<p>Can people who have had experience with these schools please share your thoughts on the pros/cons of these schools.</p>
<p>My D is be looking at "social sciences" or "pre law" programs & we are from California. </p>
<p>Primary concerns are around size of school, recognition of name, strength of academics, diversity and "employability (if that is even a term")</p>
<p>Thanks in advance</p>
<p>word to the wise: DO NOT have your daughter enroll in a "pre-law" program. Law schools HATE this.</p>
<p>UW = U Washington or Wisconsin?</p>
<p>If it is UWisconsin, it has an edge over UI in social sciences and atmosphere with a much larger number of OOS students, nicer town, and campus. I'd say the same about U Washington except for the OOS numbers are similar to UI--mostly instate kids, and Udub is about on par with UI for social sciences meaning very good.</p>
<p>sorry - should have been specific - university of washington.</p>
<p>mohammad -- why do law schools hate pre law? in any case, in either school it is just an advisory and not an actual degree.</p>
<p>UIUC has the edge in business and engineering. In other subjects, it varies. </p>
<p>The campus experiences are very different. City (WA) and small town (IL). You really can't say that one is better than the other because it's a matter of personal preference. Both will have plenty of parties and student life. </p>
<p>Both have good name recognition. If your daughter is planning on returning to CA or staying on anywhere on the west coast after graduation, UW may be the better choice.</p>
<p>I'd say on the whole UI is more competitive with somewhat better students.</p>
<p>The location of UIUC is something to take into consideration. It is fairly remote from major metropolitan areas and in my opinion kind of boring. Depending on where you live in CA, it might be too "rural" for your child. UW (Wisconsin) in my opinion would have been the better choice for what he/she is looking study. Consider both U-Ws. ;-)</p>
<p>"mohammad -- why do law schools hate pre law? in any case, in either school it is just an advisory and not an actual degree."</p>
<p>Mainly because it makes students presuppose how law is taught and learned, which is not a great move. In reality, law school teaches law in a much, much different way than a criminal justice major or pre-law major would learn it. These majors do little to increase analytical skills and, like I said before, lull students into a false belief that they "know the law." Law schools prefer to teach students as clean slates in regard to the law for this very reason.</p>
<p>I am a student at UI, but if your going to do social sciences, I must say Wisconsin has the edge. Not that UI is bad (also has very respectable social science department), but UW is THAT good.</p>
<p>Yes, I hope I made that clear. It's the difference between Top 10 and Top 20. UIUC is a great school and somewhat underrated nationally. In many ways it has more resources, breadth and depth than some higher ranked top state schools (UNC, UVA, UCSD come to mind).</p>
<p>You guys, he's talking about WASHINGTON.</p>