I went to UIUC and the program aspires to high design and it is getting there but they still have excellent technical training. If you can take the M.Arch + M.S. This is there well respected structures program you can be very well prepared for a rewarding career. M.Arch + M.S.C.E. (Construction Management) where you get weekly site visits on a major construction project and see firsthand the realities and consequences of design decisions with experienced professionals teaching you on a construction site is a great opportunity to learn construction details and practices. the folks who have the structural or construction management focus are doing well and have job offers typically upon graduation.

Champaign Urbana has an excellent public transit system and the walkable communities in West Urbana, where I lived, are affordable and have all the things you need close at hand so you won't need a car.  The culture is Midwestern with faculty and fellow students being generous and helpful with time and the occasional trip to the art supply store. There is a regular train to Chicago and many of the students and faculty are from the Chicago area. The only thing is the climate, in Atlanta the weather is closer to what you would be used to, in central Illinois we get snow and cold temperatures and sometimes very high winds in the winter and relatively pleasant temperatures in the spring and fall and hot and humid in the few summer months, but most of the year you will be cold as compared to most of India. Champaign Urbana has a Hindi temple and a large community of faculty and students from India. 

I Think you need to look into the projects the studios are doing and make another visit if you can or have a zoom chat with some of the faculty and students at both schools before deciding. If the studios are doing projects you will be interested in then you will have better chances of success and you won't get bored or frustrated trying to fit into an aesthetic or design philosophy you don't like or don't understand. 

Look into the AIAS chapters for a person to reach out to (AIAS is the American Institute of Architecture Students) https://www.aiasillinois.com/

Either way you have two good choices, you are very fortunate.

Over and OUT

Peter N

I know the director at UCIC and he has extremely high ambitions for the program and I think the skills to get the school there. I've taught at GT but not recently. There are some great faculty there and Atlanta is blowing up in terms of growing. As above, two great choices - a lot could come down to location and your preference.