Case Western Reserve vs University of Michigan vs University of Illinois UC

<p>Those are my three choices as of now. I'm leaning more towards Michigan or Case, but I'd like to have the opinions and thoughts of others.</p>

<p>Financial aid-wise, I have full ride to Case and Illinois, and 2/3 to Michigan (curse the out of state tuition). </p>

<p>I live in the suburbs of Chicago, so U of I is a 2 hour drive while Michigan and Case are about 6 and 9 hours respectively. </p>

<p>I am going into general engineering, most likely doing environmental, civil, or chemical as my major.</p>

<p>How valuable is name value, and is Michigan's reputation that much greater than the others? How good is Case's rep?</p>

<p>What is campus life like at Case?
Is the atmosphere very competitive?
How is the undergraduate program?</p>

<p>Thankyou for your time!</p>

<p>All three are really good choices and you’re really fortunate to have the money, so I’d stick to either Case or Illinois (in my opinion, Michigan isn’t worth the money!). Case is great for anythign in engineering, and I’d say at least half of the student body majors in some type of engineering. I’d say both schools are well known by name, but Case is especially known for engineering and research- all professors are involved in research in their field! Case has a great reputation and it is becoming a lot better known in the past few years after jumping considerably in the ratings (#38!!). I love campus life- it’s all what you make of it. Greek life isn’t stereotypical like at most schools- its very service oriented in addition to being social. You can always find parties, but if you are a person who doesn’t want to, there really is no pressure and theres a ton to do without having to party! Case is extremely focused on undergrads as well as grads, which I found to be very rare among top-tier universities, and you really learn to appreciate it while here! The atmosphere too is what you make of it… if you only hang out with people in your major 24/7 (which happens a lot with students in the nursing program, since they have every class together), you can definitely experience competitiveness and pressure, but it’s important ot have friends outside of your major. I know I have friends in every major, and every dorm building, so you never get caught up in the competitiveness! it just takes effort, but that happens everywhere that students are very self motivated and driven! Its an asset to Case! Hope that helps :)</p>

<p>It’s the classic case of big school vs. small school. I think UIUC is a no-brainer. In-state tuition and elite engineering. However, you have to like the big school atmosphere. Case is a gem.</p>