I know that this question has been posed quite a bit on CC but I have some specific questions and appreciate any input from former or current UIUC students.
My son has been accepted to both UIUC and GT for engineering. Both schools are OOS for our family and he did not receive merit aid from either school. He is from California and was wait-listed at his top UC choice so Illinois and GT are it. He would be entering as an undeclared engineering major at Illinois (interested in CE) and would start as a computer engineering major at GT. We know that both schools are comparably ranked but do differ in some distinct ways primarily a rural vs urban setting.
We visited both Illinois and Georgia Tech and he is now torn as to which school he should select. He is leaning towards UIUC but these are my concerns/questions about the school and I would really appreciate any and all feedback.
Will he outgrow UIUC given its remote location? He loved the feel of the campus but I am looking forward 2-3 years from now and I wonder if the school/area has enough to offer beyond just a strong academic program? I remember how much I changed in college and I have witnessed the same growth in my older child that I worry that Illinois will limit his opportunities. Do I need to worry about this?? He will not have a car to use these next four years while away at school.
What do students do in the dead of winter for fun? I lived for several years in Indiana as a graduate student and I recall the winters at Purdue were beyond brutal and there was little to do. How do students spend their down time at UIUC when the weather prohibits being outdoors?
Does UIUC have maker spaces? If yes, are they easy to access and are they frequently used by students? If no, do you feel this has had negative impact on your learning opportunities? GT seems to have integrated numerous maker spaces throughout their campus but I can't figure out if this is something most students use on a regular basis especially if they have a full class load.
Do a good number students at UIUC participate in Co-Ops and where are they? It appears like GT has many local Co-Op opportunities and this seems like a great way to take a break from the academic grind (if needed) and get one's hands dirty so to speak. Perhaps, this is not so important if a student is doing summer internships...
How easy is it to change majors at UIUC? As an undeclared engineering student what are his chances of getting into CE and if he ends up finding it's not the right fit, does the department allow students to switch majors easily? He is not interested in CS but I could see him consider EE or ME.
Has anyone participated in the undeclared engineering program? Was it beneficial and did faculty/advisers really help you select a major?
How collaborative is the engineering program overall? Do students work together and is the environment supportive? Is it easy to get help or are the kids rather competitive. I know that the school is highly ranked so hard coursework and competition is expected, but what is the overall vibe of the enrolled students?
In terms of the teaching approach of the school, is it largely theory based, or project based learning? I understand that engineering is math and physics based so abstract concepts will need to be taught, but do the professors rely mostly on lectures or are you getting hands-on practice to solidify concepts? (I am not engineer so this may be poorly worded or irrelevant but I just want to know if the majority of classes are long tedious lectures).
How do the large number of international students impact the program? Are there many communication barriers if group projects are assigned? Does the program do a good job helping these students integrate so that the each department feels like a cohesive group of students?
What is the retention rate for students in engineering? I know some attrition is to be expected but I'd like to know if it is in the double digits?
Is there anything you wish you would have known about UIUC before you committed?
I appreciate any input. I am going just a tad mad trying to think through all the possible drawbacks to selecting a school that is so remote and will be under a veil of snow for months on end. I want to make sure my son makes a well informed decision about where he spends the next four years being a student.
Changing major to Computer will be hard at UIUC. Since he directly admitted in computer in GT, GT is the best bet for him. If he open to another engineering than go for UIUC.
I Can tell you a few things about GT. Out of state students get in state tuition during study abroad. The coops generally are every other semester where you include summer as one semester. During these semesters no tuition is due. They are not all in Georgia. Some students do internships in fall or spring and then take summer classes.
GT will not require a car except depending on the coop or internship. However some students are able to catch rides with other students.
My son will be living in the maker space. My eldest never did but my younger one is very different.
You have one free switch freshman year. After that you need certain courses and /or gpa for certain majors but not all. Kids frequently switch but depending on when it can delay graduation.
GT is very collaborative and there are many group projects. Capstone project for engineering majors is a group project for a company or organization that is over the course of two semesters.
There are some language barriers with some students but that is probably typical at any engineering school with a substantial international student population and being stem in general.
