<p>I am biased because my daughter will attend Umich next year. But I was many years ago an accomplished athlete that was recruited by all three schools. I did not go to any of the three, but have the most regret not looking at Michigan more seriously. (I was raised in very Northern Illinois). Umich is truly a national university, with international renown and a geographic diversity of students. UMich just has a panache, if you will. </p>
<p>However, as stated in above posts, UW and U of I are not far behind. A negative note about U of I - I traveled to Champaign-Urbana to compete for years and I could never escape the impression that it sits in the middle of a cornfield. Maybe this impression is all the more indelibly imprinted because the drive from Chicago down I-57 South has to be one of the flattest, treeless, and most boring treks in the Midwest. I still can’t shake that impression, and it seemed like a bleak place (unless one got involved in the party scene - something I could not do as an athlete and succeed). </p>
<p>In any event, unless one of the three schools has an extraordinarily strong program that stands out significantly from the others, if you are in-state with respect to any of the three, go to the in-state school. Can anyone really state that they will be disadvantaged because they studied electrical engineering at Illinois vs. Michigan vs. Wisconsin? No. It’s what one does while at school that matters. And the money saved will come in handy if graduate school is a desired pursuit (or if your parents ever want to retire).</p>