<p>Hello, fellow CC'ers,
I'm an OOS student from Michigan and was recently deferred from umich so I need to choose another school just in case i get rejected in April. I was recently accepted into UIUC and OSU's electrical engineering program. The cost is a factor-UIUC potentially being 45k with no merit scholarships and OSU being around 17k with guaranteed merit scholarship(34 ACT, 3.8 WGPA, 15 AP's, Good EC's). I know UIUC's engineering program is much stronger, but i'm questioning if its really worth the extra money. Also, i'm considering going to law school so going to UIUC might mean having a lower gpa. So now that you've read my situation, What do you think I should do?</p>
<p>Go to OSU and get a high GPA with no loans</p>
<p>I agree with Lydia15. I work with many of the best engineers in the world. Both OSU and UIUC (my alma mater) are well represented and treated with equal respect. </p>
<p>If I had to choose between my dream school with debt, or an excellent school with no debt, I would choose to be debt-free.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice</p>
<p>If i’m eventually accepted into umich, do you think OSU would still be the best option. Umich will be around 28k and OSU will be 17k.</p>
<p>OK, you’re challenging my natural dislike for all things OSU and Michigan. </p>
<p>But to be honest, in the Aerospace-heavy community of Huntsville, I’d have to admit that Illinois, Purdue, OSU, Michigan, and Penn State are all well-represented and highly-regarded. Other Big Ten “rock star” scientists and engineers are here too, of course, but in fewer numbers. </p>
<p>In my experience, anyway.</p>
<p>Of course, all of these schools have strong engineering programs. Although UIUC’s ranks pretty darn high, I think that at the end of the day what you are learning is basically similar and you may as well save money if you can.</p>