Urgent UIUC vs ND Forum

[chunkystrohs]

I was accepted at ND with an 18K/year scholarship and had made arrangements to attend over the past few months. Today, Dean Pless called me and offered me 28K/year. As a resident of Illinois, tuition at UIUC is 35K/year. Notre Dame's tuition is 43K/year. I would like to work in Chicago.

What do I do?

[ndirish2010]

Probably UIUC, that is a big difference. I chose ND under similar circumstances but with out of state UIUC tuition. Keep in mind the Chicago market is awful right now, but there are more Chicago firms at UIUC's OCI than ND's.

[Kilpatrick]

That's a big difference but Illinois orientation starts in 2 days. I don't think I would want to make that big a decision in that short a time frame.

[vanwinkle]

Go to UIUC. Substantially lower cost, more Chicago firms at OCI, I think it's the right call.

But if you're gonna do it, you need to do it now. Minutes spent wondering are minutes not spent finding a new place to live or figuring out how you're going to make this move work. You've gotta be acting right now. If you can't really commit yourself to going to UIUC in the next couple hours, you probably just should stick with ND.

Edit: If Dean Pless is calling you and offering that much money, then he's obviously interested in helping you attend. Maybe you should call back and ask for advice on finding nearby housing. If the school can make the move easier on you, then that'll help you be comfortable to go there.

[Blindmelon]

Slam dunk UIUC if you want to work in Chicago.

[dissonance1848]

UIUC, no question

[20160810]

Piping in to say you should go to Notre Da...






Just kidding. Go to UIUC. (trollface.jpg)

[ahduth]

UIUC, no question

UIUC is pretty damned networked in Chicago. I have a friend who works directly for Lisa.

Also, maybe try for some more money. Can't hurt.

[bball25]

I chose ND 20K over UIUC 30K. With in state tuition and your goals - UIUC.

[Slevin Kelevra 2011]

Go to whichever is cheaper.

[ahduth]

Go to whichever is cheaper.

Wrong. UIUC for Chicago.

[flcath]

So phrased differently, you're choosing between UIUC at $7K/year versus ND at $25K/year.

What's the holdup? I take it you really, really like Notre Dame?

[ndirish2010]

Go to whichever is cheaper.

Wrong. UIUC for Chicago.

Wait, so you would go to UIUC if it was more expensive than ND if you wanted Chicago? The difference in the OCIs is not enough to justify that decision, especially since that only matters if you finish in the top 20% or so. This is a moot point anyway since UIUC is almost never more expensive than ND for any particular applicant. We would never fill our class if the "whichever was cheaper" was strictly true either.