<p>Balthezar, what school your son will go? UIUC? You said Umich Ann Arbor a fantastic school, how about UIUC? You are IS?</p>
<p>Yes, we’re instate Illinois, but haven’t received all of our financial aid offers yet. So, we’re not 100% sure where we’re going to attend yet. And, yes, I think UIUC is a fantastic school too.</p>
<p>rjkofnovi apparently just ■■■■■■ the UIUC forum looking for posts that mention UMich. It is quite humorous.</p>
<p>Balthezar, so UIUC is Most expensive in-state school for your son. But even you are instate, financial is still the issue? 
Should I have a guilty conscience to go to UIUC as OOS without any financial aid?</p>
<p>Balthezar, you know UIUC, could you recommend the resident hall for ENG freshman, which one is better. I choose ALLEN as 1st choice. which one could be a backup ? (location 1st).</p>
<p>“This year approximately 29,000 students applied for admission to the University, 2000 will attend the freshman class”</p>
<p>No, you are mistaken…7,000 will attend the freshman class. Almost that many have already committed. </p>
<p>I had a really hard time justifying the costs for DS to attend UIUC, and we are in-state. Lesser but still excellent schools offered great merit scholarships, amounting to full tuition and room & board at one of them, but DS wanted to go to a top-five engineering school, and the others top schools were $20,000 more a year, at least (since tuition is fixed at UIUC). So I justify it in my mind by saying we are saving $80,000 by going to this in-state top-5 engineering school. I admit, anything other than engineering and business, I wouldn’t be able to justify.</p>
<p>Tony, I’d say ISR is a good backup. And yes, even though it’s instate, since other private and OOS schools have offered some decent financial aid, they are in the running as far as available choices go. Also, money is always an issue, and D101parent explains the choice well in that even though the money is prohibitive, the value of an education at a top engineering school makes it worthwhile. If money were the only issue, UIC, which he could commute too (we wouldn’t need housing) would be our first choice.</p>
<p>@tonyecc: Please see my comments about the residence halls at this thread: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-illinois-urbana-champaign/873176-housing-question-backups-sixpac.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-illinois-urbana-champaign/873176-housing-question-backups-sixpac.html</a></p>
<p>Allen Hall/Unit One is a good choice.</p>
<p>ISR is the closest to Engineering classes. But not all of your freshman year classes are going to be in Engineering. Location may be less of an issue than you’d think because the buses are efficient.</p>
<p>Allen Hall and the Six-Pack/Ikenberry Commons are polar opposites. If you like Allen, you probably won’t like the Ikenberry Commons, and vice versa.</p>
<p>urm whats the difference between allen hallf and ikenberry? isnt allen hall a living-learning community?</p>
<p>Some thoughts: I don’t think Allen Hall and the 6 pack are that opposite, at least from talking to one of my friends in Forbes. I found many find half-drinken (or is that drunk?) beer cans in the showers, and there is a lot of pot smoke around - not that you’ll have to partake in a substance living in Allen. There are enough wannabe fraternity members around.</p>
<p>I’d give Allen the edge over 6 pack though, because it’s quieter, it’s full of art and band geeks, and the random weekly events they plan out means that you can engage your fellow dorm mates more easily.</p>
<p>…I’ll take a point off from Allen because there seems to be too many conservative Christians living in the hall ;)</p>
<p>ISR does have more engineers, but you won’t be an oddity at Allen. And Allen is much more vibrant than ISR; people actually leave their doors open here.</p>
<p>Six-PAck is Ikenberry(N/S)?</p>
<p>Here’s an alternative. This is where I’d like my son to board, if we decide he’ll attend. Newman Hall has a vast majority of Catholics in house, but they welcome anyone who wants to avoid typical “experimental” dorm life. You are expected to study there, but everyone is welcoming and friendly. For the extra money, the living accomodations are outstanding, you get to focus on your studies, and while you can partake in the dorm/frat wildness if you’d like (outside of Newman), at least the transition to college life will be smooth. You get a chance to live in a relatively subdued community, and decide where you’d like to be in your sophomore through senior years. Bottom line for me is 4 kids share a shower max, and the other accomodations (food, rec and workout facilities) are outstanding.</p>
<p>I do not believe there are many freshman at newman hall. From what I understand, Newman hall is populated with more upperclassmen, but if others on the board disagree, please speak up. </p>
<p>Son does have older friends in Newman, and he admits it is very nice there. Do the students clean their own bathrooms, or is there a service for that? I’ve discouraged my son from living in a “suite” (other schools) where several students share a bathroom IF the students clean their own bathrooms. Because I doubt many of them actually DO clean their own bathrooms…YUCK!!</p>
<p>D101Son does live in the 6 pack, and he likes it. Going to engineering classes is No problem from there…he simply takes the bus. He likes being by the Arc and the Soccer Fields.</p>
<p>Yes, Newman does have a room cleaning service. There are a lot of sophomores, juniors and seniors there because, unlike the dorms, it’s a great place to live, and many choose to stay even though they have the option of moving out. And having those more experienced upperclassmen there is an added benefit because of the examples of just how to do it that they embody.</p>
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<p>Another option to consider is starting at a community college. Then, one can transfer to UIUC or another highly-ranked school and graduate with a respected degree.</p>
<p>Compared to attending ISU (or another public institution in Illinois other than UIUC) for all four years:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Following this strategy, one graduates with a respected degree. Rightly or wrongly, UIUC is far more respected than any other public university in Illinois.</p></li>
<li><p>Class sizes at community colleges are often much smaller than at four-year schools. Community college courses frequently are comparable in size to high school courses. At four-year schools, lower-division classes are frequently held in impersonal lecture halls with hundreds of students.</p></li>
<li><p>Many of the community colleges in Illinois are quite good. Many community colleges offer Honors Programs which meet the needs of talented students who are attending a community college for financial, geographical or other reasons. For example, I found the College of DuPage Honors Program to be quite rigorous and rewarding.</p></li>
<li><p>Community colleges are generally more affordable than even ISU. Tuition and fees are generally low, and most students can commute from home. The amount saved by starting at a community college may make it be possible to spend two years at UIUC or another highly-ranked school at which one could not afford to spend all four years.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>A few caveats, however:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Community colleges might be limited in their ability to offer the specialized courses needed for Engineering.</p></li>
<li><p>UIUC’s Business school is supposedly very difficult to transfer into. It might be essential for someone who intends to study Business to start at UIUC or make other plans.</p></li>
<li><p>UIUC tuition can continue to go up each year while one is at a community college, or any other institution for that matter. Tuition is not frozen until the year one actually enrolls at UIUC.</p></li>
</ul>