UIUC [$61k/year, $100k debt, eng undecl] vs ASU [$23k/year, ME] for Engineering [want computer science or eng]

College Search & Selection
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Hey everyone,

I am a current high school senior looking to go to college for engineering. I have been admitted into UIUC for Engineering Undeclared and ASU for MechE (will likely transfer to CompE or CS). UIUC CoA is around 61k a year. My parents will help me out but I might graduate with up to 100k in loans. ASU is 23k a year, I don’t think I’ll have much debt after graduating. The recruiting and employment opportunities are significantly better at UIUC, and the average engineering salary is also higher (105k vs 72k). I want to go to UIUC. However, I don’t know if the price is really worth it, and I’m looking to get some outside opinions. Can anyone help?

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You can’t transfer into UIUC CS, so you aren’t making a fair comparison of starting salaries. Average Grainger salary was $85K from the most recent report

Fulton’s overall median was $69K, so definitely a difference BUT the Fulton data includes a bunch of polytechnic majors and I expect the N at ASU is much larger…so this comparison is less than meaningful.

Personally, I think $100K in debt is too much, even for an engineer, but I know others disagree. You the student can only take out $27K in total undergrad loans, so the other $73K will be on your parents. Are they going to take out those loans for you?

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If $$$ is no object and you visited UIUC and loved it, seems fine. I wouldn’t advise to go into that much debt though in this case. You can get a great outcome from ASU (and a lot of other computer science programs).

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Engineering Undeclared | The Grainger College of Engineering | UIUC says that CS is not available to engineering undeclared students.

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I used CompE for UIUC

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Yes, I see that. Just know that transfer into Comp E from Engineering Undeclared is highly competitive and the process is holistic (so not entirely in your control).

It does seem like your mind is made up for UIUC…what would be the top 3 majors you list for transfer (only 2 can be in competitive)?

Have you talked with your parents about them taking out the other $73K in loans? $100K in loans at a blended rate of around 6% for 10 years will be about $1,100/month.

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Yeah I have, they are okay with it as long as I pay. CompE and EE would be my top 2, I would want to explore more before deciding a third. I also wanted to look into the CS + X Programs, I know they’re also very competitive but I think I could give it a good shot.

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Don’t do it. How’s that? Just because you think you can doesn’t mean it will happen. UIUC isn’t great about moving around in the majors. Get your degree then apply for jobs in other areas of the country with higher incomes if that is what you are after. If you had an apples to apples comparison then maybe I would feel differently
But also assuming the extra $1,000/month you or your parents will be paying out doesn’t sound like a lot of money now but it will when you actually have to pay it on top of paying for living expenses etc.

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Here is the problem. You will be paying some $120,000 extra up front (after interest), under the assumption that you will make enough more to pay it back.

This assumes that
A. You will indeed make this much more, on average, every year, for the entire period that it will take you to pay the loan back (around 8 years). The difference will likely drop, as experience becomes more important than where you did your degree. Moreover, this is the average, not the median, so you really do not know what the chances are that you will make that much more a year as your starting salary if you attend UIUC.
B. That you will get a job as soon as you graduate, AND that you will work without interruptions for the entire period.
C. This is true for your particular area in engineering.

There are two very important additional facts:
A. transfer rates from engineering are high, and
B. Four year graduation rates from Grainger are 58%, and 6 year graduation rates are 76%.

So there is a 42% chance that you will have to take further student loans, so you will owe a lot more when you graduate, and a 24% chance that you will take even longer, or not graduate with an engineering degree.

So there is a very good chance that you will either need to pay back closer to $200,000, and/or will not have that much higher a salary than if you attended ASU, because you would not graduate with an engineering degree.

Do you have that extra $100,000 on hand, AND do you not need the extra money that $100,000 would generate in the time between when you start school and when you are able to save that much on a higher salary? If so, attend Grainger. Otherwise, I personally think that it is, financially, a bad idea.

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I’d go to ASU. In fact, going to UIUC is a very very very bad idea.

  1. You don’t know how the economy will be when you graduate - engineers are not always protected.

  2. That $100K with interest is a lot more. And btw - your parents, not you, are on the hook for the loan - are they ok with that?

  3. I’m not such a believer in the averages - they are often location related. My son is a MechE at Alabama, secured 5 offers in the Fall with four in the 80s and 90s. When he interened with kids from Ga Tech, they all earned the same. If you’re a hustler, you’ll be fine - with indeed and linkedin, you’ll have access to top jobs. It’s the kid, not the school…it just so happens that “better” kids go to the higher ranked schools - but those top kids are tops no matter where they go.

I know on paper Illinois is likely the winner. But you will have financial stress and strain for years - like when you get acid reflux and you feel you’re being choked - that’s what you’ll have in regards to your finances.

