<p>hem Eng. at U of Il v. U of Mich v. U of Wis.
Hi, my son was accepted in the above programs, and at Case. He loved the academics at Case, but not so much the campus. The Illinois "admitted student program" was very lacking in detail and it bothers him that Chem E is located in LAS instead of Engineering, which is more insulated from budget cuts. We know Madison is highly ranked for Chem E, but not much else. We cannot get a dept. tour or Q and A, only a meeting with an adviser. The few electives seem highly restricted. Michigan seems very flexible, though its website only shows summer research opps. Son is ultimately interested in renewable/sustainable energy. Does anyone have experience with the quality of instruction, dept. innovation, access to instructors., etc.
As Il. residents, we like Il.tuition, but the diff between Chem E's "program" and that of Aero. Engr., which his twin attended, was off-putting. We also had the impression that U of I doesn't really care if you attend or not.
Chocolate treats to anyone who can help us figure this out. Thank you.</p>
<p>All the UW Engineering programs are very good (nuclear is #2) and Industrial (7th)and the rest of the UW is ranked right there with Michigan overall. Sciences and liberal arts are very strong. While Med research dominates UM, UW has more being done in other areas. UM is also far more expensive and the E school is loacted well off the main campus. UW has a very active co-op program and a eng only placement center. It also has a fa more lively campus and town than UI.</p>
<p>All good options here. I would still go to UIUC if significantly cheaper because if your son wants to work as a chemical engineer (or any engineer), he’ll have the same opportunities from any of these schools and employers will not pay him more because he went to a higher ranked program. Your son won’t see a good return on his investment for the higher OOS tuition costs. </p>
<p>However, if you and your son don’t like the Chambana environment and can afford for him to attend UW-Madison or Michigan, let him choose for the campus environment he prefers. All are pretty much academic equals here.</p>
<p>“Your son won’t see a good return on his investment for the higher OOS tuition costs.”</p>
<p>Exactly. Unless you can easily afford higher OOS tuition, it doesn’t appear to make sense spending the additional money.</p>
<p>*“Your son won’t see a good return on his investment for the higher OOS tuition costs.”</p>
<p>Exactly. Unless you can easily afford higher OOS tuition, it doesn’t appear to make sense spending the additional money.
*</p>
<p>Very true.</p>
<p>Did he apply to UMinn?</p>