Cockrell > UIUC Engineering. Nuff said.
flies away
Cockrell is not realistically in play.
Can you go visit and do an overnight at UCLA and UCSD?
@FutureOilBaron GET OUT LOL
@MYOS1634 I didn’t get an overnight invitation for UCLA, if that’s something you need to be invited for 
I’m actually unsure as to if I can even get into UCLA. It’s too bad considering my parents both bleed blue and gold. I did get a 3-day/2-night invitation for UCSD, though! I’m in the middle of filling out the application. I think it would be a great experience if I do get selected to go.
@imthereal I would recommend UIUC because of the great career opportunities. As far as the University of Minnesota, the weather will be a little colder than UIUC’s weather and the campus and academics aren’t as nice(I’ve visited and heard a lot about both before). In general, I think you’ll find the people in the Midwest to be very friendly and social and since you mentioned that you like football, both University of Minnesota and UIUC have division 1 football teams.
Overnight fly in is something you need to request and they decide whether they extend it or not. Do ask.
UIUC may be slightly better than UT in Engineering overall, but in ChemE, UT is actually slightly better than UIUC. If you prefer UT, go for it.
@metalmonk28 UIUC does have great career opportunities! I went to a luncheon for Women in Engineering, and the girls seemed to have absolutely no problem getting jobs and internships. I’m going to be checking out UT in a week or two, and I’m definitely going to ask about the career placement they have there. I also know the petroleum industry in Texas is booming, so I don’t think I’d have a problem finding a job (though I’d actually prefer to go into pharm).
@MYOS1634 I got waitlisted for UCLA :’( I guess that’s out of the question. UCSD also rejected my application to go to the overnight… I think submitting it right before the deadline was probably not a good idea, haha. Thanks for the info, though!
@Alexandre I completely agree with your opinion on the engineering/ChemE at UT vs. UIUC. After talking to a few people in the industry, the general consenus is that the schools I got admitted to that have great engineering programs overall (UIUC and UMich, and I guess UCSD/UCD are ok??) are unfortunately lacking in their ChemE departments 
I think since I prefer the environment and the academics are slightly better, I’m leaning toward UT again. I’ve been looking into Parent Plus loans and hoping that my parents will be on board with that.
Someone who has grown up less than an hour from San Francisco, even one who likes to snowboard, is likely to be shocked by the bitter, windy Midwestern winters. My vote would be for anything in California.
If you do decide on UIUC or UMN, make certain that your budget will cover the heavy-duty winter wear that you will need. Of those two, I’d recommend UMN. Getting there and back would be much easier than travel to UIUC because there is a major airport in St Paul.
Parent loans are not generally a good idea, except in rare circumstances where they have large assets that they do not want to liquidate now but can liquidate later to easily pay off the loans. In most circumstances, taking a parent loan means that the parents do not have the money, and are endangering their retirement savings (or their ability to fund your younger siblings’ college costs, if you have younger siblings). If they spend more than they have on your education, they may have to depend on your financially to support them later, which may be more difficult to sustain when you have your own financial obligations during your working life.
@happymomof1 I do think that SF weather is generally great! I decided not to dwell on the weather too much when I’m making my college decisions. I tend to be very weather-tolerant, and I might as well experience different climates while I’m experiencing new locations! The thing that I may not be able to tolerate is the gloom! Even SF’s notoriously gloomy Sunset District (I grew up there for a bit as well) isn’t as gloomy as what I experienced at UIUC :’( I think transportation shouldn’t be an issue. There are shuttles from UIUC to O’Hare for a decent price. My dad was asking about it when we visited, and he seemed pretty impressed. I do know it’s easy to get to the airport from UMN, though! I took the lightrail from our hotel near campus to the airport. The lightrail is really convenient and inexpensive. I liked it a lot more than our local BART system!
@ucbalumnus Thank you! My school counselor told me to look into Parent loans, but she was unsure of the details herself, so it’s great to have information. My parents are actually extremely well off, but my mom basically said she doesn’t want to sacrifice her vacation plans for my education if I’m not going to MIT (to which I didn’t apply). I get it and respect it, as it’s her hard-earned money, not mine. In this case, would you say Parent loans are a decent plan?
