Engineering is very selective. It’s not personal. They attempt to fill the available slots with the best applicants from within the pool of applicants that they have for any given year. Computer Science has been what Drusba, the definitive commenter on this forum, calls impacted, which means that it is extremely competitive of late. Other engineering programs fall into and out of impacted status over time. They are, however, looking at a component of diversity when building the cohort given offers for any year, so that’s why I say to apply, write the best essay you can, and then relax.
My son loves it down there, but he went down with, IIRC, 15 others from his high school class, so he had built in buddies to hang out with when he had time. UIUC is a large university, but as with anything else, you develop a close circle of friends that make the experience much more close knit. He initially stayed at Newman Hall, one of the Private Certified Housing options that the university allows. That allowed him to obtain suite-type dorm housing where you share a bathroom and common (living) room with 1-3 other roommates, and have the option of a single or double bedroom. That worked out well for him the first year, but, of course, he had to have his independence from the man (the university) and move into various houses just off campus for his sophomore through senior year with a range of 7-11 of his “closest” friends. Now be aware that what the local populous calls a bedroom, we call a closet up here in Chicago, so the living accommodations are sparse at best, and the locals are not shy about charging top dollar for what I consider to be shabby living conditions. I mention this so you are aware that independence from the university is not free. You do save some money, but the rental management firms are absolutely ruthless when it comes time for rent, and all 12 roommates are collectively responsible for the total monthly rent due each month. As his funder, thank God I was able to do that for him, I can tell you that I wasn’t happy dealing with several of his roommates that were less than timely with their rental payments.
The athletic facilities are top notch. There are about a thousand student organizations. While the Greek Scene is large, there is absolutely no pressure to join, nor do you feel ostracized, if you don’t. The campus itself is beautiful with a traditional college feel, and the surrounding communities of Champaign, and Urbana, because of the university, are very suburban in nature with malls, restaurants, pubs, diners, coffee shops, parks etc. The students can get anywhere on the free and plentiful bus services. There are bad areas of the town, and some crime, but very rarely is it other than a student walking alone at 2 in the morning that gets accosted. My son never had any problems of that sort. During his grad year, he’s back on campus in grad housing in Goodwin Green Apartments just across Green Street from the Engineering Quad, where no class is more than a two block walk from the efficiency apartment that he currently calls home. As a freshman, however, most of your courses will be on the main quad. As with any place where you live, it’s all about location, which is why we chose Newman Hall. You can’t get much closer to the main quad than that.
The Engineering curriculum, really across all programs is tough, and the first two years necessarily emphasize advanced math, physics, and chemistry. I say necessarily because your core engineering coursework builds on that base. Some engineering programs, like aerospace for my son, use much of that base, more than other programs, but the base is pretty standard across all the engineering curriculums.
Here’s a little tip that many students fall into like my son. He was so heads down and into his courses, which necessarily demand a lot of time, that he really only halfheartedly hit the career fairs, and applied for internships. He had good grades, but those internships are critical because company hiring practices have changed since I, for example, was job-hunting. Entry Level Engineering jobs (read little to no experience) are few and far between. This situation may be getting better as the economy is finally showing signs of life. While companies are clamoring for engineers with 5+ years of experience, it’s tough even for engineers from an Engineering powerhouse like UIUC to land a job. You essentially send out resumes and cover letters, and get nothing back. So, the key is treating ECS (Engineering Career Services) as a course that it just as important as your core program courses, and going to those career fairs with a good attitude, a bunch of resumes in hand, and a smile on your face. There are several engineering courses/projects that require teamwork. That teamwork is key. Emphasize it on your resume. Companies are looking for that as well as a good, confident attitude. They know you can learn, but want to see whether you play well with others and complement the culture of their firm.
That’s it, I guess. Five years in a nutshell. It goes by too fast. Again, good luck to your daughter wherever she ends up.