<p>I got accepted in to this program, but more of an insurance in case I don't get in to UIUC or UW-Madison. </p>
<p>I know ISU is better for engineering in general but I hear BME is one of Iowa's strong suits.
Should I accept this offer, do you think opportunity in terms of internships, quality professors/facilities and an overall good experience would lay ahead?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>My son is a freshman in BME at Iowa. Wisconsin was initially his first choice. He never looked at Illinois, so my comments concern strictly the Iowa-UW comparison.</p>
<p>At Iowa, you are admittedly directly into BME as a freshman. At UW you are admitted into the College of Engineering as a freshman but must later apply for acceptance into BME, typically as a sophomore. Key point: Wisconsin currently has room to accomodate about 30 new BMEs each semester but approx 90 students apply for them. The 60 who are not accepted must try again the next semester. Clearly, not all are eventually admitted. Many move into larger programs like ME or out of engineering entirely into bio-something in the College of Letters & Science. I asked an advisor in the program if this capacity problem would be rectified soon and she said, not likely. To my son and I, this was a pretty big problem with UW as an option as the program is difficult enough without the additional pressure of 1/3 chance of acceptance.</p>
<p>Typical time to graduate at UW is 5 years. Iowa, 4. </p>
<p>Opportunities to co-op, do research and intern: at Iowa, 75% of undergrads will intern or co-op. It’s an unspoken requirement for graduation. Many of the companies recruiting on campus require such experience. 20% of freshman engineers remain on campus their first summer to work research jobs with professors. The emphasis on such experience at Iowa is HUGE and they back it up with a robust Professional Development office to hook kids up with opportunites. In the info session at UW Engineering I asked about co-op and Dr. Sandrik replied, yes, those opportunities are available. Some kids do them, some don’t. A completely different level of emphasis!</p>
<p>The BME program at Iowa is one of the oldest in the nation and far larger than Wisconsin’s. Why BME appears to be the red-headed stepchild of Wisc’s COE is beyond me. It is the smallest of their programs with no plans for change on the books.</p>
<p>You are dead-on in your assessment of ISU as, in general “the better” engineering school but it lacks BME. Iowa has it because it is the medical campus in Iowa. Many faculty at Iowa’s BME program also teach in the medical school, one of the largest in the country. Because of its relationship with the medical and biomedical programs, opportunities for undergrads to do research are endless. Contact Phil Jordan at Iowa for more info.</p>
<p>Everything I’m telling you here is factual and not my opinion. Double-check my info with advisors at either school and they will back me up, as they are my sources also. Short of that, attend an info session a UW’s COE and the same with Jane Dorman at Iowa’s engineering school and you will see for yourself the difference.</p>
<p>Admittedly, UW is a more prestigious school for engineering than Iowa, but for my money, the opportunities for co-op etc, PLUS the direct-admit aspect at Iowa PLUS it’s long tenure as at BME program make it a clear winner.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Regarding the lack of an Illinois comparison, that’s okay because it’s in doubt that I’ll get in to their BME.</p>
<p>Thank you for the information; it reinforces a lot what I’ve already heard about the two schools.</p>
<p>If you do wind up needing to decide between UIUC and Iowa, please let me know. I attended UIUC (for engineering) and my oldest attends Iowa now. I’d be happy to share my detailed thoughts. </p>
<p>Quick summary – I think both schools are great, with a lot to offer. UIUC is of course larger, with perhaps modestly more variety that comes with the size, but also a little more difficult to navigate, and more expensive if you are OOS. Can’t help on the BME front. With the smaller Iowa size, the campus feels a little warmer, although I am from Chicago, so UIUC never seemed large or difficult to navigate to me. </p>
<p>Hard to go wrong with the 3 schools you are considering – good luck!</p>
<p>I think it is going to come down between UIUC and Iowa.
UIUC I know is not very generous when it comes to need, often only meeting 70 to 80 percent of it. But I do live in Illinois, Rockford (ouch-yeah tell me about it) to be exact.</p>
<p>Iowa, on the other hand, is going to give me the 4300 per year for OOS merit.
