Hi! So, after some encouragement from a friend, I decided to post on here to see if I’ve missed anything so far in the college selection process. I’m still waiting on a few reach schools, but it has really come down to Minnesota Twin Cities vs. Illinois @ Urbana Champaign for chemical engineering.
UMN: Pros are 20k/year scholarship that will essentially let me graduate with 40k in my pocket from my parents for law school, honors community, it’s great for ChemE and I really love the campus. Cons are that it’s not so strong in other areas of engineering (which matters because I might change majors and grad/professional school is never a guarantee), the student body in CSE didn’t really match that of UIUC in terms of diversity and overall “vibe”, a really defined list of courses that are only offered in certain semesters (fall or spring) that might make studying abroad as an upperclassman difficult, and they don’t freeze tuition, so I don’t know how much I’ll actually be paying for four years.
UIUC: Not sure how much scholarship money I’ll be getting, if any, but my parents can comfortably cover the entire cost of attendance (I’m in state). Pros are a solid engineering program that’s super renowned in the Midwest, a community of friends that I know and love (though I totally plan to meet new people, it’s nice to see familiar faces–I plan to hopefully live with people I already know I’m a good fit with, which is reassuring), unique clubs that perfectly fit my interest, a better opportunity to get jobs in Chicago just due to proximity, study abroad opportunities, two honors programs, a campus I like but isn’t as hustle-bustle as the Twin Cities, though I love downtown Urbana and Champaign, and it’s 3 hours from home. Cons–it’s three hours from home, lol. I really want to use college as this whole independence-seeking endeavor, but I feel like I can do that anywhere if I try. The cons are really not having the 40k and the novelty of being in a brand new place and living “on my own” haha.