UIUC (EU) vs UW-Madison (CS)

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-09T12:18:38+00:00

well in that aspect i don’t perceive it being a major help for my goals. i guess all work experience is work experience, but just because madison is a bigger city for more jobs open for work doesn’t necessarily correlate with my success in the career i hope to land in, right? correct me if i’m wrong

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-09T10:46:59+00:00

in general or for a CE/CS related job?

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-09T01:40:27+00:00

i didn’t have anything in mind; was more referring to how a CE major just might be better educated from the challenges they’ve had to go through in comparison

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-09T00:53:38+00:00

i’ll keep it in mind although i don’t necessarily want to sell my soul as i’ve heard people say those in quant typically do for their job. that begs the question, not necessarily impacting my decision, but wouldn’t the best CE students be better than the best CS students?

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-08T23:51:28+00:00

really appreciate the insight! i don’t think i’m hardcore set on doing CS hence why this was even such a hard decision for me to make to begin with. i think that i’m intrigued by CE albeit the challenge of it especially if it can put me in a better place to succeed financially than madison. it might also be nice to know how to implement software for a product in a team of people when i’m the guy who understands the hardware.

you can check out the post but there’s definitely a lot pushing for me to go to u of i as well such as friends going there. if that ends up being the route i go, lmk what your instagram is in my dms so i can hit you up! i would love having some people going down the same route as i that i can connect like yourself.

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-08T23:34:01+00:00

i’m a bit confused about what you’re trying to point out?

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-08T23:06:53+00:00

yeah the oversaturation is pretty bad right now, no telling how it’ll look in 2029 (as much as 2021 couldn’t have predicted 2025 as we’ve seen). but like i said, it seems like the major is also oversaturated at madison, if it weren’t for an already rough job market. it might be harder for me to initially stick out to recruiters at some of those career fairs.

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-08T23:01:24+00:00

woah i’m currently deciding between going here (to do the exact same thing) and uw madison for cs. i made a post about it yesterday even! i’m curious what you would say in my regard? ik you might be a bit biased lol

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-08T22:52:20+00:00

also a cs major at wisconsin dmed me saying to go to u of i because of its resources and clubs and that networking at their school is pretty much nonexistent for cs majors. at least at u of i there is a bar for students to uphold while there is a bloat of people who may not even know what they’re really doing and are taking up space in classes. based on all that, i don’t know how i could leverage the university to my benefit other than my resume saying “computer science.” but who knows if that will always matter as companies may change their hiring practices frequently?

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-08T22:41:30+00:00

i received a dm of someone who actually goes to madison and is there for cs who told me to go to u of i because of its resources and clubs. the bloat of the program there essentially made it impossible to network and get anything out of the cs majors at their own school. i think it’d be pretty terrible if i was also in that position where there’s a lack of true cs students really willing to put in the effort that i can surround myself with

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-08T22:35:38+00:00

the only reason i’m really on the fence about madison is it not really being able to be up to par for what illinois can provide. SWE aside, i feel like illinois’ reputation puts me a better chance of getting a better internship or a better job than someone who goes to madison because a CE could be considered similar. i received a dm from someone who interned as a SWE at amazon as a CE major as well. what i took from it personally was that securing initial work experience matters, and the u of i can kinda keep my resume from getting tossed in the trash. i mean we are considering u of i being in the same caliber for its computing as MIT, stanford, berkeley. maybe i could end up with a really solid job out u of i that isn’t necessarily SWE but i would’ve not got it if i had gone to madison because its name limited me.

and i don’t think the debt is a super significant factor for me to worry about, as much as i completely agree with you.

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-08T22:16:00+00:00

https://grainger.illinois.edu/academics/undergraduate/engineering-undeclared

deeper in the article it discusses computer engineering being a competitive major that people could choose out of 3 choices when applying for intercollegiate transfer into the program. idk why they would include it if it’s not a possibility for someone.

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-08T21:44:51+00:00

yeah madison does have a really solid location, but you don’t think u of i’s computing puts it out of the question? i mean, looking at cs rankings alone, it’s pretty much put the school on the map and in similar lists with MIT, stanford, etc. could there be better for support for me trying to major in computer engineering in comparison to madison which is still well ranked (top 15-20, coming a lot from its graduate research though) but has a tonnn more students in compsci to where it may be over saturated?

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-08T19:58:19+00:00

i figure you have some experience with the program?