For those who truly can’t hack engineering, they tend to end up as business majors as a fall back. Many classes have a recitation. Tutors are available for many classes.
@scubadive. I appreciate all the information re GT. I am very impressed by the school and it seems like a very well rounded program My son enjoys art as well so I think the industrial program is a great option too for him. Big decisions need to be made soon!
Thanks so much to everyone that has been kind enough to take the time to respond.
Can’t offer specifics to any of your questions, but have worked with many great engineers from both schools through the years. If your son is smart enough to be accepted into both, he can no doubt navigate a successful outcome at either.
25 years ago, UIUC was focused on manufacturing and GT was more techie. But as any top program would do, I’m sure UIUC has adapted to the times.
Found this report on UIUC results. 24% of graduates head west, and 55% stay in Illinois. Which brings me to my next point. (Couldn’t find a similar report for GT.)
I advised my child against applying to UMich solely because of the weather, which is probably similar to UIUC. Also, in addition to having weather more conducive to a healthy lifestyle, GT’s location is in the middle of a fruitful tech corridor running from the established locations in the Carolinas to Florida’s burgeoning tech. And, of course, returning to the west coast would also be an option with a GT degree.
Both great schools, but absent a clear preference or financial difference, I would advise my child to go to GT.
PS: you will probably get more responses if this is posted on College Selection…
@OhiBro - Thank you! I really do worry about the weather and think that it may get old really quickly after the initial novelty wears off. Also, I reposted in the section you recommended.
The weather at UIUC has not been a detriment for my D. There is a very good bus system for students on campus and through the cities of Urbana and Champaign so that helps with getting around. Weather doesn’t seem to impact either of my kids as much as it effects us parents.
My D likes to bike weather permitting. She has found plenty to do on and off campus including the music scene, restaurants, parks etc. She has explored off campus more than the average student and of course, she enjoys heading up to Chicago occasionally.
For her, the remote location did not impede her growth. The size of UIUC and the talent of the people there with the extracurricular activities and multitude of students has enhanced her ability to navigate through her academic and personal goals.
UIUC has a supportive community and while the students are serious and goal driven she has not run into issues with competition. It has been collaborative. The senior design project was group based and was an intensive semester which included visits to the nearby company. The challenges of working with a group mirrors real life in industry. She did not have problems finding help when needed.
I will ask her about the Maker spaces. I’m aware that they exist and many of the extra curricular groups are able to utilize the facilities.
She did not prefer a city. Additionally, UIUC has the midwestern feel and culture. The students are friendly, polite and down to earth. She has made friends with other STEM majors from her classes and her extra curricular activities. Additionally, she has friends in many different majors and this has enhanced her learning in and out of the classroom.
You can’t go wrong with either UIUC or GT. They are both excellent choices! Feel free to ask more questions
I can say GT grads end up all over the nation. Many locals stay as they are from Georgia and want to stay but many leave to the midwest, west and northeast. Recruiters from all over the nation recruit from GT.
@sdmom3 , my son is in a similar boat for Aerospace - trying to decide between UIIC and University of Colorado -Boulder. We like the UIIC campus, but also have similar concerns regarding the weather and activities during brutal winters. glad to see input on UIIC from @mybstnw . looking forward to hearing more from others in this forum or in the college selection forum.
@mybstnw , did your D move from a warmer place to UIIC? trying to get a perspective from someone who has never lived in a cold climate and moved to UIIC. My S has lived all his life in Southern California.
if your D has moved out of University residences, has that made an impact in terms of social life and getting to classes etc.?
@mybstnw - Thank you so much for for your detailed response. It was great to hear about your D’s positive experience at UIUC. I am sure my S will thrive at either school and I probably don’t need to be so worried about the weather.
@oaksdad We are also from Southern California and I can tell you my S has no idea how cold a winter can be. His only
exposure to snow has been during holiday ski trips. It sounds like your son has some great options too. I was an undergraduate student at Boulder years ago and then completed my graduate work at Purdue. The winters were vastly different at those two campuses.
