<p>I am a student at UIUC, but I would choose MIT over UIUC anyday. The only reason I might choose UIUC over MIT is because of the cut-throat competiton that is probably prevalent at MIT. Not that I don't love UIUC, but I think MIT just blows almost any school out of water.</p>
<p>People talk about MIT's atmosphere, but aside from it being really prestigious- think of the chances of you becoming the top of your class. The competition is unfathomable. If you think you can handle all that pressure from your freshman year in college -go for it. If you think you can have a higher class ranking in UIUC, well you know what decision to make. People in that field know what the best college is -yes again MIT has a huge name, but from what I am seeing, UIUC is the more logical choice. My opinion- analyze the facts as unbiased as you can. And your gut tends to be right quite often.</p>
<p>If you have any questions about UIUC engineering, feel free to message me.</p>
<p>don't assume UIUC engineering would be a lot easier. Probably the best thing about MIT is that you can major in history and you will still get a great job, UIUC, if you transfer out of the engineering school --> then this becomes: UIUC liberal arts vs. MIT.</p>
<p>I'd pick MIT if the total cost difference is less than 60k. (that's a really nice car...) And ultimately if you do well (upper 30%) at either school, you'll get equally great jobs.</p>
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The only reason I might choose UIUC over MIT is because of the cut-throat competiton that is probably prevalent at MIT.
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Nope. :) MIT's an exceedingly collaborative place -- the normal way of life is for people to do problem sets in groups and to help each other at any time. MIT is tough, so the way to get through it is to work together with your friends.</p>
<p>To the OP: Have you visited MIT? Do you like the environment and the people? MIT's a great place, but "prestige" doesn't help if you don't like where you are. Are you coming to Campus Preview Weekend?</p>
<p>I've heard engineering at top public (Mich, Illinois etc.) is hard because if you start flunking out you are screwed, whereas a private would help you stay in.</p>
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I've heard engineering at top public (Mich, Illinois etc.) is hard because if you start flunking out you are screwed, whereas a private would help you stay in.
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<p>Part of it is the publics are less selective to begin with, so some of the students aren't REALLY cut out for engineering/sciences. However, in general, what you say above is true. Big public schools aren't likely to hold your hand much, and sometimes they are ACTIVELY trying to weed kids out.</p>
<p>while it may be true that 90% of the public schools in this country are less selective, but at the caliber of UIUC/Michigan/Berkeley Engineering schools, it is NOT less selective.</p>
<p>I don't think it's true that Public Universities are trying to "actively weed out" engineering students. The way they grade is not that different than some of the more studious private status schools like CMU, Cornell, Chicago.</p>
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I don't think it's true that Public Universities are trying to "actively weed out" engineering students.
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<p>Go check out the grading curves at UC Berkeley in introductory math and science. You only grade THAT harshly if you are trying to weed kids out.</p>
<p>i would say that "weeding out" is the effect of a school that wants to establish strict academic standards, and not the direct intent. The direct intent of "harsh grading" is to preserve academic excellence. 50, 60 years ago, C's are considered good grades in almost every engineering school. You get B's if you are the best in the class. </p>
<p>If you compare that to today's 2.9-3.0 average GPA at some of the so called "harsh grading schools", you could say that it's a huge improvement, but the students have not gotten smarter, it's the same students. I think elite public Universities are sort of throwback in this regard.</p>