Help an international! Purdue VS UIUC VS UMich for EE

College Search & Selection
1

<p>hello friends.
I am an international applicant and i am finding it very difficult to select between the three universities for Electrical Engineering.I know that Purdue is cheaper compared to other two.But apart from cost, is there anything else that would make me more inclined to go to the other 2 schools. I have heard that the attitude at umich is not good and also that the professors are not upto the mark at umich.Have'nt heard any cons for uiuc though.Which has the best reputation and which university degree would help me find the best of jobs..
Please reply irrespective of the usnews rankings!!!</p>

<p>Please Help Guys!!!!</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!!!</p>

2

<p>go to Michigan, Illinois a huge party school, Michigan has great school spirit and a great place to live for 4 years, Purdue is also good but is in the middle of nowhere</p>

<p>Academically, Michigan has a HUGE alumni network so you will have no trouble finding a job after college. Purdue is very reputable in engineering, I know many Michigan and Purdue engineering graduates but not many Illinois graduates.</p>

<p>In conclusion, this is how i would rank the 3 schools
1. Michgan
2. Purdue
3. Illinois (don't go here)</p>

3

<p>thanks for your reply pierre0913..i really appreciate your quick reply!!!</p>

<p>Anyone else with a different opinion???</p>

4

<p>Michigan > Illinois > Purdue</p>

5

<p>I don't know why the 2nd poster hates Illinois. It has one of the most prestigious engineering programs in the US, at least as respected as Michigan and a lot more then Purdue. Its rankings by department are as follows:</p>

<p>Ranked undergraduate engineering science specialties for all universities in US by US News and World Report include:
6 Aerospace<br>
1 Agricultural<br>
22 Biomedical/Biomedical Engineering<br>
8 Chemical<br>
1 Civil<br>
5 Computer Engineering<br>
3 Electrical/Electronic/Communications<br>
4 Engineering Physics
2 Environmental/Environmental Health<br>
11 Industrial/Manufacturing<br>
1 Materials<br>
6 Mechanical<br>
4 Nuclear</p>

<p>as opposed to Michigan...</p>

<p>Aerospace Engineering 5
Biomedical Engineering 11
Chemical Engineering 12
Civil Engineering 8
Computer Engineering 6
Electrical Engineering 6
Environmental Engineering 5
Industrial and Operations Engineering 2
Materials Science and Engineering 7
Mechanical Engineering 4
Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences 1</p>

<p>As you can see Illinois is ranked higher for Electrical Engineering and many other areas.</p>

6

<p>Illinois is a great engineering school but coupled with campus life, Michigan beats Illinois</p>

7

<p>In most engineering, Illinois beats Michigan hands-down. Michigan is just as much a party school as Illinois, comparing state schools in that regard is like splitting hairs. Purdue is also a great option for engineering, but I'd have to say Michigan and Illinois are much better schools overall.</p>

<p>So U of I > U of M > Purdue</p>

8

<p>pierre, while Illinois is a big party school, michigan is at least as big into partying. Nearly all big state schools are. There are plenty of things to do at Illinois regarding social life.</p>

9

<p>My opinion is basically what I've heard about the schools, and may not be factual (thus opinion) but I've heard that Illinois is a much bigger party school.</p>

<p>However, just looking at the electrical engineering program alone (discounting my bias on social life), I'd say go to Illinois, then Purdue, don't go to Michigan</p>

10

<p>Thanks guys!!!! Now i am inclined to go to uiuc!!!!But what about the costs of the 2!!!!Isnt it more or less simmilar???</p>

11

<p>I am not sure how anybody can claim that one of those Engineering programs is better than another. GD, can you explain how UIUC "beats Michigan hands down"? They are all excellent in Engineering. Below are rankings according to the latest USNWR undergraduate rankings:</p>

<p>OVERALL ENGINEERING:</p>

<h1>4 University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign 4.45/5.0</h1>

<h1>7 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 4.40/5.0</h1>

<h1>9 Purdue University-West Lafayette 4.18/5.0</h1>

<p>It would seem that all three universities have equal undergraduate Engineering programs.</p>

<p>AEROSPACE SPACE ENGINEERING:</p>

<h1>3 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor</h1>

<h1>4 Purdue University-West Lafayette</h1>

<h1>6 University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign</h1>

<p>Again, there is very little difference betweren those three schools in AE.</p>

<p>BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING:</p>

<h1>7 University of Michigan-Ann arbor</h1>

<h1>22 University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign</h1>

<p>Purdue unranked</p>

<p>Michigan has a slight edge over UIUC in BME.</p>

<p>CHEMICAL ENGINEERING</p>

<h1>8 University of Illinois-Urabana Champaign</h1>

<h1>10 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor</h1>

<h1>13 Purdue University-West Lafayette</h1>

<p>All three are roughly equal in ChemE</p>

<p>CIVIL ENGINEERING</p>

<h1>1 University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign</h1>

<h1>7 Purdue University-West Lafayette</h1>

<h1>7 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor</h1>

<p>For Civil Engineering, UIUC has a slight edge over Michigan and Purdue</p>

<p>COMPUTER ENGINEERING:</p>

<h1>5 University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign</h1>

<h1>7 University of Michigan-Ann arbor</h1>

<h1>11 University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign</h1>

<p>All three are roughly equal in CompE</p>

<p>ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING</p>

<h1>3 University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign</h1>

<h1>6 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor</h1>

<h1>9 Purdue University-West Lafayette</h1>

<p>In EE, UIUC and Michigan are roughly equal, UIUC is slightly better than Purdue.</p>