If Iowa gives me a great aid package, that coupled with guaranteeing my desired major (at UIUC I have been told that BME doesn’t have a huge capacity so only ~100 are allowed with no transfers in, meaning only those with mega stats are allowed in) and that little bit of free money and the internship opportunities may be too hard to pass up.</p>
<p>More information will be known in December when UIUC tells me what I’m allowed to be in. If they say no engineering at all Iowa seems to be the place. If they say yes to engineering and yes to BME—my situation will be very interesting and it will likely come down to aid packages.</p>
<p>Uncanny, your assessment seems to be very much on-target. You are wise to consider the likelihood of co-op/internship in your decision as those jobs pay real money that can make a serious dent in your out-of-pocket costs. I’d suggest you create a quickie spreadsheet which plops a couple of those gigs into the equation to see how things shake out for your entire time at school. The Iowa website does have excellent statistics on compensation earned by co-ops/interns and while there are no guarantees of these jobs or those salaries, it’s better than guessing. I also pay OOS for my son and it’s understood that he work two sessions as a co-op to help pay the bills. I could’ve sent him to the U of MN for much less.</p>
<p>Also, be advised that if you got the $4300 you will also likely get the Engineering Excellence Scholarship - though you must apply for it. It’s only $1500 for first-year only but it’s something.</p>
<p>Uncanny, I was wondering what your decision was regarding UIUC vs. UI. My S turned down the UIUC Bioengineering program (was accepted), due to no offers of financial aid despite really great stats. Is a sophomore in UI’s BME program and absolutely loves it. No regrets at all.</p>
<p>I’ve been accepted to UIUC engineering, but not Bioengineering.
So as I said before, it may come down to aid packages.
But I’ve also applied to Northwestern and Wash U, hoping I can get in to one but not too hopeful. I applied to these because I have an application fee waiver and I just wouldn’t be doing myself justice by not at least trying to get in to a good private school.</p>
<p>If I don’t get into either of those private schools, it probably is going to come down to aid and to whether I really want to do BME (at UIUC I can still do biomaterials with materials science and engineering).</p>
<p>Being an Illinois resident and being able to go to a fantastic engineering program at UIUC is going to be tough to pass up regardless of where I go, unless somewhere else’s aid surpasses the benefits of in state tuition. If I get into one of those two private schools and they meet 95% or 100% of my need, I don’t think I could pass it up.</p>
<p>If I have to choose between Iowa and Illinois, and the financial situation is nearly identical, I’m telling myself I’m going to Iowa, but I can’t guarantee it. My brain says Iowa but my heart says Illinois.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity I decided to take a look at the cost for Engineering at both schools (since that seems like a major concern). This information obviously won’t have any consideration from your FAFSA form on it, and I am much more familiar with Iowa’s scholarships than UIUC’s.</p>
<p>UIUC Engineering Tuition: $15,114/year
UIUC Engineering Fees: $1,636/year
UIUC Room and Board: $9,714/year (10 meals per week)
TOTAL: $26,464/year</p>
<p>Iowa Engineering Tuition AND Fees: $23,911/year
Iowa Room and Board: $8,331/year (20 meals per week)
TOTAL: $32,242/year</p>
<p>These are estimates from the school website and don’t include miscellaneous expenses or travel. The difference between the 2 is about $5,778/year (I don’t quite know how to factor in the extra 10 meals per week that you get from Iowa’s board contract).</p>
<p>I know that Iowa has a scholarship called the National Scholars Award for out of state students. If you go to a ranking high school and have a 290 or above on your index score (or a 26 ACT + 3.60GPA from a non ranking high school) you automatically receive it. that is worth about $4200/year for all 4 years.</p>
<p>$5,788 - $4,200 = $1,588/year difference with that one scholarship. That’s a very small difference compared to what most people will expect.</p>
<p>Not that this should affect your decision, but we are Illinois residents and Iowa is slightly less expensive with the same merit aid you got and the Excellence in Engineering award than Illinois would have been. Of course, they don’t have the guaranteed four year tuition like Illinois. My son didn’t apply to Illinois because it is too close to home, also his composite ACT score didn’t start with a 3, but I did check out how much it cost because all the relatives want to know why a kid would go out of state when they could go to a fine institution like University of Illinois.</p>
<p>Yeah I received the National Scholars award.
UIUC doesn’t really give out many scholarships (and the ones that they do are only worth 1-4k).</p>
<p>I suppose the costs aren’t too different. Well, let’s wait for FAFSA.</p>
<p>The Excellence in Engineering scholarship is just for freshman year so take that into account too.</p>