<p>Just gave a second call to the UIUC admissions office, and now I’m stuck with two incompatible goals.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>UIUC transfer demands high GPA and doesn’t really care about engineering extracurricular activities.</p></li>
<li><p>HR recruiters for internships and co-ops don’t care about GPA (as long as its above 3.00), but strongly value heavy engineering extracurricular involvement.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I asked the UIUC admissions counselor this question:</p>
<p>“Which kind of transfer applicant would have a better chance, one with a 3.5 GPA and heavily involved with engineering organizations, or one with a 3.9 or 4.0 GPA and not really involved with non-academic activities?”</p>
<p>Her answer: “Probably the 4.0 applicant”</p>
<p>One of the reasons I want to transfer to UIUC is because my dad is an employee there, and I’m an Illinois resident. Therefore, my UIUC tuition would probably be around $25K vs. Uni of Iowa’s $40K annual tuition.</p>
<p>Another reason is UIUC has a much greater involvement with businesses. I’ve seen both UIUC’s and Uni of Iowa’s career fairs. Huge difference in the amount of employers that show up for the fairs.</p>
<p>But I also want an internship or co-op for my sophomore year.</p>