Didn’t know about college selection thread, so posting here again. My d got accepted UIUC Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech - undeclared Engineering and UF - Mechanical. She is more interested in artificial intelligence and robotics. UIUC and VTech is OOS for us. She is torn between UIUC and VTech mainly due to undeclared engineering in VTech and has opportunity to jump wherever she wants…but UIUC is hard to switch majors to CS or CE later. She liked UIUC campus visit. Any advise, dates are coming soon to finalize.
Bump
UF’s Engineering program is huge, and excellent. And I assume cheaper the other options since it is in-state?
Unless something else is compelling about VT or UIUC, I would advise my child to go to UF. Any sizable and high-quality school, certainly in undergrad, will provide a good foundation for AI. The more in-depth stuff is probably more grad level.
Thank you @OhiBro
Wow. Kind of hard to say no to UF Instate and go to the cold of Illinois. Considering how great they are as universities. Great options but I would be hard pressed to do so. VTU is great but UF will offer flexibility as well. Direct admit. Top ten public and flagship level r1 uni all at is pricing. If she is eligible for bright futures even better. Plus the sports and proximity to home are better as well.
Yes, UF and VTU are same level considering flexibility. Yes, she is eligible for Bright Futures and prepaid helps for dorm etc. So we don’t spend a dime. It’s hard to neglect UIUC considering it’s ranking and job prospects and internship offers and lab/research at undergrad level.
I don’t think there is a computer engineer coming out of UF with any less of an opportunity. Maybe more. It’s a booming state. And to bank the 150k for other matters. And UF is ranked higher than either school. But that’s not why I would choose it.
You’re from Florida. You know that there is a real gator nation network. I know it doesn’t sound as exotic at some level. But it’s really your best option. Unless she just hates the school and is saying this from an informed and mature place.
But I am certainly not saying either of the other two fine universities wouldn’t be excellent too.
Agree
UIUC is by far the best school, BUT, if your D is thinking that there is a good chance that she’ll want to change majors, UIUC is not the best choice. Now, in-state tuition for UFL is $6,380, while OOS tuition for VTech is $32,835, and for UIUC OOS tuition for Engineering is $33,610.
Neither UIUC nor VTech is $106,000 better than UFL for an engineering undergraduate. If that amount of money is not a problem, then VTech if she still feels indecisive, and UIUC if she is sure that she’ll stay in her major. BTW, VTech’s campus is prettier than UIUC’s.
Does she want to get out of Florida, to recreate herself? Are most of her smart classmates going to Gainesville?
It is hard turn down such a great in state deal,especially if she has any interest in aerospace/mechanical I might pick Gainesville. Florida has great job market in Orlando, south Florida, and Tampa areas.
UIUC though is especially strong in all engineering , EECS and physics being super strengths. Football is just as popular, as well, with amazing alumni network that reaches to the west and east coast, and everything in between. We get a lot of UIUC grads in Colorado, for instance . Truly flexible, to for credits, and getting to the meaty subjects quickly. Very smart, maybe slightly more studious student body compared to fun loving Gators,
who do party a lot. UIUC has a subculture with the largest group of mainland Chinese undergrads in the USA. adding to the restaurant choices and cool Chinese festivals. Very good performing arts center at UIUC.
Central Illinois is surprisingly beautiful, and Illinois really has a large number of mechanical engineering job options.
Manufacturing is very strongly hiring at all times , with design and manufacturing companies ringing around Chicago to the west, north and in the city as well.
I don’t think VTech is worth the extra money, but maybe UIUC if she is strongly motivated to see a new part of the country and recreate herself , away from her Florida high school cliques, and you have the money to spend.
Academically UIUC and UF are very close though. V Tech somewhat easier to earn As.
Does anything else need to be said?! Clearly UF is the bestest! 
With that being said, engineering students are the same everywhere, with UF engineering students more likely to spend nights in the library, than in mid-town with the “other” students (don’t they ever study?!).
Still, fun can be had, it’s just in moderation.
VT is a great school, but it’s hard to justify the difference in cost vs UF. Very hard.
UIUC is an exceptional school, especially in EECS/engineering. However, you really need to find something specific about the school (a research lab you want to join, a program only available at UIUC, etc.) to justify the huge OOS expense as an undergrad. Even then, you should never use parental plus loans to help pay for it, as that’s almost always a bad financial decision. Also, consider that UF (and the other Florida public universities) will likely keep tuition flat over the next 4 years (absence a recession). UIUC is freezing it’s in-state tuition (while still increasing “fees”), but it will continue to increase OOS tuition rates (2% this year).
If expense isn’t an issue, then take a deeper look at what UIUC could offer.
UIUC alumni tend to stay in the Chicago/mid-west region, and UF alumni in Florida/southeast. However, engineers are nationally recruited from both schools and are much more likely to leave the state/region. For example, they both have a large presence on the west coast and in cities like NY, Washington DC, Boston, etc.