<p>While Sam is correct that the NU Co-op is great, U of I along with pretty much any other school has a great co-op program if you are willing to do it. Most students choose not to since it adds another year to school (if you do the full co-op). I also know that our business school is highly ranked (not as high as NU) but still is fairly good. My experience with landing internships and jobs compared to my friends (who are basically the same caliber as me e.g. similar GPAs, experience, etc) has been better. We tend to get many more engineering companies ranging from the largest to the tiny ones that might not go to other schools at all. This week is the the career fair and well over 350 companies are attending over a 5 day period (just for engineering). Factor in other career fairs for engineering that are specialized for one major, business fairs and such, and you have a very, very good shot at finding a good place to work. </p>
<p>As far as consulting, I would say if you want to do that, then perhaps NU has the edge because it might help you network better at those firms. While they do recruit heavily from UIUC, NU definitely has better connections there and might get a leg up. If you are going for straight engineering and money is actually an issue (like it is for most people), go to UIUC. You’ll get a better all around program for much less money. All those people that endlessly talk about NU prestige can keep talking about it as it applies to everything else but engineering. Talk to any engineering company recruiter and you will always find U of I in their top list of schools to go to.</p>
<p>As I’ve said again and again, the one thing you cannot forget is that both places are still excellent schools but will only benefit you if YOU do the work. Engineering is by FAR the hardest undergraduate major (maybe excluding physics/math?). In both schools you will be pushed hard and pushed to excel and if you choose not to do it, the name on the degree won’t be worth a damn because you may scrape by, but when it comes time to show your work, you’ll fail in the real world.</p>