Seriously confused to make the decision between these two colleges Computer Science programs. I got accepted to both GT CS and UIUC CS (Grainger Engineering). I am California resident hence both these colleges are OOS tuition for me. I want to find out regarding the availability of courses at GT CS vs UIUC CS, grading, job prospects in Silicon Valley (which one is best known to valley companies and has more interns in top companies), scholarships, campus safety and cost of travel for Californians
GT CS is huge and in a dedicated college, i.e. college of computing. So you can pretty much find any class you can think of.
As for recruiting in Silicon Valley, as follows, GT ranks 6 and UIUC 7.
https://qz.com/967985/silicon-valley-companies-like-apple-aapl-hires-the-most-alumni-of-these-10-universities-and-none-of-them-are-in-the-ivy-league/
As you are from California, weather-wise, GT would be much better and Atlanta would be much more fun than Champaign.
i would be interested to know GTECh vs UIUC in addition to UT AUstin as well, and my son got accepted to UT Austin
In terms of grading, which is a criteria you have listed, Georgia Tech is definitely a harder school. They are known for slight grade deflation throughout various forums. But, as an overall school, Georgia Tech seems to be more prestigious and well-known when compared to UIUC. UIUC has a great Computer Science department, but Georgia Tech (in addition to having a great Computer Science department) has many other great STEM majors allowing for a lot of interdisciplinary research/projects. Also, the average student at Georgia Tech seems to be a lot smarter than that of UIUC (primarily since its a more competitive school). As such, Georgia Tech has a far more academic vibe to it (kind of like UCB, CMU). Plus, for the only undergraduate ranking of CS + EE on USNews, Georgia Tech is ranked 4th and tied with Stanford; whereas, UIUC is at 6th.
GT is going to be easier to travel to from CA. GT has the Atlanta airport 10 miles away. UIUC is a hike to O’Hare. Well over 2 hours or more depending on traffic in Chicago. Just another thing to consider since I think these schools are very comparable academically for CS. No wrong decision here.
If you look at CS subject rankings from QS, THE/WSJ, AWUR, US News, Niche…
GT averages around 6th for CS in the US, behind MIT, Stanford, CMU, Harvard, UCB. Illinois averages around 15th.
Silicon valley study:
This is a list of most hired in SV for ALL degrees, engineering, business, design, other etc…
HiringSolved compiled the leading alma maters based on volume:
- University of California, Berkeley
- Stanford University
- Carnegie Mellon University
- University of Southern California
- The University of Texas at Austin
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- San Jose State University
- University of California, San Diego
- Arizona State University
This is a list of most hired in SV for engineering & CS…
Most wanted in tech new graduates:
- UCB
- Stanford
- CMU
- Georgia Tech
- USC
- SJSU
- Waterloo
- Texas
- Illinois
- UCSD
Click on the blue slide to view slideshow document.
Honestly I can’t imagine a general ranking difference being measurable here in any meaningful way. All three of the schools mentioned are top CS schools valued all over the valley and any major US city looking for CS grads. Focus on cost, fit, and trust your gut here.
@prasen4 The data shows there is a marked distinction between the academic performance of Georgia-resident admits versus non-Georgia resident admits in terms of objective stats like SAT scores. Not that it really matters; you can’t go wrong with either choice. The campus feel is entirely different though. GT is in Atlanta, which is an urban gateway to the South. UIUC is an academic oasis in what is otherwise soybean/corn country. The California analog might be San Jose versus Davis. It’s a shame so many people will have to make decisions without campus visits this year. We were fortunate to complete the last of our visits by the end of summer.
@momofsenior1 You can book a connecting flight from ORD or DFW direct to Champaign’s tiny Williard airport. The problem is that route is an American Airlines monopoly, so the pricing is horrendous, and flights are often cancelled in inclement weather because gate priority goes to the bigger planes at ORD. DFW has fewer cancellations, but there are very few flights, so you can easily get stuck in Dallas (I’ve been).
I hope you leave GT CS for my child who is waitlisted there for CS 
Jokes apart, both school are great. UIUC follows Tech for recruiting.
CS recruiting
Tech > UIUC
WSJ CS recruiting GT #4, UIUC #9
HiringSolved Silicon Valley CS recruiting GT#4, UIUC #9
CS rankings QS, THE, AWUR
GT > UIUC
GT averages 6th in US, UIUC averages 15th
Employability ranking
GT > UIUC
GT 19th, UIUC 52
Enrolled Engineering SAT Test scores
GT > UIUC
GT 1460, UIUC 1345
Engineering Program size
GT > UIUC
GT 9500, UIUC 9000
GT has the largest program in the country
GT is a engineering college like MIT, 80% STEM
UIUC is a state university like Texas, Purdue, Texas A&M, 25% STEM
GT has 21,000 students total, 6k graduate and 15k undergraduate.
UIUC has 50,000 students total, 16k graduate and 34k undergraduate
GT weather is warm
UIUC weather is cold
GT is urban with a nice enclosed campus
UIUC is in a rural town
GT also has the largest enrollment of women in engineering.
GT also has the most women engineering faculty.