You’re correct. CS is only in Engineering. The CS+ are in the LAS umbrella so students on that track have to take the requirements for both majors, so for instance in Engineering vs LAS you need less foreign language. If you took it in high school you only need 3 years in Engineering, vs 4 in LAS.
I think it doesn’t sound like a “holistic review” if they focus on one factor and ignore the other factors.
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Do you need significant financial aid? The people (especially OOS and the international students) here posted their GPAs, Test Scores, and maybe ECs, but rarely told their EFC’s. I bet EFC played a significant role in the UIUC’s “holistic” review (especially when they ignore the letters of recommendations and the essays like what commonapp requires AND when UIUC’s “Need was fully met” has been as low as 15% PLUS the state of Illinois has been running into financial crisis and has been running long delays before paying bills).
Where did you get the idea they focus on one factor? This is from their page about how they review applications and make their decisions. It clearly states multiple factors and holistic. If you have an issue with it, contact UIUC.
“A variety of factors are considered upon review. When reading an application, the admissions and college professionals review it using a holistic approach by combining the criteria being evaluated. Primary among this criteria is academic performance and rigor. The other sections of the application—including the essays, list of activities, achievements, and honors, and so on—will be given equal, careful, and thoughtful attention. Applicants should understand that every word of the application is considered in making an admissions decision, being sure to present themselves and their stories accurately and completely. Readers consider all evidence provided by the applicant, the context of the personal and academic circumstances, the opportunities available to him or her, and the strength of the applicant pool in each college and to UIUC overall. The weight of each criterion in the admissions decision depends on the combination of qualities presented by the applicant. We have no set formula of weighting criteria. Final decisions are made on the evaluation of a variety of criteria and not by a single point system or formula.”
I would agree with that somewhat, except UIUC is need blind for everyone, including international. However, they could also be taking a stab in the dark by admitting more internationals in hopes that they will be full paying and attend in order to receive more revenue, which of course we all know they need desperately.
The other side of the coin is that financial aid may not be that generous this year due to more people needing it and most people know UIUC is not generous for merit, so it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out and how the waitlist works out as well.
Finally, some countries don’t have the vaccine and may not have it by then and if it’s required to come here, then those students may not even be able to come here anyway.
I visited UIUC in 2019 to present my research (they offered me a job there, but I am happy at UT 
). UIUC is a very nice campus, the birthplace of Mosaic and Netscape, the first two Web browsers. UIUC CS research can stand up to any other top-ranked CS department in the world, which is amazing given its somewhat inconvenient location.
Just curious…are your twin boys OOS for UT Austin and instate for UIUC?
We are Texas residents, so OOS for UIUC.
The story you shared give me an impression that UIUC CS was looking for a CS resume - It then is not a “holistic review”.
Comparing the UIUC application to the UT one, it seems hard for UIUC to extract that type of information. With only 400 words, quality writing is going to factor into the decision more than depth of topics and going into detail on what and why EC’s were chosen. UT does have auto admit, but the information available to them for deciding major admittance includes 2 thousand additional words in the case of Turing and letters of recommendation.
In my sons case, he had the ‘unique CS things’, but no awards, AP’s or SAT scores. Without being a stellar writer (he’s not) there is not enough words to explain the unique qualifications of the candidate.
My reason for bringing this up, is to point out how drastically different the information available to AO’s at different colleges is. UIUC is going to love a list of CS awards, AP classes, test scores and other items that without additional description can give a good picture of the candidate. Other schools with the letters of rec and longer essays are going to appreciate very different ‘holistic’ applicants. For those glass half full people, it is a way to explain some of the randomness in college applications.
Interesting! with the credentials mentioned, it is intriguing how UT Austin could have overlooked your twin boys. So difficult to crack the “holistic” algorithm, i guess! My son is OOS for both UT Austin and UIUC…UIUC gave him admission (to Computer Engineering) while UT Austin didn’t!
Yeah, some people love those pure college towns. I lived in one in another state for 5 years and it has the best medical facility around and some of the best dr’s in the country and you wonder why they haven’t left!
As for CS, I think their facilities at UIUC are great and the building is newish and that makes a huge difference and they are able to attract great faculty. My daughter is in CS at a top program that is also somewhat difficult to get to, but not as small as rural as UIUC. But many might consider it an undesirable location as well and cold. But they too can attract top faculty, so I guess it’s what you’re looking for. UT is great, weather can generally be ok (too hot for me but my other daughter loves it), scenic, big city vibe, traffic and all, lol, and everyone is nice, but also for some as a state too conservative, just not Austin also can’t forget live and breathe football! These are all great choices for anyone. UIUC CS can’t go wrong. UT CS can’t go wrong. Ultimately for some it will come down to fit and/or $.
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Finally, fit and $ are the decision factors. since you spoke much about UIUC, is UIUC CE as good as UIUC CS?
reading your last few responses. Still having hard time to understand your stats.
Provide GPA W/UW, class rank, SAT/ACT if have one, sub test if have ones Residency State.
Yes, agree. The UIUC app is a joke. It’s always been that way, while UT is excruciating.
In the UIUC app though there is a way to get in the extras with your ECs by just writing more in those sections and using what is there for you.
For UT, the essays are no doubt vital. 100%. They don’t just look at grades and scores there. Rigor is highly important. But the essays are what really separate out the students. I have seen over and over in the UT parent groups people who complain that their kid had this score and didn’t get in, but someone else had this score and got in. For them, it’s not all about the score, as they are really looking at the essay, the resumes that kids turn in, the extras, etc. I’ve heard of kids turning in 20pages of information to UT to back their applications. It’s crazy. They also don’t take LOR’s except for the honors programs. So on that they’r eon the same page. Turing is an honors program, so not everyone is going to be applying for that and it’s highly selective and small. Many also don’t remain in the program because after a couple years all your classes are back with everyone else so there’s no reason to stay in it.
UIUC also takes less activities on their app than the common app so people have to cut things off. My son had to eliminate a bunch of things and try to determine what was the most important to include. We’re disappointed in our result, but not surprised. He can attend the PREP program and switch in if he wants but no guarantee and he doesn’t want to be forced to change majors when he has other options where he’s already in CS, he also doesn’t want to go to school with 100 kids from our high school, so I agree how different schools do things is just crazy.
UIUC is not looking for a resume. You cannot turn in a resume for them or anything like that. UT is the one that wants a resume. But for UIUC with your EC and Honors section that is how you shine and show them what you’ve done.
And they added 23 faculties last summer, very young, talented, diverse blood. Those actions demonstrate future is bright.
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I’m sorry, I don’t know anything at all about Computer Engineering at UIUC. They’re totally different majors. One is basically programming and software and CE is all about the hardware. If you’re interested in Hardware then you do CE, if you want to learn about programming and languages and be a software engineer then you do CS. If your passion is CS then I wouldn’t want to settle and do CE.
My son only wants to do CS. For that reason he wasn’t going to pick a second choice major just so he could get into that other major since he has no interest in it. Because of that he was accepted into the Pre-Engineering program. He’s fine with that, but he won’t be going to UIUC because he has no interest in going that route since there’s no guarantee he would be able to transfer into CS, and because he has other options with good CS programs. So that’s what you need to consider yourself. Do you want to be a Computer Engineer or not?
As a program, I’m sure it’s a great program. All Engineering at UIUC are great. But I would look at job prospects, internships, classes you would be taking, etc.
Please don’t lose heart. I don’t know enough about UIUC rules, but do submit an appeal and be very specific regarding your extenuating circumstances.
Short answer yes !