UIUC, Michigan, and Carnegie Mellon...

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi!! I’m an international student who got admissions to
University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Carnegie Mellon and UIUC.
Since time is TRULY running out, I have to make a choice as soon as possible.</p>

<p>I’m gonna major in Aeronautics or Mechanical Engineering (since some of the schools do not provide aeronautics as an undergraduate program)
Each school has merits and demerits as you see the follwings.</p>

<li>University of Michigan, Ann Arbor</li>
</ol>

<p>This school has an edge over other schools in that its undergraduate program for aeronautics is listed among the top five.
(According to the US News Ranking and the Gorman report, etc.)
If I’m firm about my major, probably this school will fit me the best.</p>

<p>But michigan’s overall engineering programs are relaltively worse than the Carnegie mellon’s and UIUC’s.
If I come to change my mind and find other majors interesting, michgian will not be the best choice for me then.</p>

<li>Carnegie Mellon</li>
</ol>

<p>I think Carngie mellon shines over other two when it comes to ‘reputation.’
It’s engineering programs are quite strong but what makes me hesitate to choose Carnegie mellon is the fact that this school is best known for computer science and computer engineering, not for mechanical engineering.</p>

<li>UIUC</li>
</ol>

<p>UIUC provides one of the top engineering majors with out a doubt.
It ranks high in nearly all engineering programs and this means
I can have many other options even if i were to change my major.
Its aeronautics(or mechanical engineering.) is also one of the best.</p>

<p>But UIUC’s relatively low reputation weighs on my mind.
And I heard that UIUC has so rigorous programs for students that it is hard to get high gpa and graduate there. is that really true?</p>

<p>Location, wheather, public tranportation, the size of campus and things like that really don’t matter to me.</p>

<p>I’m only concerned with excellent engineering programs(esp. in aeronautics), tution & boarding cost, reputation, graduation rate and how hard it is to maintain great gpa.
and if I could get into greater graduate schools, that would be just great.</p>

<p>Which one would be the best? and the second best?? I’m fed up with thinking over and over :0
I thank you for reading my long long post and i’ll be wating for your replys!!</p>

2

<p>Something about UIUC Engineering.</p>

<p>The college of Enginnering at UIUC has shaped the whole world by inventing/developing transistor, the LED, integrated circuit, quantum well laser, MRI, air conditioning, skyscrapers, flat panel televisions and plasma screen. Alumni have created companies and products such as Netscape Communications, AMD, PayPal, Mathematica (Wolfram), National Football League, Siebel Systems, Mortal Kombat, CDW, YouTube, Oracle, Lotus, Mosaic, Safari, Firefox, Delta Air Lines, BET…etc.</p>

<p>“In the 24 February 2004 talk as part of his Five Campus Tour (Harvard, MIT, Cornell, Carnegie-Mellon and UIUC), titled “Software Breakthroughs: Solving the Toughest Problems in Computer Science,” Bill Gates has mentioned that Microsoft hires more graduates from UIUC than from any other university in the world.Alumnus William M. Holt, a Senior Vice-President of Intel, also mentioned in a campus talk in 27 September 2007 entitled “R&D to Deliver Practical Results: Extending Moore’s Law” that Intel hires more PhD graduates from UIUC than any other university in the country.”</p>

3

<p>Within the world of engineering, UIUC is very well known, so there would be no reason to decide it against it on the basis of reputation–at least not in the U.S.</p>

<p>The very small differences in “rank” or “prestige” of the overall engineering programs at these three is pretty minimal in the scheme of things. I’m not sure why you are so unsure about your decision.</p>

<p>It is my guess that stories about low gpa/graduation rates at UIUC reflect the fact that as a public flagship campus that concentrates on in-state students, the readiness of the student body is not as uniform as that at a private school like Carnegie Mellon or a public with a lot of top-scoring out of state students. Well-prepared students who are sure of their major field of interest probably do not find it any more difficult to do well than at any other top-flight engineering program.</p>

4

<p>If you change from Mechanical to Electrical or Industrial, Michigan is at least as good as UIUC and CMU. Ecen in Computer Engineering, Michigan is ranked #6 in the country, as opposed to #4 in the case of UIUC and CMU. That’s hardly a difference worth noting.</p>

<p>In terms of overall Engineering reputation, all three of those schools are equal to each other but not quite as good as Cal, Caltech, MIT and Stanford. You CANNOT differentiate between those three Engineering programs when it comes to their academic excellence and reputation in industry. So, instead of worrying about academics and job placement, focus on what is important; fit.</p>

