<p>USNWR means US News and World Report. They publish a one of the more well known rankings of US universities. The rankings are a good guide but take them with a grain of salt. They also publish a “world ranking” of universities, but these are just cloned from the QS rankings.</p>
<p>As to McGill. It has a weird fee system where prices very hugely between majors, especially for international students. Engineering is one of the most expensive, whereas Arts is one of the cheapest at just under $15k tuition and $17k with ancillary fees, mainly international health and dental insurance.
So if you are set on engineering, and on a budget then no McGill is probably not your best choice because although they recently opened up a lot more scholarships (See Campaign McGill fundraiser), these are mostly earmarked for Quebec and Canadian schools. </p>
<p>I restated UIUC because another poster here, tk21769 said that it had good merit aid for internationals. If you want more info on that schools aid packages you should maybe PM him.</p>
<p>As to Minnesota, I have done a little research on it. It is a public school, not a military academy. Honestly I don’t know why the tuition rates appear so low. Maybe the 13 credit flat rate is per semester? Then again the website also talks about semester credits vs quarter credits and it is kinda hard to decipher what they are trying to say.
At any rate, its tuition fees seem to be the best of the bunch just by looking at its website, so your best bet is probably to contact their admission department and talk to them.</p>
<p>Good luck</p>