r/ECE • u/HylianPrince08 • Apr 07 '26
UNIVERSITY Electrical Engineering at Texas A&M full ride vs UIUC Out of State
I am a Texas resident who ended up getting the brown scholarship at Texas A&M (full ride) and my major, Electrical Engineering. I also got into UIUC’s Electrical Engineering program out of state where I would have to pay $60-70k a year, but UIUC’s EE is ranked t5 on US News and is a legendary program while A&M is not as good for electrical engineering. UIUC is also in general more prestigious (36 on US News) compared to A&M (51 on US News).
My family can fully afford UIUC without an issue (wont need to go into debt or take out loans or anything) , but I am wondering if I should just take the full ride at A&M. Within electrical engineering, I want to pursue VLSI and Semiconductor design specifically.
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u/Afraid-Way1203 Apr 07 '26
why don't u take 280k to buy your first own house and study EE in Texas A&M full ride?
You will move forward your life much faster this way.
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u/frogchris Apr 07 '26
Texas a&m is not good for electrical engineering? Lol.
If you want to waste your money go to uiuc. I rather go to Texas a&m and invest the money I would have spent. Your parents sound incredibly rich if shelling out 70k a year is nothing. That's literally the almost the medium family household income pre tax lmao.
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u/HylianPrince08 Apr 07 '26
I never said it isn’t good. I know it’s good for engineering, but its ECE program isn’t as good as Illinois.
Also my parents have been saving since I was born, so they can send me to UIUC without a doubt. It’s more of a concern of whether it’s worth making a cost blind decision and spending that much more for UIUC ECE undergrad over A&M.
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u/RFchokemeharderdaddy Apr 08 '26
Texas A&M is like a step below Georgia Tech. Even if cost weren't a factor it's a better option. Their research output is high and especially if your goal is semiconductors they have some legendary professors there.
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u/BandIndividual4825 Apr 09 '26
Agreed, I’m in VLSI and I references Sam Palermo’s notes all the time even though I didn’t go to A&M
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u/Mr_Nuclear1 Apr 07 '26
Your acc crazy if you don’t go to A&M… even if your family can afford UIUC it’s kinda stupid to waste 500k for a marginally better program. It makes no financial sense, and A&M isn’t a bad or even mid school or anything… so idk what your on
It might not be like hella prestigious but it isn’t worth the 500k difference
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u/HylianPrince08 Apr 07 '26
It’s $280k difference not $500k.
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u/rp-2004 Apr 07 '26
If money is not a big factor, I’d say UIUC is the better bet. They have a good VLSI/semiconductor program and you can be exposed to good research, clubs and classes there. I’m sure TAMU is good but as people mentioned it’s a tier below.
IMHO take UIUC, study hard, work on projects, be part of research labs at UIUC. If you do all this and apply to graduate schools you could probably get into most graduate programs in the US.
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u/KnowledgeNearby9776 Apr 07 '26
T A&M all the way.
Its great you have an idea of what you want to do, but realize that getting a free ride takes the pressure off, letting you actually figure out what's really right for you. Just because you can afford it doesn't mean you should.
Umo undergrad program prestige only seriously benefits average students, letting people hide a questionable GPA or lack experience behind prestige (especially for engineering its very standardized across colleges). If you want grad school then you can't even really hide behind a good name (payed masters maybe, but anything that involves doing a PhD/mastere thesis no). If you plan to work hard and use school resources to gain experience it hardly matters where you go as long as it's accredited and you demonstrate you're capable.
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u/AndrewCoja Apr 07 '26
I went to TAMU and I liked it, but I should throw in an FYI here. You didn't actually get electrical engineering as a major. TAMU has a process called Entry To A Major (ETAM) where you start as general engineering and then apply for electrical after taking some science, math, and engineering classes. But since you got a full ride, I assume you're smart enough to get good grades and you'll be auto admit for EE. Also, EE is a hard major and no one wants to do it, so almost everyone who picks it gets it. But there's a very slim chance you don't get it. It's a stupid process, but I guess it saves a few people from realizing they didn't actually want the major they first applied for.
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u/HylianPrince08 Apr 07 '26
No, I do get EE right away. As a national merit finalist and brown scholar I get to skip ETAM and go straight into my major. It’s a relatively new change they made.
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u/AndrewCoja Apr 07 '26
Nice. Glad to see there's a way around it. I didn't have to do ETAM because I had transferred in.
