<p>I'm interested in either Electrial or Aerospace (Avionics/Controls). I know UIUC is ranked higher but have been told RPI students are much smarter and more techie (MIT caliber) and that RPI is only ranked low because of it's small size. UIUC is in-state for me, but RPI will probably give me a very good financial aid package. I don't care about social life or anthing else really. Which school has the brighter students, produces the best engineers, and has better faculty?</p>
<p>Eventhough I attend UIUC, from your brief comment about social life being unimportant, i gather that you'd probably be happier at RPI. One of my classmates went there. It is extremely techie and nerdy so if you like that you'll be happy there. Troy, NY is a pretty crappy town. IT's worse than Champaign/Urbana. I'm in Aerospace Engineering and I can tell you that the students here are bright, but pretty unmotivated. Most Engineers here love just love to watch football, party hard, and get totally wasted all the time. There is general feeling of apathy towards courses and pretty much a "hurry up, let's get this hw done so i can do something better feeling". These are not necessarily bad qualities but you won't find that many "nerds" here as a you might think for top engineering school.</p>
<p>The coursework is extremely demanding though for Aerospace Eng as it would be anywhere. It is considered one of the hardest majors here. Aerospace Structures I and Aerospace Dynamics are very well known Junior weedout courses. So even though, students are easygoing, if you don't study you will fail out very easily. </p>
<p>If you are interested in grad school however, i'd recommend UIUC over RPI hands down anyday. RPI isn't particularly good grad school. You'd have much more research opportunities at Illinois.</p>
<p>Among controls faculty UIUC is thought to be the best in the country for controls.</p>
<p>I go to RPI, and it's a great school. You'll definitely get a top-notch engineering education here. My advice to you is to choose the school that you think you would be happiest at. They're both top engineering schools and you can't go wrong with either.</p>
<p>If you have any specific questions about RPI, feel free to ask me.</p>