Hey guys, so I got accepted into UMich and UIUC (Undeclared Engineering for both), and I’m having trouble deciding where to go. Here are some factors:
-I’m on Visa in the US, so I applied as an international student. However, I was able to sign an affidavit at UIUC that lets me pay in-state tuition there. At UMich I am still an international student, although OOS and International students pay the same amount there.
-I probably won’t get any money from either school. UIUC is pretty stingy with scholarships, and since I am on a Visa, there are even less opportunities for me (at both schools), especially because I don’t qualify for need-based aid. UMich has told me I won’t get financial aid.
-A lot of kids in my area go to UIUC, so I’ll already know some people. Plus, I have some connections with professors which could help me stand out to them compared to other students.
-In comparison, barely any kids go to UMich, and I obviously won’t have as many connections at there, so it’ll be more of a social challenge–which I don’t mind and might even enjoy.
Overall, I like UMich a lot more, because I won’t know a lot of people and I think that’ll really force me to make new connections and step out of my comfort zone. I also enjoy the campus a lot more and in general I lean towards that school. If I end up going to UIUC, I’ll still be happy there, but as of now I see myself at UMich a lot more. However, it is much more expensive–UIUC is 35k a year and UMich is 62-65k a year (including room and board and other factors). My parents are willing to pay for either school, but they want good reasons as to why I’d be picking UMich when UIUC is equally ranked and cheaper. So my question is this: is it actually worth going to UMich over UIUC, given all these factors? I don’t really know what I’m going to do in engineering, but I lean towards Industrial/Systems Eng. I want to work a few years after graduating and eventually get my MBA (don’t know if this info helps but I thought I’d put it out there). Additionally, if any of you guys know about scholarships for Women in Engineering or something of that sort, that would really help. I appreciate any contributions
For an engineering career, no. UMich would offer better opportunities in consulting and finance. It also is seen as more elite by the general public, but the general public doesn’t hire (well, OK, they do at Burger King), but hiring managers would know how good a school is and don’t rely on general perceptions.
Oh, and UMich has a better football team.
Other than the consulting and finance opportunities, you would be paying up for a luxury good (better campus; better football team; seen as more elite by the house polloi).
BTW, both are gigantic schools. Even if a lot of kids from your area go to one of those two colleges, they would be a drop in the bucket. You might run in to a few of them a few times a year unless you live in the same dorm.
You may want to ask UIUC what kind of college GPA you will need to declare any of your preferred engineering majors. You can then consider that information in context with the price difference.
IMHO - As an impartial observer, your parents are right. It’s hard to see that Michigan is worth $30K more per year than IL! But they are both good schools, with top Engineering reps, so you are in a win-win situation… except for that $30K per year… Good Luck!
It is great that UIUC grant you in-state tuition. We could not even afford it from OOS and we pay $40k less per year for my D to attend UMich engineering (LOL). I am actually very surprised UIUC would offer that as they state is very poor and their FA really sucks. At UMich, you may be able to get some merit based scholarships (some may have a need component) even as international student, however, it may only lower the cost slightly. It is true that declaring certain major at UIUC would be very difficult while there is almost no restriction at UMich. Nevertheless, it is hard to overcome that $140k difference in cost.
Though note, @billcsho and @ucbalumnus, “Engineering Undeclared” is sort of like an elite program at UIUC (to attract top engineering students who like flexibility) so they try to make it so that almost all engineering majors are easy for them to enter (except for bioengineering, I believe):
“First-year engineering students in the Undeclared option will be advised in ways that keep as many options open as possible, even before they select a major. We are not able to guarantee that every Undeclared first year student in good academic standing can have their first choice of major, but Undeclared students who request a major by March 1 in their first year will have priority over other first year students who are transferring between majors. (The March decision date makes it easy to pre-register for fall-semester courses appropriate for the new major)”
It’s tougher to enter than most of UIUC’s engineering majors (probably only CS and the tiny bioengineering program are tougher to enter).
To the OP: Honestly, I think UMich is hard to justify from a cost-benefit perspective (other than for the possibility of Ross).
@PurpleTitan It is not my understanding when I visited UIUC. They said if one apply to a certain major and not accepted by that major, they may still accept you as undeclared engineering. You only have priority over those changing major. It does not mean you can pick any major at all.
“Just for some perspective I had a 3.5 when I transferred in. You don’t need a ridiculously high GPA to transfer from undeclared engineering to CS, but you still need a decent one. If I were you I would do the program. It’s like a 90% chance of getting your first choice major. I asked the advisor in the spring what my chances were and that was her answer.”
“Actually for engineering undeclared as long as you get above a 3.0 gpa after first semester you pretty much get whatever engineering major you want.”
They could have revamped the program since you visited. I thought that this “Engineering Undeclared” was new (and has spots reserved in each major for UE students).
What UIUC states on the web site leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Priority over other students changing major may not be that useful if it means that an engineering undeclared student needs a 3.6 GPA while other students changing major need a 3.7 GPA.
OP should try to find out by asking directly what the historical GPA thresholds were for changing from engineering undeclared to his/her desired engineering majors.
If I go to UIUC, I will most likely go into Systems Engineering, which isn’t really a competitive course (according to some Engineering Department Advisors) so I’m not too worried about having to maintain a high gpa to get into it. @ucbalumnus@billcsho@PurpleTitan Thank you for your help though!! These are important factors to think about.
I’m more familiar with their grad programs than undergrad, given that, I do know quite a few kids that went to both places undergrad, here would be the reasons to select UM over UIUC even with UM costing more:
quality of life seems better at UM than UIUC, Urbana/Champaign is a nice college town but Ann Arbor is great, the kids at UM seem to be enjoying their experience than UIUC, and this from California students!
reputation - for b-schools, Michigan undergrad is going to be more prestigious than UIUC undergrad, I can attest to this professionally.
broad strength of programs, if you decide to leave engineering and go to a science, or humanities, Michigan is much better for those programs. UIUC is stem-focused, Michigan has strong programs across the board - Engineering, International Relations, Economics, Business, English, just to name a few.
alumni networks - Michigan has stronger one, more areas in the country, globally, and more industries
@theloniusmonk, science is also part of STEM.
In terms of undergrads sent on to S&E PhDs, U of I and UMich are about the same (U of I is strong is various sciences as well). I agree on the rest.
So purely in terms of ROI, if you stay in engineering (or science), it’s hard to justify paying up for UMich and if you do, it’s for a luxury good (possibly more pleasing campus atmosphere). Better opportunities at UMich if you leave STEM.
Illinois isn’t chopped liver outside STEM, though. It’s sufficiently strong to be more than adequate for undergrads in almost every field. Even humanities departments like Classics are much stronger there than most realize.
But if the OP has found out that the desired major would not be difficult to enter, then it would be hard to justify the much greater cost of Michigan.
@billcsho, right, but if students in that program and an engineering advisor are to be believed, 90% of UE students get their first choice major and if you get a 3.0 or higher GPA, you should be fine. And the OP isn’t interested in one of the more competitive engineering majors.
It would be more helpful if they put the threshold GPA for each major on the web site so that prospective students do not have to rely on word of mouth that may or may not be accurate.
