UIUC vs. Ohio State for CS?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello all, I recently got accepted to both schools and am facing a difficult decision trying to pick one over the other. </p>

<p>UIUC (in-state) 35K per year (room/board, tuition)</p>

<p>Ohio State (OOS) 21K per year (room/board, tuition, scholarships)</p>

<p>UIUC has a great Computer Science program but it is going to be $56,000 more expensive in the end. Cost is a big deciding factor, but at the same time it's hard to pass up an opportunity and excellent CS school such as UIUC.</p>

<p>What do you guys think? Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Ohio State vs. Illinois won’t matter for undergrad. And I think Illinois is living off its past reputation anyway.</p>

<p>In this case, go to tOSU.</p>

3

<p>Would you have to take out a lot of loans? If so, OSU.</p>

<p>If you can manage to pay for UIUC though without going into lots of debt or spending all your parents’ savings, I’d disagree with the above poster - everyone knows how good UIUC is for CS, but I don’t think OSU would be well known anywhere outside the midwest for the major.</p>

4

<p>I like post #8 in this thread:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1423342-good-undergrad-schools-computer-science.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1423342-good-undergrad-schools-computer-science.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Ohio Supercomputer Center still evolving</p>

<p>[Ohio</a> Supercomputer Center still evolving | The Columbus Dispatch](<a href=“http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/science/2013/04/07/2-ohio-supercomputer-center-still-evolving.html]Ohio”>http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/science/2013/04/07/2-ohio-supercomputer-center-still-evolving.html)</p>

<p>OSC is located right on campus</p>

<p>Link: <a href=“https://www.osc.edu/[/url]”>https://www.osc.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Go Bucks!! :)</p>

5

<p>Sorry I know this is a bit old but I’ve been really doing a lot of research between the two schools and I’m almost set on Ohio State, however, there is one thing that caught my mind.</p>

<p>While reading this document on Computer Science and Engineering it says the average starting salary is $60,000, however, when visiting UIUC they mentioned that Computer Science majors start at about $80000. Obviously, there us a huge difference between the two…and it doesn’t sound right.</p>

<p>OSU source: (I have nothing on U of I)</p>

<p><a href=“http://undergrad.osu.edu/majors/pdfview.aspx?id=39”>http://undergrad.osu.edu/majors/pdfview.aspx?id=39&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

6

<p>Starting salaries are mostly about your location. I would imagine lots of Illinois grads take first jobs around Chicago, which will have higher salaries (and cost of living) than you’d find in Ohio.</p>

<p>If you graduated from Ohio State and went to Chicago, you’d make the same salary as someone who graduated from Illinois. Same idea for an Illinois grad who went to Columbus.</p>

7

<p>UIUC is probably better recruited by Chicago-area employers (particularly smaller ones) due to being closer and more convenient (two hour drive to Urbana, versus five hour drive to Columbus, or buy airline tickets to Columbus). UIUC’s somewhat greater national reputation may attract a few more out-of-area recruiters. So a student at tOSU may need to be more aggressive at finding and applying to non-local employers (particularly smaller ones), including those in the Chicago area, if that area is of interest to you.</p>

8

<p>“While reading this document on Computer Science and Engineering it says the average starting salary is $60,000, however, when visiting UIUC they mentioned that Computer Science majors start at about $80000. Obviously, there us a huge difference between the two…and it doesn’t sound right.”</p>

<p>Differences in salary will happen when one region has a higher COL.</p>

<p>That said, I doubt the real difference is that much for those two schools.</p>

<p>What was the document? </p>

<p>I would bet the avg starting salaries for CS majors at either school is around $60-70k.</p>

9

Any thoughts on UIUC vs. tOSU for Computer Engineering? My son is now in the same situation as the OP. Better scholarships at OOS tOSU compared to instate UIUC, but concerned about passing up the opportunity of being at UIUC.

Hope OP can also share how they feel about their decision in hindsight. Thank you.

10

OP hasn’t been on CC in over 6 years, so I suspect a reply is unlikely.

What are the actual costs? In-state at UIUC should be much less than OOS tOSU. How much did scholarships address this difference.

11

Thanks for yours.:relaxed:

12

Umm…you’re welcome?