There is a verified forum on ZeeMee. S22 has found that app valuable in connecting with other admitted students across multiple colleges.
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We had to make this exact choice. S22 accepted to many great engineering schools, but it came down to Purdue and UIUC. We are also in state for Illinois and got aid for UIUC. My S22 did summer programs at both schools. He also thought Purdue had a great campus and program. A few things pushed him over to the UIUC side.
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Direct admit to major - my son wants to pursue a major that is highly competitive within the school of engineering at Purdue. At the admitted students day an admissions director there admitted that sometimes, even when a student gets a 3.2 GPA, the students might not get into the their first choice major (even though the website says it guaranteed). They said last year 90% of students got into their first choice, but when pressed further were evasive about specifics. I asked what % of students who listed aerospace as their first choice got it last year, and they would not answer. Some majors are not competitive, so their admit rate would be 100%. Therefore it is impossible to know if the less competitive majors are bringing the average up, and if aerospace is actually much lower than 90%. I just didn’t like that they have that data but would not share it.
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This goes into the second point, the FYE program. My son is certain about his major, and he didn’t want to spend a year having to explore other engineering majors.
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Diversity - UIUC has the most international students of any public university in the county.
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They are both in the top 10 for undergraduate engineering overall, UIUC #6, Purdue #10 (Purdue is #4 for aerospace, UIUC # 5). Both schools will be a great launching board for a career. My son felt it was better to save a bit of money and put that towards a Master’s degree. Coming from UIUC, students go on to CalTech, MIT, GT, UMich and so on.
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The size of the program and personalized attention. The program at UIUC is large enough to have all of the great resources, but small enough not to feel like just a number. The director of the aerospace program knows the name of all the students in the program.
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UIUC has more overall top ten programs. While Purdue is a great engineering school, it is 32% of the student body. At UIUC it is about 10%. My son wanted to be able to learn and grow from students in all areas of academia, and just felt he’d have more of a chance to do that at UIUC.
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UIUC places a big emphasis on overall student well being and mental health. They have embedded counselors in each school. That way if a student is struggling with the stress of the
program, they can talk to someone who understands. -
While this wasn’t a main factor, I though I’d mention it. Purdue is know for grade deflation.
Don’t get me wrong, Purdue is a great option, and before UIUC came in, it was S22’s #1 choice. I just think a lot of factors went into his overall decision and led him to UIUC. Best of luck:)
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Why do you think Purdue will take 5 years? Is your student planning on staying for a masters? If not, it will be 4 years.
As much as I love Purdue, if it means loans, stick with UIUC. These are peer schools for engineering.
PS. Purdue is very strong in other STEM disciplines aside from engineering - nursing, vet, flight, CS, pharmacy, etc….
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I have to say that @momofboiler1 has been a great source of Purdue information throughout our decision process!
We were close to committing there, but as she wisely stated, they are peer institutions. The same companies come to recruit at both schools. One is not worth going into debt over. Five years down the road it won’t matter which top ten engineering school your son attended (especially for undergrad if he goes on for graduate school). The only thing that will be feeling the difference is your bank account.
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Thanks for your input. As mentioned I do enjoy the comments and insite from this forum.
On a personal end, I couldn’t agree more and save the money and avoid debt as much as possible. Especially when we are comparing two incredible engineering programs. As of this moment, I don’t see benefit of debt for Purdue. Here’s an interesting article on ROI by degree and university.
In addition to money, your point #1 is also a concern. I asked the same question of Purdue and didn’t get a firm answer. BTW, what do you mean by grade deflation?
In terms of campuses, I would prefer Purdue over UIUC, it’s cleaner and better maintained.
@momofboiler1 does Purdue have a housing issue?
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Thanks again for the input. I wanted to make sure I’m not missing anything Purdue v UIUC. You’re absolutely correct, @momofboiler1 has been very helpful with insight and information.
Never heard of ZeeMee before. Can you expand on what the app does for students? (going to their site you have to give your phone number to get info)
Thanks in advance.
I agree, we liked the Purdue campus better as well. That was just not enough at the end of the day to pull us in that direction, especially since it was significantly more expensive.
While it isn’t a huge issue, some grade deflation
does occur at Purdue. For example, some classes are set up to only allow a certain number of students to receive an A, and everything is curved based in that. It could mean that some students who get a 93 end up with a B.
Just as a quick reference point:
While I’m not sure about aerospace specifically at Purdue, their average engineering GPA is 2.7. At UIUC it is 3.334 for aerospace.
Again, not a huge issue, just something to consider.
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Purdue overenrolled last year and 100 students had to be temporarily housed in converted lounge spaces. Two new dorms have opened and they have shifted to give freshman priority in housing so I don’t think there will be an issue this year.
Most upperclassmen move off campus and rents tend to be cheaper than campus housing.
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It’s an app but it’s also pretty legit and all the major schools are on it including official counselors and student ambassadors. YMMV.
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In my opinion I would not overthink it and let your kid go with their gut on where they want to attend. Both are great schools and it really won’t matter a couple years after graduation ……most kids make the best of the school they attend and would not regret the decision they made for any reason at all. The only kids I know that have regretted their decision is where their parents became overly involved and virtually made it for them. You don’t hear too many parents on hear saying gosh my kid made a bad decision a year after starting school if they were the ones that made the decision without the heavy hand of an overly involved parent. Just my two cents
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Couple of question on UIUC CS+X programs.
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Is it possible for kids admitted to CS+X to take higher level CS courses ?
OR
Are Higher lever CS courses restricted only to Direct CS (Grainger) admits? -
Can you change from one CS+X to another CS+X ? How hard it is to change ?
This isn’t a direct answer, but CS + X majors have to take x number of courses to meet requirements of the X program. That might limit how many CS upper level courses you might have space in the schedule for.
- Yes and Yes
- Do not know
Thank you. I interpret your response as “Yes” for my question " Are Higher lever CS courses restricted only to Direct CS (Grainger) admits?" . Am I correct ?
Except that Gies is a top 15 business program with the 3 rated accounting program in the country. Psychology is top 5 in the country and many other program ranked in the top 20
But do go on a how engineering is the only reason to go here….
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did anybody get into the engineering
Are people still getting notified about honors and scholarship determinations? I see that some people have already heard. Wondering if this process is still ongoing.
Everything should be out at this point. The deadline to notify people for scholarships and honors was today.
Does anyone have feedback about how easy is the process of registering to GE classes at UIUC? How about specifically to CS courses? Do CS majors get priority over others during CS related course registration? Will there be a mad rush to register within first few mins of registration opening since everyone is trying to register to CS classes to either do minor or move into CS+X.