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college decision: UIUC or UF for ECE?

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Post by acegolfer » Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:01 am

Re: college decision: $63k UIUC ECE or full-ride UF ECE?

Post by steadyhand » Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:06 am

Post by brownogram » Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:09 am

Post by GreendaleCC » Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:09 am

Post by Normchad » Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:12 am

Post by tjtv » Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:18 am

Post by er999 » Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:29 am

Post by Vulcan » Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:31 am

Post by Kosh976 » Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:40 am

Post by bubbly » Tue Jan 30, 2024 3:22 am

Post by Curb Fan » Tue Jan 30, 2024 3:40 am

Post by LeftCoastIV » Tue Jan 30, 2024 3:53 am

Post by bubbly » Tue Jan 30, 2024 4:02 am

Post by tenkuky » Tue Jan 30, 2024 4:02 am

LeftCoastIV wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 3:53 am I would suggest that you take her to visit both schools, in person, preferably soon so she can experience the weather difference while getting a feel for both schools, their facilities, etc. Ideally, she would form a preference based on these experiences, which can then be combined with your parental viewpoints.

Post by celia » Tue Jan 30, 2024 4:32 am

Post by realclemsongrad » Tue Jan 30, 2024 4:45 am

acegolfer wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:01 am A few months ago, I posted "T5 vs T35 engineering" ( viewtopic.php?t=417838 ) and got great feedback with diverse opinions. But some responses focused on CS and FAANG jobs, which was irrelevant to my kid. Now with several decisions in, I want to start a new thread and provide more information so that you can help my kid make the best decision for her future. daughter: HS senior in FL, excels in physics/calculus, intends to major Electrical Engineering (EE) or CompE, but not CS. She does what she is told to do. But until HS, she rarely took initiatives. I would like to see her be more proactive and build this skillset in college. But there's no guarantee. At college, she wants to work at research labs, coop and summer internships. Upon graduation, work full time for 2-3 yrs and then pursue a MS degree. (For now, no interest in PhD) parents: Asian immigrants living in FL. diehard bogleheads but are willing to and capable of paying full out-of-state cost of attendance out of pocket. In short, we have the fund and will invest $200k for her better future. accepted: Purdue FYE, UIUC EE (direct admit), NCSU EE, UCF EE expected acceptance: U of Florida (UF) EE deferred: Georgia Tech (family consensus dream school), USC. no rejects. there are other schools waiting such as UCB but super reach or irrelevant for this discussion. If she gets accepted to GTech RD, then this is all over, as she will commit. Otherwise, she may need to make a decision between UIUC and UF. Out of pocket annual costs are $63k for UIUC and $0 for UF thanks to Benacquisto scholarship, which covers full CoA. Everybody says the education itself will be similar between the 2 because they are all ABET accredited and I agree. But we all know that college is not just about lectures/courses. Outside the class is where the key differences are and here are my thoughts on each. 1. UIUC: She got directly admitted to EE, which she wants to study. 50+ ECE research labs with undergrad research assistant opportunities. Network for research park and summer internships. Midwest will be a shock to my kid because of climate, rural environment. 2+hr drive from major airports. So 7+ hrs door to door from FL home. 2. UF: Brand new building focused on AI research thx to Nvidia. CE and CS are moving in to this together, which will have synergy effect. (Previously, they were in 2 separate buildings 15 min apart.) She will also be eligible for a brand new dorm. She will have many friends from HS attending together but this is my concern. Most of her friends are pre-med. She should branch out and make friends in her field. I don't like the new UF president (ex-politician) and how UF system is changing. 5-hr drive from home. If she decides to go to UF, $200k will still be hers in some form like future house down pmt (she doesn't know). What would you do? This conundrum is an example of high opportunity cost. We are fortunate to have multiple excellent options and we would be happy with either choice. Of course, she will make the decision and we will respect it. My job is to gather as much relevant information/insights and present them to her so that she can make the right decision.

Post by celia » Tue Jan 30, 2024 4:54 am

tenkuky wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 4:02 am A friend's young person got into UCB and UMich. Went to visit in April. Brrrr in A2. Off to Berkeley.

Post by StewedCarrot » Tue Jan 30, 2024 4:59 am

Post by DoubleComma » Tue Jan 30, 2024 6:01 am

Post by slicendice » Tue Jan 30, 2024 6:59 am

Post by livingalmostlarge » Tue Jan 30, 2024 7:08 am

Post by nalor511 » Tue Jan 30, 2024 7:15 am

Normchad wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:12 am Take the full ride….

