<p>I accepted at U of I just over a week ago, because I had been waitlisted at MIT and I wasn't expecting much from my other schools. Last night however, I found out that I was accepted to UC-Berkeley for their Electrical Engineering program...</p>
<p>U of I is giving me $40k in scholarship money ($27k renewable, the rest either one-time scholarships or renewable grants depending on my financial status), leaving approximately $7k per year to take out in loans or pay outright, whereas UC-Berkeley has only given me $20k for my first year, leaving $30k per year to come out of my pocket. </p>
<p>Did I make the right decision? I haven't visited UC-Berkeley but I've been down to U of I a few times, one of those times the SITE weekend, and I loved it down there. Is Berkeley really worth an extra $69k over the four years?</p>
<p>For EE, both are very good. Weather-wise, CA is a lot more pleasant. It boils down to whether you can afford the extra cost by going to UCB. In terms of Return On Investment, I would go for UIUC.</p>
<p>I agree with kxc1961. There isn’t much difference in undergraduate. They are both well recognized by employers. And graduate school is what really matters.
Are you ECE?</p>
<p>I agree with both kxc1961 and sdy1111. They both are great schools with great reputations. When it comes down to the price, you made the right choice.</p>
<p>I’d take Berkeley for $69k any day. Berkeley is up there with MIT and Stanford, UIUC is not. The question is how much you put education over money and what are your true intentions are.</p>
<p>Do you want to go for the best bang for your buck? Do you want to get quality education and get a job at a top company? Go to UIUC.</p>
<p>Do you want to get the best education hands down, no matter the price? Go to Berkeley.</p>
<p>Well I don’t know what happened to my math skills when I was typing this, but the cost differential should be $88k, not $69k ($104k-$16k).</p>
<p>Lately, I have been talking quite a bit about “experiences.” Life isn’t worth it unless you experience what it has to offer and take opportunities when they come to you. Berkeley would certainly qualify as one of these “experiences,” but, yep.</p>
<p>UIUC would be the most cost-effective option without a doubt, but I live in Wisconsin and going down to Illinois seems like it would be more of a continuation of my Midwestern lifestyle than an entirely new experience. I know that only I can decide how much that experience means to me, but I do have a few questions that should be a bit more concrete.</p>
<p>A few years after college, how respected is Berkeley compared to UIUC? How much easier would it be to get into graduate school coming from Berkeley rather than UIUC? Are the Silicon Valley connections made in Berkeley worth more than the connections made at UIUC? And lastly, if I did attend Berkeley and incur $104k in loans by the end of my four years, how difficult would it be/how long would it take to pay off these loans, assuming a ~$75k job? I wouldn’t want to live like a despot just to attend Berkeley =(</p>
<p>(Just kidding, I have one more question) - How I thought about it and how people are talking about it when I think about the loans is, “Dude, it’s mother******* Berkeley. Worry about the money later, you got into one of the best schools in the nation.” Going along with the question before this, is this mentality even close to rational?</p>
<p>And sdy1111, yep I am ECE; EE for both schools.</p>
<p>No way I’d put Berkeley in the same league as Stanford or MIT. My S got into Berkeley also along with CalTech, GaTech, UIUC, and Cornell and favors UIUC among those four. He is waiting to hear from Stanford but if he doesn’t get in, he is leaning toward UIUC.</p>
<p>You’d probably like the weather better in California but the schools are very comparable in the engineering field. No way I would dish out extra money for Berkeley… Stanford I would definitely consider. Just my opinion though.</p>
<p>Well you have to understand that UIUC is also a very reputable school so I guess “fit” is a big thing to consider. We went to an MIT recruitment session and were not impressed at all. I know MIT has a great reputation but I know 3 people locally who have attended and have engineering degrees and IMO the cost was definitely NOT worth it… at least for them. Two of them struggled in their careers with one going into High School teaching. One of the guys has a decent job but nothing out of the ordinary.</p>
<p>I’m not knocking teaching… I am a High School Social Studies teacher and although I like my job, if I spend $50K a year for my S education, I would hope that his prospects would be better.</p>
<p>S doesn’t really like the size of CalTech now that he has had a chance to visit other schools. He says he wants more of a typical college experience. Also, UIUC is giving more scholarship help than the others. There is lots to consider but at this level you are splitting hairs to say that any one of those schools is worth $80K over another. My S has a full ride to Auburn and is considering it… college is what “you make of it”… I know it sounds cliche but it is true to a large extent.</p>
<p>@OP,
If you wish to get into the Silicon Valley after graduation and find a job in chip manufacturing business in CA, then, you may be disappointed. For chip design and working for fabless company, then there is a hope. Trust me. I am in this business.</p>
<p>Can you clarify? disappointed if choose UIUC and ‘wish to get into the Silicon Valley after graduation and find a job in chip manufacturing business in CA’? (UIUC notsogood for a CA silicon V job?)</p>
<p>Fabless company = ?? UIUC –> you can work for a non-CA S V company?</p>
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<p>What is the difference , if any, between EE and ECE ? Also, how is EE and /or ECE different than computer science and computer Engineering?</p>
<p>UIUC and UCB seem to be kinda close , at least talked about in the same breath, and they are both state flagship schools; however, as another poster said, Stanford would <em>possibly</em> worth the 100k since it is in another class picture - as in, you know, the usual suspects of HYPS M.</p>
<p>I don’t see how Berkeley is worth $88k more when UIUC holds the same ranking for EE and is a notch above for CE. In terms of possibilities after graduation, you can make billions with a UIUC degree. Just look at two of the founders of Youtube.</p>
<p>“The U.S. News rankings of undergraduate engineering programs accredited by ABET, formerly known as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, are based solely on the peer judgments of deans and senior faculty who rated each program they are familiar with on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (distinguished). Engineering school deans and faculty members (two surveys were sent to each ABET-accredited engineering program) were surveyed for this ranking in spring 2010.”
Brahmin - I am personally ignorant as to EE, so you are right about that. However, in helping my son research engineering schools, I thought it was important to look at sources for ratings of various schools to determine how schools are rated where they are. For us, $$ is a factor - maybe not for all. I also am a UIUC alum, so I have a clear bias there. In my prior post, I was trying to inject a little levity about what can be done with a UIUC degree. My question to you is - Why are the US News ratings not reliable? Other than the general references to Berkeley grandiosity, why is it worth $88k of debt when it does not outrank UIUC for EE or CE amongst peers? Have you spoken with any UIUC EE alums who have expressed a lifetime of regrets for going there rather than Berkeley? I can say, with lifetime experience, that 10, 15 and 25 years after college, any distinction is minimal to non-existent - it will matter little whether UIUC or Berkeley is on your resume. Nonetheless, my son must make a very important decision soon and I am curious as to what it is about UIUC that you feel could lead to regrets, because that is a very strong statement. What do you not like about UIUC, because that school is currently my son’s leader?</p>
<p>Mockingjay - check out 1984Pom’s post on the “crap financial aid” thread for UIUC. There is some good information about employment opportunities within the UIUC college of engineering.</p>