UIUC or UW? business/pre-med

<p>Hi,
I have 3 days to decide between University of Illinios Urbana-Champaign and University of Washington - Seattle.
Any help would be very much appreciated!</p>

<p>I'm actually hoping to transfer to a private school (possibly Cornell) after freshman year. Between UIUC and UW, at which school do I have a better chance of transferring out?</p>

<p>Since my plan to transfer may not work out, I also need to think about which school would be better for me for all four years.</p>

<p>I plan on majoring in business or pre-med (most likely business), but I applied to Arts & Sciences for both schools.
I would have to transfer to business after my freshman year.
Which school has the better program for undergrad business and/or pre-med? And is it hard to switch to either of these majors?</p>

<p>Finally, cost is also an issue.
I live in NJ so I am not getting much money from either school. However, UIUC will be around 15k cheaper than UW.</p>

<p>Please help with my decision! (I have until May 1 to decide.)</p>

<p>
[quote]
I am not getting much money from either school. However, UIUC will be around 15k cheaper than UW.

[/quote]

UIUC tuition is about 5K more expensive than UDub.</p>

<p>Well for me, UIUC will be cheaper because I am getting more financial aid from there than from UW.</p>

<p>UIUC is the (slightly) better institution and Seattle is nowhere near 15K x 4= 60K! worth living in over Urbana Champaign which is a great college town and only a couple hours drive from Chicago. This is a no brainer UIUC all the way.</p>

<p>The reason I'm thinking of paying that extra premium for UW is because of the location. City vs. Rural. I'm worried about the extent of what I could do at Urbana-Champaign vs. Seattle. What do you think?</p>

<p>Well keep in mind you will be busy with school, but U-C is a great town with a pretty cool indie rock scene, Assembly Hall (basketball and great concerts, plays symphonies etc), lots of cool bars (just stay away from the drunken frat boys unless you want to be one haha, but they usually frequent certain places so they are avoidable if you are not inclined) and every store/market/mall you could want. The football spirit is equal and Big 10 fans are pretty boisterous but tame. Plus if you want to do the weekend getaway with friends head up to Chicago it is a GREAT town. Some faculty and grad students even commute as crazy as that sounds. I think you will get enough city life at UIUC to hold you over for the 60K.</p>

<p>Thanks a lot for the help. I'm just having a lot of trouble because UW Seattle is in a really nice city and they do have a slightly larger endowment. UIUC I feel is slightly better; however, I'm more worried about where I can get better grades. If UIUC is more competitive I would rather get a high GPA at UW because I am trying to transfer to Cornell or some other school. What do you think?
UCLA, you disabled your PMs, So I am directing this to you but it is also open for anyone to respond.</p>

<p>I looked it up again and the cost difference would be 5k/yr.</p>

<p>Bump. I just want a second opinion</p>

<p>I don't think UIUC would be that much more difficult to get good grades in then UW. I think they are really close with UIUC being the stronger academic choice. If you want to transfer you have to consider the strength of the institution you are transferring from balances out GPA consideration as well. I think UIUC is the best choice, 5K for 4 yrs is still 20K! That is a nice chunk of change.</p>

<p>Thanks a bunch for the responses, if anyone has anything more to add please reply i'll still be checking or PM me.</p>

<p>UDub has excellent biological sciences programs, a #6-ranked medical school and a thriving biotech industry. It's better for pre-med.</p>