<p>GC
cost after grants =$6,393</p>
<p>UIUC
cost after grants =$11,284</p>
<p>Interests: not 100 pct sure but am interested in
computer science, physics, econ</p>
<p>Am probably more comfortable with a smaller school/campus. But UIUC has a good rep, of course, for compsci. and I might be adaptable with the small/large setting.</p>
<p>also - What are ways to make UIUC 'smaller'?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Join clubs, get involved. That is the easiest and best way to get yourself a close-knit group of friends.</p>
<p>As for the rest of your post, Grinnell is obviously an excellent school, but do they even have computer science? I would imagine that for economics and physics, despite UIUC’s excellent reputation, that the difference wouldn’t be too important, but for computer science it very well might be given the vast resources that go into UIUC’s CS program.</p>
<p>Yes, Grinnell has computer science. Go to the course catalogue to see the course offerings. </p>
<p>I’ll say the same thing to you that I said to the student looking at Grinnell vs. UW-Madison:</p>
<p>"If you were trying to decide between two LACs, I’d talk about which is the better ‘fit’ culturally. But when you’re comparing Grinnell to UW-Madison, you are describing two completely different educational and social experiences. Both options have their pros and cons, as you noted. But the kind of person who wants what Grinnell offers, would probably not be nearly as happy at UW-Madison and vice versa.</p>
<p>I suggest you spend time thinking through what you really want out of your education, what kind of environment brings out the best in you as a student and a person, and where you see yourself in the future. Once you have a little clarity on these bigger questions, I think the choice between the two will be more self-evident. "</p>
<p>With 31,000 undergrads, you would have a totally different experience at UIUC than you would at Grinnell with 1,600 undergraduates. Have you visited both?</p>
<p>here’s the link for prospective students on Grinnell’s CS dept.
[Information</a> for visitors and prospective students | Computer Science](<a href=“http://www.cs.grinnell.edu/node/10]Information”>http://www.cs.grinnell.edu/node/10)</p>
<p>btw, the Noyce Science Center is named after Robert Noyce, founder of Intel and a Grinnell graduate…</p>
<p>When we visited UIUC, the tour guide, who had graduated from a large high school, was choosing between UIUC and a smaller LAC. He choose UIUC because, in words I’ve heard echoed elsewhere, “You can make a large college small, but you can’t make a small college large.”</p>
<p>Grinell is better. That’s what US news and world report tells me at least.</p>
<p>“You can make a large college small, but you can’t make a small college large.” </p>
<p>Pithy, but I don’t buy it. There is no way to make a lecture with 300 students small, nor to get the personal attention from faculty or that sense of community from Day 1 at a large school. That said, there is no way to make the course catalogue for 1,600 students equal that of a school with 31,000 students. You’ll have to decide what you value and accept the trade off.</p>
<p>thanks for the input.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>yes.</p>
<p>I am doing a more in depth overnight visit this week at GC. I did attend the admitted student’s day at UIUC recently. Did attend 100 level classes. yes, they were big. One thing I heard was that the upper class classes were smaller in my major.</p>
<p>one thing I am percolating up is:</p>
<p>GC - VERY good for grad school. I learned at my visit there that something like 80 pct go on for advance academic degrees. If this is my end state, this is definitely the place.</p>
<p>UIUC - very good for getting a job later (aka “preprofessional”). I am guessing there would be a whole lot for job opportunity knocking after graduation here than at GC, especially in CS. I was going to say, “a whole lot of job opportunity in four years at UIUC than GC” , but I did not since the 4 yr grad rate is significantly lower at UIUC than GC. </p>
<p>So, yes, the statement might more accurately be ’ i’d have a whole lot more job opportunity at UIUC in 5 or 6 yrs than at GC’. But then by that time I might have a masters and-or a phd at GC - or a compsci job <em>somewhere</em>. I heard at my GC visit students getting internships and jobs at Microsoft, APple, and EPIc in Madison , Wi.</p>
<p>from usnr
<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/grinnell-college-1868[/url]”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/grinnell-college-1868</a>
gc
“4-year graduation rate 78% - High”
4,5,6 yr grad rate
78,84,84</p>
<p>uiuc
<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/uiuc-1775[/url]”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/uiuc-1775</a>
“4-year graduation rate 65% - High”
4,5,6 yr grad rate
65,81,83</p>
