<p>hey guys! i'm a international student.
I got in UIUC, UT-Austin, Lehigh and now i'm waiting for Cornell(i think i will not get in).
all major in civil engineering
i know UIUC has the best CEE program,but i'm also attracted by a more liberal arts atmosphere
so,which one should I choose???? Please give me some advice.....thanks in advance!</p>
<p>If you get into Cornell, go there. You'll find everything you're looking for. If you don't, UIUC and UT-Austin are roughly equal in that they will offer extensive coursework outside engineering, though not quite a liberal arts atmosphere. However, Austin is directly in the middle of a pretty major city, while UIUC is in the middle of cornfields, ie. nowhere. It's a stark distinction, and they are close enough in rankings for undergrad that your location preference should be a big factor in your decision. I don't know much about Lehigh, but as a smaller, private school, it will probably be closer to a liberal arts experience. However, it is ranked a good amount below the other two - don't know how big a factor that is for you. If all you're looking for is to be able to take classes outside engineering, a public university should be fine. If you want smaller classes Lehigh would be better.</p>
<p>UIUC and UT-Austin are much the same, in terms of quality and type-of-department. (Austin is cooler than Urbana by <em>far</em>, in a places-to-live sense, though Urbana has drive-through Italian food and Papa Del's, which I think is the pinnacle of Chicago-style pizza. Austin, however, has Chuy's, which wins every time. Tex-Mex... <em>drool</em>.) There would be very little liberal arts-type atmosphere for an engineering major at either one, which is a little unfortunate. I'm not sure it's what you're looking for.</p>
<p>Lehigh is excellent as well, and would provide you with a good engineering education. I'd say you should check out the CC boards and ask what the atmosphere is like there (I'm not as familiar with what the school itself is like, but they're well-respected in civ)... It might be a good compromise, and it's pretty well respected. They've produced some good civil engineers.</p>
<p>Cornell would be my first choice.</p>
<p>Edit: Dang, beaten.</p>
<p>Well, your answer's more colorful than mine. :/</p>
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Well, your answer's more colorful than mine.
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<p>Only if you're basing your academic decisions upon culinary factors. ;)</p>