that’s where his interest lies.
At UT, some ECE majors used to double major in CS. It’s difficult now to add CS because of space issues, but it may be different at CMU where you could easily add another major/minor.
UT is great if you can afford it.
Another person struggling over college decisions here. I’m wondering if UT is worth it over UIUC for ChemE. UT is obviously ranked higher for ChemE. I love the school and Austin dearly (dream college for years). I’ve been working to keep up my rank all throughout high school to get into UT. It’s been very stressful and demanding, but I’m glad my work paid off and I was admitted! I was ecstatic and couldn’t stop shaking for an hour when I got in. UT’s programs are wonderful, and the research opportunities there are completely in line with what I’m hoping to work on in the future. I love the people I’ve met who will be going/have gone to UT (and I know a few people who will be just as disappointed as I will be if I don’t go to UT). If I go to UT, I’m 99% sure I’ll end up living in Texas after graduation.
UIUC is my second contender. I like it, but not nearly as much as I love UT. I got offered honors designation and a scholarship for UIUC (with the scholarship, the CoA between UT and UIUC difference is $10k). UT gave me nothing. My parents can afford both schools, but they don’t see the rationale in choosing UT over UIUC (or UMN or Berkeley for that matter). I’m willing to take out loans to cover the difference or more, and I figure that with a degree in ChemE, I can probably afford to take out a little more than $15k in loans per year.
I feel like choosing a college is much more than a rankings/cost game (especially when one can afford going to both, and the child is willing and capable of covering the difference and more). My parents are very confrontational about me going to UT. Is it worth it to go to UT, or should I just go to UIUC?
@imthereal
Given your enthusiasm, I’d say:
GO TO UT.
It makes little sense to pay more money and take out loans for essentially the same education and career opportunities. Plus, you’te obviously hesitant about choosing Illinois over Texas.