<p>I was admitted to UIUC for ChemE and UF for BioE but I plan on transferring to ChemE if I go to UF. I'm OOS for both schools, but UF gave me tons of money. Going to UIUC would make tuition around 27k while UF after the scholarship would be only 5k. I know that UIUC is much better respected as an engineering school and for ChemE since its ranked aroun #5 while UF is around #21, but would I get similar opportunities at UF compared to at UIUC?</p>
<p>Money isn't a huge deal for me, but I have a younger brother going to college next year so my dad is pushing me a bit to go to UF and apparently two of our family friends (one's a college professor and the other's son went to an ivy league school) were shocked at the fact that UF offered so much to an OOS student and they both said that its a great school. On the other hand, all I've heard on here and from others is that its a party school. Thoughts anyone?</p>
<p>Also, I'm Indian, and I know that UIUC has many more Indians than does UF. Although I don't mind too much about race, I would like a strong Indian community in whatever college I go to. Anyone from UF care to share their experience of being/knowing an Indian?</p>
<p>Another big factor for me is that I'm taking IB courses, and UF would be awarding me credits for a ton more than UIUC would (I might not get credits for more than maybe 1 or 2 classes at UIUC whereas I would receive credits for close to 5 or 6 classes at UF). After all the arguments on here, would you recommend UF or UIUC?</p>
<p>Can any ChemE from UF or UIUC (current or alumnus) please share their experiences with me?</p>
<p>Think about future employers. Would you hire someone from UIUC or UF? UIUC is ranked high for a reason! However, it seems like you are rather uncomfortable of the thought of going to UIUC. </p>
<p>It just comes down to one question, where do you see yourself? Where do you see yourself having a good time and getting a good education. Both are reputable schools; UIUC more so.</p>
<p>I’m awaiting a response from UIUC for ChemE. I was admitted into Twin Cities, however.</p>
<p>Go with UF. I’m an Illinois senior in EE. I always recommend taking the cheap option if you’re talking about engineering (I was in-state for Illinois and applied just here; it was a no-brainer). There just isn’t much of a reward for going to higher ranked programs.</p>
<p>The exception is finance/consulting jobs. These guys stick to high-ranked programs and they recruit at Illinois Engineering. I know so from getting their emails and having friends who’ve interviewed with or gotten offers from Goldman Sachs, Citadel, Deloitte, etc.</p>
<p>I don’t think UF is one their targets, but I could be wrong. Although, frankly, if you’re dead set on finance you should be going to a Northeastern elite private with any major).</p>
<p>P.S. The Indian community here is fairly mediocre and somewhat spoiled, except for the engineers. I’m an Indian and I avoid them. I can’t see these people ever attaining what their hard-working parents did. Generational decline, IMO, but that’s pretty standard with the children of immigrants.</p>
<p>shawnn - I’m actually more comfortable with going to UIUC than I am with UF. My first choice was UT Austin but I only got in undecided so then I began looking more into UIUC and I began to really like it. I hadn’t even considered UF until I found out about the money they were giving.</p>
<p>gshine - I have considered getting into finance or consulting jobs, so UIUC would definitely be a benefit for that. But I want to work for a company like Genentech in California or even an alternative energy company, so whichever school is able to give me an advantage in getting a job in either of those fields would get greater consideration. </p>
<p>The main thing I’m worried about UF is that they have very few OOS students there, whereas UIUC has almost 17% OOS. UF also has barely 8% asian population, whereas UIUC’s higher I believe. What do you mean when you say that the Indian community is fairly mediocre and spoiled? Why do you avoid them? So are most of your friends white? (sorry if I sound a bit racist here)</p>
<p>The fact that UIUC is a top 10 engineering school vs. UF which is a party school is what is really pulling me towards UIUC right now. I’d love to say that I went to one of the best engineering schools in the world, whereas if I tell people and employers that I went to UF they’re first thought would be that its a party school.</p>
<p>Is there really that big a difference between UIUC and UF? In my eyes, I see all the big public state flagships on nearly the same level. I would think somebody from UF with an outstanding resume would be viewed the same as somebody from UIUC with similar credentials. Isn’t experience way more important than academics when it comes to job placement?</p>
