Son, OOS, admitted to both UIUC and UW Seattle college of engineering. Cost of attendance are basically same $65k with small purple and gold scholarship from UW. Seattle is closer to home, UIUC is closer to his sister’s school. Already paid deposit at UIUC, didn’t expect the offer from UW.
Where does he want to go?
He is torn between the two schools. Seattle is a big city which he likes but he also thinks that UIUC engineering is stronger.
I don’t know what he means by “stronger”, but ABET accreditation means that undergraduate engineering programs have more in common than different. UW is considered to have one of the best engineering schools in the country, so how much better can UIUC be? UW offers a dozen different engineering majors, and has a tremendous breadth of course offerings. Seattle is a great location for engineering jobs after graduation.
If he likes UW & Seattle better, that’s where he should go. It would be a no brainer for me. He would definitely not be settling.
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Thanks!
The “strength” of a school’s undergraduate major program is way overrated.
A smart, hard working, well adjusted kid in Place A is a smart, hard working, well adjusted kid in Place B, and will do fine wherever they end up.
Fit matters most. The kid will do best in the place he’s happiest, which is not necessarily the “stronger” program.
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hmmmm - what major in engineering?
I would not say UIUC is stronger than UW.
Frankly, from any school today (like my son who turned down Purdue for Alabama) - you can get the same job. He was hired in a co hort with Purdue, Michigan, Cal Poly and more and interned with Ga Tech kids - who by the way weren’t invited back a second summer and he was.
The “rank” is so overrated - if they’re ABET, he’s fine - and I’m not sure UIUC is ranked higher. It might depend on the subfield.
In this case, he should choose the school of choice.
The campus feels are different - UIUC is polarizing - you love it or you are miserable.
So make sure to get there if he goes that way.
Choose for him - not for US News.
Best of luck.
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I’d try to re-visit the two schools and then let your son choose. Two great options so congrats to all!
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Washington has secondary admission after entering as engineering undeclared.
UIUC mostly directly admits to major, but changing major may be difficult if trying to change into a popular major like CS or ME.
What major was he admitted to at UIUC, and is he likely to want to change to a different major?
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From the OP’s post in the UW thread:
@fhlzsn at UW, all engineering students are admitted as Engineering Undeclared, with secondary admission to specific majors.
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I don’t see UIUC as any better than UW for engineering, a student will have great opportunities graduating from either school.
What gives me pause, though, is the second gauntlet UW appears to put kids thru in order to get their major. I’d have him contact UW and find out how many kids apply at the end of frosh year for ECE and how many succeed. Then decide if it’s worth the risk. Engineering is harder than many kids expect; it’s not unusual to spend 10 hours per week on homework and study per class. If it takes a semester to catch on to the workload then one’s gpa might suffer a bit and since at UW you apply at the end of 1st year it may be too big a hole to climb out of.
I had a friend when I was in college that wasn’t sure which engineering major he wanted so more or less at random picked ChemE. He realized he wanted to be in ECE but was unable to switch because his grades weren’t high enough. This is a little different situation than UW where everyone starts as undeclared engineering but it can be a shattering experience to see the future you want denied.
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Historical placement data is listed here: Placement data | UW College of Engineering
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Yes, @mikemac, UIUC is looking like the better option because it’s direct admit unless . . . a student changes his mind. Then a student is back in the same boat with needing the necessary grades to make a transfer to change majors. It sounds like the latter could be even harder than getting in to the major you want in the first place at UW. So, either way, there’s risk.
At least now he can make a choice with his eyes open, having all of this good information that’s been posted re direct admit vs delayed entry.
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And don’t go to UIUC without visiting - just don’t.
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Just a quick note about UW. We live in Washington and my kids have lots of friends at UW. One thing that many were unprepared for is the cost of living in Seattle after their freshman year. Apartments are expensive.
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Can’t agree more.
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Thanks! He was admitted to material science and engineering at UIUC. His requested major at UW is ECE but was assigned with engineering undeclared.
Like other posters have said the ranking may not matter. While UW=UIUC for CS, for ECE UIUC is much higher ranked. Again if you are going to graduate school, it will not matter.
I think UW is fine - it’s so you can explore the different majors.
When I tell you not to go to UIUC without visiting, and it’s my opinion - I’ve been twice. The first time they flew me in because they wanted me to do my MBA there. It was so depressing - I left a day early and drove to Indiana.
The second time I took my son - in 2018 - who was an engineering major. I said nothing. We were there 20 minutes and he was desperate to get off campus and out of town. We stayed longer but he also thought it was depressing. Maybe it’s in our genes 
You need to be somewhere for 4 years, day after day. I get he’s got a major he wants. But if you’re like some (and they’ve posted on here), you want to make sure you can handle the day to day. In fairness to others, there are UIUC fans - although they seem more rank based than experience.
Your student wasn’t penalized by UW - that’s how they do it - like Purdue.
Good luck whatever he decides.
Is that the major he wants?
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