So I’ve been accepted into cmu uiuc and usc from engineering and I’m trying to choose between them.
In uiuc and usc I got into electrical engineering, my major of choice, but in cmu, I can opt to be put in a waiting list for electrical, but have been accepted into the institute of technology there. This means I can choose between mechanical, biological, biomedical, civil, or materials science. I don’t know too much about any of these majors, but I’m not sure I like any of them that much.
The main thing about cmu that I like though is its prestige. I've heard the people at cmu aren't as social as at other schools which I don't like .I like uiuc for its electrical engineering program, and honestly like this school a lot except that it's sorta in the middle of nowhere, which kinda sucks. Usc on the other hand, is the opposite. It's in LA, but its engineering program isn't as good as either cmu's or uiuc's.
I haven't heard back on financial aid from cmu or usc, but uiuc isn't giving me any. Being a state school though, it ends up costing 50k, vs around 65k for both cmu and usc assuming no financial aid. Although obviously I want to pay the least possible, paying for the colleges won't be an issue.
I plan on going to graduate school after, so I'm not too worried about the job salaries from each school, but I do want the school that will make it the easiest to get into a good graduate school. I was wondering basically, are any of the majors I was accepted into cmu worth looking into, or similar to electrical engineering in any way? None of them seem to be very highly ranked, but I also know rankings aren't always reliable. How big of a difference is there in the undergrad electrical engineering programs between usc and uiuc? Being from Massachusetts, would I still be able to fit into the culture at usc?