Hi guys,
I recently just got my acceptance for U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for chemical engineering as a transfer student. I also applied for U of Maryland College Park for chemical engineering. My interest is the biomolecular side of chemical engineering. I know I cannot assume that I will be accepted to UMD but my chances are pretty high since the admission said as long as you complete the prereq for engineering and there is space you’re gonna be accepted. And my transfer GPA is considerably higher than the average transfer GPA at UMD.
Here are my thoughts about each of the university. Feel free to correct my thinking and help me to decide!
- Tuition
I am international so I will be paying OOS tuition fee, UIUC’s engineering tuition is about 38-39k per year, Maryland’s is ~30-33k but then they planned to gradually increase the tuition for specific majors like engineering. I don’t know if it is still 30-33k or if it is already changed or if it is gonna be the raised next year. Also, the living cost in DC metro area is higher than in Urbana right? So I guess I will spend a similar amount of money.
- Reputation and Academic
UIUC wins, it is a highly ranked university for engineering worldwide. It is ranked #5 in US news and top ten in several other websites. My teacher who went to UIUC, said they have excellent facilities and that it is a very academically stimulating place to be. - Location
UMD wins, in DC metro area, while UIUC is in the middle of cornfields. I am worried that I won’t like it at UIUC. I have lived in three different countries, and most of my life I have lived in huge cities with a similar pace of life in Singapore and Tokyo that are like doubled the pace of life where I live right now, Seattle which is considered one of more fast-paced US cities, a tech hub and a place to get things done. I personally think it is still slow lol. I know UIUC is a huge school, I will always find something to do, but I just cannot picture myself being in the middle of cornfields.
But I also heard bad things about College Park like its high crime rate, and UMD is located in a ghetto area. - Social Life and Diversity
I have no idea. But I researched a bit in UIUC’s forum, I conclude that it is hard to get a good social life without going greek. I know there is a huge international population in UIUC which is good, but not much diversity in their international and domestic student body. They have like more than 5k Chinese students? wtf? that is like more than all international students in UMD combined. Also, I cannot find statistics on the international students enrollment by country at UMD website. Can anyone help me?
Thank you guys any input will be greatly appreciated!