IIT vs. RHIT vs. UIUC for ChemE

<p>The title says it all. I plan to go into chemical engineering next year and am looking at the three colleges mentioned:
Illinois Institute of Technology
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign</p>

<p>I was curious as to your opinion of the schools and which you would recommend. I am leaning towards RHIT for undergrad and UIUC for grad school, but I'm not positive (by that time I might be considering schools like University of Wisconsin-Madison and MIT for grad school). I am an Illinois resident also. </p>

<p>So far I like RHIT the best because of the size and environment. I'm a big fan of smaller schools that are not surrounded by a town/city, but I wouldn't mind it. </p>

<p>I basically just want to know which would give a more solid education in engineering.</p>

<p>Back in the day I considered both UIUC and RHIT. Academically, UIUC is tops for engineering of those three you mentioned, though that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right for you. The only thing to keep in mind is to make sure RHIT is actually the type of atmosphere you want. To break it down, do you actually want to spend 4 years at a college in the middle of nowhere with a 4:1 guy to girl ratio? Another thing to consider, since you’re considering grad school, are research opportunities between the two. UIUC is going to have big name faculty and many outstanding labs to work in, whereas RHIT might provide more personal attention due to its undergraduate focus. My personal opinion is that the whole personal attention thing is exaggerated, and you’re better off getting research experience and recs from big names doing actual good research. Thus, I would recommend UIUC if interested in grad school. But you need to choose what works for you. </p>

<p>I can’t say much else without knowing more about you, but I guess even though I recommend UIUC, I myself ultimately turned down UIUC for a small engineering school. Be sure to visit these places.</p>

<p>I see no reason to further consider IIT given UIUC and RHIT, but I may be ignorant of other factors (and elitist).</p>

<p>I agree, RHIT and Illinois are heads and shoulders above IIT so there’s no reason to consider IIT if you can get into Rose-Hulman or Illinois. I also agree that it’s based on what type of school you want. If you want a small school with more personal attention, then Rose-Hulman would be the school for you. If you want a big 10 sports school and big means the size too, then go to Illinois.</p>

<p>As a sidenote, I have visited all the schools that I have mentioned. Also, IIT and UIUC I have visited multiple times. So far, RHIT has the most suitable environment/atmosphere on the campus for me. I would also like to mention that my two brothers both attend IIT with my older brother a grad student there.</p>

<p>“So far, RHIT has the most suitable environment/atmosphere on the campus for me.”</p>

<p>I think you’ve made the decision already, go with RHIT</p>

<p>^^Now I’ll just see how the $ part of it goes…</p>