Hi, I am currently trying to decide whether to attend University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign or Northwestern University. At UIUC I would enter as business undecided and at NU I would enter as Industrial Engineer. I liked both schools and I can’t decide where to go.
Do costs differ or matter?
What are goals? For finance, Northwestern is a Wall Street target. UIUC is a semi-target at best.
What about the cost difference? If money isn’t a factor, I’d pick industrial engineering at NU. UIUC has a very good accounting program; but if you are not into accounting, it’s not that great.
They’re are both giving me good financial aid so cost isn’t a factor. I like NU but I would rather study business over industrial engineering. I like NU cause it is closer to my family but UIUC has a better campus feeling. I am in the honors college at UIUC and I know how prestigious NU already is. Would I be more successful in a career if I study industrial engineering at NU than business management at UIUC?
So why do you want to study “business”? BTW, people don’t major in “business” (except in really weak b-schools; they major in finance, marketing, accounting, etc.). Ignore the name of the major and take a look at the classes in those departments. You’ll find significant overlap between IE courses and b-school courses. Also, with the IE major, the Kellogg certificates, Integrated Marketing certificate, Business Institutions minor, and Entrepreneurship certificate (and Kellogg MSMS that only NU undergrads can apply for), NU actually offers almost the entire b-school curriculum (only major part missing is accounting). So unless you want to be an accountant, I don’t see the advantage of UIUC business.
What are your goals and what do you want to do?
Industrial Engineering requires more math than Business Management. If you don’t dislike math and can do well in math-related courses, choose NU. Job prospects may be better in IE. The deficits of Illinois and budget cut in higher education do not put UIUC in a favorable position. Check the course requirements and offerings. It’s easier to change major from engineering to business than from business to engineering.
Did you apply for Industrial Engineering (IE) at Northwestern University (NU)? How did you end up in IE, if you wanted to study “Business”? Would it be possible to switch your major to “Business” before (or even after) the start of the Fall Semester? Probable?
As to your question as to … “Would I be more successful in a career if I study industrial engineering at NU than business management at UIUC”…no one on CC can speak of your degree of success one way or another. That is entirely up to you and no one on this forum has any type of crystal ball to be able to predict such outcomes.
@Psata82, there’s a fair amount of overlap between the courses in IE and the courses in a b-school.
That’s why Stanford calls their IE department “Management Science and Engineering” while Princeton calls their IE department “Operations Research and Financial Engineering”. If you take a look at their courses, though, they’re virtually identical to NU IE (“Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences”) courses
I ended up in IE because NU doesn’t have any business related majors for undergrads. I liked NU but I found it a little boring. I understand that college isn’t just for fun but I’m afraid that I’ll be unhappy at NU. At the same time I’m afraid I would regret missing out on the opportunity to go to NU if I go to UIUC.
You found NU more boring than UC? If costs are a nonfactor, I strongly suggest NU.
You’ve gotten some good advice. I’ll just add that you should check out UIUC’s T&M program.
http://www.techmgmt.illinois.edu
Also, besides considering cost of attendance and your major, here are some random things you may want to research and compare between the schools: Northwestern is on the quarter system versus UIUC’s semesters. Is one better in your opinion? Are you interested in studying abroad? Job placement is important. I know UIUC has an excellent Business Career Services. https://business.illinois.edu/bcs/ Find out what Northwestern has.
In short, where do you see yourself being successful and thriving? You know yourself best.
I hope you let us know what you choose and why. Good luck! 
Being near Chicago allows for an easier time to interview as well (you aren’t completely dependent on campus recruiting). Keep that in mind as well.
Yeah I just saw NU as being really uptight. I see myself being sucesfull at both schools honestly I just can’t choose which one to attend.
You see NU as being “uptight” while most others would say they are just “driven”. So I think the negative gut feeling speaks volume. If you feel more comfortable at UIUC, you should go with your gut feeling. Most people have too many things going on to get bored at NU. But your concern that you may end up studying a lot just to keep up is not unreasonable. IE is definitely more intense; business at the undergrad level is fairly straight forward.