#UIUC vs. Olin College of Engineering for Aerospace Engineering (Mechanical Engineering for Olin)

7 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

green veldt
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Schools: UIUC vs. Olin College of Engineering
Intended major: Aerospace Engineering (Mechanical Engineering for Olin)
Similarities: They both are a similar distance from my home and are both coming out to be a similar cost for me. They both are pretty renowned for engineering.

Name of School: UIUC
School 1 Pros:

  • Prestige
  • Industry recognition
  • Alumni in industry

School 1 Cons:

  • Middle of nowhere
  • Massive; large student to faculty ratio (My HS is grossly overcrowded and I'm sick of an absolutely.massive student body)
  • Traditional uni. (Scantron tests and memorization/regurgitation - UGH!!!)

Name of School 2: Olin college of Engineering
School 2 Pros:

  • Project Based
  • focused on teaching how to apply knowledge
  • Close to Boston
  • Smaller school
  • Really good looking buildings (looks is something that I care so incredibly little about, but I just wanted to say it, looks are not a deciding factor for me!!!)

School 2 Cons:

  • Not that well known
  • very unique curriculum, so can't transfer anywhere/no equivalency to any other college
  • Campus buildings look like bunkers (looks is something that I care so incredibly little about, but I just wanted to say it, looks are not a deciding factor for me!!!)

Tiebreaking considerations:
I really really want to do Aero, but Olin just has ME, which I can live with... Also Industry connections, how easy it is to get a well paying job at a good company out of college. Quality of education, how well prepared for the industry are graduates/how strong their graduate applications are.

Addendum:
I'm leaning towards UIUC because of its prestige and its traditional approach, but also because the traditional way that they teach is all I know, it's what I've become comfortable with throughout HS with AP classes etc (even though I don't really like it (with cramming for tests and all),... Any help is greatly appreciated!!! :))

iron kelp
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olin is great!!

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i would look more into it if i were u

nimble orchid
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olin is a great school! sounds like you would enjoy the school culture a lot more (although it is truly tiny so it could feel too small.) you would probably also get a lot more out of the curriculum. as someone interested in aerospace, it’s quite common for people to do mechanical as a major and take aerospace related classes, olin may be really good for you. maybe talk to a current student at each if you can to get a better idea though

green veldt
placid blade
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Follow your heart!
UIUC 😎

icy stag
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Olin is more prestigious than UIUC