<p>Yes, there is a big difference. That difference is between an employer’s target schools and non-target schools. If you attend a target school, you have a much, much higher chance of being hired than if you attend a non-target school. Employers will come to you instead of you having to go to them. Higher ranked schools are more likely to be target schools for larger and more prestigious employers.</p>
<p>Also, you have to consider that your college becomes part of your brand. When you go into a new company, even if you’re 20 years out of school, people will identify you with your school. Other alumni from that school in the new company will contact you, and it’s part of your brand. Unless you do something very remarkable (some major patent or invention), you’re branded in new companies not by your accomplishments, but by things like your schools, your former employers, your professional societies, etc. A better school makes for a better brand.</p>
<p>I disagree with this. First, it’s more like the top few have a strong brand and then it drops off to nothingness quickly. IMO, only MIT/Stanford/Caltech and perhaps HMC and Berkeley have any helpful brand at the undergraduate level. Illinois, as a state flagship party school, is part of the other 99% that have no such brand value. People will know that you’re good, but they’re not going to assume you’re REALLY good.</p>
<p>Secondly, only a few of the most selective companies that are still not too far from the startup stage (e.g. Facebook) care that much about the person’s university. And after a year in the work force, it’s all about references and experience in pretty much all cases (though starting off at, say, Google can have a snowball effect so in that sense, a top school potentially helps throughout your career). Top schools are also good for meeting up with future successful entrepreneurs, but again, this is only valid for the very tippy top. And it’s also extremely unlikely no matter where you’re going so it’s not a reason in itself to pick one place over another.</p>
<p>I agree with ihatemonday, although Illinois’s top students will beat UF’s top students by a large margin. But the average student at either school has similar prospects. It’s not because there’s something wrong with Illinois, it’s just that engineering has a remarkably low spread in the distribution of salaries, especially starting salaries (i.e. everyone is close to the average). You will not be making back that money you lose by going into debt for a top school. The most that I personally would do is take MIT or Stanford for perhaps 30k more over all for years compared to a really mediocre state flagship. (This is more likely than one would think, since their endowments support generous aid.)</p>
<p>I know the CC-types are obsessed with rank and their 17-year-old minds have difficulty comprehending the long-term impact of debt and interest so I’m probably going to get ignored. Hopefully you people have rich parents.</p>
<p>That’s not a proper characterization at all. When you go to a new company, you’ll be contacted by and initially associate with people from your university. You’ll network with people from your university. The COO is walking through the building? He’ll want to meet the Illinois guy from his alma mater. People from the same school spend time after work together. </p>
<p>And this isn’t just 1 or 2 or 5 years out of school - this is for virtually your entire career. Your Alma mater becomes a strong part of your professional identity. You want to associate with the most successful people possible to improve your chance of success, and it just so happens that the more successful people tend to be from the better schools.</p>
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<p>Go visit some of the most selective employers in the country. See who works there. You’ll find almost exclusively top graduates. And I don’t mean Exxon - I’m talk about companies exclusive enough that most people on here don’t know who they are.</p>
<p>Experience matters in a company, but once you change companies, you lose that experience as a reference to everyone except the person interviewing you. One the first day, everyone in the office either knows you as “the new MIT guy who came from Blue Origin” or “the new guy from Florida who came from a NASA contractor.” Maybe you can wow some people with your work ethic and change things, but until someone has worked with you, that is how you’re known. Which of those two people do you think gets asked to work on the choice projects?</p>
