Hi I’m an international student choosing between these 3 schools.
UMN-Twin Cities
I have been admitted as a chemical engineering with a scholarship that covers the difference between international tuition and in-state tuition(which obviously will lessen my financial burden). I know that the school has a great chemcial engineering program, but I'm not too sure if I will stick to that and in that case, since the other majors are not as great, I might regret going to the school.
UIUC
I have been admitted as an engineering major(undeclared) and the engineering honors program. I am very happy about the school and the engineering programs there, since I would be able to choose from a variety of top-class majors. However, since I'm an international student, the tuition is definitely burdening and I'm not sure if a bachelor's degree from the U would be worth that much money.
Purdue
I have been admitted as to the engineering program and it was also the first school to offer an admission. I am also happy with the school, but people have been telling me that Purdue is mostly famous for the aerospace majors and not much for other engineering majors either. There is a approximately $10,000 difference between UIUC, so I don't know what choice I should make.
I was originally thinking of majoring in chemical engineering, but I am not sure it’ll suit me so I’m extremely confused in what school I should go to.
They are all good engineering schools and universities in general. Computer engineering is particularly high-ranked at UIUC but very difficult to get into if you are not directly admitted. Both UIUC and UMN-TC would have a broader range of majors - Purdue is more STEM focused. Consider also how you would get to and from your home base to the universities. Urbana-Champaign does not have an international airport so you would need to take a bus to O’hare (Chicago) to catch your flight, same for Purdue (bus from Lafayette to Indianapolis).
UIUC and Purdue are actually pretty close geographically although in different states. UMN is hours up North and is much colder in winter. UMN has very strong ChemE program, but I don’t think you are directly admitted into a major. Indeed, that was my D’s main concern a couple years ago. The cost of attendance at UMN would be much lower than the other two even without scholarship. All three schools provide a range of good engineering programs.
I am sure there are others, however, the only area I can think of that Purdue does not offer undergraduate degrees in is the fine arts. They have ample opportunity for performing as they have two orchestras, theater groups, a dance company etc. but you cannot major in those disciplines. I admit that they are stem centric. and if it makes a difference to you they are also heavily male weighted. I think the percentages are something like 57/43 male to female.
My parents are able to afford all 3 schools, but I’m not sure if it’s right to spend so much money on college as I plan to go to graduate school after.
Would your international student visa allow you to work in internships? If so, being in a large city such as Minneapolis would afford you more opportunities in this respect. There are also many research opportunities at UMN-TC which will be important for grad school (UIUC also has great research). I do feel that if you have a strong probability of heading tot grad school, it would be best to minimize your costs now.
I’m not sure about that yet, but I’ll be working in internships during summer, so would the location of the school matter? I also heard that you mostly get paid for grad school for research so I thought I’d invest in college education.The question is if UIUC is more prestigious than UMN, because it is like that in where I come from.
If your goal is grad school, save the $$ and go to UMN, esp. since you might do ChemE. And while UIUC has a stronger reputation oversees (especially Asia if that’s where you’re from), if you go to grad school it won’t matter what undergrad you went to in terms of later employment opportunities. If you were only doing undergrad and then returning to your home country then UIUC might be a better choice.
Thanks @insanedreamer but I would like to try internships in China(hopefully learn Chinese as well) and I’m not sure if such opportunities are open to UMN as well cuz I know for sure that UIUC is well known there.
@BudaChae UIUC is definitely more well known in China (I live in China) - probably the most well known outside of Harvard, Stanford and the UCs.
However, undergrad internships in China, without already speaking Chinese, might honestly be few and far between and frankly not that interesting. I’d do a study abroad semester through your university instead (probably offered by UNM as well as UIUC – check).
ChemE is very strong at UMN (among the top in the country) but Engineering overall is no slouch, with an ACT average of 32 and 25% students were top 1% in their high school class, with basically all top 10%. Academically, it’ll be very competitive even if you don’t choose ChemE.
UIUC’s strength is computer science or computer science engineering but if you didn’t get into the major, it’s very hard to get in from undecided.
The big differences are in environment.
UIUC and Purdue are closer in that respect: both are in college towns and have a similar “Midwestern/Great Plains” vibe, the biggest differences between them being that UIUC has LOTS of Chinese students and Purdue is tech-focused so there’s more of a gender imbalance and students who have a “stemy” outlook. They’ll be less cold than UMN. All three will have plenty of snow in winter, crisp Falls, and short springs with hot/humid summers.
UMN will be colder but will have more “bright blue skies”. It’s much larger and a city is right next to campus, accessible by a lightrail system. There are small lakes and parks everywhere, but you’re still near a thriving city with a LOT of Fortune 500 companies and an excellent music scene.
An issue with UIUC is Illinois’s budget crisis (bankruptcy),which is unrelated to the University iself but does affect it , whereas Purdue and UMN-TC have healthy budgets and Minnesota has just decided to invest more in its university system.
Considering costs and value, I’d make my choice between UMN-Twin Cities and Purdue, but since you got into ChemE it’s hard to imagine you’d turn down UMN-TC.
@MYOS1634 That is so helpful! Thanks and I’ve got a few more questions. I’m not sure what the Fortune 500 companies are, but do you know any that might be related to the chemical engineering field? I’m looking forward to internships or possible research opportunities!
As far as I know, Minnesota has a robust economy and has recovered from the financial crisis, and Minneapolis-StPaul offer plenty of internships to students in all kinds of fields, but you’d need to email the departments of majors that interest you, and ask about internships.
Thanks for your very helpful reply (post #14), @MYOS1634! I’ve been following this thread because my son is considering the same schools (along with Wisconsin and a couple private universities).
My son really loves UMN’s city location, and you reminded me of why it remains so high on his list. Their other engineering majors are not as highly ranked as ChemE, but the stats of UMN’s engineering student body is top notch, and that is worth a lot!
Just to clarify for others who may be reading, unlike UIUC, UMN doesn’t accept you directly into the major, just into the College of Science and Engineering. Majors are chosen/applied for at the end of freshman year/beginning of sophomore year (same as Purdue, Wisconsin, etc.).
Right. But the hard part, as I understand it, is getting into the School of Engineering. Once accepted to that, getting into your specific major isn’t difficult. (Please correct me if I’m wrong about that.)
Just want to confirm the large number of Chinese at UIUC. It’s pretty much THE favorite destination for CS/engineering students in China. That makes it very hard to get into the SoE and especially CompSci.
A friend’s son just completed his computer engineering degree at UIUC. One unforeseen challenge was finding study groups during freshman year - many were made up of Chinese students who preferred to converse in their native tongue.