<p>Ok, so to start off, I am currently a senior in high school and I have been accepted by the four schools mentioned in the title. I am very confident that I want to major in engineering and in specific electrical engineering. However, I am having a hard choice choosing which school to attend. To make my decision harder, FAFSA did not turn out to be as helpful as I thought and I have found out that I will have to shell out about $7-$10,000 dollars a semester if I choose Iowa State, Bradley, or IIT. My parents will pay at most $2-3,000 a semester, which would leave me with debts that seem simply ridiculous to me. So, I need some help with the age-old question of "Go to a good engineering school and be up to your neck in debt when I graduate, or go to a not so good school and actually not be completely screwed financially post-graduation?" I know that UIC is not that bad of an engineering school, but there is no doubt that its engineering department is not at renowned as the other schools'. Is it logical to save some money by going to a less-renowned college , or will this decision come back to haunt me later in life?</p>
<p>Subsidized Stafford loan limit is $23,000 for four years, which seems to be about half of the difference between your parents’ ability to pay and the net cost at the other schools. How much is UIC’s net cost?</p>
<p>UIC is ABET accredited for electrical engineering. It should be reasonably attractive to employers in Chicago and nearby areas, but may not attract too many out of area recruiters the way that UIUC does.</p>
<p>I’d have to consult rankings to really know how to rank UIC vrs. Iowa State, but I would place UIC above Bradley and IIT. JMO. You won’t go wrong going to UIC.</p>
<p>To ucbalumnus: UIC will probably come out to cost about $10,000 a year for me (not yet positive because I have not yet received financial aid information from UIC). My friend said that his brother, who is a recent mechanical engineering graduate from UIC was able to find a $68,000/year job about 1/2 a year out of college. This seems promising, but he may just have gotten lucky. And as far as loans go, I am really cautious of them. I have been raised to avoid loans as much as possible and just thinking about how much debt I would have if I went to a more expensive school makes me cringe. How do all of these middle-class people manage to afford college? Seems incredibly expensive now that I have started looking at costs.</p>
<p>So if I understand you correctly (since you mix up cost per semester and cost per year in your different posts):</p>
<p>Parents can contribute $4,000 to $6,000 per year.</p>
<p>UIC cost is not certain yet, but you expect it to be $10,000 per year, meaning $4,000 to $6,000 per year in loans, summer job or internship earnings, or frugal living savings* that you need to find.</p>
<p>Others are $14,000 to $20,000 per year, meaning $8,000 to $16,000 per year in loans, summer job or internship earnings, or frugal living savings* that you need to find.</p>
<p>Correct?</p>
<p>(But wait until you get all official financial aid and scholarship offers before deciding.)</p>
<p>*Means being able to underspend relative to the budget assumed by the college’s financial aid office. Whether this can be done depends on the school – at some schools, this may be easier than at other schools.</p>
<p>Yes, UIC seems to be the cheapest choice so far, mostly due to the fact that I would be commuting every day as opposed to living on campus. This will bring the price down from twenty-something thousand to ten to fifteen thousand dollars per year (once again, not completely positive on final cost). At the other colleges, I would have to pay room and board costs.</p>
<p>Would the IIT cost also be based on commuting? It is also in Chicago (and appears to be about the same distance from subway stops as UIC, according to a mapping web site).</p>
<p>I actually just checked my IIT financial aid letter, and noticed that there were a bunch of random fees ($3,500 a year for room and board for a commuter student is not logical). So with loans and everything, overall cost comes down to about $4,000 a year. Also, based on what I heard from visits and online information, it seems like IIT is a very well respected midwestern engineering school.</p>
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<p>What does “with loans and everything” mean?</p>
<p>What is the net cost per year if you take cost and attendance and subtract non-loan financial aid and scholarships? Do this calculation for each of the schools.</p>
<p>IIT is a perfectly good school, but don’t get it confused with the IITs that people refer to as super-elite schools (those IITs are in another country).</p>
<p>Sorry, I tend to use inaccurate language when I’m in a hurry. I meant to say that my net cost per year (tuition+fees-financial aid-school scholarships) comes out to about $4,000 per year for IIT, which my parents said they would be willing to pay. For Bradley, this net cost comes out to about $12,000. I still have to wait for UIC and Iowa State financial aid to come in, but it looks like IIT is the best choice for now. And yeah, I kind of realized that the IIT of India and the IIT of Chicago are often confused.</p>
<p>Here is a useful tool that can help you compare your aid packages: [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Award Letter Comparison Tool](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Award Letter Requirements - Finaid)</p>
<p>Wait until you get official financial aid offers at each school before deciding.</p>
<p>If more than one school comes out to be the lowest cost, consider other factors in your decision. For example, if IIT and UIC are tied for lowest cost, you should be able to visit both of them easily. Visiting on a school day may be helpful in that you can:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Look up class schedules beforehand and check to see class sizes for typical freshman/sophomore courses (e.g. introductory math and physics) and junior/senior courses (intermediate and advanced electrical engineering courses) by finding the actual classes in session.</p></li>
<li><p>Visit the career centers and ask about which companies come to each school to recruit electrical engineering students.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Thanks for the great advice! I will definitely pay the schools another visit.</p>