UIUC vs UCSD for Civil Engineering

College Search & Selection
1

Hello everyone!

I was admitted to UIUC for Civil engineering and UCSD for Bioinformatics (under Bioengineering). The reason why the two majors are different is because I couldn’t make up my mind when I was applying to college, but after a couple of months I’ve decided that I’m not really interested in the bio part of bioinformatics, and now I’m leaning towards civil engineering (specifically, environmental engineering and not so much structural).

However, my difficulty in decision lies in the fact that I am a Cali resident, and going to UCSD would be cheaper (although I’ve heard rumors of the school being socially dead). I know that UIUC’s civil engineering program is top ranked in the nation, but people have been telling me that rankings don’t really mean squat. Furthermore, because I’m so indecisive, I’m also looking for a school that’s relatively strong in all engineering departments, just in case I change my mind again (hopefully not).

Is it a good idea to go to UCSD and then switch out of their bioengineering program into their structural/civil engineering program if I’ve already gotten into UIUC for civil engineering?

As a side note, I lived in SD for 7 ish years so I know what the area is like already. As another side note, I intend to continue onto graduate school.

Thank you!

2

@ucbalumnus
How hard would it be to transfer from the Bioinformatics major to Civil Engineering at UCSD (please)?

OP, if you can fairly easily switch to Civil at UCSD, I would recommend it due to the savings – that extra $100k(ish) will make grad school easier to pay for.

Now, the caveat is if money is not at all a concern – if your folks have money to burn, then go ahead and head to Illinois.

As for rankings, they do mean something, but what they reflect depends on what they are measuring – the formula.

Illinois is very strong in Engineering overall. UCSD is a good school too, though, and its Engineering programs are probably at least decent.

3

@prezbucky I believe that all engineering majors at UCSD are capped which means I would have to apply for them (and have a good GPA, etc.). It won’t be as competitive as, say, switching into computer science/engineering, but it’s still not as easy as just declaring a switch in major.

4

What’s the monetary situation?

5

We don’t have all the money to burn, so I suppose UCSD would probably be better money-wise.

6

Then it comes down to your confidence level of getting into your desired major.