<p>I guess this is a bit of an odd question, as most people here are asking for help deciding between the different Ivies, but hopefully I can get some insight.</p>
<p>I’m having a really hard time deciding between attending my state school (Georgia Tech) and attending Brown. The reason? Money. At Tech, I’ll be receiving basically a full-ride to attend and still be able to receive a top engineering degree, which if I attend, I’ll be pursuing. At Brown, on the other hand, I have no financial aid whatsoever and I’ll be combining an engineering concentration with an economics one (either as a double concentration or just as an academic interest, I haven’t decided yet).</p>
<p>Just wondering what you guys think: how much do you think a Brown education is really worth and would it just be better in my case to attend the state school?</p>
<p>I was in a similar situation as you. Although Brown did give me a good FA offer, UMich was throwing buckets of money at me. Brown and UM were my 2nd and 3rd choices and it would have been agonizing to choose btn the two. (I was accepted to GT as well but since they couldn’t meet my UM scholarships, GT was lower on my list. I ended up at another Ivy ultimately)</p>
<p>I think in your case, an Engineering degree from GT, frankly, will better serve you later on in life vs an Eng degree from Brown. That, combined with the money issue makes for a very compelling case for GT. If you were my kid, I’d recommend GT and not even lose a minute’s sleep over it. GT, after all, is one of the most renown Eng schools extant – it’s not just any “state school”. If I were a hiring manager looking to fill an engineering slot, your GT resume would impress me more than a Brown one.</p>
<p>As a final action though, may I recommend this? Tell Brown Fin Aid your situation. See if they can’t come up with some aid. They might. They might not. See what they can do. If they can’t make a substantial offer to you, I’d say: congratulations and go buy some Yellow and Black gear!</p>