<p>Hi, I plan on majoring in mechanical engineering and I got accepted to both of these universities' engineering programs. They seem to very similar (BIG 10 schools, large public schools, lot of school spirit, not in a big city) but wondering which program do you guys think is stronger?</p>
<p>I am planning on visiting both of the campuses soon!</p>
<p>Either school would be fine.</p>
<p>I would probably pick UMich for overall “campus experience”</p>
<p>Once you visit, you can decide which one you like best.</p>
<p>You’re a Calif resident, so you’re out of state for both schools.</p>
<p>Will your parents pay for all the costs of either school?</p>
<p>yeah cost doesnt matter in my case</p>
<p>Good!</p>
<p>I think you’ll like UMich better if “school spirit” is something that you also want in your college life.</p>
<p>I think technically (rankings-wise) UIUC is better with engineering. But I’m inclined to agree with those who have posted before me. UM is a great school with great spirit in a great town.</p>
<p>Plus engineering isn’t really a field where the prestige of the program counts that much.
My uncle got an prestigious job paying 85k straight out of college. He was competing against Georgia Tech grads, UW-Madison grads, etc. He got his BS in electrical engineering a few weeks earlier from Michigan State.
Don’t get caught up with prestige and rankings unless it’s MIT or something like that. In this situation, UM seems to be a more rational choice.</p>
<p>For Engineering, they are identical, but overall, I think Michigan is slightly better.</p>
<p>Also can you guys go in a little more in depth why you think Michigan is slightly better or how it has a better overall campus experience?</p>
<p>Better nicer town, more out of staters, more school spirit, etc. AA is cool–Chambana not so cool. Like comparing Boston and Columbus.</p>
<p>Ann Arbor has far superior access to transportation to get back home, which is not a small point to be ignored. Nonstop flights between LA and Detroit are only 30 minutes away from campus.</p>
<p>e5volcano, Michigan is stronger in most fields of study, particularly Business, the Humanities and the Social Sciences. In Engineering they are roughly the same (UIUC is #6 and Michigan #7) and in the Sciences, UIUC is stronger in Chemistry and Computer Science while Michigan is stronger in the Life and Earth Sciences and Mathematics.</p>
<p>Historically, Michigan also has a significantly stronger professional programs, particularly in Business, Law and Medicine. This has done much to enhance Michigan’s reputation and prestige. </p>
<p>Michigan is a traditional powerhouse in Football and Hockey, which helps foster school spirit.</p>
<p>As some have already mentioned, Ann Arbor is quainter, more pleasant and more strategically located than Urbana Champaign.</p>
<p>In Engineering, the two schools are almost identical, but in most other ways, Michigan has the edge.</p>
<p>^ He means graduate school. As long as you plan to engage in graduate research at Michigan, that would be excellent.</p>
<p>Ther is no ranking to gauge undergraduate strength in subjects.</p>
<p>It depends on the field sefago. Engineering and Business programs are rated at the undergraduate level. </p>
<p>For traditional disciplines, you are right, it is not possible to gauge quality of education.</p>
<p>There actually are undergrad rankings.
Google it.</p>
<p>@sefago, I don’t know if you meant me or Alexandre but I am asking for undergrad 
@bzva74, I would think some posters here who actually went to the schools would provide helpful info instead of just Google stuff :p</p>
<p>Youre right. But remember that CC is very subjective and anecdotal, while many reputable rankings have statistical and objective methodologies to them.
If you are concerned about the strength of a program compared to another, google is a bit more valuable than CC.</p>
<p>Even though I have been accepted to UIUC and still waiting for my U of M decision to come out on next week; I am going through the same dilemma. I think if I get accepted, I will choose U of M.</p>