<p>I'm a Midwest kid. I've been admitted as engineer (chemical) into both these schools, although I'm probably going to switch my major to ee or ce/cs.
The financial costs for me are relatively the same at both schools. The travel costs add $1500(?) I would guess for USC, but overall cost isn't a factor in my decision.
At which school would I have better internship and job opportunities? Which school has a better reputation among employers? Should I decide on whether I wanna live Chicago or Cali after graduation?</p>
<p>Location matters for recruiting.</p>
<p>You may want to investigate how easy or difficult it is to change major at each school.</p>
<p>That has been a point I’ve been thinking about. I know UIUC is slightly harder from what I’ve heard from people going there, and there CS is really competitive. USC on the other hand I think allows a much easier switch. I"m meeting with USC staff this weekend, so I’ll be sure to ask. </p>
<p>In terms of connections and recruiting, are both these schools limited to their states. Will I be seriously impeded by going to USC, but returning to the Midwest after graduation?</p>
<p>The big deal about the major change at UIUC is that chemE is the only engineering major in the college of letters and arts. So changing to any other engineering major would mean having to switch colleges. </p>
<p>Academically and reputation-wise they’re roughly the same, but USC has the comforts of a rich private school’s donor base, whereas UIUC is not too well funded. Your living and learning conditions would be better at USC (as well as the weather), plus, I’m a big proponent for discovering another part of the country during the college years if it’s affordable, because those are the prime years to move without much difficulty. </p>