Hi
I am an international student and require your help to make up my mind . I want to do computer science /engineering and have got admitted into UIUC into computer science as well as CSE UMN . - ( at UMN CSE the major are declared only after freshman year and you have to get a 3.2GPA to be assured admission into the major of your choice ) .
My choice is obviously UIUC as it is so highly ranked in the US . I do want to do my OPT after graduation in the US for the allowable time ( currently 27 months ) and save money to do my masters
Being an international student I have to pay the full ticket which is $ 57 K per year for UIUC and $ 38 K per year for UMN and this is where I have an issue
My dad is willing to sponsor from his savings the full cost for UMN for 4 years - approx. 150 K . His logic is that in case I have to do my masters - an undergraduate school should make not much difference in my career and people will look more at where I have done my grad school for . UMN is also a good school and if I grasp all the opportunities I should be in a position to get good internship/ OPT jobs as well as get into a reputed grad school later on
I am extremely keen to go to UIUC . My logic to my dad was
a) is UIUC is rated 5 in computer engineering
b) companies like Microsoft come regularly hiring at UIUC .( this is the information I could gather from the web ) . So it will be easier and much more better if I could go to UIUC .
c) the average salary for a UIUC computer engineer is around 65 K as compared to 56 K at UMN
d) if I stay frugally I should be in a position to pay off the loan and save some amount for my masters as well.
e) I have already got my desired major in UIUC whereas at UMN I will have to still work for this
Looking at my enthusiasm he has asked me to take a private loan for 80 K to bridge the difference . In fact he has cosigned the loan and the loan is already sanctioned as well . He has also made it clear that in case there is an issue of me getting a job he will pay this amount from his retirement savings as well so that I do not get saddled with a burden at the start of my life . I obviously would not like this to happen and hence am looking for advice from you if my logical reasoning is correct
With the decision day looming I have to make a choice - should I go in for UIUC and take the burden of a loan and follow my dreams or do I do what is more practical : join UMN and may be always have the regret later in life that if only …
Please help urgently
PS
issues of urban/ cold/ party school are not very important to me as compared to my career and whether a loan of 80 K is worth going to UIUC
Check out the salaries for computer engineering at Minnesota. Considerably higher than you quoted and the data is 1-2 years old - meaning salaries today are higher and four years, even greater.
It also isn’t all that difficult to achieve the 3.2 and that only guarantees you the major - many others are let in with lower GPAs; plus the 3.2 goal will keep you motivated.
http://ccse.umn.edu/students/prepare-for-your-job-search/salaries-offers-and-negotiations/
You should not take out loans anywhere near that amount to attend UIUC over Minnesota for an undergraduate C.S. degree. Minnesota has a strong department and is a solid university, with a much better location imo than UIUC. And your father is likely incorrect – you would not be allowed to take that amount of a loan out by yourself, unless he either co-signed, or if you took the loan out in another (e.g. your home) country.
Either way, and I do not mean to sound impolite, but I think that loan suggestion is a terrible idea. He is probably simply being as gracious as he is able, and offering the money he can afford, which is Minnesota. The loan limit is roughly $5,500 per year for an undergraduate student. There may be additional limitations for an international student at some universities as well; they may inquire if you are able to pay for the tuition, etc. before you matriculate.
Try not to be swayed too much by rankings in a field like C.S. Many of the same employers will be recruiting at MN also, assuming you perform well.
This is a tough one. Your dad has really made an effort for you to attend your dream school. For anyone else I would say that a loan of USD 80,000 is crazy for the difference between these two places. Especially when you know up front that you are messing with your dad’s retirement money.
The truth is that in order to be successful in the major that you want, you will have to work very hard wherever you go. The effort to earn the GPA needed to get into the major that you want at UMN is probably no more than the effort that you will need to make in order to stay in the major at UIUC. Unless you have hard evidence from multiple sources that students with this major at UMN are not hired by the same category of employers as students from UIUC, there is no reason to prefer UICU over UMN. Good companies recruit at both UMN and UIUC, and starting salaries for engineers do not depend on where they graduated. Those starting salaries depend on the student’s major and previous work experience from internships.
I am re-reading your post, and if I were in your shoes, and also coming from your country and culture, it would be perhaps more important to ask the following question: will I always look back on my life and think, maybe I should not have taken that extra loan from my father at that age, when he may also be in a vulnerable position, and he is already allowing me an expensive dream to come and study at another reputable U.S. school? His idea, as described in the paragraph where you talk about gaining a graduate degree – where the graduate school name would take precedence over the undergrad institution – is correct.
You are now in a position where you actually hold a great deal of responsibility: you have an ethical decision to make at a young age. It is unfortunate that these schools, which are really much more similar than different, are assigned much different tuition prices and market values. That is just how the education system works here. There is truthfully not such a huge difference between these programs.
It sounds as if your loan is sanctioned, but that does not mean that you must use it. You can give have him it back, and not be in such a pressured situation for the upcoming years – which is what I still recommend.
Also, if you choose the work route, generally over time – assuming, again, that you perform well – those starting salaries even out in a field like C.S. or engineering. They care if you can do the work well; this is not a field like iBanking, where prestige and elite names play a more prominent role.
A final note: maybe you can ask your dad which school he would prefer you to attend, now that he has co-signed the loan. If your dad now feels comfortable recommending UIUC over MN after taking the loan and knowing the potential consequences, then that may be more important than anything we can tell you here. If your dad still feels he would prefer you take the MN route, I suggest reading over the responses above, and seriosuly consider MN.
Thanks a lot for all your inputs . Appreciate the comments
Note that the IB carries a fair few credits at Uminn, assuming you have relevant HLS they could be 8 credits apiece
DS will have the IBD plus APs and he really could get done in less than 3 yrs. If you have a score of 39 on the diploma and assuming you have heavy hitters in HL like sciences and math, you might find you have a fair bit of a head start. Uminn cites that you can pretty much shave off a year wit the diploma, but as always, engineering caveats will apply. What does your diploma consist of?
My predicted IB score is 39 . Am doing IB HL Maths , Physics and Chemistry and predicted scores for these are 6/7/7. Doing Business / Spanish and English as minors
Well, you should be able to bypass freshman calc, chem and physics,. http://admissions.tc.umn.edu/academics/ib.html
for some reason math looks iffy but I suspect as math HL and BC calc are taught in the same classroom at my kid’s school, that there isn’t’ any reason you wouldn’t get credit. You could be looking at 30 credits and much of your first year done. Compare that aspect at UIUC.
Thanks - in fact will do so . I was also checking if I could double major in CS as well as Computer engineering at UMN