Post by SB1234 » Tue Jan 30, 2024 7:19 am

Post by harikaried » Tue Jan 30, 2024 7:22 am

acegolfer wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:01 am UIUC: She got directly admitted to EE, which she wants to study. 50+ ECE research labs with undergrad research assistant opportunities

Post by privateer79 » Tue Jan 30, 2024 7:27 am

Post by Valuethinker » Tue Jan 30, 2024 9:18 am

celia wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 4:54 am tenkuky wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 4:02 am A friend's young person got into UCB and UMich. Went to visit in April. Brrrr in A2. Off to Berkeley.

Many of his classmates got a Bachelors plus Masters in 4 years. Our kid opted for a double major instead. (Most admitted ECE and CS students have enough AP credits to knock off a full year of college but they stay around to get more than their original degree (and finish in 4 years, which is often hard to do at the largest public colleges).

Post by acegolfer » Tue Jan 30, 2024 9:32 am

GreendaleCC wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:09 am Does she want to move to the Midwest for college??

Post by acegolfer » Tue Jan 30, 2024 9:33 am

er999 wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:29 am Might be worth asking UIUC if they will give a better offer in light of the UF package.

Post by acegolfer » Tue Jan 30, 2024 9:37 am

Kosh976 wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:40 am UIUC CompE graduate, but I was in state and it was dirt cheap in the 80s. I already knew how cold and gray the winters can be. Some days I wore my ski bib overalls walking to the engineering buildings due to sub zero temps. As you noted, central Illinois and Florida are very different weather and culture wise, and $63K a year versus $0 is a lot. 17 year old me would gladly have gone to Florida. Based on what I have seen, UIUC's consistently good engineering ratings are a factor, but it sounds like your daughter will excel regardless of where she goes. UF at 5 hours away is still far enough away for her to feel on her own, but still close enough for an emergency visit. Like steadyhand says, if advanced degrees are something she might be interested in, then the school reputation may be a bigger factor.

Post by acegolfer » Tue Jan 30, 2024 9:43 am

bubbly wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 3:22 am UIUC ECE grad here. I believe it’s still a requirement to live in the dorms for freshman living on campus. Would look for dorms close to the ECE campus and not get stuck somewhere far away. The closest dorms are ISR or Busey-Evans. Allen Hall is pretty good too. Made a noticeable change in my grades just by proximity and motivation to get to class. Those long cold winters were brutal and being close to the classrooms was a huge luxury. The weather is really understated and I truly think that the remote location of the school is contributing to rankings declining year over year. It used to the a top3 EE school, with notable EE faculty like Bardeen (inventor of the transistor) and his first PhD student Nick Holynak (inventor of the Red LED). I think in recent years, with it being far from a city and the midwestern winters, it has dissuaded the younger generation to apply there, both as students and faculty. Stranger story, I actually had this exact choice between UF ECE full ride vs UIUC ECE (in state tuition). The full ride was covered at UF since I was a national merit finalist. I ended up choosing UIUC based on the prestige. To be honest, I think I would have turned out the same had I gone to UF, saved some money too probably.

Post by acegolfer » Tue Jan 30, 2024 9:48 am

LeftCoastIV wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 3:53 am It looks like the UF scholarship may only be available for students enrolling directly after high school ( https://www.sfa.ufl.edu/types-of-aid/scholarships/ ). I bring this up because you need to consider the possibility that she attends UIUC for a year, determines that it is not the right fit (weather, culture, etc.) and then wants to transfer to UF but the scholarship may no longer be available. I would suggest that you take her to visit both schools, in person, preferably soon so she can experience the weather difference while getting a feel for both schools, their facilities, etc. Ideally, she would form a preference based on these experiences, which can then be combined with your parental viewpoints.

Post by acegolfer » Tue Jan 30, 2024 9:57 am

bubbly wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 4:02 am I don’t want to start anything controversial but the fact that your daughter wants to pursue an engineering career will open her up to many advancement opportunities if you grow her leadership abilities. Every single engineering company I’ve worked at, there is a mass shortage of women in upper management (not surprising since the gender ratio at UIUC is 80/20 for engineering and closer to 90/10 for ECE when I was there). Companies devote tons of resources in identifying women in engineering with leadership potential and then career development for these individuals. I imagine the faculty route at colleges are the same way. So in a sense, the college choice isn’t as important as certain skillsets that companies and colleges are looking for, especially for women in engineering.

