Hi. I just finished freshman year at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering. I have done well in my courses so far (3.8 GPA) but constantly wonder if I made the right decision about which college to attend. Sometimes I wonder if I should have attended University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana instead, and if I should consider transferring there now. Here are a few reasons why:
I originally chose to go to Northwestern University for three major reasons. The first is because I wasn’t sure that I wanted to study engineering when I was applying to college, and Northwestern has great programs in all areas of study. Therefore it would be a better school if I switched majors. Second, NU has more prestige. It is known as (possibly) the best college in the Midwest and one of the best in the country. Also, NU tuition normally costs ~$48,000 per year, but I got $18,000 in financial aid so my true cost of tuition is really ~$30,000.
However, I am having my doubts that I made the right choice. Now that I know that I want to study engineering I’m wondering if I should transfer to UIUC. Their engineering school is just as good as NU, if not better. Also, their engineering tuition is only $17,000 (I would get in-state). Their cost of room and board is also significantly cheaper than Northwestern’s. Plus I have heard more engineering companies recruit from UIUC than NU. In addition, getting higher grades at UIUC would be a bit easier than at NU (I assume) and would give more time to socialize.
At this point I have not decided on a specific engineering major but am certain that I am not interested in computer science or computer engineering (which I hear are what UIUC is particularly good at). In addition, at this point I likely have enough credits to graduate from NU in three years (possibly needing one quarter senior year). However, if I transferred to UIUC I’m not sure if all of my credits would transfer and I would need the fourth year.
Overall, this is the bottom line: I feel like I was a little infatuated with NU’s prestige and was very excited that I was able to get accepted there, which is why I committed there. However, now, looking back on it I kinda feel shitty making my parents pay a significantly higher tuition to go there when I could have gotten just as good (or better) of an engineering education at UIUC. However, I’m not sure if transferring is a good idea, especially since I may graduate from NU a year early. What do you guys think that I should do? I would appreciate any useful advice!
This is a conversation you need to have with your parents since it seems that the main reason you want to transfer is financial. I do know that a good number of student graduate from NU in 3 - 3 1/4 years, it’s not that hard to do and that would be quite a savings. See what your parents have to say about it and then make your decision.
I agree completely with the advice of @amtc. What do your parents think you should do and what level of hardship are you and your parents facing in paying your current tuition?
Thank you for your advice. My parents make a comfortable living but are not wealthy. I haven’t needed to take out any loans for college. However, I have a sibling that will be going to college and I may go to grad school so I feel like spending a lot of money on undergrad may take away from that. When I have tried to bring up the topic of staying at NU before my parents got angry and viewed it as me being unappreciative of them paying for me to go there and thought that the true reason I was asking was because I wasn’t adjusting socially (which is false). So I would feel awkward bringing it up again.
As a parent myself, I can say that I do appreciate it when my children wish to save money for me, so perhaps you can think of a more tactful way to bring up the conversation… Of course they want you to succeed and be happy wherever you are!
Well, I just found out today that my financial aid for the 2015-2016 school year went down by $3k. Plus tuition went up $2k. So now NU will be $5k more expensive for next year. It pisses me off so much how once colleges get you to start going there they raise the tuition.
As an alum out of college for a number of years, I’ve observed far more people who would’ve spent the additional bucks to have attended a “top school”. If you can graduate in 3 years, I say go for it.
I say stay at NU, and devote your energy 100% in making the most out of the resources at NU. It’s the type of degree you won’t have to grad school for if you do well in undergrad and find a good job after college. I know plenty of really bright kids who went to Illinois who wished they had gone to NU.
I know it’s a tough situation with your parents, but the best way to go about is to let them know you’re doing your best to make the most of the experience. Also show appreciation regularly…!!
Don’t assume that it would be easier to get good grades at UIUC engineering or that you’d have more time to socialize there.
UIUC Engineering is well-respected for a reason, and it’s not because they hand out A’s like candy.
Given that you can graduate early and given the total costs, NU doesn’t cost a large percentage more, I personally think that the small cost savings aren’t worth giving up opportunities.
By which I mean that while opportunities in engineering will likely be just as good at UIUC, NU would offer more opportunities in consulting and finance (which would definitely matter to you if you choose IE, for instance). Also, NU allows you the “luxury” of postponing what engineering major you want to choose. At UIUC, you’d be entering a specific major, and switching majors will likely be harder.
Furthermore, though you say your parents are making the wrong assumptions about you, you haven’t given much indication that one big reason you want to switch is because of social reasons (and the sad thing is, you’re almost certainly wrong about that point; UIUC Engineering will almost certainly be just as difficult as engineering at NU and leave you will just as little free time; the main difference is that at NU, you’d have a greater percentage of kids who are also working hard while at UIUC, you’d have a greater percentage of kids who spend more more time partying than studying).
Finally, the elite privates who give fin aid would take another sibling in college in to consideration. Also, any decent STEM PhD program would be funded (though granted, masters programs may not be).
Thank you for your advice PurpleTitan. I didn’t mean to imply that UIUC engineering students don’t work hard and it isn’t rigorous, I just thought I would have more time for the following three reasons:
NU is much more selective than UIUC. NU acceptance is ~13% while UIUC acceptance is ~60% (although I imagine this is a bit lower for the engineering school). This means I am competing with generally smarter students at NU.
NU is on the quarter system which is much more intense and fast-paced than the semester system.
NU engineering students take ~18-19 credit hours (it’s not called that though). I don’t think students at UIUC take that many, but I may be wrong.
I do agree that it is kind of pointless to argue about which college is harder without having attended both and it just leads to argument. That was intended as a side comment in my original post and not one of the major reasons that I was thinking of transferring. You also raise a good point about it not being a large price difference if I graduate in 3 years. Could you elaborate about the funding of STEM masters and PhD programs? I don’t know much about that.
And finally to moooop, the way Northwestern’s Engineering First program works is that courses freshman year are not like those at other schools. So this might be hard to transfer. Plus for transferring credits in general it seems very unlikely that every class I’ve taken at NU thus far will fit a requirement at UIUC.
??? Students at NU usually take 4 classes. I’m not aware of anything like credit-hours (they certainly didn’t exist when I was there). Yes, a semester system isn’t as relentless as a quarter system, but engineering students at UIUC who want to do well still spend plenty of time on schoolwork. I would not assume that they spend less.
Selectivity is a poor guide. Yes, less selective schools would have poorer quality students (though note that the average ACT of UIUC Engineering students is now about 32), but that just means that more drop out if the faculty keeps a high standard (which UIUC Engineering does). UIUC Engineering’s admit rate is now in the 30’s, I believe. Looking at the overall admit rate for a school that admits by major doesn’t make much sense.
You can read up about grad school funding online. Research does the body good.
And if the social life/toughness isn’t a main reason for wanting to transfer and the financial issue has been addressed to a degree, what else did you state?
Just because you a apply to transfer doesn’t mean you will get in and even if you do get in, it isn’t binding. You should come back after your transfer application process is completed.