Hi,
I was accepted to UIUC for CS + Stats and OSU for CSE
UIUC would be 120k more than OSU because I live in Ohio
Is it even worth to goto UIUC for CS given the amount of debt I would accrue?
Thanks 
Definitely NO!
Honestly, no. UIUC has the brand-name in CS, but they are both giant schools with big classes, and in CS, ability trump’s brand name anyway.
If you live in Ohio, the decision is a no-brainer. Go to OSU! If you’re majoring in computers, it won’t make a difference either way because both degrees are employable. In fact OSU has an advantage. Columbus is one of the nation’s top tech hubs and the recruiting school of choice is OSU. This means internships and job opportunities.
At Ohio State, are you direct admitted to the CSE major, or are you in a pre-engineering program? The school’s web site suggests that it admits to pre-engineering and then requires GPA thresholds to enter your major:
https://advising.engineering.osu.edu/current-students/applying-your-major
https://advising.engineering.osu.edu/sites/advising.engineering.osu.edu/files/uploads/Admission_To_Major/engineering_major_application_information_su2018-sp2019.pdf
At UIUC, verify that you have direct admission to CS+Statistics. However, note that changing into CS is very difficult: https://cs.illinois.edu/admissions/undergraduate/transfer-students
Still, $120,000 of debt really does not make sense.
@ucbalumnus, he would be directly admitted in to UIUC CS+stats as there is no provisional admission to CS+stats and he said he was admitted to CS+stats, not DGS.
Once in CS+stats, it would be pretty much impossible to transfer in to CS in Engineering (and there really wouldn’t be much reason to anyway).
You can’t borrow that much on your own. If you are eligible to file the FAFSA, you can borrow the standard student loans ($5,500 freshman year, $6,500 sophomore year, $7,500 junior year, and $7,500 senior year for a whopping total of $27,000). Either someone else would have to borrow that money, or someone would have to co-sign a loan with you. Do you really want to put a friend or family member on the hook for close to $100,000 in loans just for your education?
Go to OSU.
Maybe I’m dense, but the OP did not explicitly state what the level of (student) loan debt would be after 4-years at UIUC. He said that UIUC cost $120K more that OSU. The actual debt could potentially be more or less than $120K.
@Jamrock411 Yeah, you are right. I would have to take 60-80k in loans at UIUC and 0 at OSU
$60k to $80k debt is still on the large side, and would require a cosigner, which is usually not a good idea for either you or the cosigner.