<p>My D got admitted via EA into UIUC for Chemical Engineering in the College of Liberal Arts and Science(LAS) and Waitlisted for Georgia Tech.<br>
Georgia Tech (currently deferred..)</p>
<p>Confused - Why it says it is College of LAS for Chemical Engg when she applied to Chemical/Bio engg. </p>
<p>second question - Will she be getting any scholarships even though she is out of state. </p>
<p>And by the way, </p>
<p>How can you compare Georgia Tech vs UIUC..? </p>
<p>Btw, we are living in NY tristate area. The accessability to UIUC is going to be a challenge...?</p>
<p>Chemical and Biomedical Engineering is in the College of LAS under specialized curriculum. She got into the right program she applied to. Go to courses.illinois.edu and click on programs of study to verify this. She applied to Chem/Biomed Engineering in LAS not ENG (Cause that doesn’t exist).
U of I doesn’t give many scholarships, so I can’t speak for that.</p>
<p>Hello psr251, I have been following your threads in both the Gtech & UIUC forums. My son has also been accepted to the UIUC Chem E program & the GTech Biomed Engg program. We are leaning towards UIUC but have the same concerns as you regarding accessibility & general student life at UIUc as it is in a small college town. Would love to hear perspectives of some current or ex UIUC students.</p>
<p>I grew up in Urbana-Champaign, got my B.S. degrees there in physics and chemistry (LAS) and my oldest S went to UIUC for a B.S. in biology. It is a typical college town with the student population being a significant fraction of the population. It is a big school and you can find anything you want there as far as student activities. It is also a top research university and you have lots of opportunities for research. The student life is clearly confined to on-campus, unlike the possibilities at Georgia Tech which is embedded in a major city. I don’t know anything about Georgia Tech but I am a faculty member at Illinois Tech which is in Chicago so I can see the benefits of both an urban setting and a college town.</p>
<p>I don’t think you can go wrong with either university academically it is just a question of fit.</p>
<p>Thank you for the prompt reply - that’s definitely helpful, specially your reference to research opportunities. I think my son is getting a little worried about the huge party school reputation. He is outgoing, loves sports, volunteering etc but not too much into partying. I hope there are groups that students like him can find and fit into.
To the OP, we are from the west coast, so the distance is also a factor for us, but I am hoping there will be a lot of OOS students in engineering.</p>
<p>I’m a sophomore at UIUC and grew up in Chicago my whole life, so I’m used to the big city feel with so many things to do. Going to the U of I was not a culture shock at all. I feel like there are always things to do and so many people to hang out with. I’m a partier, and only having to be 19 to get into the bars is definitely a plus, but theres things to do for those that aren’t into that. There’s an ice skating rink, bowling alley and pool tables in the basement on the Union, movie theather off campus that you can take the bus too, or just hang out with friends in the dorms. I don’t get the feeling that it’s a “small campus town.” The campus is huge and there’s thousands and thousands of students everywhere. Green St. has a bunch of restaurants that many people go to. In regards to the weather, I’m from Chicago, so I’m used to the changing seasons and cold winters, although I don’t like winter. Last winter was very mild, (I think snow only stuck one or two days) and this winter is proving to be similar. I really enjoy attending the U of I and if I could do it all over again, I would make the same choice.</p>
<p>The school is a large party school yes, but it is what you make out of it. You won’t be left out or a social-outcast if you don’t party or join a frat, theres plenty to do on campus besides partying. I personally don’t party to much, if anything its drinking with friends (got a significant other back home, don’t want her worrying about anything). Theres plenty of student clubs, organizations to get involved in around campus.</p>
<p>I’ve grown up in the Chicago area my entire life and going to CU for school, like akla said, doesn’t feel much different at all. There plenty of us from the Chicago area (running gag from my friends - they should have flop the Chicago and Champaign campuses, we “deserve” the city haha). I personally know of plenty kids that go to school in the city that regret their decisions and now are trying to transfer to UIUC. Theres plenty of OOS state kids at Illinois, especially in Business and Engineering. I have plenty of friends that are engineers that come from the west coast, DC and the New York area. One thing neat about it all is, no one really cares if your in or out of state, we’re all Illini! </p>
<p>For accessibility, theres an airport nearby, willard airport, that has daily flights from Chicago-ORD and Dallas but most students fly or go to Chicago first and then take a train/bus service to Champaign.</p>
<p>aklauss17 & kish93, it is so encouraging to see current students sharing their perspectives! That makes me feel a lot better and I am sure will help my son immensely too Any suggestions on which dorms would be a good choice? Any dorms that science/engg students typically go for? And if you have any inputs on internship opportunities in sophomore/junior years that would be highly appreciated. Thanks again!</p>
<p>In terms of dorms near the engineering part of school, you can look into trying to get into ISR(school owned) or Hendrick House(privately owned). HH is a lot nicer than ISR, better meal plan, have real chefs cook fresh, quality food, lots of academic resources and other engineering students so it isn’t hard to fit in. </p>
<p>I may be biased since I live here but my friends that don’t live here always try to come here to eat here and they comment on how the dorms are better than the public owned ones out there.</p>
<p>Also, I would recommend looking into HH soon because the rooms get filled up quick for the coming year after winter break.</p>
<p>Also, the career fairs here have many of the top companies out there. If your kid does well here, they will have great opportunities. Research is pretty well available too by just asking a professor if you can work in their lab. Anyways, great opportunities here.</p>
<p>Thank you aerokid! Very helpful inputs from all of you.
psr251, I didn’t mean to hijack your thread, sorry… I hope the discussion was helpful to you too.</p>
Any suggestions on which dorms would be a good choice? Any dorms that science/engg students typically go for? And if you have any inputs on internship opportunities in sophomore/junior years that would be highly appreciated. Thanks again!</p>