<p>Even if that extra $100k isn’t financed with loans, the options as to what could be done with that $100k are many. I don’t think anyone can justify paying $100k more for UIUC.</p>
Engineering career opportunities at University of Alabama vs University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
<p>My daughter is not exactly sure what she wants to do for her career yet. She is currently thinking biomedical or environmental engineering so she is just applying for general engineering. I mentioned that she could do pre-med, but she does not seem real interested in that right now. I have strongly suggested computer science because that was my major and there is a lot of demand, but she has no interest in that right now.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the information, I think I have enough for now. Thanks.</p>
<p>She just filled out an application for the University of Alabama Fellows experience yesterday.
She is an excellent writer (at least compared to me) and has done a lot of volunteer work, so she may have a chance at that. Maybe she could at least get invited to one of the first rounds of interviews.</p>
<p>If she wants to help people and make a difference, maybe she can look into the Peace Corp after graduating. I wish I had done something like that. They could use someone with an engineering degree to help with projects. It’s a great experience and a great step to other jobs in nonprofits or NGOs after finishing the Peace Corp tour.</p>
<p>Being a female in engineering will be a benefit to your daughter wherever she goes. I would highly recommend the computer based honors program, if she’s applying for fellows. </p>
<p>With engineering, a lot is about the internship and practical experience. My son graduated EE from U of I and he had to make his own opportunities. While he attended the job fairs, his job came via his internship which he found on his own. I would bet Bama is no better or worse at placing students. Engineering classroom work is engineering classroom work. U of I’s engineering school is highly competitive and larger than Bama’s. Since your daughter is interested in more than just engineering, a more collegial, smaller atmosphere might be a better fit.</p>
<p>Where to start?! UA & UI are completely different schools (IMO). </p>
<p>Here is the link to compare hard data for each school’s engineering program. You can see #s of students, by year, and # of degrees conferred, etc. <a href=“http://profiles.asee.org/”>http://profiles.asee.org/</a> Marry these hard data with the soft considerations: envision the type of person you want to see yourself growing into after 4 years at each school. You probably want to have much more than ‘just’ an engineering degree, if I read your posts correctly. Seek the school with the best fit for your personality, in terms of how you personally will grow, mature, and change, all for the better.</p>
<p>That said, to the victor go the spoils, as they say. At ANY school, a student who, on their OWN initiative, is willing to work hard, have a stellar GPA, take advantage of every opportunity that comes their way, seek their own fortune in terms of marketing themselves and putting themselves out there to recruiters and companies, obtain internships and co-ops…will be miles ahead of a less-inclined student, regardless of the school’s reputation and regardless of how many companies come to campus for career fairs. </p>
<p>Good luck with your decision! ;)</p>
<p>My son is at Ala. now in aero eng. one of his top picks was U of I. When it came down to it they didn’t offer anything compared to UA. While talking to others we met some other engineers that went to U of I and live there and told us that they are much better in there grad program then there undergrad. in engineering. Third party advice. Personally my son thought U of I was a better school because of some ratings but has really enjoyed Alabama, and has had oppuntunites like stem MBA and grad programs in 5yrs. He just started this yr. and get info. on internships and co-op etc. and seems like there are lots of different options for different majors and research starting even as a freshman. I don’t know that he would of had all of this at another school. </p>
<p>Best wishes to you and your daughter, joecollege373! We live less than 2 hrs from UIUC and my son is a current UA freshman in engineering. 290 of this year’s UA freshman class are from IL, and a bunch of those are engineering majors. Good luck in helping her find the right place!</p>
<p>Wow…290 frosh from Illinois! They’re up there with California now!</p>
<p>The IL contingent on the UA Parents FB page are particularly active.</p>
<p>Hey, @Joecollege373 I know you’ve already got a ton of info here, but just wanted to chime in with my daughter’s personal experience. She’s a senior engineering student at UA, double majoring in CS and Math. She’s had a ton of interviews from companies all over the country, not just the south. I know you said your daughter isn’t even sure about engineering, but if she does decide to go that route, you can rest assured that her future career options will be bright. My daughter was always told that companies really want female engineers, but she took all of that talk with a grain of salt until she saw the offers start rolling in. We are not from the south either, so that was one of her concerns as well. The company that she has decided to work for has offices all over the nation, but she chose to stay in the south and accept a position in their Atlanta office. They offered to fly her to Chicago to check out their offices there, but she really likes Atlanta now. Some of the employers that she turned down asked if she could put them in touch with the members of the women in engineering group that she co-founded, and from that meeting one of her friends received an internship. Anyway, good luck in your decision, and as you can see, people here love to answer questions, so feel free to ask away!! </p>