Post by acegolfer » Tue Jan 30, 2024 10:09 am

celia wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 4:32 am I would wait and see what all the options are. As the student, I would also look online at all the courses offered and how often they are taught. Does one school have a much larger list than the rest and have "niche" classes that appeal to her? Just because she can go somewhere on a free ride doesn't mean it's the best value for her. Think of which schools admit which students. Does she want to be in the middle of other students like herself or be somewhat "advanced" compared to other students? Her peers (who were also admitted) will likely drive the conversations in and out of class. So which peer group would she prefer? PS. By visiting the campuses, possibly she can sit in on a class and meet a few students afterwards. Even a student-led campus tour will give her some "feel" for the school.

Post by acegolfer » Tue Jan 30, 2024 10:13 am

StewedCarrot wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 4:59 am UIUC Grad here. The opportunities that student have at UIUC were night and day compared to what I experienced at my podunk undergrad school. I recommend she go to the best school she can. Undergrad will set her trajectory.

Post by acegolfer » Tue Jan 30, 2024 10:16 am

livingalmostlarge wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 7:08 am You'd better take her asap to UIUC because the weather is awful. She might run back to florida no questions asked.

Post by acegolfer » Tue Jan 30, 2024 10:26 am

privateer79 wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 7:27 am just my human bias: as someone who's screened/ interviewed ~200 candidates over the years in the ECE space, I would expect a UIUC grad to be of higher quality.... not that you couldn't get a good education at UF... but there's also a really good chance of not getting great education at UF if you don't fight for it, and so I'd look a lot more closely at the course of study from someone from UF than from UIUC. the thing about baren frozen wastelands is, you have nothing to do but go to the lab/library and study (ok maybe beer )... warm tropical climates offer much more opportunity for distraction...

Post by Valuethinker » Tue Jan 30, 2024 10:54 am

Post by stoptothink » Tue Jan 30, 2024 12:28 pm

Vulcan wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:31 am Neither UIUC nor GT are worth a quarter mil when UF is free. Sidned, MIT dad x2

Post by Kagord » Tue Jan 30, 2024 12:46 pm

DoubleComma wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 6:01 am Give your daughter the $250k lump sum, right now, and then let her pick. If she realizes it’s her money, she keeps what she doesn’t spend, she will make the best decision for herself. Maybe that’s spending it at UIUC or investing it for the potential grad school aspirations in 7-10 years.

Post by TomatoTomahto » Tue Jan 30, 2024 12:58 pm

stoptothink wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 12:28 pm Vulcan wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:31 am Neither UIUC nor GT are worth a quarter mil when UF is free. Sidned, MIT dad x2

Post by ILnative » Tue Jan 30, 2024 1:07 pm

Post by ScubaHogg » Tue Jan 30, 2024 1:40 pm

Post by Beachey » Tue Jan 30, 2024 1:41 pm

Post by ScubaHogg » Tue Jan 30, 2024 1:48 pm

Post by Lisbon2022 » Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:20 pm

Post by mecht3ach » Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:30 pm

Post by White Coat Investor » Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:42 pm

brownogram wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:09 am At first blush, the full-ride at UF is the obvious choice - it's unlikely that one state school offers an incremental better outcome that justifies +$252K extra tuition cost over 4 years. What may change the decision: which school has a preponderance of graduates at the companies/roles they're interested in? Finding out adds another data point to your consideration - doesn't mean they automatically choose a school based on the answer. It may end up that taking the full-ride is the right choice, as you have future optionality to use the money for a grad program or another opportunity that presents itself 3-5 years from now.

Post by LiveSimple » Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:52 pm

Post by Glockenspiel » Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:55 pm

Post by ScubaHogg » Tue Jan 30, 2024 3:01 pm

mecht3ach wrote: ↑ Tue Jan 30, 2024 2:30 pm (One note which you also mention in your first post - my biggest concern with the UF system right now is how they have already been eviscerated in terms of funding, given state political priorities, and what is to come with that. We've been able to recruit top faculty away from UF, UWisc, etc., when that sort of thing happens. It is probable that your daughter will still be fine within the 4.5-year timespan, but applying for a transfer is always an option if not.)

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