@bds61821 thank you so much for your valuable advise. One last question is it possible to get internship in your freshman year?
@AAA124555. Yes. It is possible but less likely. Good luck
@bds61821 I noticed that you took many courses in engineering mechanics which is the major I got in. How is the major of engineering mechanics? It sounds to me it is very theoretical and I am wondering its job prospect. Thank you for your advice.
@skiscuba As you said, it is more theoretical and therefore its industry job market as compared to, say mechanical engineering, can be limited, but many student in the dept choose to proceed with graduate school route. If you are looking for job after just an undergrad, I would suggest to take some practical elective courses of your choice, and build some coding skills, particularly Python to increase job prospect. Any engineering background with good coding skill has a merit in the job market. Good luck…
@bds61821 Thank you for the advice!
My S received an email today stating he’s selected as a James Scholar. He didn’t get into his first choice CS major, but was offered engineering physics major. We are out of state, Rutgers is our state flagship. Today’s email has no mention of scholarship money so I assume there’s no money attached. From what I have read, the biggest benefit of James Scholar honors program seems to be mostly just priority to register classes early. Does anyone know if that’s true? Any advice on whether to go to UIUC College of Engineering (but not CS), or Rutgers CS, would be appreciated. Son is interested in CS but likes physics too. OOS tuition with no scholarship is a stretch for us. Thanks!
@imundecided2023 This response might help you- http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/22121978/#Comment_22121978
If Rutgers is a big savings AND the desired major, it seems like a no-brainer unless there is some other major attraction for UIUC? James Scholar is NOT the equivalent of a flagship honors college at other major universities. It’s basically as you described.
Yes, I think in my mind I knew Rutgers is the better choice. Thank you for your advice. Interestingly, son also received 8k from Rutgers school of engineering.
Hi guys, I just had a q about placement tests? Do you take them before or after classes start?
HI BRO GOING TO DO CS IN ENGINEERING COLLEGE CONFUSED BETWEEN uiuc and ucsd what do you think i should prefer
Okay guys i am really confused about the college i want to enroll in
I got in to UIUC CS in college of engineering and UCSD undeclared major ( not sure if i will get CS once enroll over there) what should i choose
they are telling me that UCSD will give me an overall devlopment which UIUC wont be able to give me really confused please help me out
Placement tests: Before. Have them done 2 weeks before your registration date.
uiuc no doubt. UCSD won’t guarantee your place in CS and it’s extremely hard to get in to(but you may because you have got into uiuc cs). If you know cs is what you want to do, go UIUC for safety reason. But if you like CA better, you should think about ucsd too.
@Smartypants112233 Unless you are in-state in CA or have some other reason you like UCSD much better, CS-Engineering at UIUC seems to have an advantage in terms of program and cost on paper. Sure UIUC may be a tier below Stanford, Berkeley or Cal Tech in placement for high profile Silicon Valley jobs, but their reputation is otherwise excellent and I’d have to think UIUC CS majors do quite well in the job market compared to most other top public programs like UCSD.
I could not agree more with @illinoisx3. Purely from the CS reputation and job prospect perspective (even if at Silicon Valley), UIUC should be a better choice than UCSD except for Cal residents.
On a side note, as an Illini grad who has been following CC forum for the last few months, it is disappointing to see UIUC, even engineering departments, having a difficult time attracting top talents against other schools.
I rememeber choosing UIUC (Eng) over UCB, Cornell, UMich, NW, GT and UTA (30+ years ago 
), and it was viewed by many as a reasonable choice. I was not even in-state. Would this be still the case? What happened during the last 30 years. I did not realize reputation of UC schools, in particular, have increased that much.
By the way, I would NOT have gotten any of the above schools with my stats today. The kids these days are facing incredibly tough competition both from US and outside, and getting admission to top schools is like playing a crapshoot.
UCB is considered a tier above UIUC by a lot of people, probably from the proximity to Silicon Valley (which is kinda gross but I dont want to get political here)
I personally love UIUC and actually know a couple people who chose it over the other schools on your list.
i am an indian students
what about California more of San Diego vs Urbana Champaign
i am an intnl student by the way
@sven17 what was your unweighted GPA? Cuz there is no way u got rejected with that high SAT score unless u did no ECs
Guys i plan on pursuing a biology degree in college but I am having a hard time picking between UIUC and UC Riverside, as both offered me zero financial aid and both have strong STEM programs. which would be a better choice?