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u/Afraid-Way1203 Apr 08 '26
you really should go EE. It's excellent major and you get it right away. you should consider , maybe
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u/Big_Tuna_Kahuna Apr 07 '26
Full ride A&M and take the 300-400k that you wouldve spent and put most of it in an investment portfolio or something. It probably won't matter if you're in a family where 70k/year is throw away money, but I'd think that would be the smarter play in the long run.
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u/Puzzle5050 Apr 07 '26
I've worked with Illinois and TAMU grads, and I don't see a significant difference. Both are good schools. The biggest detractor to A&M honestly is the school culture. As an outsider looking in, they have numerous weird traditions that is very off-putting to those not a part of the cult. Illinois is not $280k better.
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u/zacce Apr 07 '26
My family can fully afford UIUC without an issue (wont need to go into debt or take out loans or anything)
If your family can easily afford $70k/yr, then UIUC. Otherwise, A&M.
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u/HylianPrince08 Apr 07 '26
Is the quality at uiuc really that much better for undergrad? Also I might need to go to grad school after regardless cuz i heard that it’s hard to go into digital vlsi type stuff without a grad degree.
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u/zacce Apr 07 '26
No, it's not that much better.
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u/HylianPrince08 Apr 07 '26
Then why did you say UIUC if we can afford the 70k/year? Wouldn’t it be worth saving the money in that case regardless of if we could afford UIUC or not?
It’s more of a question of whether spending that much for UIUC would be worth it long term for undergrad.
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u/zacce Apr 07 '26
UIUC is slightly better than A&M. $70k/yr could be nothing to some wealthy families. I don't know your financials.
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u/HylianPrince08 Apr 07 '26
We aren’t multi millionaires.
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u/zacce Apr 07 '26
We are multi millionaire but decided to go in-state full ride instead of UIUC EE.
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u/HylianPrince08 Apr 07 '26
I’m not completely sure of my parents financials but by “not multi millionaires” I meant I don’t think we are 100+ million. Regardless, it seems from what you’re saying that A&M is the better option.
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u/RolandGrazer Apr 07 '26
I’ve met more people from A&M than UIUC working in chip design, just saying.
Always go with a full ride in this market. Almost everyone I know has an MS which matters more as far as the school goes.
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u/Pure-Suspect-8890 Apr 07 '26 edited Apr 07 '26
Go to Tamu full ride. Use the 60k a year you’d be saving to other things like projects.
I’m also a Texas resident, but I chose UIUC since it’s a smaller school than tamu so it’ll be less crowded, and I’ll have more opportunities. However nothing beats the price of free.
You mention semiconductors, so possibly UIUC would be good but I don’t think you can go wrong with any school
Edit: For context I’m an aerospace major and had no financial aid either school.
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u/BklynKaiser Apr 07 '26
Gotta go Texas A&M. One of the professors/researchers who made UIUC great actually leads the Smart Grid Center at TAMU now. Worth checking out some of the stuff Dr. Tom Overbye, the literal father of powerworld, does.
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u/TheAnalogKoala Apr 08 '26
TAMU all day long. VLSI means grad school and TAMU can get you anywhere.
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u/WittyCanadianEh Apr 07 '26
You are a bad child if you make your parents spend 280k for a degree you can get for free. It's that simple
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u/jdub-951 Apr 07 '26
Do you eventually want to work in Illinois/Michigan, or would you prefer to come back and work in Texas?
Both are excellent schools, and in my opinion there won't be a huge difference in your career arc in terms of success between the two. The most likely difference will be where you end up.
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u/HylianPrince08 Apr 07 '26
I’m not gonna go to Michigan or Illinois. Honestly I’ll probably go to grad school after, but eventually move to Austin or west coast for a job.
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u/dmc_2930 Apr 07 '26
Take the full ride and transfer later if you really want, after getting all the basics out of the way.
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u/1wiseguy Apr 08 '26
Let me say this loud and clear:
You don't need to dump lots of money into a university to make your life good. That's not how it works. You can get a good education from pretty much any university, if you apply yourself.
If it's somebody else's money, I guess it doesn't hurt, but I don't consider my family to be somebody else. Surely they have other worthy things to spend money on.
Unless you think Texas A&M is bad, e.g. they are in trouble and likely to shut down before you complete your degree, this seems like a trick question. Go for the full ride scholarship.
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u/Competitive_Guard289 Apr 08 '26
UIUC EE Masters is incredibly difficult to get into without work experience.. so if you plan on getting a masters after undergrad , you should check to see if going to uiuc undergrad would give you a better chance of getting in. I am only saying this because you said money isn’t an issue.
