<p>Hi. I'm from New York and am planning on majoring in electrical and computer engineering, as well as taking some classes in (and perhaps majoring in) astrophysics, and minoring in economics and business. Currently, I am working on my own company start up in technology, however, I would like to attend a college that can fulfill my need for challenging classes, an abundance of available research, and internship opportunities. My list (in no particular order) is as follows:</p>
<p>University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
University of California-San Diego
University of California-Santa Barbara
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</p>
<p>Waitlisted at Columbia
Waitlisted at Carnegie Mellon</p>
<p>I will be pursuing my waitlists, however, I need input on a college to choose for May 1st. Any further input on these schools, based on personal experience, etc. is much appreciated.</p>
<p>Actually rjkofnovu, once again UM is not quite on top. UI beats it slightly for both electrical and computer eng.</p>
<p>US NEWS
Undergraduate engineering specialties:
Computer Engineering
(At schools whose highest degree is a doctorate)
Methodology
1 Massachusetts Inst. of Technology
2 Carnegie Mellon University ¶
2 Stanford University (CA)
4 University of California–Berkeley *
5 U. of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign *
6 Georgia Institute of Technology *
7 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor *
8 Cornell University (NY)
8 University of Texas–Austin *
10 California Institute of Technology
11 Purdue Univ.–West Lafayette (IN)*
12 University of Washington *
13 Princeton University (NJ)
14 Univ. of Wisconsin–Madison *
15 Univ. of California–Los Angeles *
16 Northwestern University (IL)
16 Rice University (TX)
18 Univ. of California–San Diego *
18 Univ. of Southern California
20 Univ. of Maryland–College Park *</p>
<p>Undergraduate engineering specialties:
Electrical / Electronic / Communications
(At schools whose highest degree is a doctorate)
Methodology
1 Massachusetts Inst. of Technology
2 University of California–Berkeley *
3 Stanford University (CA)
4 U. of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign *
5 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor *
6 Georgia Institute of Technology *
7 California Institute of Technology
8 Cornell University (NY)
9 University of Texas–Austin *
10 Carnegie Mellon University ¶
11 Princeton University (NJ)
12 Purdue Univ.–West Lafayette (IN)*
13 Northwestern University (IL)
14 Univ. of California–San Diego *
15 Univ. of California–Los Angeles *
15 Univ. of Southern California
17 Univ. of Wisconsin–Madison *
17 University of Washington *
17 Virginia Tech *
20 Columbia University (NY)
20 Pennsylvania State U.–University Park *
20 Univ. of California–Santa Barbara *
23 Johns Hopkins University (MD)</p>
<p>CMU offered me priority waitlist for CIT but cannot offer anymore spaces in CE or EE so I think I’m scrapping it. I’m leaning towards UMich, however, is it worth waiting for Columbia?</p>
<p>The differences between UIUC and Michigan in these engineering specialties are minuscule. I think it mostly comes down to “fit” and campus/community “feel” which are quite different at the two schools. In the areas OP mentions as minor concentrations, Michigan has a distinct edge in business (undergrad business Michigan #3, UIUC #13) and econ (grad ranking Michigan #11, UIUC #28), while UIUC probably has a small edge in astrophysics (grad school for general physics Illinois #8, Michigan #13).</p>