<p>@joecollege373 My thoughts are that graduating with a degree in Engineering from UA your daughter will have plenty of opportunities. I graduated from the University of Idaho in engineering a long time ago. A good engineering program but definitely more obscure than UA. I worked for the UI , then Boeing and the last 22 years at a small company in WA. I had classmates that went to Boeing, Chevron, Chicago Bridge and Iron, Walt Disney World, INEL, Naval Shipyard, Naval Air Station at Point Magu(civilian), USAFA instructor (after grad school), Caterpillar, USDA, etc. Undergraduate engineering programs that are ABET accredited are not that much different and employers recognize that. If UA is a good fit for your daughter she will be able to find good opportunities.</p>
<p>My son is planning on studying CS and has been admitted to UA. He has the same concerns which I think are mostly a non-issue. He has not yet decided where he will attend. I do recognize that certain school can help create certain opportunities but an undergraduate degree in the engineering/technical fields is relatively generic.</p>
<p>@rose808 I forwarded your daughters experience to my son. Thanks for sharing.</p>
<p>@WAPacker you’re welcome! Feel free to ask me on here or private message if you have any specific questions about the program! </p>
<p>Just want to put a plug in for the Society of Women Engineers (and/or Women in Engineering) chapter on the UA campus - some great scholarship opportunities for females doing engineering, esp aerospace (what I’m most familiar with). And, here’s the kicker: you don’t even have to be a female to join SWE. Some of the scholarships are also available for male members who join. SWE-eeet! ;)</p>
<p>Here’s the link for more info: <a href=“http://bama.ua.edu/~swe/”>http://bama.ua.edu/~swe/</a></p>
<p>Have one at UA and one at UIUC and both are very happy. Both are business majors, so can’t comment on engineering at UIUC other than I know it is extremely competitive.</p>
<p>Just to expand upon the 290 Frosh from IL. Count my son among the IL Frosh of 2015 at UA. Speaking frankly, from our perspective - UofI has become an all cash school with little to no Merit Scholarships. We live in a financially troubled state and that filters down into lack of funds available for Scholarships. Our gap was too great financially with UIUC without incurring some large debt we have heard nightmares about.</p>
<p>What I think I see UA doing is pretty smart and unique - and Illinois kids are jumping at the opportunity. UA is taking these hard working kids who don’t have 34’s - 36’s ACT’s, rewarding them with great scholarships, updated engineering facilities and above average engineering programs, and letting these smart kids strengthen the program. If won’t happen overnight - but I guarantee you it will happen.</p>
<p>My son, wife, and I walked, unannounced, into the 3-d lab on a Monday and these kids in the lab couldn’t stop talking about their program. Friendly, outgoing, and took a few minutes to get to know my son while they showed us around. That spontaneous 10 minute conversation with those kids, seeing their enthusiasm for the school, the program, and especially the dean, really sealed the deal for us.</p>
@joecollege373 has your daughter decided where to go? My son is facing the exact same decision with the same concerns.
She has not decided yet, it will probably come down to the last week in April. I think it is really down to 3 schools, UIUC, Iowa State and Alabama. She was interested in some other schools, but they were just too expensive. My preference is Alabama over the other 2 schools. I think they are all great options. But, I think UIUC is too expensive compared to the offers she has at the other 2 schools.
Right now her preference would be UIUC if the cost was the same. But, I think a lot of that has to do with her having some friends going to UIUC and her friends not being familiar with Alabama. Their view is that a school is not any good if it is easy to get into.
I feel comfortable with her job prospects at any of the schools as long as she does well at the school she selects. I think it is more about how she will perform at the school she goes to that will determine her job prospects. I look for how the school will help out if she starts to have some trouble in her classes.
I know Iowa State has really good support because my older daughter is going there and they offer great tutoring options. They have tutors that will attend the classes and take notes. The private tutoring is just $4 an hour and you can also become a tutor if you excel in the classes.
These days it seems like all of the schools offer some tutoring options which is great.
Good luck to your daughter, joecollege373! Alabama is certainly much more “warm and friendly” than UIUC. Have been to both campuses several times and know several students at both campuses. Alabama also has TONS of opportunities to “contribute to society” / help out the less fortunate … there are several organizations that get involved in these endeavors and the students (particularly those in Honors College) are CONSTANTLY being offered the opportunity to (and are encouraged to) help out … everything from tutoring elementary students to working on Habitat for Humanity homes to … well, you name it! Really BIG on community service of all kinds at UA. Many options for tutoring as well in the Center for Academic Success and the ENGenuity Lab (which is mainly for Engineering students – math, physics, etc.) Not familiar with private tutoring costs. Of course, all three of those schools are great options! (If she is super concerned or scared about being far away from home…as in 9+ hrs…then I can certainly understand her wanting UIUC.) Best wishes!
Thanks for the info @amy9998. My daughter is not concerned with going far away at all. She was considering several schools far away. She is very interested in contributing to society, so I will let her know your comments.