Is the 60-70k just tuition? Or does it include some living expenses?
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u/HylianPrince08 Apr 08 '26
70k is the total cost of attendance per year
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u/Competitive_Guard289 Apr 08 '26
I would definitely consider uiuc. Especially find out about the bs/ms option. I think you should visit both, talk to professors and students, see which feels like a better fit. See which university has more labs in the fields you’re interested in. You might be able to get better research / project opportunities in the field of your choosing if there are more professors working in that field in one university than the other.
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u/OhHaiMark0123 Apr 08 '26
For IC design, Texas A&M is excellent! Not as good as UIUC, but excellent
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u/publicram Apr 08 '26
I want to preface that i am just a manager now and not in semiconductors.
Go to Texas A&M, nothing beats free....
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u/Electronic_Salt_701 Apr 08 '26
A&M all day, given the current uncertain state of the world. Shelling out $300k for an undergrad degree is not worth it at all.
You will probably get a return on that in like 2-3 years. Rather take that money for grad school or invest it if possible.
And sounds like you are more than capable of going through engineering. Rather it be financial stress free
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u/Colinplayz1 Apr 08 '26
Take the full ride. In the grand scheme of things, school ratings don't matter. Graduating with zero debt and a full ride will matter much more
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u/jetGreenplanes Apr 09 '26
I was in the same situation as you, UIUC full cost or TAMU with significant scholarship. I choose TAMU and while sometimes I think about how life would be if I went to UIUC and have remorse for my decision, I genuinely feel like I wouldn't have been able to participate in the career/educational activities or gotten the internship I'm accepting for my freshman summer if I was at UIUC. Sure, education might be slightly better at UIUC and research and environment is arguably better there but you will thrive either way once you find your people and realize how much resources this school has, and you can always go somewhere else for master's. (Computer engineering)
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u/ElectricalEngineer94 Apr 12 '26
A&M without a doubt. I didn't come from a wealthy family, and I had 3 other siblings, so my parents couldn't save anything for college, so I paid for it myself. I was an idiot and went to an expensive school that I couldn't afford and got myself into over $200k of debt, which is a great way to start your life as a 22 year old. I'm turning 32 this year and still paying off my loans. And even if my parents could afford it, if that money was still mine, I'd rather go to college for free and use that money as a downpayment for a house when I graduate.
My company is based out of Texas, and we hire a ton of people from A&M. They have a good engineering program. And if you're planning on working in Texas once you graduate, the A&M degree is much more well known there than UIUC, which most folks in Texas probably never heard of.
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u/ducky789a Apr 07 '26
as an aggie i'd say tamu. tons of my EE and CPEN friends landed internships at top vlsi companies with non perfect gpas and ec's. i highly doubt UIUC is worth the extra money. also ece at uiuc is very hard according to some people ive interned with in the past, but at tamu you can just live off curves at have atleast a 3.5.
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u/toadx60 Apr 07 '26
I think it depends on how motivated you are as a student. Basically the sky’s the limit at a T5 school if you take advantage of everything. If you take a laid back approach to undergrad, I’d say just go take the free education. For me I didn’t get a free ride but UIUC was the best option since I am in state
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u/HylianPrince08 Apr 07 '26
Ik but I highkey feel bad thinking abt making my parents pay 280k when I have a great choice for free 😭. The only way I’d do it is if I get some kinda confirmation that the ROI is worth it.
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u/Electronic_Egg_9785 Apr 11 '26
As a soon to retire Engineering Manager - I'll just say in my 40 year career, I had not met a UIUC Engineering grad until 5 years ago. And one more since then. I've met hundreds of A&M engineering grads, and they are almost universally well respected in the field.
I will also add I had not even heard of UIUC until maybe 10 years ago.
Same cost - I'd pick A&M. Free ride, super easy decision.
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u/megafireguy6 Apr 07 '26
If your goal is to get into VLSI, you need to go to grad school regardless, which automatically means your undergrad doesn’t matter as much if you were to only get your bachelors. In addition, there’s really not THAT big of a difference in prestige between the two program. Like sure, UIUC has more marketability nationwide, but Texas A&M is still a very strong engineering school and has proven pipelines to prestigious companies in Texas. Like I would put TAMU maybe one tier below UIUC for engineering, but not any lower than that.
I know you said your parents can afford UIUC, but my question is can they afford both undergrad and a your masters? Because a masters is almost never going to be covered by scholarship. If the answer is no, then go with TAMU and save the money for grad school. If yes, by all means, go to UIUC.