Oh, absolutely. This is correct because of one little detail: MIT. Perfectly valid. But no one gives a rat’s ass about a degree from, say, Illinois or GaTech, even though they’re just a notch below. Prestige drops off rather fast. “The new GaTech guy who came from Blue Origin” just doesn’t have quite same ring to it, does it? (Though some may develop personal fantasies of that nature because they themselves couldn’t get into the prestigious schools.)</p>
<p>Take it up with the rest of the world. I didn’t banish Illinois to state party school status; that’s merely what it is. I won’t dispute that it’s a nice education for the money (and a fantastic research institute at the graduate level), but it isn’t worth OOS tuition for someone who has another good option like UF.</p>
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Some 21-year olds understand compounding. A fairly rare breed.</p>
<p>I agree with GShine about the prestige of colleges. If you follow USNews’ rankings, then UIUC looks great at #7 overall for engineering, but I think the majority of people would still be more impressed by someone coming from Duke, Harvard, or Columbia, which are all ranked #22-26 according to USNews.</p>
<p>Also, GaTech is tied with CalTech at #4 in engineering, but I doubt recruiters view them as equals.</p>
<p>Personally, I give the idea of judging an engineer’s quality by his undergraduate institution only slightly more credence than judging a tennis player by the brand of his racket. Obviously, opinions vary.</p>
<p>When you know nothing about a tennis player other than his racket, who impresses you more: the guy with the $3,000 racket or the guy with the $30 racket? Sure the guy with the $30 racket could be a pro slumming it with a cheap racket, but I’d assume the $3,000 racket owner is more serious about the game and probably better.</p>
<p>It’s the same thing. If I’m a hiring manager at an exclusive company, I don’t go to UF to hire. I go to a big name school to hire. Sometime later if I’m hiring for experienced positions, I don’t go to Monster.com to post an opening, I look at the other exclusive company’s employees and pluck one of them. If I hire someone, who do I introduce him to first? Who is on his career counseling ladder? Who is he going to be invited out to watch a game with? People from his university.</p>
<p>As I’m sure you know, your success in a company - even an engineering company - is about 25% ability, 50% networking, and 25% luck. </p>
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<p>You would be very surprised at how people view those schools, especially outside of Aerospace Engineering.</p>
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<p>It doesn’t drop off nearly as fast as you guys think. The problem is that you’re looking at things from a CC perspective - how easy is the school to get into. Employers and colleagues look at it from another perspective.</p>
<p>I used to think exact the same way you guys did at 22. In fact, I turned down MIT for a state school because of finances. I worked for a while and didn’t really see a difference. Then I went to grad school then back to work and it was a totally different perspective, even at the same company. I moved much faster and new opportunities opened at different companies I otherwise didn’t even know existed, all because of my new affiliation. But I guess everyone has to live and learn to a degree.</p>
<p>Okay well the situation has changed for me now, guys. I’m no longer considering Illinois because I’ve been admitted to UC Berkeley. So now its UC Berkeley vs. UF. UF would be around 20k or 25k per year whereas Berkeley would be around 45k per year, and work study + parent loans would cut down the loans I have to take to around 10k or 15k per year. 60k in debt isn’t too bad is it? Especially if I begin paying that off during college itself by taking summer internships/jobs/research. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>When it comes to engineering circles, Illinois IS considered a top-notch school. An engineering degree from Illinois is much more meaningful than, say, an economics degree (LAS) from Illinois. In engineering, Illinois is as impressive as any of the three schools ranked above it, or at least almost. It’s NOT lumped together with the other 99% of the schools out there. </p>
<p>We make judgements, we can’t help it. When you see a resume and it says “engineering from michigan state” you don’t think to yourself, oh he probably got a bunch of great scholarships. Your initial reaction is that he didn’t have the grades for Michigan. Not as impressive. </p>
<p>It’s the same thing here. An engineering degree from UIUC is impressive. The students there are really bright, and the program is really challenging. </p>
<p>And, really, folks!! Cornfields??? I’ve never seen a cornfield at Illinois.</p>