I think that UCSD and UIUC are academic peers overall.
While I would give a slight edge to Illinois for CS, really he’ll do fine at either school. And if his mind changes, both have a plethora of strong programs from which to choose.
Given that cost is about the same, he should choose 100% based on personal preferences. The biggest differences will be location, setting, weather, and sports vibe. Also, UCSD has quarters, while Illinois has semesters.
“Pick the one where your child can be happy and be their best self.” This!
@XiaoJuan_Liao Congratulations to your son. I don’t know all the ins and outs of the UIUC Grainger CS curriculum, even though our youngest just graduated last week. He was very independent with his choices and decisions about curriculum, extracurricular, and job search. He ultimately chose UIUC over his other choice (Northwestern) because of the program reputation, preferred semester over quarter system, cost (in-state) and larger student population.
I can share a few antidotes, not in any particular order:
There are numerous clubs related to CS - two that S joined were SWE and Quant clubs. He had exposure and contacts with real companies. Both required interviews and such.
S did 3+1 to get a MCS. With APs, and other a couple of testing prior to freshmen year, he was able to complete BS in 3 years. It made sense to do the 1 year of master, esp since instate tuition was affordable. At the Grainger CS graduation ceremony, about 70% of the graduating students (rough estimate) were graduating with MCS. I don’t know if they were all 3+1 or 4+1, but 70% was a large number in our observation. Just BS in CS was less than 100 or 10-15%?
There is a large asian student population (esp Chinese and south asian) , if your S is seeking diversity.
To get to UIUC, your S has to fly into O’Hare and take a charter bus to Champaign. It’s not the most scenic route - quite rural areas.
Off campus housing is good overall. Most students live in off campus housing after freshmen year. Most options are fully furnished with W/D and TV. Most Grainger students prefer to live near Grainger campus. The one thing I don’t like is most (or all) are 12 months lease properties.
There is no hand holding at UIUC, for any major. Students should be self directed and ask for help or guidance if needed.
As many posted above, research the curriculums at both colleges and really figure out what kind of learning community will work best for him, lifestyle and location he can be productive and happy.
There are other options. Champaign has it’s own airport, although you would need to connect, either in Chicago or Dallas. The campus is roughly equidistant to major airports in Indy, St. Louis, and Chicago. Those all have buses. There are also airports in nearby Bloomington, Springfield, and Peoria. Definitely more than one option to get there.
I hope the OP comes back. It seems like a matriculation decision would have already been made.