<p>i mean you can pretty much determine right now whether you’ll graduate uiuc in four years, assuming you don’t drop/fail too many classes to extend your stay. 1. figure out how many ap credits you’re going to come in with, and then 2. how many it takes to complete a degree.</p>
<ol>
<li>[U</a> of I Admissions: Advanced Placement](<a href=“http://admissions.illinois.edu/academics/placement_AP.html]U”>Academics, Undergraduate Admissions, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)</li>
</ol>
<p>then</p>
<ol>
<li><a href=“https://agora.cs.illinois.edu/display/undergradProg/Degree+Requirements[/url]”>https://agora.cs.illinois.edu/display/undergradProg/Degree+Requirements</a></li>
</ol>
<p>also note the 5 year masters program offered.</p>
<p>…also just my two cents, the fact that you’re choosing between these two schools is really strange, and i believe the answer as to which one you should attend has nothing to do with what anyone here can tell you. if you can’t handle large classes for 2 or so years then you are not going to want to come here. if other aspects of the big school environment scare you, you won’t like it here. u of i is literally the definition of that big school stereotype. you make it smaller by getting a close-knit group of friends and joining clubs, but in the end this place is huge and the greek life has a heavy presence.</p>
<p>as the poet said, ‘people are strange’.</p>
<p>back to the topic,</p>
<p>grinnell is academically rigorous. UIUC college of engineering is (considered) academically rigorous (is it really or is this just a myth, I wonder?); </p>
<p>how rigorous are the academics in the rest of the school LAS) and how engaged are the students in the non engineering world?</p>
<p>at the end of the day, both are higher ed institutions engaged in pursuing a bachelors degree.</p>
<p>Would a ‘nerd’ feel comfortable at UIUC? Or wd it be like ‘Carrie’ for 4 years - or would that be 5 years? byopb. that’s ‘bring your own pig blood’ :)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>What do mean about greek life having a heavy presence? toga parties every night? is there hazing - is that even done at all anymore ? </p>
<p>IF someone does not want to go greek is that person considerd GDI (‘godam$$ed independent’ - sounds angry)? I actually found this phrase on the ***** website in the UIUC section.</p>
<p>does greek life express itself in each college equally? what about the college of engineering, eg? </p>
<p>does greek life show up to different degrees in different dorms? what about greek life in newman hall? big presence , little presence, no presence?</p>
<p>“if you cannot handle large classes”</p>
<p>Can someone tell me how accessible and supportive the profs or TAs are at UIUC in case one wanted more help after the class?</p>
<p>How well do the profs and TAs communicate to the students? I have heard stories that the profs and TAs have English issues .</p>
<p>can anyone take a stab at these questions?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>What is it about large classes that is so hard?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>What is that stereotype?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>How heavy of a presence is greek life at UIUC? if someone does not want to go greek, can one get along fine? is there a pressure to join in greek orgs?</p>
<p>also,</p>
<p>How does a new freshman student find the more studious types of students at UIUC, notso interested in partying? I assume that these kinds of students exist at UIUC (probably alot).</p>
<p>What’s hard about large classes? They are hard only for some people, of course, but these are some of the disadvantages:</p>
<p>-you have to be self-motivated because no one knows or cares if you miss the class
-it’s harder to form a personal relationship with the prof because he or she may have a lot of students (and grad students) who want their attention. You’ll be one of many.
-if you don’t understand something in class, it can be hard to ask questions in front of a big crowd if you are at all shy or to ask a follow up question if you think the response you get is insufficient
-you can pick a professor by reputation (or ratings), but in a large class, you will probably have a TA for your section. There is little or no information on how good your TA is and you may not have any choice in that. (Some TAs are great, some aren’t.)
-If you do a fabulous job in the class, your TA will know it, but it’s not necessarily the case that the prof knows (or cares)</p>
<p>There are pluses:
-if you miss a class, no one knows or cares
-some people prefer to hear the expert (the prof) speaking, rather than listening to his or her peers discuss something (especially if they aren’t well-prepared for class)
-a TA can give you personal attention and insight into what being a grad student is like if you develop a relationship
-if you aren’t shy, asking questions in front of a crowd is no big deal</p>