<p>To the OP - I think all the schools that you mention are very good choices for engineering. If they fit what your son is looking for, his personality, and career goals they are good choices for him. </p>
<p>My own son (who had stats almost identical to your S’s) chose to attend Penn State engineering over several other schools considered ‘more prestigious’. The school fit his personality and interests (academic, extracurricular, and career) and we feel he has taken advantage of the opportunities he has been given. We sometimes discuss some of the ‘more prestigious’ choices he had and he has no regrets having made the one he did. </p>
<p>It is interesting that another one of his favorite schools was Virginia Tech.</p>
<p>Actually, we did visit University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. I just typed the incorrect abbrev. Perhaps we should revisit the situation and campus as my son has very different interests academically and I know that it is top 10 for many areas in engineering. Again, it has been a number of years since my daughters and I visited, but out of the five colleges we visited, it was unanimously the least favorite (as far as our impressions concerning campus, student body, atmosphere, etc.)</p>
<p>Thanks for the input concerning your son. If you don’t mind sharing, what other schools did he visit and consider.</p>
<p>We will definitely do a few college visits this summer and possibly this fall, with a follow-up visit to a school before accepting.</p>
<p>Actually, we did visit University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. I just typed the incorrect abbrev. Perhaps we should revisit the situation and campus as my son has very different interests academically and I know that it is top 10 for many areas in engineering. Again, it has been a number of years since my daughters and I visited, but out of the five colleges we visited, it was unanimously the least favorite (as far as our impressions concerning campus, student body, atmosphere, etc.)</p>
<p>Thanks for the input concerning your son. If you don’t mind sharing, what other schools did he visit and consider.</p>
<p>We will definitely do a few college visits this summer and possibly this fall, with a follow-up visit to a school before accepting.</p>
<p>If the architecture had a lot of concrete, then you visited UIC.
UIUC is not designed with a lot of concrete.
UIC=University of Illinois at Chicago UIC has not been known at UICC since 1982 when it merged with UIMC (University of Illinois Medical Center).
UIUC=University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</p>
<p>Perhaps my description of “concrete” was in error, but we definitely visited Illinois (Champaign-Urbana). While we were there, there were protests about the use of the Indian chief as a mascot. This was the Big 10 school, orange and blue, etc. etc. I do know which school we visited.</p>
<p>I would be very worried about a person that didn’t know if they were in Champaign or Chicago. There’s a big difference there (and I don’t just mean the 2.5 hour drive).</p>
<p>Thanks for that bit of information. I didn’t think that it was still referred to as ‘Chicago Circle’ but I didn’t know exactly when it changed over. I graduated from UIUC (engineering) prior to 1982.</p>
<p>S’s situation was a little different than the typical student in that he wanted to continue ‘his sport’ in college. His college list consisted of schools with very good engineering programs (mostly in the top 20-25 ranked according to USNWR) where he was recruitable. He also wanted an engineering program geared more towards securing a job after graduation rather than graduate school. However, he did want a school that would also prepare him for graduate school in case he changed his mind. </p>
<p>At the end, he eliminated some ‘more prestigious’ schools because they did not have undergraduate business programs in case he decided engineering was not for him. Some were eliminated because they were farther than 8 hours from home. More were eliminated for financial reasons.</p>
<p>Although there were originally more schools on his list, the schools he visited were: Bucknell, UPenn, Cornell, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Columbia, Princeton, Lehigh, Duke, Rutgers (we are in-state so it was considered a financial safety).</p>
<p>That’s an extensive list of visits. I’d love to hear your impressions and those of your son comparing the schools (apart from the sport opportunity and business school aspects).</p>
<p>cnikroo - this string is 5 years old. Not likely that you’ll get a response from universityquest. If you are interested in the chances of merit aid from UT-Austin, try posting on the school’s forum. Also, i beleive you have to apply before Dec 1 to be eligible for consideration for scholarships.</p>