If she does not want to give up her vacation plans to contribute to your college costs, then it is unlikely that she will be willing to take a parent loan to contribute to your college costs.
Of course, if the vacations are that costly, it is entirely possible that they have high spending habits and therefore not as much money as you may think they have.
@imthereal I would strongly consider going to the University of Minnesota as well since its Chemical Engineering program is highly regarded(top 3) and as mentioned by another poster, it is in a good location. It’s probably the financially most efficient option if you’re really interested in Chemical Engineering.
@ucbalumnus I definitely have to talk it over with my parents. I hope they’d be willing to contribute. I’m planning on scheduling a meeting with the financial aid office when I visit UT so they (and I) can weigh their options. My dad will be going with me, and he tends to be more lenient.
I think they tend to be pretty tight with money and their vacations are their splurges, as they’re travel buffs. They plan to spend their retirement travelling the world. The rest goes into savings. They don’t like to spend money on me unnecessarily, which is also understandable (I pay for my phone, other electronics, excursions w/friends, clothing, travel on BART, instruments, etc. with money from my job/savings). I’m not entirely sure of their spending habits, though. I only know their combined income because of FAFSA.
@metalmonk28 I’m really skeptical about the possibility of getting into the major. The advisors scared me to death when I visited. I’d rather not take the risk, if possible. It is very good financially, though, and the chemical engineers I’ve talked to seemed to agree that it’s a great ChemE school!
@imthereal The good news about Minnesota is that it does have a reputation for having higher average college GPAs than comparable public schools.
@metalmonk28 Good to know! Is grade inflation necessarily a good thing?
Nothing of what you describe makes it look like they would be willing to take parental loans for your college costs.
Do you know how much they will contribute without taking loans?
@imthereal It may be seen as a bad thing but you mentioned that you need to maintain a minimum of a 3.2 GPA to be admitted to the Chemical Engineering major. The average GPA of students at the UMN is 3.14. Therefore, it probably wouldn’t be too challenging to meet the minimum requirement.
@ucbalumnus I’ve honestly been worried about this since freshman year… it’ll be pretty unfortunate if they don’t come around. They said they’re willing to spend up to $30k a year on my tuition. I think they may pay for housing as well. I’m currently trying to bargain for more. For UIUC, my dad has mentioned that he is much more willing to pay the full price. He is an alum (got his masters there for EE) and really enjoyed the school when we toured. He also thinks it’s a good investment because of the career opportunities and the scholarship/honors college deal I received.
If I go to UT, I’m willing to live and work in Texas if viable to receive in-state tuition and I’m planning on staying in Texas after graduation. I’m also considering taking classes over the summer to alleviate the costs (cheaper tuition for summer semester). I don’t think I’ll be visiting home much, so that’ll also help with the cost no matter where I go. My relationship with my parents (especially my mom) isn’t the best, and that’s part of the reason I want to go OOS so badly. I sent an email to the Financial Aid office addressing my concerns and the viability of obtaining in-state tuition, and I’m currently waiting for a reply.
@metalmonk28 I think I’m a pretty good student, so I think I’d be fine seeing that 3.14 is the average GPA. I’m definitely still considering UMN, and again, thank you so much for your information! 
@imthereal No problem! Your options are all very good. Good luck with deciding!
Here are the Texas rules for residency for tuition purposes:
http://www.admissions.txstate.edu/future/residency/residencyrequirements.html
Note that establishing a domicile means significant employment in Texas, buying real estate in Texas, or marrying a Texas resident. It does not mean simply living at the university and going to school there.
With a $30,000 per year parental contribution, your price limits are probably around:
$30,000 per year without direct loans or work: probably some UCs, living frugally
$35,000 per year with either direct loans or work: probably UCs or Minnesota
$40,000 per year with both direct loans and work
Both UT Austin and UIUC are more than $40,000 per year for non-residents.