<p>I am a Virginia resident and have been accepted to UIUC and Virginia tech. Money is not much of a problem for me since I am the only child and my family has a pretty high income bracket. They said that they will support me where ever I go. I really really like Illinois and not Virginia tech. Plus since I am majoring in Computer Science, Illinois is one of the best. However, I would feel absolutely terrible for making my parents pay 45 k for this school where they could pay 23 k for Virginia Tech. I am not eligible for fin aid, but I did get James Scholar to UIUC. Is UIUC really worth it or should I just go to Virginia tech?</p>
<p>isnt uiuc much safer than virginia tech? idk if its true or not</p>
<p>uiuc has one of the elite cs departments in the world, ranking in the top 20</p>
<p>UIUC is a great school for CS- I went there for UG and majored in French and went to med school. The campus was a fun place- not much outside of Urbana Champaign- and there was always a lot to do. If you have a merit scholarship (can’t remember if James scholar is an honor or a merit scholarship) that will offset some of the cost, then I would certainly consider UIUC.</p>
<p>I had the same problem! I could go to Missouri S&T for 12k a year or UIUC for 48k a year… My parents can kind of afford it, but I also have a brother who’s going to college next year that they have to pay for. I’m a cheap person by nature so I wanted to go to Missouri S&T, but my parents and some other people convinced me UIUC was worth the money. If UIUC is where you really want to go, and your parents are willing to pay for it, you shouldn’t feel guilty about having your parents pay for it. I’m sure they just want you to go wherever makes you happy 
But I totally understand how you feel, I kinda feel bad about having my parents pay for it too… even though they’re the ones pushing me to go lol. </p>
<p>I’m a CS James Scholar too! 
Hopefully I’ll see you around in August!</p>
<p>I have worked with hundreds of engineers in my professional life. I have never worked with a “bad” engineer from either school. They both really produce high-performing engineers.</p>
<p>Both schools have a national “family” in the technical professional world. UofI might have a slightly longer reputation-reach with all the top 10 lists and Big Ten footprint. <em>Might</em>.</p>
<p>As for parent money, I’ll speak only for myself: I saved for my son’s college. I planned for the money to be used for college. If OOS expenses were in my budget and plan, it wouldn’t bother me at all (let alone feel “terrible”) if my son chose an expensive school and used the money I’d saved. Especially with excellent choices like yours. I told my son to relax and focus, and let me do the parent-thing.</p>
<p>Finally, if the choice is between VaTech with ZERO debt, and UofI with debt, I would choose VT. Debt is not a blessing. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>(Oops, forgot to mention I graduated UofI/Physics.)</p>
<p>I am also a UIUC Physics graduate and S1 is a UIUC Biology graduate. It is an excellent school and you certainly can’t go wrong. However, the quality of your undergraduate education is strongly defined by the choices you make: did you take the most challenging courses; did you take advantage of the opportunities afforded you by the school? In that sense, a degree from any serious program will give you value and VT is a fine school as well.</p>
<p>I echo what @BillThePoet said, if you have a choice between debt and no debt, I would recommend no debt.</p>