Hello, I’ve been accepted into both UW-Madison and UIUC, in Engineering for Madison, and Mechanical Engineering for UIUC. I am in state for Illinois and they are both about the same distance from home. I love Madison’s campus and the surrounding city life, and last time i visited Illinois, I didn’t like it so much. However, I’m going back to visit Illinois at the end of March to see if I like it better. UIUC is around 15-20k cheaper a year than Madison, but cost isn’t a huge factor. One of my worries for Illinois is that I don’t have nearly as much freedom to feel out various disciplines of engineering, which means that I could be missing out on something that I’m really interested on. I would love to hear your opinions and thoughts about the program, student life, and the surrounding city. Thanks!
Update, i visited UIUC this past weekend and still wasn’t that interested in it, but everyone I’ve talked to has said to go to UIUC because it is better and cheaper. Is Madison worth the extra 20k a year?
Wisconsin does weed out students from engineering majors with progression GPA requirements substantially higher than needed to stay in good academic standing.
I’m not as concerned with the weeding out process as I am about Wisconsin’s ballooning tuition costs for out of state students. If cost were not a consideration I would most definitely go to Wisco, but I fear what the future holds considering Madison doesn’t lock in rates. I could also attend Purdue or OSU but I liked Wisco better than Purdue and OSU is further and not as good of a school. Thanks for any feedback!
The schools are peers, at least in STEM fields. I think UW is stronger in more programs and overall, but UIUC probably has a slight edge in Engineering overall (both are strong in every Eng major they offer… no worries there).
It appears you’ve come to the “fit vs. cost” issue.
I usually advise kids mulling in-state vs. OOS colleges to stick with the in-state school unless the OOS school offers something your state flagship doesn’t. That isn’t the case here, unless you switched to an obscure major that UW offers and Illinois doesn’t – possible, but unlikely.
I think if your parents are willing to spend the extra money, and you can avoid debt – then, ok, go to UW since you strongly prefer it. But if it presents financial difficulty or if you think you’re headed for grad school, I think Illinois is the smarter play. It is the smarter play cost-wise anyway, but fit is a powerful thing and has a seat at this table too.
Looks like UIUC is the clear winner on two of the “hard” aspects – lower cost, and direct admission to your major without having to pass a higher weed-out GPA later like at Wisconsin. However, if you try to change major later, it may be more difficult for some majors at UIUC (particularly the more popular engineering majors or CS).
Basically, how much value do you place on the “soft” aspects – how you like the campus and surrounding environment – and the likelihood of changing major to one that is more difficult to get into at UIUC than Wisconsin? Compare that value to the cost difference and the weed-out GPA risk for your major.
@ScottyJ59 In terms of academics both schools are very similar. In my opinion, academics is almost as important as the schools atmosphere and where a student will thrive socially. I was able to send both my kids oos because it was important for their social wellbeing. I think you need to sit down with your parents and see if going oos is something they are willing to help you out with financially. This is only my opinion however I am sure you will be successful wherever you decide to go. Either way you can’t go wrong.
Wisconsin is not worth 80K more than Illinois. The schools are peers with UIUC having the edge in STEM. In terms of “social” aspects… both schools are large enough that you will find a niche.
Congratulations on getting admitted to two very good schools.
Like the others, I personally don’t think Wisconsin is worth $80k more. However, talk with your parents and share your reservations about UIUC with them.
I also suggest you try to picture yourself 5 and 10 years from now. I do this with a lot of big decisions. Weighing wants against needs and imagining the implications of my choice often helps me to prioritize what’s important for my longterm happiness. Think about opportunities, stress level, flexibility, etc.
Lastly, my daughter, a senior at U of I, was not excited about going to UIUC when she was a prospective student. She loves urban areas and kept saying, “I wish the campus was in Chicago”. She chose it for the quality of the program and cost.
4 yrs later she would say she made a great choice. 4 yrs goes quickly and she has a fantastic job lined up in Chicago which will allow her to get a nice place in the city with a couple of UIUC friends. She also has many friends who will be working in Chicago and she looks forward to maintaining these close ties. As with many things in life, it is what you make of it. Good luck!
A few years ago when the cost difference between IS UIUC and OOS UW-Madison was smaller, it was reasonable for kids to pick Wisky over UIUC. Now with the cost difference approaching $20,000 a year, it is anything but reasonable.