OSU vs. UIUC (Civil Engineering)

So I’ve been contemplating this decisions for weeks and I still can’t decide…

I’ve been accepted to both Ohio State and UIUC as a civil engineering major. UIUC is obviously the better program, ranking #1 or 2 in the nation in civil engineering according to US News. OSU is still a strong program, ranked around 30. I live in Illinois so I get in-state tuition at UIUC, but it’ll cost around 7k less per year to attend OSU (about 28k cheaper over 4 years). Though this isn’t a large concern for me, it’s still note-worthy.

I’ve visited both campuses twice, and still feel more comfortable at OSU. The city location is definitely an added benefit compared to UIUC’s campustown. A good amount of students from my current high school (including a few of my close friends) have already committed to UIUC. It would comfort me knowing a few people from my hometown, but I don’t want to relive high school, and enjoy the idea of knowing only few people at OSU and meeting new people from new places.

Plenty of people have steered me towards UIUC, especially because of their dominant program in civil engineering, but this decision is still very difficult. I’ve been told that being a UIUC alum will make it easier finding a job out of college, but I feel that at the end of the day I’ll have the same degree, regardless of what school I attend.

To sum it up, my mind is at the University of Illinois, but my heart is at Ohio State…

Please leave any comments that may help! Thank you!

You like OSU better, and it is cheaper. Pack your bags for Columbus.

The tuition savings might not seem like much but the $28K you save in tuition at OSU could buy you a very nice car when you graduate.

Forget about rankings. They are unreliable and the USNews engineering ranking is for graduate studies which might not reflect much about the undergraduate program.

thank you for the feedback!