Is Stanford engineering harder to get into than UIUC engineering?

The biggest practical difference is that Stanford admits undergraduates to the university rather than directly to an engineering major, while UIUC’s Grainger College of Engineering admits applicants by major. That makes UIUC engineering selectivity vary substantially by program, especially for computer science and other high-demand fields. Stanford, meanwhile, is extraordinarily selective across its applicant pool, including students who intend to study engineering.

For most applicants, Stanford is harder to get into than UIUC engineering. Its admissions process is highly holistic and draws exceptional applicants nationally and internationally, so top grades, demanding coursework, strong activities, and high test scores do not make admission predictable. An intended engineering interest can help explain your academic direction, but it does not create a separate, easier engineering admission track.

UIUC engineering is also very competitive, particularly for CS, computer engineering, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering. However, applicants are evaluated in the context of their specific first-choice major, and selectivity can be less intense in some engineering programs than in others.