<p>I'm an Illinois resident currently at University of Iowa as a first year student. I plan on getting a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering, but I doubt I'm going to go to graduate school.</p>
<p>My dad works at UIUC, so there's a 50% student tuition discount, which brings the total tuition down to around $24-26K.</p>
<p>Iowa State's out of state tuition is around $29K, but I do believe they offer more scholarships.</p>
<p>University of Iowa is currently charging me around $30K per year (about $39K without scholarships), since they don't offer many scholarships.</p>
<p>I should mention that I was previously accepted by UIUC, but they only offered general division, and I was unwilling to take the transfer risks.</p>
<p>You can apply to both and see if you get admitted to your major at each school.</p>
<p>If UIUC offered general div., that means your record wasn’t what engineering was looking for for their program. Are you getting all A’s at UofI? UIUC is not the easiest engineering school to get into, either as freshman or transfer. You aren’t happy at U of I? You mean your total cost, not total tuition, no? If it’s just about money, South Dakota School of Mines is REALLY cheap.</p>
<p>That price you quote is total cost of attendance, right? Tuition at UIUC is nowhere near that high for an in-state student, particularly with 50% off.</p>
<p>Yeah, I stated the total cost.</p>
<p>[U</a> of I Admissions: Tuition & Fees](<a href=“http://admissions.illinois.edu/cost/tuition.html]U”>Page Not Found, Illinois Undergraduate Admissions)</p>
<p>Tuition and fees: $15,258 - 20,178
TOTAL ESTIMATED COSTS: $29,594 - 34,514</p>
<p>I’m assuming the 50% student tuition discount only applies to tuition, not the housing and meals.</p>
<p>On a side note, I’m okay with Uni of Iowa. But some of the biomed engineering students here told me that Iowa State has a much better mechanical engineering program and that they only came to Uni of Iowa because of something related to the pre-med courses.</p>
<p>The reason why I’m also looking at UIUC, is because it’s much cheaper than Uni of Iowa, and has a better engineering reputation.</p>
<p>EDIT: There were also a few juniors and seniors said that they drove 1.5 hours to Iowa State to attend their engineering career fairs, since they were much better than Uni of Iowa’s engineering career fairs.</p>
<p>I think you really need to apply for transfer and see if they will take you! As you noted, UIUC passed you over for engineering the first time around, you have not indicated any reason why they would take you now. Apply to both and see what you get.</p>
<p>Also, when figuring in costs, make sure you look at the issue of transfer credits - if only half your classes are going to transfer then that is going to have a cost of its own.</p>
<p>
True, but if your dad works at UIUC are you going to be in the dorms? And those are only ever estimates anywhere - your results may vary! If cost is the major issue and you are not too picky, you can live like the archetypical grad student, living in a closet and subsisting on Ramen and hope…</p>
<p>
Be careful that you do not transfer to a school that will take a pace beyond the combination of your ability and dedication. UIUC has a better engineering reputation because it drives students hard, and it is better to have a good experience and a good GPA at a good school than to be miserable and failing at a “top” school.</p>
<p>I do intend on staying in a UIUC dorm, since it would be easier for me to get to know new people and reduces commuting time. Now if they put me in a dorm filled with party-loving folks that don’t take their academics seriously and have no open spots in more academically-focused dorms, then I will be sleeping at home.</p>
<p>Current approximate grade status at Uni of Iowa:</p>
<p>Principle of Chemistry I (above General Chemistry II): A-</p>
<p>Engineering Math I (Calc 1 and about half of Calc 2): B+</p>
<p>Engineering Prob. Solving I (teaches how to approach some basic engineering problems and writing correctly formatted reports for other engineers to read): B+</p>
<p>Rhetoric (required for all majors): B</p>
<p>Next semester I will be taking Statics, Eng. Math II (Calc 2 and most of Calc 3), Matrix Algebra, and Physics I (calc based).</p>
<p>I’m also involved in two student engineering organizations, AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics) and especially SAE baja. I am not in any “leadership” positions since I’m a freshman and I’m more focused on my academics.</p>
<p>As for the transfer credits, I checked with UIUC, and most of my credits will transfer, except for the “Engineering Success Seminar” or “College Expectations” course. I do have to take a MATH 292 bridge case since Engineering Math II’s Calc 3 section does not cover vector calculus, but I can take it online over the summer.</p>
<p>I will also check Iowa State Uni’s transfer policies next weekend since I have an Eng. Prob. Solve. I midterm on Tuesday.</p>
<p>I was in the same boat 5 years ago. I cant speak on behalf of UIUC (my brother goes there) but ISU was the greatest thing to happen to my life. Every other engineering major I knew has a job now that we all graduate. I got a dream job in Denver doing football stadium design and my friends work for Pepsi, Coke, one designs professional football helmets, it truly is a hidden gem. Take a visit and which ever one feels right go there, forget about the reputation and other stats of the school, its really what you make out of it.</p>
<p>Iowa State University’s engineering program is no hidden gem. It’s reputation for quality and rigor is well known. Heed the advice of Cosmicfish and be sure you know what’s under the waves in the swimming pool that you plan to jump into because ISU is also known as a weed out program.</p>
<p>Basically all major state universities with good engineering programs can be labeled as a “weed out program.” It has nothing to do with the school doing anything to actively get kids to drop the program and everything to do with the fact that these schools are often required to have looser admissions requirements than comparable programs with higher retention rates.</p>
<p>“Weeding out” is an expected effect of sequenced prerequisites (where the prerequisite courses cannot be watered down too much because the material is needed in subsequent courses) in a program subject to external accreditation with relatively high standards (ABET) at a school which is not all that selective in admissions.</p>
<p>I guess I’ll apply to both Iowa State and Uni of Illinois during late 2014 winter and then come back here to ask questions.</p>
<p>Though if I do go to Iowa State, it’s going to be a bit amusing joining their SAE baja team, and then meeting my previous Uni of Iowa team at a regional race.</p>