Electrical Engineering: UCSD vs UIUC vs Purdue vs UW

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello everyone! I'm trying to decide which undergraduate college I should go to and I was hoping cc could help. I've been accepted to the University of California, San Diego and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign for electrical engineering. I've also been accepted to Purdue University and the University of Washington for their engineering programs.</p>

<p>Which college do you think would be the best to go to?</p>

<p>To give you some more information:
UW would be in-state
I'm really interested in studying abroad
I would like to be involved in research
I'm particularly interested in robotics
Right now, UCSD and UIUC are my top choices</p>

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<p>Thanks for the help!</p>

2

<p>Have you visited each school?</p>

<p>If so, what did you like about each? What didnt you like?</p>

<p>will your parents pay for whichever school you choose? if not, how will you pay for your choice?.</p>

3

<p>Yep, I’ve visited all the schools. I’ll just write my thoughts on every college.</p>

<p>UCSD: I love San Diego! The weather is fantastic and the area had a great vibe. I liked the campus of UCSD a lot too. I didn’t get to talk to a lot of students but they seemed pretty nice. For the academics I was interested in the 5 year B.S./M.S. degree and their coordinated robotics lab.</p>

<p>My biggest concern with UCSD is that their EE program isn’t as good as a school like UIUC. I know its good, but I know there is better.</p>

<p>UIUC: I didn’t get to see much of Urbana-Champaign but it seems like a nice little college town. I went to Illinois and I got to talk to a lot of the engineering students and they were all very nice and encouraging. Out of the schools I applied to, I think Illinois has the best electrical engineering program. Their engineering facilities are fantastic (biggest engineering library in the country?). I didn’t get to visit the Activities and Recreation Center but from what I hear, its amazing. Also their study abroad program was very enticing.</p>

<p>I don’t really like the great plains of Illinois, not much to do outside of the area. I’m not a huge fan of the big greek scene either, but I do like the Big Ten sports.</p>

<p>Purdue: I really liked the campus of Purdue. I didn’t get to talk to to many students there (only my tour guide…) He was very nice though… I don’t know much about the engineering program at Purdue, but it sounds good.</p>

<p>I actually liked West Lafayette but then again, I’m not a huge fan of the great plains. I’m not sure if there’s much to do at Purdue. Also at Purdue students aren’t directly admitted into a major, just the engineering college.</p>

<p>UW: UW is my state school. I’ll be surrounded by a lot of my friends if i end up at the UW. I know that they also have a great engineering school. The campus is really nice too, with the cherry trees in spring. I’m pretty familiar with Seattle and I like it a lot. In state tuition is also nice.</p>

<p>I kind of want to move away from home to get the full immersion college experience. Also I think that Purdue and Illinois would give me a little bit better engineering education.</p>

<p>My parents will pay for most of which ever college I end up going to. I’ve had a job for a while and I haven’t spent a cent of what I’ve earned. Also I’m sure I’ll get a job in college. Plus loans… But whatever the cost, it’ll be covered. It’s not at all my biggest concern in choosing a college, as long as I enjoy the experience and get a really good education.</p>

4

<p>Hi AtSixesAndSevens,</p>

<p>I am in a similar dilemma. I have been admitted to both Purdue and UCSD. I have not visited any campus so my knowledge is limited to the blogs. Purdue is ranked higher but seems to be tougher program and I don’t know if I can handle the cold. UCSD looks great but it is been written as a socially dead school. My parents have given me 2 days to decide and close as May 1st is the last date.</p>

<p>Have you decided anything? and why? If you give me a some points it will help.</p>

<p>Thanks and Best Wishes</p>

<p>College188</p>

5

<p>Hello College188,</p>

<p>I’m still undecided =/, but I recently visited UCSD for their admitted student day. Now I’m really leaning toward UCSD. What you said about Purdue and UCSD seem pretty spot on from my point of view. That being said, after visiting both campuses I think that I could be happy at either school. I talked to a few students from UCSD and they can agree that there isn’t much of a social scene on campus, but its proximity to a city like San Diego and all the surrounding neighborhoods doesn’t make it too much of a problem. Plus, there is great transportation for students, so getting around is easy. Surrounding West Lafayette is a whole lot of nothing… but the students are nice and so is the campus. What I’m trying to say is that both schools are really great (depending on what you’re studying) but, the real difference is in the atmosphere. I really would have recommended that you visit the school so you could get a feel for it yourself. For me its the little things that really interest me, like a specific program I would like to be a part of or the fact that I can walk to the beach from my room…</p>

<p>After rereading what I just wrote, I can tell its really UCSD biased, but Purdue really is a great school too, I have just lived in the rain a little too long…</p>

<p>This probably wasn’t all that helpful, I just hope it gave you something to think about.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>(Still) AtSixesAndSevens</p>

6

<p>Sit down with your parents and talk about the loans that you might need to take out, or that they might need to take out in order to make the OOS schools possible. There are some nice loan repayment calculators at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) that you could run the numbers through to see what your monthly bills could look like four or five years from now. For some people that would make a big difference in their choice of school. For others it wouldn’t. Just be sure you go into this with your eyes open.</p>

