<p>Disclaimer: I go to Grinnell, BUT… </p>
<p>If Grinnell is less than half as expensive, there’s really no reason to go to U of I. Normally, I would try to hold back my bias a little bit since I know some people are better off at larger schools, but, simply put, your situation does NOT make U of I affordable.</p>
<p>If you got approx. $45,000 in financial aid from Grinnell (logical conclusion if it would cost you $5,000 per year to attend), your family is almost certainly not making enough to pay $13,000 a year for you to attend U of I. Even if you could get a bank to loan you $13,000 a year, you have to figure that it’s not unthinkable that it could take you five or six years to graduate with an engineering degree at a public university. $13,000 a year for five or six years is several times as much debt as a newly graduated college student could handle. Even if you did get out in four years, $52,000 in debt is a very large amount of debt for undergrad; it would be a major obstacle if you tried to do med school.</p>
<p>Also, Grinnell is a wonderful school for math and sciences. Even if they don’t offer an engineering degree directly, you can do a 3-2 with plenty of other schools, including Caltech. [3-2</a> Engineering Programs - Physics | Grinnell College](<a href=“http://www.grinnell.edu/academic/physics/engprog]3-2”>http://www.grinnell.edu/academic/physics/engprog)
Note that while your Grinnell Financial Aid wouldn’t carry over to the two years at another institution, Caltech meets full need just like Grinnell, and I’m sure some of the other 3-2 options have similar financial aid resources.</p>
<p>If you plan to pursue advanced study after your bachelor’s, Grinnell also has far better placement into graduate programs than U of I.</p>
<p>Message me if you have any other questions about Grinnell.</p>