I’ve worked for the University of Illinois in IT for the past 30+ years, and at one point was responsible for the Admissions code that evaluated the the “stats” portion of the admission process. I also have a son who just graduated with a Masters in Aerospace Engineering from UIUC. I’m now retired, thank God, but still consult in Higher Education IT. Although I’d love to hear from Drusba, who I believe is a UIUC Admissions insider, to clear up some of the dubious claims being propagated here, I believe that especially after the admissions debacle of 2009, that the U of I Admissions process is above board on the way admissions decisions are made, and is highly scrutinized and reviewed internally. bhs1978 is correct that the current governor is a disaster for higher education. He vetoed a budget sent to him that would have appropriated funding for higher education and Map grants, and many Illinois state universities are in financial distress because of a total lack of state funds this year, and have been funding the state MAP program for their students out of their own reserves. UIUC has a huge endowment, and some other universities are in much less current distress than others. UIUC, for example, is only dependent on the state for 17% of it’s budget, and can weather the storm much better than other universities. It is the state’s flagship university, and is in no danger of closing its doors anytime soon. Having said that, they’re hurting, and the current state of affairs cannot go on forever. The state has been reducing state appropriations to Illinois Higher Ed for decades, as have other states, which is a major cause of higher tuitions, fees and housing charges. I know. I had 3 children in college until my son graduated last year.
Being a state university, they have a mandate to admit state residents and the legislature holds them to that. Having said that, they obviously are financially better off on an individual basis admitting OOS and International students. How much that enters into the process, I don’t know, but I’d be surprised if an applicant was passed over simply because he/she wasn’t as financially lucrative to the university as an International student would be. First and foremost, the university is trying to build the best entering class that they can and the admissions process isn’t just GPA and Standardized test scores. They look closely at the essays and personal statements as well as personal characteristics of the applicant such as First Generation College student, community involvement, etc. Computer Engineering is currently, as Drusba says, impacted, meaning it is a highly over-applied to program. There are a limited number of seats and a large pool of applicants from which to choose. Why one applicant got in, or didn’t get in with good stats doesn’t mean there’s anything insidious about the admissions process. None of us were in the room when the applicant pool was reviewed by the admissions committee and representatives from the college/program. It never hurts to appeal, but I believe there are only certain things that will trigger a review. “I think I should have been admitted, but wasn’t” isn’t, in itself, likely to make admissions reconsider their previous decision.
OP, your stats are excellent. I’m sure you’ll succeed wherever you end up matriculating. I wish you well.