Son ( California resident) selected UIUC over SB and SD 5 years back, I think it worked for him - to grow as a person, phenomenal internships starting summer of freshman year and every year there after. he dropped out for six months and did a co-op at Google along the way. Also did stints at Amazon, Facebook and a bay area unicorn. But more important was the network he built in UIUC, the side projects they would work on in their spare time… the creative energy energy there is phenomenal, look up Hackilliniois and Reflections Projections that the students do, the activities with in ACM and IEEE and that is what I think you can not put a value on. Now it is second kid’s turn to select a school and in this kid’s case; looks like there is no clear winner… at least until this morning!
Interesting that your older son’s experience hasn’t swayed your younger son to follow him to UIUC. I get that each kid will make an independent decision but sibling experience is generally a pretty good yield indicator. Is it down to UIUC vs. UCSB (or) UIUC vs. UT?
Thanks for the feedback! I agree it is important for each kid to find their spot. Ranking and prestige are important but more important for each kid to find the place they will thrive the best.
We did a shadow day today at UIUC and D seems to be learning towards UIUC now.
I can’t PM you on here but can you share what she took away from the experience and why it positively impacted her.
Just sent a DM.
Would love to know as well.
My DS was accepted at each school he applied to. UCLA and UCSB included. He put a lot of effort into Essays and Personal Interview Questions. He also outlined every single accomplishment and award. He applied to just 8 schools. But if you get burnt out on an application (or 8 applications) how will you hold up in a rigorous semester at a UC school in a large class size. being taught by a TA? My son had moments over the last year where he was stressed with course load, sports, teenage life ect. I pushed him. It is big time in their life. Don’t leave anything unsaid. DS now has a full ride to his dream school. Starting life with no debt and a top notch education is a pretty good reward for busting your butt when it counts.
Thanks! I’ll try to answer some questions based on my research and my rationale.
What really really appealed to me about UCSB Engineering was that it was such a small program – the student to faculty ratio is 10:1, compared to 20-30:1 at most other UCs.
For Computer Engineering specifically, the student to faculty ratio is 7:1. According to the students I talked to at the open house, this meant that it was much much easier to reach out to your professors and acquire research opportunities that way, since the classes are so small that most professors know your exact name.
Students also told me that because engineering majors have such high priority for engineering classes (and its so hard to switch into engineering), they’ve never had trouble with getting the classes they wanted. In the upper division classes, that meant classes of 15 or less in some cases.
Additionally, UCSB only has a few thousand graduate students across the entire campus; students told me that this meant more research opportunities were left for undergrad students.
Plus, UCSB CE has a MS+BS program that I found really interesting, it’s 1 year extra for a masters degree, and you apply during the third year.
Plus according to the UC system’s alumni earnings page: UC alumni at work | University of California
UCSB Computer Engineering majors actually have the 3rd highest salaries out of all the UCs, only behind UCLA and UC Berkeley.
I can corroborate @ucscuuw in that companies recruit at UIUC directly more but students said that if you do the work it’s not hard to get an internship, since there’s actually quite a few local Santa Barbara tech offices that hire students and you’re close enough to both the LA and Bay Area tech industries.
The impression I got from talking to UCSB students was that it’s an engineering department that definitely kicks above its weight, due to its high research output per student and small class sizes/close relationships with professors. This ends up resulting in salaries that are second only to Berkeley and UCLA in the UC System
Fundamentally speaking, however, I really liked the vibe at UCSB more. UIUC has the benefit of better name recognition but the stories I heard from current students about the competitive atmosphere and grade deflation really worried me.
the UCSB student culture from what I can see (and from current students) is far more collaborative, especially in such a small engineering college.
I currently attend a very competitive and large Bay Area public high school and I wasn’t very keen on repeating that experience. According to an alumni at my HS who is currently electrical engineering at UIUC, the lower division science weeder courses are just as brutal as a school like UC Berkeley for example.
The grade deflation at UIUC was a deciding factor for me. It was already hard enough trying to stand out at my high school against the sea of other overachievers – keeping your head above water in engineering and science courses that are graded on a bell curve in a competitive student body just really did not appeal to me.
Our son graduated from UCSB a few years ago in engineering and I’d agree that it is a collaborative atmosphere. From study groups to group projects, students were working together to help each other. If you haven’t heard of FSSP (Freshman Summer Start Program), look into that. It was a great experience for our son, got him off to a really solid start, and he is still friends with many of them to this day.
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I DM’ed you.
Thank you for sharing the information. We went to UIUC yesterday and have made a similar assessment, although are still undecided.
Some students choose UCSB over Berkeley (or UCLA). Fit/atmosphere are very important, and a happy student is more likely to thrive.
My Daughter got off the UCSB waitlist with first choice major Pre-Psychology and Brain Sciences. Keeping fingers crossed for UCSD.
Congratulations!
We sadly gave up S22’s CompE admit. Hope someone out there gets good news as a result.
Does this mean that your son chose UCB? D22 committed to Berkeley last week. Cal Day sealed the deal.
Hello - Did your daughter get an email or did she check her portal. Thx