they are both so very different. My son is considering both. One would be full ride - UA. The other in state with most likely no scholarship. I made the mistake of reading studentsreview.com and GT sounds like a depressing suicidal place and UA sounds like a crazy party school where if you’re not Greek forget it. I’m sure those are the extremes but wondering if anyone else considering these schools and your thought process.
A couple of years ago my son had to make the decision between UA & GT. GT is not a suicidal place and I doubt that UA is a crazy party school. In the end he picked GT because it had everything he wanted. He did like UA but for me I was concerned about the fact he would have most likely have to live off campus after freshman year, There was a small chance he wouldn’t do well he would lose his UA scholarship and we would be stuck paying OOS tuition.That fear came from reading the posts on CC where 4.0 students blow it freshman year. Also from what I could tell it was seemed easier to get into research at GT and they seem to have a better co-op/internship program. However it really depends on your son. Some kids like UA better because it’s a regular college with lots of majors while GT is a Tech school. If your son is not for sure he wants to go into Engineering,CS or Business then UA might be a better fit for him.
I will provide info about DS experience at UA. He is not Greek, but has found a great group of students for social connections. He is studying engineering and participating in research and engineering project teams on campus as a sophomore. He has friends doing co-op successfully. He is building relationships with professors and has asked for and received meaningful reference letters for applications. We toured GT, but he decided he did not want a tech school for undergraduate. I would be wary of any reports that paint any school in a single dimension. Sure, GT is rigorous, so is UA engineering and any accredited program. Make sure to spend lots of time on each campus and talk to students while you are there.
DS2 is in the same situation, full scholarship to UA vs. OOS for GT. He is leaning toward GT, since he has definite preference for industrial engineering. GT is the #1 school in the world for IE, whereas UA does not offer it at all. He would study operations management instead, which seems to be a poor man’s substitute for IE.
He has a friend from HS who is a freshman at GT. Smart, sociable, loves it. He is in a fraternity, which he says adds a lot to the social life, but they still remain serious about academics, as do all GT students. It is far from suicidal. They work hard but still have their fun.
I also have an older son currently a junior (engineering) at UA. As a big school, there is plenty of partying and plenty of non-partying. Everyone seems to find what they want. He is not a party guy, but has plenty of fun while still maintaining a 4.0. He turned down GT, partly based on the opinion here (and elsewhere) that a top student at any accredited engineering program will have ample career opportunities. That still remains to be seen, as he’s only a junior, but I believe it for the most part. I have been concerned about lack of many internship opportunities so far. As a 4.0 engineering student with good EC’s, he should be a great candidate. He has applied to dozens of companies for this coming summer, and has only one reply (which led to an offer). I’m hoping that it’s just early in the year and more opportunities will come soon, as opposed to employers not considering UA students. Somehow I wonder if GT students get more replies.
DS2 has the smarts and passion for engineering, but also the personality for business and leadership. He’s leaning toward GT because we expect a GT IE degree will open doors that UA just can’t. They’re all in high demand, near 100% placement, including many with elite starting jobs (high-end consulting, leadership development programs, etc.) at companies that do not recruit (and likely don’t hire) at UA. These are the type of jobs that DS1 would not even want, but DS2 is a different story.
Same boat for us as well with hopeful full ride to UA and OOS for Tech. This has been incredibly hard! Good luck to all with these amazing choices!
My son is interested in mechanical engineering…I will have him dig deeper if he can specifically internships and job prospects at both schools. What tough decisions…thanks all for your insight.
@rdtsmith You said your son is IS and unlikely to get scholarship? I doubt many IS kids accepted at GT don’t qualify for the Zell Miller. I assume by full ride at UA you mean tuition, but I could be wrong. If so that would put the two schools on a fairly even playing field cost wise. (yes I know about all those pesky fees!) Check out return on investment info for both schools.
Yes tuition at UA unless he makes it to NMF then I guess room/board the first year. And because we are military and Obama’s new VA bill, we can do paperwork to make GT IS rather than OOS.
I’ve been reading reviews of both. Also common data sets for last few years. Both school’s career websites where they post stats, recruiters, etc. Graduation rates and everything in between.
Now I’m trying to dig and see more about internship opportunities and more job placement data…
thank you all!
The real question is down to the money right, not the school. As a parent I totally appreciate that cooler heads must prevail but this is not a question of pitting the schools against each other. Are you trying to pitch this for your kid? If it has to be about the money, he must know that by now.
I see that both UA and GT have Coop programs…good to know!
FYI, Tech’s 4 year grad rates are low because all the engineering majors are doing co-op/internship. My D is a freshman at Tech (who visited UA and could have gotten full tuition) and she loves GT. My D did a grid with what was important to her for college and I think Tech won out because she wanted to go to college with kids who all cared about school. (we didn’t make her decision dependent on $) UA definitely has those kids but at GT the % is almost all of them. It depends on the kid, you can find your niche anywhere. Good luck and that sounds like a good change to the VA bill.
Well you have almost free vs not free. GT obviously the higher rated engineering program. UA trying very hard to move up their program correct and has been getting better every year. Both campuses have a different feel and both appeal to my son. If my son were to choose UA would he have similar research and coop/internship opportunities as at GT? Starting salaries everywhere I have read higher with GT graduates. I believe they have a higher graduation rate there as well…larger ROI with GT. My son still has some things to work out with where he would most feel at home…but all these things are coming into play…it’s not completely just the money and how much we’ll shell out as a family…I love the way UA recruits these top students and man oh man do they have the money to pour into these recruits/students! I’m guessing someone from their football program said hey look, why don’t we recruit top students like we recruit athletes? Look at how far their engineering program has come in the last few years? They are finally getting noticed at UA. They have “infinite funds” from their football program they can pour into engineering and whatever other departments they are working on making first class. Does my son want to be a part of that? I don’t know yet…does your child?
All great questions! My D was just not into that vibe despite us living in GA and having best friends who were graduates of UA. D is not a football fan despite the GT orange bowl win! All I can say is if possible, do the overnight accepted student visits at both schools and make the best choice for your son and family. (as i am sure you are doing!) All the best to you and everyone on this thread.
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