<p>My top two colleges are University of Maryland and University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign and I plan to major in Mechanical Engineering and I plan on studying abroad. I've lived in Illinois my entire life and on a scale of 1 to 10 (ten being highest) of how much I like Illinois is a 3. However, it's the better engineering school of the two, and I get in-state tuition which will allow me to afford to study abroad, which is a big aspect for me. For UMD, it's a 12 on the scale of 1 to 10 but I won't be able to study abroad because of out of state tuition, although since I live in Illinois technically I'll already be abroad and I hear their engineering school isn't as great as UIUC. However, UMD's location is amazing being a little under 4 hours away from NYC and less than an hour away from Washington DC which is probably the biggest aspect of them all for me.
Any ideas on which one I should go to?
Thank you!</p>
<p>Which school will prepare you better for a future career (40+ years) in Mechanical Engineering versus 4 years of going to NYC/DC.</p>
<p>Well I mean its not just being close to there, there’s also more opportunity for me in UMD than UIUC to go into the government</p>
<p>Since UIUC is such a great engineering school and you would get the financial advantage of IS tuition, I was initially going to say it would be wise to choose UIUC, despite the fact that I’m a HUGE fan of UMD engineering.</p>
<p>However, when you stated that the reason you want to be close to DC is because you want to work for the government, well, that’s where Maryland wins hands down, IMHO. There is no comparison to the opportunities you will have for research and internships being less than half an hour from the ARL (Army Research Lab) and DoD (Department of Defense) in addition to all the other government agencies.</p>
<p>As for study abroad, there are scholarships available to make that a possibility as well. Maryland has a very active Engineers without Borders chapter that you might enjoy…</p>
<p>If you have high stats, you may even get a merit scholarship that may bring the cost differential down low enough to not be a significant factor in your decision.</p>
<p>As for UMD not being as good an engineering school as UIUC, I’m not so sure there’s that vast a difference. Take a look at the article below. Both schools are in the top 10 overall, with UIUC ranking #3 overall and Maryland ranking #8 overall. However, when you look at the column on the left side for each school where it breaks down “how majors match up,” you will see that Maryland ranks #3 in engineering and UIUC ranks #4 in engineering…so in some respects, they are comparable/in the same league…
[Best</a> Colleges & Universities - Ranked by Job Recruiters - WSJ.com](<a href=“Best Colleges & Universities - Ranked by Job Recruiters - WSJ”>Best Colleges & Universities - Ranked by Job Recruiters - WSJ)</p>
<p>I think the question is where you think the better “fit” for you is. I would suggest having a heart-to-heart with your parents about the finances, and take into consideration any plans you may have for grad school. Do you plan to go to work right after you graduate or do you think you want to go for a masters’ degree? You need to factor that in. I would also suggest spending an overnight on both campuses. See where it feels more “right” for you. Being happy is a great motivation to academic success. Honestly, you will get a great education at both schools, and you really can’t go wrong with whichever school you decide on.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for the input! That really helped my decision-making a lot :)</p>
<p>@mary</p>
<p>I am new to CC but can you explain what “Maryland wins hands-down” (#4 above) mean in terms of internships? The Government internships are merit based, right? Just because UMD is closer to DC does not necessary mean more (or less) opportunities for UMD students. Kids from UIUC (or any other school) have equal chance to get these internships as the kids from UMD. The only advantage I can see is if you live in DC area, you can commute to these Govt places you mentioned and, therefore, don’t have to worry about finding a place to stay over the summer. I think it’s misleading to imply UMD has more opportunities because its location. Did I miss your points?</p>
<p>@EastCoast1 - You are absolutely correct that students from all schools have an equal chance at government internships!!! </p>
<p>I’m sorry that my enthusiasm for UMD was misleading…hey, I did qualify that I am a HUGE UMD fan ;)…When I said Maryland wins hands-down I was referring to opportunities during the school year, for obvious logistical reasons. Obviously, UIUC is an outstanding school for engineering and has amazing opportunities for success in many avenues. </p>
<p>To explain my answer, let me point out that a lot of government agencies have relationships with the University of Maryland and collaborate on research directly on campus. For example, UMD has a neutral buoyancy research facility (the only college campus to have one), and NASA and others do research there…so, this is just one example of a unique opportunity to participate with research during the year
[The</a> Neutral Buoyancy Research Facility (NBRF) | A. James Clark School of Engineering](<a href=“http://www.eng.umd.edu/facilities/nbrf]The”>Research Facilities | A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland)
Here is the highlight of the facilities
[Featured</a> Facilities | A. James Clark School of Engineering](<a href=“http://www.eng.umd.edu/facilities/featured-facilities]Featured”>Facilities | A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland)
There are lots more examples, but I think this gives the sense of what I was referring to.</p>
<p>Hope this clarifies a little better…?</p>
<p>I made the same exact decision as you, UIUC vs UMCP. If you were a Maryland resident, I would say to go with UMCP. For me, it was much cheaper than UIUC, and now that I’m here I’m having so much fun and have made a lot of new friends and I love it here. </p>
<p>That being said, if cost isn’t a factor or if UIUC is cheaper, I would choose UIUC. When I visited Illinois, I fell in love with the campus. It is so beautiful, and the tours they took us on brought us to so many high tech machines that the university invests for the students. It really is a better engineering school, but it is a bit costly.</p>
<p>UIUC is ranked higher for Overall school ranking and it is also the 5th best engineering school in the country. Maryland does not boast stats that high. If you go to UIUC you will have a plethora of options when you graduate.</p>