<p>as an international transfer students, I do not have the chance to visit both schools. most of the information i get is from the Internet. according to usnews or other charts, UIUC ranks higher than Purdue, but not that much higher. Ranking is important but not everything.I am really not sure which one is better, could someone please help me, or just provide some useful information, thanks a lot.</p>
<p>That’s a tough one. Both UIUC and Purdue are very similar. I personally don’t think rankings matter too much if both schools are top 10.</p>
<p>One thing I’ve heard many people say though is that Purdue’s reputation is much better outside of the Midwest than UIUC. People in California etc. are extremely impressed if you have an engineering degree from Purdue. Though I think UIUC has a slightly better reputation in the Midwest. </p>
<p>Whatever school you pick, you can’t go wrong.</p>
<p>thanks, no matter what I think it would be hard to make the decision. The schools are close, both public, both midwest, both emphasize engineering. While UIUC has a better ranking Purdue seems to has better reputation.</p>
<p>I earned my BSEE in 1998 and MSECE from Purdue in 2007, and nearly considered pursuing my Ph.D at Illinois last year. In my opinion these Big-Ten giants are excellent, world-renown ECE programs that are a great bargain to attend (when compared to MIT & Stanford’s exorbitant price tags) both for in and out-of-state.</p>
<p>While my heart truly belongs to West Lafayette, I will say that Illinois has only a wee-bit more clout on the Computer Engr side in terms of research publications and lab facilities (based on my own touring of the Champaign campus). On the Electrical Engr side, which is my specialty (signal processing & control systems), both programs are quite comparable with the exception being that Purdue offers a more comprehensive advanced-undergrad experimental course series each semester that takes one topic from each of our eight signature research areas (circuits, signals, fields/optics, controls, computers, energy/power, materials/microelectronics, and biomedical) for technical electives.</p>
<p>If engineering is up your alley, you can clearly write yor own career ticket as either a Boilermaker or an Illini…I humbly & gladly did ;)</p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>