UF or Rose/GATech/Illinois?

<p>I'm a high school senior whose been accepted to the listed schools. which one should I go to?</p>

<p>If money wasn't an issue then Rose-Hulman would be my choice, but unfortunately money is the biggest issue lol. I'm a Florida resident, so University of Florida is definitely the most affordable choice, especially with Florida pre-paid. I might be able to afford one of the other schools with loans, but I'm not interested in taking on too much debt unless I'm positive its worth the expense. I've heard a lot of mixed ideas on the decision I should make, a common one being that I should go to UF, do well, and take loans for grad school if necessary. (I definitely plan on attending grad school) I've been told this by people who say that "the quality of education won't really differ much until grad school, so UF is a good option for undergraduate."</p>

<p>So you kinda have a feel for my dilemma at this point: Rose/GATech/Illinois are generally given higher regards for engineering/physics than uf, but how much more is an education from one of these other schools really worth compared to uf? Is there a prestige factor involved that I should consider? Most importantly, will I be able to find the same opportunities at uf, including research and a challenging curriculum, as one of the other schools, or even schools like stanford or berkeley, even if I have to work harder to get them? I'd like responses from people who have had experience in the field: maybe advice on what to do or even a way to pay for one of these schools I was unaware of, plus answers to the questions. Thank you :)</p>