I was accepted into UCSD for Global Health and Muir College (first choices!). However, I was accepted into UIUC as Undecided - General Studies. For careers, I’m deciding if I want to pursue a career in medicine, public relations, or business. Though I am leaning towards business right now.
I live in Illinois, so I would pay in state tuition for UIUC,
Location is a factor. UIUC is in the middle of farmland, UCSD is in La Jolla, San Diego near the beach. Despite being in farmland, Urbana-champaign has a small city feel and is very lively with many things to do. The area near UCSD (and San Diego in general) is rather sleepy and lacks culture. UCSD has a reputation for being somewhat socially dead. San Diego is obviously warmer.
I hated my high school experience so much because I felt like I never got to truly be a teenager due to the IB program and my high school’s atmosphere period.
I’m currently leaning heavily towards UIUC. (in state tuition, more lively campus environment). For UIUC I have to pay around $23,000, but for UCSD $31,000. My mother saved up like $24,000, but if I decide to go to UCSD I would have to take out around $7,000 worth of loans each year.
Which school do you think a better choice, please explain.
UIUC. And you have a great mom there. It’s hard to save money like that. Remember it costs a lot of money and time to go back and forth for holidays breaks etc and every so often it’s nice to go home for a quick weekend
There are limits on how much you can borrow, though the total amount you could borrow over four years would average out to be around 7K per year. I believe you can borrow up to $5500 as a FR, 6500 as a SO, and 7500 as a JR and SR.
The question is this: is UCSD worth the extra 28K? Some will say yes, that 7K per year is a modest amount given that there are students/families on this board who will be spending much, much more. Some will say no, go to the Big Ten school and avoid debt.
I can’t answer this for you, but it doesn’t sound like you hate the thought of living in UC and are desperate for the SD scene. In fact, you seem to be saying that UIUC will give you the more traditional, college town environment. Plus, you say that you are “leaning heavily towards UIUC.”
Lean further! You know where you want to go. Maybe you’re hoping that we’ll talk you out of it? I won’t. Congrats, BTW.
A big issue is that as an exploratory major at UIUc your odds of admission into our preferred majors is NOT guaranteed.
If you go to UIUC:
Would you be ok with applied economics and agribusiness? How difficult is it to get into communication?
If you gontonUIUC, you could use some of the money saved to travel (avoid the stupid spring break in Daytona Beach thing - go visit Costa Rica or hang out in Montreal and Toronto, experience things and places with friends…) and of course study abroad.
How is UCSD 31k a year though - You’re out of state and they don’t offer financial aid? Can you check your financial aid award letter?
You got into your major but don’t expect to get into medicine from there (due to California’s situation - I can detail if you wish but basically forget medical school if you finish California) - so look into possibilities wrt communication within public health or business-adjacent majors.
Where would the 7k in loans come from? Is that after or before the federal loans?
@Hapworth I enjoyed Triton Day at UCSD, but I’ve been hearing that the school is dry in teems of social life, etc which I’m worried about. Thanks for the advice!
UCSD is a demanding school – its administrators and professors made a point of making it academically challenging so that its beach location wouldn’t make it into a party school. If you worked really hard in high school and would like a tad more fun time, Illinois may be a better choice. It’s certainly the more financially savvy choice. And money will be an issue if you’re planning on grad school.
UIUC. You are in-state and they lock tuition rates, whereas at UCSD, your costs will go up every year. Picking a school based on location is kind of overrated. Yeah, you won’t be near a beach, but you will be busy studying and participating in extracurriculars and probably won’t have much time to surf anyway.
I’m originally from IL. I visited a friend several times at UIUC. I’m guessing that you too as an IL resident have visited or at least have a strong sense what it is like. It’s a fun place. @WildestDream is right. Location is overrated. @katliamom makes a good point too: UIUC might be the more enjoyable (read: party!) environment. Let’s just say that I wasn’t visiting my friend so that I could sit in on one of his classes.
Plus, it’s a Big Ten school. Yeah, that’s an athletic conference, but it’s also a marker for a certain caliber of school. Have things changed, BTW? When I graduated HS 25+ years ago, we IL residents thought of UIUC as prestigious, sort of like the Harvard of IL (okay, so we conveniently ignored NU and U of Chicago). Seriously. I remember a girl who was so happy to be admitted you’d think she’d gotten into Princeton. UIUC was also a fairly tough admit. It was a tougher admit than many state flagships.
Finally, and I’m probably dead wrong here, but as fine as a reputation as the UC schools have, I’m not sure that nationally it’s better considered than UIUC. I wonder if the opposite is sort of true (outside the world of College Confidential). Or at least tied, despite UCSD’s much lower acceptance rate. Again, I’m probably wrong.
Oh, and if you attend UIUC, be sure to eat at La Bamba, the place with burritos as big as your head (not an exaggeration, BTW). It’s a fine meal at any time; however, it will seem like the finest food you’ve ever had if you are, er, um, slightly queasy due to the downing of too many…um…beverages.
Wow! How on earth did you get a $28,000 a year scholarship to a UC from out of state? We’ve been told zero FA from California schools to OOS students. (Illinois resident here too.)
@bobo44@MYOS1634 lol I have no idea!! I thought the same thing going in. They offer scholarships for different programs. I know that there’s a full ride scholarship for those who are majoring in Engineering.
What’s your budget? What can your parents afford without taking on loans/refinancing the house…?
Are those the only two universities you got into?
What’s your EFC? Your mother’s budget?
Are the $7,000 in loans $5,500 federal loans + $1,500 in parent PLUS loans or is that $7,000 on top of the $5,500 and in that case where would they come from? You can’t take that and it wouldn’t be cool to do that to yout mother.
Are the $24,000 all her mother’s savings or is that a college fund for you?
