UMICH vs. UIUC vs. UToronto vs. BU

<p>hello.</p>

<p>i'm a canadian citizen and US green card holder living overseas. so i've gotten into these 4 universities for engineering. i know Umich is one heck of a school but the thing is i got very little financial aid which means my parents will have to pay at least $35k a year. and they cannot afford that. its the same cost for UIUC and BU. However for Uni of toronto, i only have to pay 20k a year. so i was wondering how do UMICH and UIUC compare to UToronto in the engineering department. UMICH is definitely my first choice but i'll have to take out at least 15k worth of loans each year if i wanna go there. is it worth coming out with a 60k debt and a UMICH degree after 4 years. or should i just go to Utoronto and save for grad school? </p>

<p>thanks for the help guys.</p>

<p>Wow, that is a tough decision. UToronto is a good school, however, it is much harder for you to get jobs in the US in the future coming from a Canadian school. That's just how it is. I would definitely say go for UMich. Graduate school wise, I would say Umich has a much higher chance than UToronto. Give up BU for sure though.</p>

<p>UIUC is less than UM tuition (look into the details), UIUC tuition is fixed for 4 years (no increases), and if you study abroad from UIUC-engineering there is NO tuition charge for the semester(s) you are abroad. I would have thought that UT costs for a Canadian citizen would about half of what you listed in USD.</p>

<p>thanks for the help guys.</p>

<p>ok... i looked up the costs and its about 38k for UIUC (excluding personal and miscellaneous expenses) and the same, 38k for UMICH. for Toronto, the tuition costs for Canadians is about 10k and residence about 8k... so including expenses for books and supplies and stuff it comes out to be about 20k. Anyway, even if UIUC was a bit lower i would still choose UMICH because the cost is about the same. So eventually its down to UMICH vs. UToronto (definitely not going to BU...lol). so. i was wondering. even if i take a 12~13k loan/year and come out with a 35k debt (after working throughout the 4 years of college), what is the ave salary of a fresh UMich graduate ~ 50k?? thanks.</p>

<p>red_devil,</p>

<p>UM has an additional fee for engineering majors. There is another additional fee for 3rd-year and 4th-year students. And you can assume that tuition will be increased $1500 a year as well. </p>

<p>If you study abroad for a year from UIUC-engineering, you have no tuition bill - not a bad option.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

<p>WS, UIUC is not significantly cheaper than Michigan. Even if Michigan's tuition increases by $1,500 per year, and given the fact that up-classmen pay a little more, altogether, we are talking about a $20,000 over 4 years. Attending Michigan will cost almost $180,000 over 4 years compared to almost $160,000 at UIUC. And maybe things are done differently on other campuses, but at Michigan, Engineers almost never take a year to study abroad. For one thing, Engineering graduation requirements are so rigid and demanding, that Engineers do not have the luxury of taking a year to study abroad (as we all know, study abroad programs are basically a glamorized cultural exchange program and little else). Secondly, Engineering curriculae varry so much from country to country that Engineering undergrads would be lost studying abroad. Bottom line, unless you get a scholarship to one of those schools, you do not decide based on cost of attendence.</p>

<p>Red_devil, paying back a $40,000 debt will take 4-8 years. Toronto is a fine university and an awesome town. Unless you do not mind that kind of debt, I say go for toronto.</p>

<p>Alexandre,</p>

<p>UIUC and esp GaTech have recently moved on initiatives for engineers to study abroad as part of their curriculum. GT has a goal that half of their students will study abroad before graduation, believe it or not. I realize this is counter to the way US engineering programs have traditionally operated. One year abroad at UIUC is worth $28,000 or so - worth considering IMO, esp if you major in one of their strong programs. GT seems to take more than 4 years for so many students even w/o study abroad, but OTOH OOS tuition is far less expensive there.</p>

<p>thanks for the help guys. </p>

<p>Alexandre,
i've lived in toronto for 4 years and my dad did his graduate studies at utoronto so yes i agree its an amazing town and a very good university. but will going to utoronto reduce my chances of getting a job in america (as Hannac said)? and how about grad school? </p>

<p>and WS17, does that mean i have to pay michigan tuition on top of the foreign uni tuition if i go overseas for a semester or two? and what are the benefits of going overseas other than cultural exchange...? cause i've lived in india, canada and now i'm living in singapore thus, i've been exposed to many cultures... so unless it helps me get a job its not a priority for me. </p>

<p>thanks for the help.</p>

<p>Toronto is a huge university and it is located close to several major US cities, so I am sure it will attract several major US companies. Furthermore, Toronto's reputation in the academic world is pretty awesome. As such, I don't think your chances of landing a job in the US or of getting into a good US graduate school will be diminished if you were to attend UofT. Will they be as good as your chances if you were to attend Michigan? Probably not, but is it worth $spending an extra $80,000 over 4 years? That depends on your financial situation.</p>