<p>ENGINEERING PHYSICS:</p>

<h1>2 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor</h1>

<h1>4 University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign</h1>

<p>Purdue is unranked</p>

<p>Michigan and UIUC are roughly equal in EngPhys</p>

<p>ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING:</p>

<h1>2 University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign</h1>

<h1>8 University of Michigan-Ann arbor</h1>

<h1>15 Purdue University-West Lafayette</h1>

<p>In Environment Eng, UIUC is slightly better than Michigan and Michigan is slightly better than Purdue.</p>

<p>INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING:</p>

<h1>2 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor</h1>

<h1>3 Purdue University-West Lafayette</h1>

<h1>11 University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign</h1>

<p>Michigan and Purdue are slightly better than UIUC in Industrial E</p>

<p>MATERIALS:</p>

<h1>1 University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign</h1>

<h1>2 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor</h1>

<h1>11 Purdue University-West Lafayette</h1>

<p>UIUC and Michigan are slightly better than Purdue in Materials</p>

<p>MECHANICAL ENGINEERING:</p>

<h1>2 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor</h1>

<h1>6 University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign</h1>

<h1>7 Purdue University-West Lafayette</h1>

<p>Again, no real difference between those three. Between UIUC and Michigan, I would say that UIUC has a slight edge over Michigan in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Michigan has a slight edge over UIUC in Biomedical and Industrial Engineering.</p>

<p>Clearly, Engineering rankings do not seriously or sufficiently differentiate between those three Engineering powerhouses.</p>

<p>The OP should make his decision based on three factors:</p>

<p>1) Cost: Michigan and UIUC both cost roughly the same (Michigan is about $5k per year more expensive). Purdue is a little cheaper than UIUC and singificantly cheaper than Michigan. So if money is an issue, Purdue wins over Michigan, Purdue and UIUC are roughly equal and Michigan and UIUC are also roughly equal.</p>

<p>2) Campus life and location: In terms of campus, Michigan and UIUC are both fun, Purdue is not quite as fun, but it isn't bad either. However, Ann Arbor is nicer than UC and UC is nicer than West Lafayette. In terms of location, Michigan wins hands down. UIUC and Purdue are both pretty rural. </p>

<p>3) Overall academic reputation: Michigan has the edge here, closely followed by UIUC.</p>

12

<p>Alexandre!!!!
Your post is highly enlightening!!!!
Thanks!!!!!</p>

13

<p>U Michigan = UIUC > Purdue</p>

<p>As far as Mich and UIUC are concerned, just pick the one that's a better fit.</p>

14

<p>thanks for your reply 20LEGEND</p>

15

<p>I'd go to Michigan. UIUC a distant second, and Purdue a very distant third.</p>

<p>Michigan Engineering students and programs aren't significantly better than the rest of the University, this was a big deal to me, to have the ability to have a top notch engineering program, and the ability to take great liberal arts classes.</p>

<p>I think UIUC's engineering program and students are quite a bit better than the rest of the University.</p>

16

<p>thanks Keefer!!!
Some say umich while others say uiuc!!!!!
I guess i have to toss a coin now!!!LoL</p>

17

<p>Ann Arbor is a much more pleasant place to spend four years of college than U-C or WL. I have been to all three, and to me there is no comparison. Illinois and Purdue are in rural locations not convenient to international flights or major metropolitan areas. Personally, they are just too isolated for my tastes.</p>

18

<p>UC is not that isolated, i have lived in UC 12 yrs. It is not as isolated as people think. I have been to AA and WL, while AA is nice there isn't major difference. You can fly into chicago and transfer easily to a flight in champaign, so that isn't a problem. As for the rest UIUC being worse then engineering, that is not true, engineering is competitive, but so is everything else. Liberal Arts is probably the 3rd best college there behind business.</p>

19

<p>From what I understand, there aren't too many international flights that fly directly into Ann Arbor either. At any rate, Urbana Champaign is a good hour and a half closer to Chicago, and if you have intentions of working in the city of Chicago or its suburbs, U of I has a wider alumni network here, being the flagship school of Illinois and all. Also to add to what the person above said, comparing Ann Arbor and Urbana Champaign in terms of, say, which is more rural than the other, again, is like splitting hairs. Urbana Champaign being a college town as well has a great variety of restaurants, cafes, shops and theatres around just like Ann Arbor. It's also a 3 hours less of a trip to come visit Chicago over the weekend. + not that it's a whole lot warmer in Illinois, but I've been told it gets even colder in Ann Arbor in the winter than it does in Illinois which gives me the chill just to think about.</p>

20

<p>Champaign doesn't get much snow, it get chilly, and stays between 20-30 degrees through most of winter. Chicago is 2 hours away, Indianapolis is 2 hours away, St Louis is about 3 and half hours. We have hundreds of resteraunts in every type, Traditional Bar and Grill, Italian, Chinese, Taiwanese, Mediterranean, Mexican, etc etc. There is two great campus streets filled with a million restuarants, fast food, coffee shops, bars etc, and a downtown with coffee shops and bars. There are two movie theaters each with 16+ screens, a large mall, many shopping centers, 3 super walmarts, 3 major bookstores. Needless to say, there is a lot to do.</p>