5

<p>from the number, #4 and #6 may have no much difference. but its far beyond your imagination how much the UIUC engineering has contributed to the field and hence shaped the whole world. I really don’t think Michigan is even comparable.</p>

6

<p>lol, ok, ribo.</p>

7

<p>Ribosome, I don’t think it matters who shaped the world more. The OP is going for an undergraduate education. The three schools he is considering are roughly equal. In Aerospace Engineering, Michigan is quite possibly the strongest of the three.</p>

8

<p>Michigan had the first Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineering program in the country. If you to visit, check out the FXB building, it’s where your classes will be for Aero. Right next to the FXB building, is building called Space Research Center, I happened to have done research there as an undergraduate for 2 years. In terms of actual resources devoted to your field of study, Michigan wins hands down. </p>

<p>CMU is very well known for integration of mechanical and computer science, robotics/artificial intelligence, but they don’t have an Aerospace Engineering department, because they don’t have the size and money needed for that kind of research.</p>

<p>This really comes down to fit, as Alexandre said. But I think if you are sure you want to work in the Aerospace industry, Michigan is the best choice.</p>

9

<p>The three most active recruiters at the Michigan CoE are Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman.</p>

10

<p>LOL “shape the world”</p>

11

<p>

Says who? Both Michigan and UIUC are better known for engineering than CMU, now and historically (except in CS/CSE of course)</p>

<p>Michigan is at least as good or better than UIUC in most fields of engineering, except for Civil (structure). Michigan is a clear leader among the three in aerospace, biomedical, industrial, naval and nuclear engineering.</p>

12

<p>

Seconded..</p>

13

<p>Both Michigan and Illinois are equally well known in engineering. UIUC tends to have stronger CS/Agricultural/Civil, while Michigan tends to have stronger Aero/Bio/Industrial.</p>

14

<p>Right, I’ve forgotten about UIUC’s agricultural engineering program.</p>

<p>Michigan has the #1 programs in naval and nuclear engineering. We used to have the #1 program in aerospace.</p>

15

<p>And the FXB building is next to the awesome wave field!</p>

<p>Okay, perhaps not important to our driven, academically-oriented OP, but I love the wave field.</p>

16

<p>“The Wave Field” designed by the very talented Maya Lin … the same artist (architect) who designed the award winning Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC.</p>

17

<p>Well. I was talking about the overall reputation in Engineering rather than Aero engr.
UIUC has stronger programs in Materials Science and Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Engineering Physics.</p>

18

<p>Ribosome, you are really talking about minute differences in quality and reputation. In terms of overall Engineering, both Michigan and UIUC are stellar. I don’t think it is possible to say with any degree of accuracy or certainty which is better. Their reputational scores according to the USNWR are almost identical, with UIUC averaging 4.4 or 4.5 our of 5.0 and Michigan averaging 4.3 or 4.4 out of 5.0. </p>

<p>In terms of specializations, again, it is truly impossible to differentiate. Both are ranked virtually side by side in every single discipline. According to academe, here’s how the individual departments at those two elite Engineering schools rank, at the undergraduate level:</p>

<p>AEROSPACE ENGINEERING:
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: #3
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign: #6</p>

<p>BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING:
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: #9
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign: N/A</p>

<p>CHEMICAL ENGINEERING:
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: #11
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign: #8</p>

<p>CIVIL ENGINEERING:
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: #7
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign: #1</p>

<p>COMPUTER ENGINEERING:
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: #7
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign: #5</p>

<p>ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING:
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: #5
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign: #4</p>

<p>ENGINEERING PHYSICS:
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: #5
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign: #3</p>

<p>ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING:
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: #3
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign: #3</p>

<p>INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING:
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: #2
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign: </p>

<p>MATERIALS ENGINEERING:
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: #3
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign: #5</p>

<p>MECHANICAL ENGINEERING:
Uniersity of Michigan-Ann Arbor: #4
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign: #5</p>

<p>I don’t think it is possible to differentiate between those two Engineering powerhouses. Academe certainly doesn’t.</p>

19

<p>These schools are so close. Look at cost…if costs are the same, look at location/environment. For me, Ann Arbor is what I would “click” with most and probably choose.</p>

20

<p>Okay, I thank very much everyone for giving me advices =)
To sum up, everyone is on the same idea that both UMich and UIUC rank high when it comes to engineering programs in general.
(Wait, then Carnegie Mellon is out of consideration now??)
and I get the point that UMich will be a better choice if I focus on <em>fit</em></p>

<p>Regarding graduation rate and how tough it is to maintain high gpa, which one would be the best choice?? What about chances of getting into great graduate schools?</p>