<p>My son got accepted into science major for Fall-2014 at both UIC (in-state tuition) and University of Houston (got both scholarship and in-state tuition). As per USNews edition college rating in US for 2014, UIC ranked 123 and UH ranked 190. My question is which one is better?</p>
<p>U of Houston has a lot of commuter students, but there has been an effort in recent years to beef up the campus life. I have never been particularly impressed with it as a “destination” undergraduate school. Have you visited?</p>
<p>I not yet visited but was planning to visit next month. Will the college ranking really make difference in selection of college? I was told that Houston have good research centers and medical colleges. Will graduating from local undergraduate college will help during admission into local medical college?</p>
<p>What matters more is the GPA and MCAT score. It is also nice to have in-state residency for medical school, since it is really expensive. I don’t think you would have that in Texas. You should look at how many out of state students UHouston enrolls. It could be quite a culture change for your son. </p>
<p>I had to look up “UIC” (University of Illinois, Chicago), as I wasn’t familiar with the abbreviation. That tells you that I don’t know anything about the school! Anyway, we toured University of Houston over a year ago. I pulled up some of the basics on both UIC and UofH online, and they are both primarily commuter schools, and have similar acceptance rates. As mentioned, there probably are not a lot of out-of-state students at UofH. </p>
<p>Your student would probably be in the Honors College, which means about half of his classes would be Honors, and the rest “regular.” The Honors College has its own building, study areas, and social activities. UofH is closely tied to the Texas Medical Center, which is the biggest medical center in the world. </p>
<p>One big difference with UofH compared to UIC is that UofH has a prominent football team; I don’t think that’s the case with UIC. </p>
<p>I am very impressed with the current president of UofH. She has overseen the creation of new student housing, along with the advancement of the school to Tier-One research status. </p>
<p>Have you compared the cost of both schools including travel? Flights or drives home can add up.</p>
<p>I certainly don’t have an answer for you, but I wanted to give you a little more information on UofH. Your student should definitely try to visit before making a decision. Good luck!</p>
<p>I am sorry,what I meant by UIC is University of Illinois, Chicago. </p>
<p>It sounds like you need to see the current schools, and then also include what opportunities for future in those states - for example graduate or other programs, and how that weighs in.</p>
<p>I took two even classes at Univ of Houston many years ago. The classes were fine; we all made sure we got to our cars safely at 10 p.m. when last class ended. I talked to a friend whose dau attended Univ of Houston for a graduate program, and she learned her way around safely.</p>
<p>I would not want to be in Houston without a car. The UIC campus is convenient to the rest of the city via bus and train, and most students don’t need cars. If your student won’t have a car, I’d take this into account.</p>
<p>What kind of science? If his interest is oil & gas, geology or geological engineering, wouldn’t Houston have the advantage?</p>
<p>Thnks Hanna for your response but if my son stays at college dorm then I don’t think he needs a car. </p>
<p>UIC, like many urban schools, doesn’t have a football team. In Chicago, UIC has two campuses. UIC also has satellite campuses in several other cities. The east campus is where most of the traditional undergrad programs are located. The west campus is the medical campus which is in the midst of the Illinois Medical district. UIC’s medical programs are a part of the district. Depending on what you read, some say IMD is the largest medical district and some say Texas Medical district is the largest. </p>
<p>There are about a mile apart. You don’t need a car if you live near campus or convenient to the el. Parking is very expensive on campus. In my experience, there is very little overlap between the two campuses. </p>
<p>UIC is already a tier one research school and has been one for over twenty years. It is the third largest research school in the state. </p>
<p>The campus area has changed a lot over the past twenty years or so. The east campus area is very nice. The public housing between the two campuses has been demolished and the Maxwell St area has been gentrified. The west campus area is an area in a transitional zone. As long as you don’t go west of Damen, you are fine. </p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for responding back with such a valuable information. </p>
<p>One more question I have is, If my child completes his undergrad at University of Houston, does he become local or in-state at the end of 4 years of graduation? </p>
<p>Currently my child is IL resident.</p>
<p>There isn’t any such thing as being in-state after graduation. Non-students can become citizens of any state they want just by being there and intending to stay.</p>
<p>You should consider travel costs as well as summer storage.</p>
<p>I’m not well-versed on the U. of Houston, but I think UIC is a better school for science. There are also plenty of medical schools and hospitals in the immediate proximity to UIC’s campus, so Houston’s medical schools shouldn’t be a factor.</p>
<p>UIC used to be a commuter school when it was founded, but I think the majority of students live in dorms today, at least through the first two to three years. </p>