UMN vs Purdue vs Virginia Tech vs UIUC engineering

College Search & Selection
1

I got accepted from these schools, but I don’t know which one would be the best fit for me. Could you rank them by the criteria below?

  1. Academics
  2. Reputation
  3. Environment
  4. Your choice

Money is not an issue here

Thank you!

2

Well UIUC has consistently ranked among the top 10 for engineering so if you’re into rankings, that’s something to consider

3

UIUC

4

My ranking for those schools would be UIUC, Purdue, UMN, Virginia Tech.

The teaching environments are very different between those schools. Things to consider are you directly admitted to a major or may you possibly be weeded out junior year? This is something to really look into cause it may determine your future. What are the available coops and internships? What companies recruit from these schools? Class sizes? Its not all reputation and opinion, its what is right for you.

5

For UIUC, were you directly admitted to your intended engineering major? If not, some of them can be very difficult to get into later.

Purdue, Minnesota, and Virginia Tech all admit to first year pre-engineering. Students compete by GPA to enter majors, although the GPA thresholds do not appear to be unreasonably high (looks like 3.2 at Minnesota, 3.0 at Virginia Tech to be assured into first choice major; Purdue’s web site is not clear on whether 3.2 is enough for all majors; lower GPAs could still be admitted if there is space available in the major).

6

First question; what’s your target major?

Each of those universities generally have excellent engineering departments. And most importantly, each is an attractive source of talent for STEM employers.

7

Thank you for the reply guys~
@LakeWashington I am targeting either CE or ME.

8

My son also has acceptances to VT and Purdue for Engineering. He is planning to study ME. I think another thing to consider is where you might want to work after college. Do you know where you want to live after college? I think you will get a great education at all of your schools. Choose the one that feels right and where you think you would like to live after school is over.