Seattle or Austin would be better for internship opportunities, and even networking/jobs after graduation. Plus better places to live.
McCombs is tops in business. Yes, it’s difficult to get into (but not impossible, my niece is there). So UW might be “safer” in that respect if you want to get into the B school. But you can also study something biz related at UT-A.
^ did your niece get in after getting undecided, or was she a direct admit? That’s a huge difference. What percentage undecideds got mc combs during her year? (she can probably count them.) It’s really a high stakes gamble for someone who’s going to pay oos rates.
Remember Texas state universities will allow students to bring guns into the classroom in September. AND YES, very difficult to transfer into Business at most competitive universities like UTs. Tend to be over enrolled and state univ MUST take a certain # of community college kids as transfer. I’d go to Univ of Washington. Not sure where you are from but UIUC has 10s of thousands of students from China so most kids English skill are worse after they study there and don’t connect with many Americans. OSU is a great school as well.
@MYOS1634 she was direct admit
@xoxbookxox I hadn’t replied earlier, because I am only familiar with UIUC’s College of Business. I have a son and a daughter who are currently attending.
First of all @rkelly5182’s post:
is false.
Peruse the statistics for yourself concerning student enrollment. http://www.dmi.illinois.edu/stuenr/ I would also add that the Asian Americans are, in general, for lack of a better description, very American. If you are concerned about the optics (prevalence of Asians, which btw includes many non-Chinese as well) I suggest you go to the UIUC College of Business FaceBook page and look at the photos. Keep in mind that a single picture of a few students doesn’t represent the whole college. The one I would direct you to is the photo of the incoming Fall 2015 CoB (Illinois 2019) class. It was taken from a high perch and you can look at the physical make-up of the class. Make up your own mind.
Oh and I would say most of the Chinese community is north of Green…in other words, the Engineering quad.
Now I’ll share my children’s experience at UIUC’s CoB. It is fantastic.
The caliber of the students, many from the Chicago metropolitan area, is very strong. If you are interested in stats click this link and scroll down to view CoB’s Freshman class profile from Fall 2015. https://admissions.illinois.edu/Apply/Freshman/profile
The job placement is wonderful. Business Career Services (BCS) has a 97% employment rate.https://business.illinois.edu/bcs/recruiters/statistics/ug-stats/
The Study Abroad Program is stellar. https://studyabroad.business.illinois.edu
My daughter studied abroad in the Spring of 2015. It was cheaper than being on campus, but more importantly, after becoming friends with students from other American universities, my daughter realized how fortunate UIUC CoB students are. UIUC has formed partnerships with high quality study abroad universities. Spend a few minutes and look at the schools, the number of students they send, etc. https://studyabroad.business.illinois.edu/programs/semester/
The state budget woes will, of course, impact the university system as a whole, but for now UIUC is in a much stronger position than the in-state directional universities. Engineering and Business have been and are continuing to attract corporate partnerships. The strength of these corporate partnerships can be seen in the BIF (business instructional facility) where the CoB administration proudly points out the numerous plaques where donations have made the construction of the LEED platinum certification possible. Check it out. https://business.illinois.edu/bif/about-the-facility/
The opportunities outside the classroom are top-notch. As a parent I am so happy with the professional development available for those students who have the ability and the desire…they’re competitive and the student must seek them out. The experience my children are getting through their RSOs is probably the biggest and best surprise concerning their college choice. Yes, UIUC is a top party school, but as with any university it depends on what you do with your out-of-class time. Here’s a thread on party schools. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/1838472-if-youre-at-a-party-school-is-it-easy-to-avoid-the-party-scene-but-still-have-a-great-social-life.html My kids are not big drinkers, but have learned how to be around those who are. Not a bad thing in my opinion. It’s the real world.
Lastly, you asked about snow. Yes UIUC gets snow, but it was a very mild winter and snowfall accumulation was probably below average. I tried to address your concerns, but if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.
Good luck. 
@88jm19 Thank you so so so much! Your post really helped!! UIUC definitely seems like a school that I would enjoy going!
Choosing between UWash and UIUC now. Anyone have more thoughts about UWash?
The issue isn’t with Asian Americans but with the concentration of mainland Chinese students upon whom UIUC has become tuition-dependent due to the budget woes.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/heavy-recruitment-of-chinese-students-sows-discord-on-u-s-campuses-1458224413
Check out NYT and Chronicle of Higher Ed for other points of view, all presenting the same issue for UIUC.
@xoxbookxox I believe that UIUC was ranked as one of the top party schools in 2015. Despite this, you’ll most likely never be pressured to party. There’s 30,000 students at UIUC, you can find many who aren’t into the parties(if you’re not a party person). Engineering/Accounting aren’t the only good programs there. Along with the college of engineering, the college of business, education and psychology are highly ranked.
Both schools would realistically be a good choice for you, but I would personally choose UW (I’m biased because I love Seattle) 
@xoxbookxox You’re welcome. Good luck wherever you go…and get involved!!
Oh and @MYOS1634 you said:
Sometimes I think people confuse Asian Americans with non-resident aliens, who by the way aren’t all from mainland China. I see it as an unfortunate result, where we as Americans, tend to view people of certain ethnicities as foreigners.
For instance I did a quick check to see how many non-resident aliens attend UIUC. The most recent common data set states, 5,359. I couldn’t find the exact number from mainland China, but the WSJ article you linked to said 31%, which if accurate, would be about 1,700. The enrollment at UIUC is 33,000.
I’m just trying to convey that the perception of being overrun by Chinese students may be exaggerated to fit a narrative. Also, the concentration of these students does seem much higher if you are looking at certain majors…though that should come as no surprise.
Lastly, I just wanted to say that I do agree with the crux of the article, “Colleges need international students in part for the tuition revenue, but language and cultural barriers make assimilation a struggle”. I would think it’s articles like this one that is forcing UIUC and other schools to address this issue…a good thing. It’s encouraging to read that UIUC has started summer orientation programs to help with their transition on campus. And it also stated that this past year was the first time they didn’t segregate them during campus orientation. The statement that it is a work in progress makes me hopeful.
Adapting to the changes in employment opportunities isn’t easy. Navigating the cost and changes occurring within higher education is difficult. I think it’s unsettling for most of us. No wonder CC exists.
There are plenty of non-Chinese students at UIUC to interact with.
http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg06_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=982 indicates that 15.4% of undergraduates are international students (obviously not all from Chinese places).
the 31% is the average for all international students in US. However UIUC is one of the top destinations (if not the top) for mainland Chinese students, particularly in engineering/CS - I don’t know what % of international students are Chinese but it’s going to be quite a bit higher than the 31% international average. Chinese tend to gravitate towards certain schools that are well known in China: the UCs, UIUC, UW-Seattle, UW-Madison, BU, NYU (and at the high end of the scale, Stanford, Harvard, Columbia). These all have large Chinese communities. Purdue as well. Relatively few apply to LACs (most don’t understand what they are) or smaller science-oriented schools that have high reputations in the US but which don’t appear on international rankings (like Harvey Mudd or RPI).
All that to say, there is a very large mainland Chinese community at UIUC. However, with a total enrollment of 33,000 you obviously have plenty of other choices if you want to mostly be around from people from other cultures than your own (something I recommend to all those here in China on their way to study in the US, to get the most out of their college experience).