Class of 2020-Engineering-OOS-Paying Full Tuition?

Mtriplee
Thu, 25 Feb 2016 17:24:16 +0000

What are your child’s other options? If he/she can get a lower price at another good university, I’d definitely consider that strongly before paying full price at UIUC.

My son’s situation is similar to yours: OOS, computer engineering, no merit money (or honors).

Of course I’m biased, but I think my kid was a very strong, well-rounded applicant: very high ACT, gpa, and class rank; plenty of honors, awards, and ECs (math, technology, and lots of music); weekly community service; part-time employment (significant hours over the past two years). But we have come to accept that the outlook for merit scholarships for non-URM males in engineering is rather bleak these days.

Consequently, he will likely attend Wisconsin (in state), Minnesota (in-state tuition/university honors/small merit scholarship), or one of several private schools that is offering enough merit aid to keep the cost well below that of UIUC.

We’d like to be able to keep Illinois on the list, because computer engineering is so strong there. My husband (an engineering prof) has great respect for their ECE department and feels it is worthy of its #5 national ranking, based on experiences with grad students and professors with whom he’s worked over the years. Sadly, the cost is too high for it to seem like a reasonable choice.