As the title says, I was accepted to both Purdue and UIUC for computer engineering, but I’m not sure what to choose. I like Purdue’s campus much better, but I don’t like the way Purdue’s program is structured (it’s focused on hardware with very little emphasis on software). I like UIUC’s program much better (plus it’s #4 in the US), but I didn’t like its campus - it felt kind of dirty.
I’m also OOS for both, and I didn’t receive money from either, making UIUC about $7k more than Purdue per year.
Any help or additional information on this decision would be extremely appreciated. Thank you for your responses!
Congratulations! That is an accomplishment to be accepted into both of those programs. I went to U of I many moons ago and just recently toured again this past summer with my son (also for engineering). I never got the impression of it being dirty. The buildings seem older than Purdue—all their buildings look the same to me! I really like the look of the new engineering campus at U of I, but did really like how compact Purdue seemed. If you were my child, I would probably tell you to go where you liked the program more—that’s what you are really going to school for…You will meet friends at either and have fun at either place, You can’t go wrong with either decision!
It sounds like UIUC is the program that interests you more but… Are your parents able to pay for it without loans?
Congratulations! UIUC is an incredible engineering school, and I have many friends who are/have gone there and had amazing things to say about it. OOS makes things pricy, but if you can get loans/pay without it being too much for you, I’d say UIUC, no question.
Purdue would allow you to take many CS classes even if you do not double major. Purdue does offer nice support for undergraduates but UIUC may have the better rank and reputation in CS, by a hair. Computer security is very well regarded at Purdue. If you like the UIUC program better though, then that may be the right one for you. The appearance of UIUC’s campus is not going to affect you very much once you have friends and activities there. You cannot go wrong with either school. Purdue, believe it or not has a slightly higher bar for admissions with math ACT scores, for undergraduate admissions, according to counselors, but UIUC has the higher rank in CS, math, physics and EE for PhD programs. We know kids who were rejected at Purdue who got into UIUC. Purdue likes a higher GPA also than UIUC may demand for entrance. UIUC has more students from mainland China than most any other college in the USA. Not sure if any of that matters to your decision, but it strikes me as unique about UIUC.