<p>There is also regular bus service from UC to O'Hare airport, which has dozens of international flights. See Public</a> Transportation</p>
<p>all three schools are elite when it comes to engineering, so you really can't go wrong with any of them. i currently am going to purdue, and i can tell you that 20% of our student body is international. i have also heard from many people that an engineering drgree from purdue carries more weight internationally than in the united states, so you may want to consider purdue if you plan on working outside the states.</p>
<p>gd016. The Detroit airport is only 20 miles away from Ann Arbor. It is a major international airport. LOL. There is no way in gods green earth you can get from UC to O'hare in less than two hours. Heck, it can take you two hours from the loop to O'hare by taxi! I'm sorry but when the names of great college towns are thought of, UC is not on the list. It is boring and in the middle of the cornfields. Ann Arbor is also close to a major city (Detroit) and an international border where nineteen year olds can legally drink and gamble. UIUC is a great school, but if I"m going to be paying as much there as at Michigan, I'd go to Michigan.</p>
<p>"LOL." Cute, I always wonder if people are actually laughing out loud when they write things like that.
But I digress, there are connecting flights from O'hare to CMI, the airport in Champaign, so it's no hassle usually. Also read my posts again, nowhere have I said that it takes less than two hours to get to Champaign from O'hare. You'd have to be an idiot to think that, seeing as how Chicago itself is about two and a half hours away and O'hare another half an hour away from Chicago. Detroit is an incredibly ugly and dangerous city with very little to do compared to Chicago; all of my friends at U of M come here to spend their weekend off, but obviously not all that often seeing as how it takes a good four hours to get here. I'm sorry Champaign isn't on "your" list of great college towns, but the few times I've been to visit, I've been taken out to a very nice Italian restaurant for lunch, an even nicer Spanish tapas bistro for dinner, and a chill hookah bar after dinner. In a nutshell, I had a good time. So cornfield or not, it's not a bad place to be. You get tired of it, you take a two and half hour bus ride to Chicago.
Anyway, for an electrical engineer U of I is a better place to be, and also I know this because I'm a resident in neither Michigan and Illinois, tuition is cheaper at U of I.</p>
<p>Sorry for the confusion gd. I was referring to smallestcollegesFTW's remarks, mixed them up with yours, and didn't cite them properly. Detroit is not a wonderful city to be sure. It does allow for opportunities that a major metropolitan area can provide however, such as shopping and cultural pursuits. Let's face it, how often is anyone going to be driving almost three hours (and yes traffic in Chicago is horrendous enough that it will easily take this long) each way to get to any place that offers these types of amenities while in college? Engineeringwise, both schools are comparable. In my opinion UC is boring and too isolated!</p>
<p>To add to gd016, I have taken multiple flight from champaign to chicago, It is a 30-40 min flight, and give or take 30-40 min for transfering flights, it comes to two hours and less to get from chicago to champaign via flight. As for being surrounded by cornfields, Most cornfields are miles away from campus, it is in the center of UC. To get the city of Detroit take the very ugliest worst part of chicago and multiply it times about 100. There you go. With champaign within 2-4 hours of 3 major major cities, it has much more to do, where at michigan the only cities you are close to are detriot and cincinatti, two of the ugliest cities in the US. As for going to Canada to drink and gamble, you can drink and gamble all you want at UofI. While there are other things to do, a lot of people party a lot, just like at Michigan.</p>
<p>Sorry for all the posts about Illinois, but I don't think anyone should write it off as being a boring little cornfield in the middle of nowhere. It is a town of over 120000 people and very close to major cities. It is full of things to do.</p>
<p>As soon as you said the cornfield's are miles away from the campus you lost your argument. Just head south. They're right there! Here's a shocker for you. Detroit has suburbs!! Those suburbs are just as nice as the suburbs of Chicago. That's where all the best shopping and restaurants are. Furthermore, they are only about a thirty minute drive from Ann Arbor, not three hours. Home often are students going to have the opportunity, especially international ones, to go that far? All that I'm saying is that the location of Ann Arbor is superior to the location of UC. What does Chicago have to do with it? You know what? You can fly from Ann Arbor to New York in less time that it takes to get from UC to Chicago by car if you have unlimited funds. LOL. (oops I did it again!)</p>
<p>GD, in my opinion, there is virtually no difference in quality between #3 and #6. You can attribute the difference to size of faculty. </p>
<p>And UC is isolated. It is a three hour drive from Chicago and no other major city is within close driving distance. Ann Arbor has a major international airport at its disposal. the Detroit metropolitan airport, which has direct flights to most majorcities in Europe and Asia, is within a 20 minute drive from downtown Ann Arbor. I guess many of you here aren't international. I am. The last thing you want to do after 15 hours of plane travel is get on a small propeller plane for a 45 minute flight. I did that when I was a graduate student at Cornell and it wasn't fun. </p>
<p>Finally, tuition-wise, UIUC is indeed cheaper than Michigan. Michigan will cost anywhere from $5,000-$7,000 more per year. Out of $40,000, that's significant, but probably not the main determinant. Purdue on the other had is much cheaper than Michigan, though not significantly cheaper than UIUC.</p>
<p>If the OP is to spend $150+ k on his college education, I highly recommend he actually hop on a plane a visit all three schools before making his decision.</p>
<p>I agree with Alexandre -- you really do need to visit all three places in person to get a feel of the atmosphere. Also, rent in Ann Arbor is significantly higher than in the other two college towns.</p>
<p>thanks for your opinion guys!!!!
