<p>The financial award letters for both UIUC and IIT just came, and I'm excited about how much UIUC gave and a little disappointed by how much IIT gave.</p>
<p>Total cost after Grants/Scholarships (not loans):
UIUC = $15,532
IIT = $9,752</p>
<p>These numbers aren't that far apart, and if they were equal I would without a doubt choose UIUC over IIT. It's a better school in every way (at least in my eyes).</p>
<p>What advice can you guys/girls/parents give?
Will Room & Board be cheaper than the estimated $10,800?
Will the scholarships and grants from UIUC last all 4 years? I checked on the database and not one of them was on there.</p>
<p>EDIT: Oh sorry this is for Mechanical Engineering</p>
<p>I graduated from UIUC and I have been a professor at IIT for a long time. S1 graduated from UIUC (Biology) and S2 from IIT (Electrical Engineering). UIUC is a great school for engineering but it is BIG. IIT is not as highly ranked (all the rankings have flaws and don’t really tell you the quality of the education you can get) but our graduates get jobs and go to top graduate schools. Both UIUC and IIT are research universities so those opportunities are there for you.</p>
<p>I can tell you that the Mechanical Engineering program at IIT is one of our best and the IPRO program (<a href=“http://ipro.iit.edu/[/url]”>Abhinav Bhusan) is appealing to a lot of our students and employers.</p>
<p>Bottom line, the education you get is primarily determined by what you put into it. The courses are available at both schools, as are the opportunities.</p>
<p>You need to decide based on personal factors</p>
<ol>
<li>Do the finances work?</li>
<li>Do you feel comfortable at the school (size of classes, etc.)?</li>
<li>Do you like the location (it is only 4 years but it can make a difference)?</li>
</ol>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you very much for the input!</p>
<p>One other thing, I know that at IIT is is fairly common for students to request a 5th year of financial aid and it is generally granted. This is done for several possible reasons.</p>
<ol>
<li>Sometimes Engineering takes 5 years as it is a pretty demanding curriculum</li>
<li>Students go for co-terminal degrees and use the 5th year to complete an M.S.</li>
</ol>