7

<p>UIUC has amazing engineering. I mean, I’m biased because I live in Illinois, but if I was in your position I would choose UIUC.</p>

8

<p>Hi AtSixesAndSevens,</p>

<p>I have decided to go with UCSD. This is mostly for the follwing reasons</p>

<ol>
<li>I am still undecided about my major. Purdue is a great engineering school but I may end up changing my major ( civil / structural engineering to chemical or even non engineering)</li>
<li>Purdue has rough weather. I will be away from home and I do not want to take a chance to find out if I can handle the cold. I might get depressed and it is not a question of one year but four years,</li>
<li>Purdue will have lot more Indian / International students. I need to get international scholarship / funding. Maybe my chances will be better to get scholarships / internships / campus jobs at UCSD. Again this is my feeling based on the colege demographics and gut feel. I could be absolutely wrong but then in the absence of any concrete information I have to make some assumptions.</li>
<li>UCSD has six college system. Though it makes it socially difficult it also means smaller class size for freshman especially in the core program. I am lost in large classes. Again this is an assumption based on blogs as I have not attended any admit day nor spoken to any counselor.</li>
<li>Finally UCSD feels right to my heart.</li>
</ol>

<p>Do comment on my logics.</p>

9

<p>For College 188 I think it was a wise decision to go to UCSD, especially given he/she was not 100% on engineering. If this is the case for you then I think UCSD provides the best overall education.</p>

<p>That said, if you are 100% on engineering I would not pass on UIUC. Also Urbana-Champaign has a lot more to offer than sports and the greek scene, there is a great music scene and a “hippie ghetto” so it is much more diverse in terms of culture. Finally, Chicago is only a 2 hour train ride away and it is a GREAT city (esp if you have any friends there :wink: you can get away from the plains for a bit.</p>

10

<p>

</p>

<p>UCSD is not a college that you want to attend if smaller classes are your priority</p>

<p>student/faculty ratio
14:1 - Purdue
16:1 - Illinois
19:1 - UCSD</p>

<p>classes with students >=50 students
16% - Purdue
20% - Illinois
32% - UCSD</p>

11

<p>LadyGoGo,</p>

<p>Can you put up the link from where you got this information about class size. It is extremely important for most students and especially for me. </p>

<p>It would have been great if 2nd year students could come in and guide us. I guess once they join a college than they stop visiting CC. They would have gone through similar dilemmas and could give us actual ground realities.</p>

<p>Where are you finally going?</p>

<p>Best</p>

12

<p>the class size and student/faculty ratios orginally come from the common data sets issued by the colleges each year.</p>

<p>they are then copied and presented in college data websites such as USNWR and collegeboard.com</p>

<p>for instance, here are the common data sets for Illinois:</p>

<p>[University</a> of Illinois: Student Enrollment Reports](<a href=“http://www.dmi.illinois.edu/stuenr/]University”>Student Enrollment)</p>

<p>look at the bottom of the page</p>

<p>and sometimes you will find compilations like this on CC:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/708190-avg-class-size.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/708190-avg-class-size.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

13

<p>

</p>

<p>This is all completely wrong. The college system WILL NOT make anything socially difficult compared to any other university. Also it doesn’t mean anything towards class sizes either, even though you can expect your writing class to be relatively small. Needless to say, I hope that wouldn’t change your decision. Even though classes tend to be big, professors are still easily accessible.</p>

14

<p>Since you are both leaning towards UCSD, here’s an interesting thread about the six colleges that you might want to check out:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/43350-truth-about-ucsd-revelle.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/43350-truth-about-ucsd-revelle.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

15

<p>Hey,
Sorry it’s been a while. I actually decided to go to the University of Washington instead of UCSD, UIUC and Purdue. I really liked UCSD, but for the price, UW was a much better deal for me. I ended up debating whether or not the extra cost was justified for any of the schools. UCSD and UIUC are more than twice as expensive than UW, but in my opinion, they aren’t twice as good. Also, I don’t think I could stand Purdue’s location for long… UW has a great engineering school and a lot of programs that interest me. For that price, I just couldn’t pass it up.</p>

<p>College188, I’m glad you chose UCSD! It really is a great school, and the location is waaaaay better than West Lafayette… and when it comes down to it, I think your reason number 5 is the only one that matters. Also, from what I’ve seen the six college system only makes it easier to make friends. I hope you enjoy your SoCal experience! Good luck ;)</p>

16

<p>Hey Guys,</p>

<p>I am in a similar dilemma like many. I want to pursue Electrical Eng and have been accepted at McGill U, UW, Purdue and Penn State. I do favor socialism but if one university offers a far better engineering experience then I don’t mind studying in a dead place too. Also I look for a University where it would easy to shift majors incase I don’t find EE as my type.</p>

<p>Which U is recommended?</p>

17

<p>Are you instate for any of those state schools? can you easily afford all of these schools?</p>

<hr>

<p>Atsixes…You made a wise choice…those other schools would not be worth the OOS costs.</p>

18

<p>No, I aint instate for any. I am an international student. All the universities fit well in the budget.</p>

19

<p>No one to advice ?</p>