Should I transfer to UIUC for computer engineering?

Transfer Students
1

<p>Yeah I know it seems like a no-brainer. HOWEVER, I honestly was shocked when I found out I was accepted. The thing about me is that in high school I wasn't really a stand out student. I had a 25 on my act, a 3.4 unweighed GPA, and a 4.1 weighed GPA. I did take many AP classes like AP Chem calc ab honors physics AP English AP literature honors chemistry ap history ap micro economics etc.</p>

<p>Freshman and sophomore years of high school I got straight b's. Junior year I started improving and got A's on my AP classes and B's on my honors classes. Senior year I got almost straight A's, last semester of senior year I got perfect straight A's.</p>

<p>However, when I applied back then I was rejected from engineering and placed on general studies. I attended a community college and completed 38 credit hours. I have a 3.9 community college GPA, but this GPA is inflated because most of my courses were fairly easy. Had I gone to a university I definitely would've either had a lower GPA, or would've had to work much harder to achieve that same GPA. </p>

<p>I don't know if I can handle uiuc's engineering curriculum. I am a Hispanic and an Illinois resident, and I literally submitted my app on the first day the application was available. I also applied for the spring. I think all those factors are why I was accepted. </p>

<p>I did NOT submit my act because I had enough college credits where I didn't need to submit it. 25 was too low, it would've hurt me if I submitted it. </p>

<p>I don't know if I want to go through uiuc's tough curriculum. I understand computer engineering is hard anywhere you go, but this applies 10x more at uiuc. Ive heard that uiuc's engineering curriculum is VERY hard. I don't know if I want to put myself through that stress.</p>

<p>I honestly rather go to an easier, less prestigious school like UIC. I know that UIUC is a much bigger brand name across the world, but I'm most likely going to stay in the Chicago area my whole life. I like Chicago, I don't see myself moving away from the Chicago area. I also am not bothered if I can't get into a top employer like Google, I just want a decent job that pays well.</p>

<p>Then of course at UIUC I will have to take out bigger loans because of dorming costs. At UIC I would commute. I've been accepted to both programs BTW.</p>

<p>Am I stupid to say no to UIUC for computer engineering? I was admitted for this next spring. I am aware at how difficult getting into UIUC engineering is and am aware at what a wonderful opportunity this is. I just wasn't expecting acceptance. I thought for sure I would get rejected. </p>

<p>Should I go to UIUC or UIC?</p>

2

<p>The only that that pushes me away from UIUC is because of the unreasonable cost (in comparison to private schools with actual aid), it seems like you are in-state and interested so you might as well go for it if you’re willing to pay. </p>

3

<p>I’m in-state but UIC will be cheaper still because I could commute there, thus no room and board fees. As far as willing to pay… idk. The higher student loans and tougher curriculum seem to be the 2 things keeping me from u of I. I feel more comfortable saving money and having an easier workload. I know computer engineering is hard anywhere you go, but u of I is on a whole other level than other schools as far as course rigor is concerned for engineering. </p>

4

<p>I’m currently in an Illinois community college and I’m transferring to UIUC in the fall. I have a couple friends that transferred into engineering at UIUC this year, and they both agree that it is tough. One of them is doing Engineering Physics and the other is doing Electrical Engineering, so those are quite a bit different the computer engineering. But engineering in general at UIUC is going to be tough. They’re one of the top rated schools in the world for engineering, so it comes with the territory. </p>

<p>Don’t take this the wrong way, but it seems like you’re looking for the easy way out. We grow by challenging ourselves. You might not finish at UIUC with as high of a GPA, but you’ll be able to say that you graduated from one of the top engineering programs in the world. I’m considering UIC as well. I applied to both UIUC and UIC, but assuming that I get accepted to both, I’ll be going to UIUC. I’m a physics major, and once again, UIUC is one of the top rated physics programs in the world. It will be a lot more challenging than UIC, but it will be well worth it. </p>

5

<p>And you know, maybe you should take the easy way out. Not everyone will be a superstar. You may do perfectly fine graduating with a CompE degree from UIC (and yes, CompE will be hard anywhere). But UIUC will definitely open up more opportunities for you. Then again, are you ready to accept that challenge right now? You could go to UIC and then, if you find that you do well there but it doesn’t offer the opportunities that you want, you could try to get a Masters from UIUC (or another prestigious program elsewhere), though you would have to spend more money then.</p>