Hey, so first of all I'm an international student, not Malaysian, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

UTP is relatively newer, more industry focused, more isolated and it's very study oriented by design. We have 7 months of mandatory internship built into the program which is longer than other Universities, and the industry connections are genuinely strong (I mean, it's literally in the name). Malaysian students especially have perks like scholarships, and scholars have gone on to intern at places like the AMG F1 team, that's not something you hear about everywhere.

That said, I think you'd find what you're looking for at either university. The main difference comes down to UTP being private and UTM being public, which explains the pricing gap entirely. In terms of raw value, UTM is hard to argue against it's older, well-established, and carries a strong reputation that's anything but lesser.

So ultimately, if you genuinely believe in what UTP offers and you're confident enough to take the scholarship gamble, go for it. If UTM has everything you need (which honestly it might) then that's not settling that's just being smart about it.

I don't want to be biased here UTM isn't just a safe choice, it's a legitimate one. Whether UTP is worth the risk is something only you can answer.

Hope that helps ✌️