Debt is never good.

$100K in debt - especially when 40-60% of kids don’t finish the major (depending on the study) - you can’t do that to yourself. It’s not just not good - it’s malpractice that anyone would lend that much money to a college student.

Good luck.

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Financially it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Chances are your salary after 5 years of working are going to be the same either way, as long as you put in the same amount of work.

The difference would be the environment for each school – which one will put you in the best position to excel? And if it’s UIUC, is it $100k better? It could be… UIUC has a very good reputation as an engineering school… but you will really want to analyze it.

I generally don’t think going into large amounts of debt for any school is worth it, outside of very specific circumstances.

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I’d lean very strongly towards ASU.

–I would do some research and understand if you will be able to move into CS or CompE at ASU.

– It is not assured (indeed it appears unlikely from a post above) that you will be able to get your preferred major at UIUC.

– Graduating with $100,000 or so in student loans would handcuff your life decisions for years. The payments you would have to make to cover undergraduate loans would impact with every adult decision you make – it might mean you couldn’t take that amazing job at a start-up for less pay, get that new car, take a nice vacation, get the home you want etc. IMO graduating debt free is an absolute gift.

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I am a senior in high school and with May 1st coming up I am a little stressed. Right now I am trying to choose between UIUC and ASU. I don’t know exactly what I want to major in, but as of right now I am planning on getting into tech, meaning CompSci and CompE are both at the top of my list. Fortunately cost is not the biggest issue for me, but for reference UIUC is 61k a year (out of state) and ASU is 23k a year (in state). I would definitely rather go to UIUC, but the problem is that I don’t know exactly what I want to pursue.

At UIUC I was accepted into Engineering Undeclared, but I am unable to declare CS through the EU program so my only option will be to study CompE (admission into first choice major within EU isn’t guaranteed but I have enough confidence that I can maintain good academic standing during my first year). I know that it is impossible to transfer into CS within UIUC, so if I decide that I really want to do CS and not CE, my only hope would be to attempt to enroll in a CS + X program (which I don’t think I want to do) or transfer back to ASU. At ASU I am enrolled in CS and I can easily change my major if I choose to do so.

My other option would be to attend ASU for my freshman and sophomore year, figure out exactly what I want to major in, and then apply to UIUC (and other universities) as a transfer student. Admission isn’t guaranteed of course, so there is a chance I will end up graduating from ASU if I go this route (ASU is by no means a bad school, I think I would just have more opportunities and employment connections at a more prestigious school).

Can anyone help me out? Maybe share transfer stories, or if you’ve experienced this before? Any advice is appreciated.

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Transfers are exceptionally hard.
You should consider a CS+X if CS is that important to you.
Those are all good majors. You won’t lose anything in the process.
If anything you’ll gain some domain knowledge in an additional field.

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My ten cents is that given cost is not an issue I would pursue CE at UIUC or even mechanical or electrical engineering if those appeal to you once you take some courses. My Nephew has decided not to do CS after realizing that AI/Chatgpt is pretty competent at coding. If you decide at UIUC you still want to do CS, you can transfer from there. Good luck to you.

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OP said that cost was not the “biggest” issue, not that it isn’t an issue.

OP, these are the points in your post that jump out to me:

Yes, UIUC is a big name, but you will have more opportunities than you can take advantage of at ASU, and plenty of employment connections.

Would going to UIUC require taking on debt?

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I’d go to ASU, study what I want, love it, and never want to leave.

Don’t go anywhere for sake of transferring. You’ll just be miserable - always with one foot out the door.

You only want UIUC because you like it’s a harder admit/more prestige in your mind - but what’s the point if you can’t study exactly what you want?

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Multiple identical threads

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On review - the question is different enough. Reopening and merging with the OP’s other thread.

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btw to OP - probably 95% of the time - the ASU and UIUC kid will work side by side. Might there be some cases where a UIUC kid has access to a certain job most don’t have. I suppose. But I see job listings only for Michigan Tech or RIT too - so that will happen at most schools.

Yes, UIUC has a superb reputation - but in the end, most companies hire from ABET - and even in interns - my son lived with two Ga Tech kids. He went back a second summer. They weren’t invited.

For most (not all), the rank is over inflated - youll do great from either school. It’s mostly about you and your hustle, not the school name.

That’s why I say go to ASU - where you can study what you want.

You’ll get a job that you want vs. selling out your life because you think UIUC has a certain cachet (that frankly, most in society would not recognize).

Edit - I see on the merged thread i’ve said the same thing 3 times - others seem to back it.

Do what you want - but I see you’ll take on big debt too.

Let’s see - study what you want. Don’t strangle yourself financially.

Honestly, this isn’t a hard decision.

You just have to let your ego go.

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