But is u of I $5000-$7000 cheaper than u of M??</p>
<p>[url=<a href="http://www.osfa.uiuc.edu/cost/undergrad/nonres_0809.html%5DUniversity">http://www.osfa.uiuc.edu/cost/undergrad/nonres_0809.html]University</a> of Illinois Financial Aid: Undergraduate Non-Resident 2008-2009 Cost<a href="cost%20of%20uiuc">/url</a>
[url=<a href="http://www.finaid.umich.edu/financial_aid_basics/cost.asp%5DUniversity">http://www.finaid.umich.edu/financial_aid_basics/cost.asp]University</a> of Michigan Office of Financial Aid: Cost of Attendance<a href="cost%20of%20umich">/url</a>
2008-09</p>
<p>That's sounds about right. UIUC will probably cost about $45k-$50k per year (when you include plane tickets and medical insurance) over the next 4 years, Michigan will probably cost about $50,000-$55,000/year over the next four years. On average, Michigan will probably cost $7,000 more per year.</p>
<p>finally UIUC wins over Michigan!!!!</p>
<p>i just found out that the tuition fees at UIUC is locked for the 4 years you spend.i.e whatever you pay the first year, you pay the remaining years as well.Whereas at umich there may be an increase of about 10% every year, which is significantly high!!
And considering the present financial scenario i think it is safer to go to uiuc than umich if both provide almost the same quality of education and job opportunities!!</p>
<p>correct me if i have a wrong conception!!!</p>
<p>Michigan will cost roughly $240,000 over 4 years. UIUC will cost roughly $200,000. That's $40,000 worth of savings over 4 years. That's significant, so if finances are a concern, UIUC certainly wins over Michigan.</p>
<p>ss_2310. Certainly if costs are your major consideration, than I would recommend UIUC. Just remember where you'll be living for the next four years. :-)</p>
<p>alexandre i agree that i am not as knowledgable as you are!</p>
<p>But don't you think that the figures that you have mentioned are just too much exagerrated???</p>
<p>For some time just leave the plane fares and personal expenses alone
Just concentrating on the tuition fees and room and board, the tuition fees and room and board for both the colleges are mentioned below:</p>
<p>for fall 2008</p>
<p>Tuition fees
1. umich : around $33,000
2. uiuc : around $31,000</p>
<p>Room & Board</p>
<ol>
<li>umich : around $8500</li>
<li>uiuc : around $8740.</li>
</ol>
<p>Books and health insurance will cost another $2500 probably!</p>
<p>So summing up : umich : $ 44000
uiuc : $ 42240.</p>
<p>hardly $1760 is the difference.</p>
<p>Moreover i am planning to live off-campus from my sophormore year onwards and i am also planning to work on-campus(20 hrs/week @ $8-$10/ hr) to carry out my personal expenses!!!!</p>
<p>I may be completely wrong that is why i need your help!!!</p>
<p>Now what do you suggest???</p>
<p>Alexandre: i don't want to debate ; i just want to clear my doubt. How come umich will cost around $60,000/yr and UIUC $50,000 with the above mentioned plans!!!</p>
<p>Do guide me!!</p>
<p>I need your help!!</p>
<p>btw thanks rjkofnovi!!!</p>
<p>I cannot do the math for you, but I can say this. Students spend hundreds of dollars monthly on shopping (CDs, clothes, etc...), non-dorm dining (coffee, lunches or dinners with friends etc...), transportation, medical insurance, books, entertainment (movies, concerts etc...), plane tickets etc... </p>
<p>When all is said and done, Michigan will cost $5,000/year more for a first year student, but after the first year, the gap will expend to $7,000 the second year, $10,000 the third year and $12,000 the fourth year. That's because Illinois's inflationary pressures are restricted to room and board and cost of living. In Michigan's case, tuition (the largest chunk of attending university) is also impacted annually by inflation. Furthermore, at Michigan, tuition jumps bu $2,000 from Sophomore to Junior year. </p>
<p>In the end, Michigan will cost about $35,000 more than UIUC over 4 years, but that represents less than 20% of the total cost of attending college.</p>
<p>It doesn't sound like that big of a difference in cost, go with whichever you think you'll like the most. Also, a way of thinking that worked for me, was asking yourself which diploma would you like to have 5 years from now?</p>
<p>thanx alexandre!! now i get the picture!!
You are right Illinois will be cheaper.</p>
<p>Thnx for your reply too Keefer!!</p>