UIUC vs UT at Austin (in Civil Engineering)

[ironlady]

Hi everyone,

I applied structural engineering program for MS degree and I

[aginath]

Without considering the programs, where are you coming from and what kind of environment would you be comfortable in. Urbana-Champaign has a population of about 200K. Austin is at 1.5M. So, do you want the smaller town feel or the bustling big city?

[asdfjkl]

Hey Ironlady,

Just wandering if your offers come with funding or not for those schools? All I know about rank is currently UIUC is #1, if not #2 and UT is #4. I will choose UT over UIUC though, for weather, school, and city surrounding wise.

[twocosmicfish]

I visited both schools for EE - the atmosphere is pretty different in both places.

Urbana-Champaign is mostly a college town, relatively laid back and spacious, but out in the middle of nowhere. The climate is temperate, snow in the winter, warm in the summer, infrequenct tornados. UIUC has a lot of quality and a nice campus, although I know nothing about your department.

Austin is the state capitol, busier and more expensive, with a vibrant urban life and a great music scene. It is HOT and pretty muggy too - the last time a cold spell put 1/8" ice on the road there were 200+ car accidents (The ice lasted all of a few hours). They also get the occasional tornado. UT is again a great school, a little more frantic in my opinion.

In 2006 UT was my top choice, but in 2009 I chose UIUC instead - so I guess that would be my vote.

[Espoir]

Hi everyone,

I applied structural engineering program for MS degree and I�ve admissions from UIUC, UT at Austin, University of Washington �Seattle, Univ. Of Wisconsin-Madison, SUNNY-Buffalo etc for fall-2009. I will probably choose UIUC or UT-Austin but it is difficult to decide between UT and UIUC. When I searched these universities, I noticed that there aren�t big differences in terms of ranking. Could you give me more information about UIUC and UT at Austin?

Which one do you select if you were in my shoes?!!

Thanks in advance for your advises.

Hi,

both univ are very good fr civil..i find the course more diverse in UT Austin..but thats if ur intrests are also in Construction management..else UIUC and UT are comparable..

Austin's a cheaper place to live..and sunny..so see ur funding options before u really choose..

[twocosmicfish]

Austin's a cheaper place to live..and sunny..so see ur funding options before u really choose..

Really? That was not my experience at all! Champaign-Urbana is much cheaper than Austin, despite which the funding tends to be pretty similiar - a large part of my reason for NOT going to UT last time was financial.