<p>rolltide90, I agree with most everything you’ve said. The State’s finances are in shambles, politics play a heavier role at UIUC than it should, and the school does have a heavy Chicago influence (70% of the students are from that area). </p>
<p>All that being said, as a parent with a son at UIUC, I am thrilled with the quality of education he is getting and am extremely pleased with the involvement the career placement offices have with the students. Ultimately, what I care most about is what he learns in the classroom and what doors that education opens professionally. UIUC gets an A+ from me for that. In my two visits to Tuscaloosa, I am equally impressed with what I see in those areas at UA.</p>
<p>I do not want to stoke any fires here. The expression means that they are very different: “as different as chalk and cheese”. We are IL residents, but S did not want to consider (and did not even apply to) UI/UIUC. It was not a good fit at all for his situation, least of which they phased out the aero-eng’g program there anyway. I’m very cynical about that, actually, but I don’t need to go into it. Suffice it to say I’m a firm believer of voting with your feet. </p>
<p>randomjoe has some very valid and valuable points to make - in the end, if you are pleased with what you are getting from a school, then that’s great. I’m pleased that both schools can apparently deliver what both (and different) students need.</p>
<p>There is no question that UIUC has a stellar academic reputation. It is a very difficult school to be admitted to, and I am sure the curriculum is top-notch. It just strikes me that it was less expensive overall for us to send our S to UA and pay out-of-state tuition as opposed to in-state here in IL. And, those costs are true out-of-pocket costs to us, as my S is not a recipient of the generous scholarships UA offers to attract the caliber of student that they rightly now have enrolled. UA was always dominant in athletics, and now it is clear they are becoming a world-class institution off the field as well.</p>
<p>I also do not necessarily wish to intentionally offend anyone either, but I am also so ashamed of my home state in so many ways that I also will not pass up an opportunity to voice my displeasure either. We all place different values on different aspects of our lives, and the People’s Republic of Illinois may be for some, just not me.</p>
<p>All I can say is that my S had absolutely no interest in any school in IL, and my entire family could not be happier with the choice he made in UA. The culture there is nothing short of phenomenal, the people are probably the friendliest you could ever hope to meet, and kindness and common courtesy is the rule, not the exception.</p>