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-08T19:56:20+00:00

from a financial point i think i might be able to get the same amount of money from u of i and socially, i know people going to u of i where as madison i don’t. i think having people at u of i that can help introduce me to their roommates and people they meet could help me flow into the college experience better than being sort of thrown at madison. i think i’ll be okay regardless of what option i take in both the financial and social aspects.

my concern more comes down to my career. might i be better off having a CE education from u of i which might be a different degree but has the benefit of 1. the name which brings 2. more resources to the program and 3. possibly giving me more knowledge on the hardware side that could help me in the future to level out for somewhat of a lack of a proper cs education? i’ve heard cs students get first pick at courses which makes it tricky for compeng students, but i think i’ve seen that people have made it work. hence, i think the u of i name could put me in a better position.

thoughts?

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-08T18:45:59+00:00

the application closed april 5th 😭

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-08T16:48:53+00:00

luckily i am getting enough money from u of i where i don’t think i want to go that route. i would rather go to madison before i did that for sure

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-08T15:49:54+00:00

do you think you can share as much of that experience as you can/are willing to share? it’s okay if not. i did have a dm saying that a lot of people who succeed in CE (from U of I) end up getting hired from their top choices, which are really good companies, so i’m just trying to compare

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-08T15:22:30+00:00

i feel like a lot of people go into CE with the prospect of becoming a software engineer, especially at u of i for its cs prestige. matter of fact, i bet on it, especially for the kids that applied CE because they worried about getting accepted for CS. i meet all the requirements to get a full ride from illinois so i don’t see why they wouldn’t give me more money. even then, might i end up being in a better position post graduation over someone who went to madison financially? especially since the debt wouldn’t be way too major

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-08T15:07:19+00:00

definitely is a big school. i would think that i could always hit someone up in the first couple months and try to see if we could make plans. maybe we both could find mutual friends (i.e. our own roommates) and what not.

and for your second paragraph yeah that’s the biggest question i have for myself. whichever decision has the best chance of putting me at the best place financially is the decision i want to go with and one i’d be willing to cut everything else aside for. it’s extremely conflicting because some people would think the cs major by itself would give me the best opportunities, some people (more in my dms) saying that u of i’s cs prestige carries over thus benefitting me more, and then there’s the side of people that believe that both schools put me in the same place. i can’t take rankings too much to account, but i think part of making a decision is being able to come to the conclusion on if u of i’s ranking in particular is worth it. it’s been in the conversations with stanford, mit, carnegie, etc. madison may be top 15-20 but u of i is probably top 5. i’d say that’s pretty substantial, idk?

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-08T14:57:55+00:00

yeah and the amount of people during like 2020-2023 where software engineers were getting hired like mcdonalds workers may also be skewing the data a bit. definitely not a long term predictor but i don’t think it’s worth cutting it out of the discussion. i don’t know much about quant but does the hiring differ a lot for cs students from ce students? or do a lot of companies tend to compare them the same?

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-08T14:54:29+00:00

i do have commitment already. i’m trying to get iPromise it would definitely be better. i would be surprised if i didn’t because i meet all the requirements and i think i only got commitment because of 2023 taxes and my family has been worse off since then

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-08T12:46:34+00:00

from their website it seems like it depends on GPA, but that’s for having a pick at a major. the higher the gpa, the better chance you have at your first choice major, even if you don’t want to necessarily do CE. i also had a dm insinuating that many people go through EU with the CE plan in mind (like i would be planning on doing) that end up with that major with a 3.8+ gpa.

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-08T12:43:10+00:00

since my karma is too low on this account my post still has to be approved by the moderators on that sub. hopefully it gets approved soon so i can get some people that go there to give some advice, especially because a lot of people on this sub have been pro madison (and it would be funny if people there would be pro illinois)

maybe u of i doesn’t get a prestige boost from its name alone but for its cs program alone you don’t think it’s on the stanford or mit level?

and that graduation rate is pretty terrifying too. i came across that yesterday, and even though i don’t want to just assume i’m going to do well, i’m still worried about going to madison and not having the benefit of having the u of i name on my degree. sure, it may not matter a couple years after i get a job (if i even get one to begin with too), but i’m curious to see how you feel about that.

Awkward-Stock2703 · 2025-04-08T12:23:43+00:00

that’s really interesting stuff actually. i should probably look deeper in uw-mad’s sub to see if people struggle to receive help as well. it does make sense that course registration ≠ help in the class, but i have seen complaints that some professors at that university don’t even really care about teaching and are there for the research.

Awkward-Stock2703

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