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Well, I'm *at* UIUC...
I did my undergrad at Rice, and I absolutely loved it there. I thrived in the smaller environment. I narrowed my grad program search down to two schools: Cornell and UIUC. I visited both.
UIUC presented a very incredible weekend for prospective students, wining and dining us, having us tour the department and its absolutely incredible testing facilities. They wooed us with tales of vast stipends and gave us private meetings with several professors all day long, so that we could talk to them about their research. They flattered every aspect of our intelligence, saying that we were the "best of the best," and I've gotta say... I haven't talked to a single person who wasn't incredibly impressed after that weekend. They talked a big game. Walking around the campus contemplating my options during that weekend, I distinctly remember thinking, "This place will give me the most incredible options out there... it's the best-ranked program, I'll get a ton of funding, but... it's huge, and I don't particularly feel comfortable here... Maybe I'll get used to it."
I also went to the Cornell recruitment weekend, and it was really good, too. The program I was looking at was their MEng program, and while it wasn't as highly ranked and I wasn't going to receive as much money, I'm thinking now that I would've been a lot happier at Cornell.
UIUC didn't turn out to be what I'd expected. Yes, the academics here are incredible. The professors are incredibly renowned. However, they led us to believe that there would be more interaction between the grad students and the professors than there actually is, and I've had nothing but administrative frustrations since I got here. Now, instead of having money for grad school, because of a series of snafus, I'm paying tuition this semester before I graduate and leave... a far cry from my original plan of staying here for seven years or so and pursuing my PhD.
My case is reasonably rare, and I know that most of what happened to me was just a case of exceedingly lousy luck, but I just wanted to say that no matter how stellar a program is, don't discount how well the program "fits" you (or in this case, your daughter). Yes, UIUC will give her excellent opportunities, but I'm not sure it's worth the trouble if it's not the right program for her. Cornell's an excellent program as well, and really, employers are just looking to see that she's got a solid education, they're not pulling out their USN&WRs to check rankings. See how she feels once she visits each of the places, and encourage her to see how the area feels, and whether she can see herself living there for quite a while to come. See if she develops a rapport with any of the professors at either of the places, and see what she thinks of the current students at both of the places... Does she feel comfortable with her future colleagues?
I wish I'd trusted my gut instinct in this case. I'm leaving UIUC with an excellent education, a very good masters degree, but I'm having to take the remaining shreds of my sanity with me in a ziplock bag, and I'd just rather not see another person be blinded by the "number one" aura of a program (any top program, not just UIUC...!) rather than to evaluate whether or not they'd actually be productive and (reasonably) happy students there. So... it is possible to go wrong with Illinois, ECE or any other program... if it's not the right program for you. Trust your gut, and tell your daughter to trust hers, too.
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