<p>My teen has been accepted by both engineering schools- Auburn promising a lot more in scholarships but GT has a much better overall ranking. I have been told though that for undergrad chem engineering, it is best to just do really well, get good grades, then apply to most impressive school for grad. Is this true?</p>
<p>Yes. No reason to pay more for GT. Are you OOS for GT? If so, then the cost would be about $40k per year. Sounds like AU gave a good amount, so the remaining costs are probably $20k or less. Is that right?</p>
<p>Yes, GT is OOS-costs of Auburn are SIGNIFICANTLY less</p>
<p>I’ll get the ball rolling on responses, although I am not an expert on ranks/prestige. I believe a combination of factors can be important when choosing between two schools. Academic strength of major/academic rank and prestige of school are important, as well as alumni networking and future job opportunities. </p>
<p>Other factors to be considered are professor interaction, opportunities for research, internships, co ops, class size and ability to get registered into the classes you need to graduate. General “fit” (however you define that) is super important. Just read cc posts of all the kids who are miserable at their schools. There is so much emphasis on picking the “perfect” school without considering if the student can be successful in that school’s environment. Both academic and social environment of the school itself, and local environment of the surrounding area.</p>
<p>Ga Tech is planted in the downtown Atlanta area, and that affects not just safety but the general vibe of the school. Some will love the location, others will not, just depends what you are comfortable with. Haven’t visited Auburn, but have a nephew there now who loves it. Auburn is a whole college town from what I’ve heard.</p>
<p>I encourage you to have your teen visit both schools again, spend time without parents if possible, hanging out with real students and trying to discover what it would really be like to live out four years there. Listen to your teen’s words (or moods if they aren’t talkative) and give teen time to ponder. (Unless there are deadlines looming to accept scholarships!)</p>
<p>The great news is, you are getting to choose between two great schools. Congrats to your teen for their hard work to make it this far!</p>
<p>Also accepted to Rose Hulman but probably no $$ from them- again, great school per ranking- but ultimately, for undergrad, does it matter? Sounds like the trend is Grades matter more than “elite”</p>
<p>There is so much emphasis on picking the “perfect” school without considering if the student can be successful in that school’s environment. Both academic and social environment of the school itself, and local environment of the surrounding area.</p>
<p>I wish we could sticky this in bold letters at the top of the Search & Selection forum.</p>
<p>It certainly applies here. Auburn is a great school. It may not technically be as prestigious as Georgia Tech, but it’s not like people are going to look at your kid’s resume and conclude that they graduated from a diploma mill. Social factors are also at play, here; Auburn is going to give your kid a very different student experience than GT. GT is a state flagship but it is also a technical institute, and so the focus on academics is stronger; most of your kid’s peers will be engineering majors or in other technical majors. It’s also about 70% male. Auburn is more balanced gender-wise, and most of your kid’s peers will be diverse in major. They also have the big sports/traditional Southern university experience thing going on.</p>
<p>They’re also in very different kinds of locations; Atlanta is a large city and GT is in the center of it. A lot of people don’t like GT’s neighborhood; while it does have a reputation of being a bit “run-down,” it’s not particularly unsafe. But Atlanta’s a great city with lots to do, and especially after your kid’s first year a lot of their personal time/fun with classmates and friends will be had exploring the city and going to venues within it. Auburn is a smaller city, and it’s likely that most of the fun to be had at Auburn will be had on campus, with a vibrant campus life. Some students prefer the former; others prefer the latter.</p>
<p>The question of whether ranking matters more is a personal one, I think. Objectively, going to Auburn vs. Rose-Hulman or GT is unlikely to prevent your kid from getting a job or going to graduate school, if that’s the concern. It’s also unlikely to affect his future earnings by any significant amount. When you visit, you may want to check out the career services office and see what each school has in the way of recruiting. I know that GT has awesome recruiting for engineering and tech firms, but I’m pretty sure that Auburn has a pretty good track record in that area too.</p>
<p>Basically, I’d follow the money on this one. $80,000 is nothing to sneeze at.</p>
<p>Those are excellent points! Thanks!!</p>
<p>Where would the add’l money come from to pay for the pricier schools? loans? Home Equity? Would it come at the expense of retirement savings?</p>
<p>My older son went to that “other” Alabama school. He was accepted to every PhD program he applied to. Grades, GRE scores, research and LORs are what matter.</p>
<p>Very well stated Jullliet - full disclosure, I’m an Auburn grad. My husband is a graduate from the engineering school. The program is excellent. I know several Ga. Tech grads and I haven’t noticed that their opportunities or avenues to success were any different than an Auburn grad’s. Similar firms will be recruiting at both schools. So it really comes down to environment and money. </p>
<p>Oh, and many may not know this but there are some big name graduates from Auburn’s program - including current Apple CEO Tim Cook.</p>
<p>^^^ AU = 6 astronauts and I don’t recall how many NASA engineers/admins</p>
<p>Mom2collegekids: question: did most of your son’s peers at Auburn have a fairly easy time of getting into grad schools? Assuming they worked hard as well?</p>