<p>UIUC is definitely not “known” as a party school, nor are most state schools. The students are top notch throughout, and especially so in Engineering and Business. It has a large Greek presence, but you can take it or leave it. You’re not ostracized if you’re not in a frat or sorority. I’m not sure what you’ve been reading, nor am I sure what lots exactly means, but I feel fairly safe in saying that the vast majority of students don’t do “go out to bars every night”. You don’t last very long in a rigorous academic atmosphere if you’re doing that, but for those that do, take advantage of their abilty to bring down the grading curve, if they happen to be in any of your classes. As for the ability to successfully work towards an engineering degree, UIUC graduates hundreds, if not thousands of engineers annually who are very sought after by both grad schools and business.</p>
<p>You can look at whatever schools you’d like, but if you’re tempted to discount an engineering degree from UIUC, you’d be doing yourself a great disservice.</p>