My S had the exact same decision to make this year with a few other acceptances thrown into the mix. He chose GT. Now we live on the east coast in VA so that may have played into his decision a little but he also chose GT over our state flagships UVA and VT. We were familiar with the Champaign area as we use to live in Bloomington IL and my wife worked in Champaign so we know what the winters are like but not sure weather had much to do with his decision. I guess if everything else was equal then weather might be a tipping factor but he was willing to go the Boston area if he had been accepted to MIT.
@oaksdad: My d has grown up in the midwest. However, winters in the midwest vary greatly depending on which state and which part of the states you live in. We have mild winters so UIUC is definitely colder. She grew up in a walking community but, I’d say she’s done alot of driving through her high school years. UIUC is windy and much more so than in the eastern part of the midwest. Thankfully, we were advised to buy appropriate outerwear. She doesn’t complain at all about the weather. And she’s learned how to wear layers.
Regarding her living arrangements-- Freshman year was in a dorm near the Ikenberry Commons. She made alot of friends through study groups as there is a large presence of engineers and they all take the core math and sciences together.
Soph year she lived in at her sorority house. Jr year and Sr years she had an apt not too far from the engineering quad. She does well figuring out the bus lines. She also learned to plan out her schedule with chosen profs and commute time between buildings. There were no issues with this or the weather. So all in all, I would say that the weather nor living off campus has not impacted her social life or getting to class. She is quite motivated and always has been.
There were a few days of classes cancelled this past winter. The professors reminded the students that classes were cancelled due to severe cold and that they should be safe and heed the advice to limit outside exposure when the windchill is so low. I don’t mean to alarm you but, it just meant the kids all needed to hunker down and I think there was comraderie with kids doing pot luck type dinners and frequenting the popular restaurants near campus. Believe me, the kids, esp mine will find food!
@sdmom3: We all understand your concerns! It’s a challenging time as our kids make their college choices.
@sdmom3 , good luck to you and your son. @mybstnw , great to hear the details. Thanks for the details. we did hear about a few days of class cancellations when we were at UIIC last week. A few students i spoke to did say that they never ran into issues finding food or getting emergency care during inclement weather.
Hi, Im a CS/EngPhys major at UIUC who decided to spend more years in the corn getting a PhD lol.
No, there's a ton of fun activities (and an awesome music scene, Urbana has a huge music history especially in regards to midwest emo). You don't really need a car on campus thanks to CUMTD (the local bus system). There's 3 trains to Chicago daily which can be used for fun weekend trips.
Honestly, I love winter. Generally I'd just hang out with friends, go to shows, drink, or walk around in the snow. Krannert always has quality stuff and there's also a fun house show scene.
Yes, on the south side of campus on Dorner St., but I haven't used them ever.
There's no co-op program, but it's pretty seamless to take a semester off to do one. One of my friends did a co-op in Cleveland. Personally, I did two summer internships in Chicago.
If he's undeclared engineering (and not PREP, a different program) , he should be fine as long as his grades dont tank (like Cs or worse). All the majors reserve a couple spots for undeclared engineering. However, after that switching majors is pretty tricky if he wants to get into an extremely competitive major like CS, MechE, or BioE.
I've heard good things but I was originally a CS admit.
It's very collaborative, almost everyone I met is pretty chill and willing to help. There's always a couple people who are super competitive and mean, but they're rare here.
This is an interesting topic. The CS program has a reputation of being theory-heavy, but I don't really think that's true anymore. This is major dependent but for CS/ECE classes, most are a good mix of theory and practical assignments. Though there are a few classes that skew heavily (or completely) one way or the other. Physics is a mix at the 21x levels, which are the Physics classes most engineers take. You have a lecture, a discussion section where you work on problems with other students and get TA help, and a lab where you apply concepts. Upper-level Physics courses are all theory with the exception of the 40x lab courses.
Eh, it depends. Physics does a really good job because it's a small major and you get to know everyone. CS and ECE are huge and it feels as though there's little social interaction between international students and domestic. I've never had an issue doing group/partner work with international students.
No idea
The biggest thing I'd tell myself is to say "Yes" to more opportunities and try more different things.
