This is a really good way to look at it! Offer up a bit of a ‘reward’ for her making the prudent choice. Also, as someone who did study abroad I can say without question that it was the best part of my college experience. Six-figure debt could indeed be crippling.
There’s also a decent chance that she would look at grad school- so having her complete her undergrad with minimal/no debt while getting a degree from a top-flight university with money to spare is a blessing. Her future self will thank you for steering her in the right direction.
If it were me, my bank account would say, “Insert more money, then we’ll talk about Michigan.” If you have to take out that much debt to pay for it, it’s not worth it. These are two equally great schools. I promise, she’s not missing anything going to UIUC.
We recommended Michigan over UIUC to our child, but he didn’t listen. He chose free college.
I think Michigan/Ann Arbor is the best undergrad education and college experience there is, but it’s only undergrad. I’m afraid I have to rein in my rabid passion for Michigan and agree with this.
I am also biased…big UIUC fan. When my son was admitted to both schools, something that factored in his decision, which I didn’t see mentioned yet, was AP credit. We compared how much credit he would receive…and how it might factor in class load per semester, as well as the ability to take higher level classes earlier.
Also, since cost seems to be an issue, note the increase in tuition at Michigan when a student goes from lower (freshman/sophomore) to upper division (junior/senior).
D18 attends Michigan from CA, so I can’t compare to UIUC, but compared to the UC’s here in CA, D18 received almost 2 full semesters as AP credit and, even with two minors, is done a semester early at Michigan.
And yes, LSA tuition at Michigan increases roughly $4,000/year once you hit 55 units, taking into account AP credits.
Ok…I will add…our kids did not choose the less costly colleges…but the difference is, we didn’t take out any loans to finance their higher cost schools.
Both are outstanding schools. Michigan has a little more prestige, but that isn’t worth much unless you’re trying to get a job on Wall Street. Those people look at the name on the degree.
But the University of Illinois is an outstanding school, and it is particularly strong in STEM departments.
Big Ten prestige doesn’t end with Northwestern, JHU and UMich – Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Purdue, and others are also very highly regarded both here and abroad, with (each) a slew of highly ranked and regarded programs. Heck, UW was a top-20 university in the seminal years of the USNews ranking, before the publication decided that private schools needed to comprise their top 20 spots, and that the big state schools had to be brought down a peg or two.
I had to make the same decision many years ago (1989). My parents even tried to bribe me with a car and a nice apartment at Illinois (they would have still come out ahead), but I had my heart set on Michigan. And I loved it! So much so, I took my DS who is a Junior to Ann Arbor last week for a campus visit. That being said, money is an important consideration. Your daughter needs to really think about debt and what it means for her future. If your daughter is considering graduate school, then she should estimate what her total debt load could be. Breaking that number down in terms of monthly debt service payments might be a good reality check. Debt right now is an abstract concept, but it can/will impact her quality of life i.e. how much money will she have left over to spend and save. If she were my child, I would recommend going the debt-free route unless scholarships make it a closer call. Both are great schools. Congratulations to your daughter for getting into both. Good luck making a difficult decision.
My bias is against UIUC and toward Michigan, but for me this is not even a close question. UIUC is not only debt free but close to zero cost. Absolutely do not borrow to go to Michigan instead.
I would be more sympathetic if the student’s more expensive, preferred option were Amherst or something like that. That’s a completely different experience than Illinois, and different kinds of kids would thrive in those spaces. But one excellent big 10 flagship versus another? No question, avoid the debt.