My daughter as an oos from atizona was accpted 2023 early action to cs program at both purdue and uiuc, which school to choose?
Former AZ parent here. What’s she interested ?
Others will be asking about affordability.
Answer - she should choose the one best for her.
Take out reputation (UIUC), access (technically UIUC but if not flying to Champaign then Purdue), the campus - to me Purdue but you may disagree.
What areas - sports, Greek, outcomes etc are most important to her or to your family (yes that might be cost).
They are very close to one another. Go visit. No better way to tell.
If you’re going to spend $150k plus over four years then it’s well worth a trip.
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Iiuc there is dircet flight to cmi, while purdue has to 2hr driving to chico airport
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1 hr to Indy
Yes I noted that Champaign has an airport. Limited flights but.
You really need to visit.
One person gets mad I say it this way but it’s just MY opinion. Doesn’t mean it’s right for you.
I’d personally choose Purdue in a heartbeat.
In 1996 when I was going for my MBA, UIUC flew me in like a job interview. They were trying to get kids in with higher stats to raise their MBA profile and that was the recruitment tool. To me, just flying in from St Louis at the time, the area was flat, ugly. Spending a day on campus it was miserable. Just ugly. Again just my opinion. They released me from the weekend and I rented a car and drove to IU.
Four years ago my son, a mechanical engineer, we drove to Purdue. He was in awe. Loved it. It was his top choice until it wasn’t - turned down Purdue with merit for Alabama due to Purdue’s housing crunch which @momofboiler1 has said has been addressed with thousands of extra units.
Next day UIUC and he said it was depressing. I did my best not to give a pre opinion. But it didn’t make his application list. I took him knowing their engineering rep was very strong.
Everyone is different. I read on a thread recently that someone preferred UIUC over Purdue. Another UIUC alum took their kid to visit and said the overall campus seemed a bit run down, lacking investment etc.
In some ways travel is the least of your concerns. There’s enough access to both schools. Both schools will place well.
The student will be there four years day after day after day.
Everyone will have a different opinion on these schools. They’re both big 10 and close to each other. Both are strong in STEM. Both were aviation powerhouses but UIUC moved theirs to the community college. And you’re not studying aviation 
I’m not sure there are other major similarities.
The only way to know is visit. And let us know your opinion of each.
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My daughter graduated from Purdue and my son graduated from UIUC, the campus, town definitely Purdue is much better and much safer too.
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On paper, Purdue is a solid option given the cheaper OOS tuition, CS outcomes, and the campus BUT UIUC has a phenomenal reputation in CS. Rankings are not the end of it but they truly have an impressive CS department with an amazing array of courses and recruiting opportunities. If she wants to come back west then UIUC might be a better option but you can’t go wrong with either. Visit both schools and trust your instincts.
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As noted, you can’t go wrong with either school in terms of academics for CS. Definitely come visit both schools. Some students have a strong preference for one over the other. (My Purdue senior wouldn’t even go visit UIUC and I’m sure there are many students who said the same thing in reverse about not wanting to see Purdue).
This is really two things. Affordability since that should always be considered and fit. You will get jobs with both school. Also look at clubs, activities and do a deep dive into each school and see what aligns. UIUC is a fantastic school for CS. One thing about 6/7 years when we visited was the attitude of the engineering dean. They litterly did the look to the right and look to the left and by end of sophomore year two of you won’t be here story. That turned us off. To be very fair we are from Chicago and my son really didn’t want to go to Illinois since he would see lots of people from high school and playing sports in our area and he really just didn’t want that. We recognized lots of people just walking around. He wanted a new environment. I hate to sway someone about this but we also found the campus bland. But to be absolutely fair he also didn’t care for Purdue. This is why visiting is important if you can visit. I would never say you “have” to visit if you can’t afford it. Have him go on Facebook and other things to check both out. My daughter found her peeps this way at a college she attended. She was surprised by it.
I also know some very successful people that went to UIUC and were very happy there. So no one knows what will click with your son. If you can visit just let his own experience take the lead. Never tell him what your reading here. I don’t really think it’s helpful to be honest since he might find something at X school that exites him. To my son we stopped doing the school tours since he said ya know… All these corporate sponsored chemistry labs kinda look the same and I get it. Everyone has a 3d printer. 
They all became the same so it really just came down to fit and feel. There is a vibe on campus. It’s hard saying “do you see yourself being friends with these kids”… They have no clue lol… We did go to the information sessions, started the walk tour then left to do our own thing (usually when they got to the Chem building 
, we went to lunch which was usually the favorite hamburger /pizza place on campus. We just walked around. There is no question certain campuses have a vibe. It’s alway great having two solid choices.
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