<p>hi,</p>
<p>I've been thinking a lot (A LOT) about which college to go to next year. I got accepted into both Georgia State (honors) and UGA early, and I'm waiting on GT. </p>
<p>I might have to ultimately choose UGA, because only UGA (out of UGA, GT, and GSU) offers Cog Sci major... but I feel rather uncomfortable going to UGA because of its reputation (party school, lacks prestige, etc.. I just know that I'll get along with Tech students a lot better). Is there a way where I can create my own Cog Sci major while attending GT? I doubt GT offers linguistics courses, but can I not take those unavailable courses at GSU even as a Tech student? </p>
<p>I'm kind of scared that I won't get into Tech as a freshman, but if I were able to major in Cog Sci independently, I'm willing to go to GSU for a couple of years and transfer to GT. I'd kind of like to avoid going to UGA.. you know? I'm guessing those who are pro-Tech are getting what I'm saying. :P</p>
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<p>They do, but you’re right there aren’t too many. Spring semester shows a whopping 2, but where Linguistics intersects with science/engineering there are actually more courses. For example, statistical language processing. I believe natural language processing is an entire specialty in the ECE department, for example.</p>
<p>I don’t know what exactly you like about Cognitive science, but brain studies are absolutely huge on Tech’s campus, ranging from artificial intelligence to electrophysiology (interpreting or using the electrical signals in the body) and further to psychology-oriented stuff. Just because there isn’t a major in it doesn’t mean there aren’t a plethora of related opportunities at Tech for it.</p>
<p>If you come to Tech, one thing you will learn very quickly is there are no walls between departments here.</p>
<p>I don’t know, I just don’t really want to major in PSYCHOLOGY, because that just looks bad when you apply for jobs… although I’m sure Psych at Tech is good, the starting salary / employment rate of those majoring in Psych (not only at Tech, but anywhere?) is a lot lower, right?</p>
<p>So, because there are lots of cognitive science- related courses at Tech, are students there allowed to design their own major? </p>
<p>Thank you so much for your response, by the way. I really appreciate it :)</p>
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<p>No. Schools that allow students to “create a major” really do them a disservice when graduation comes around and they’re looking for a job.</p>
<p>That’s true. Hello, UGA…</p>
<p>You put far too much emphasis on major. A major does not define your career.</p>
<p>Hm, but is it not important to choose a college according to major? I don’t want to have to deal with transferring halfway through college =/</p>
<p>I’m just really interested in the human mind, and after what I saw what Cog Sci is comprised of–being Philosophy, Psychology, Linguistics, Artificial Intelligence, Anthropology, and Neuroscience (Gardner’s Hexagon :D)-- I felt that Cog Sci is just PERFECT for me. I really wish Tech offered it. </p>
<p>Say, while I’m at it, what do you all think about majoring in Cog Sci? Can I land a good job with it? I wonder if it’s in demand at all…</p>
<p>[Intelligent</a> Systems](<a href=“http://www.cc.gatech.edu/is/ugcurriculum.html]Intelligent”>http://www.cc.gatech.edu/is/ugcurriculum.html)</p>
<p>In terms of salary, you can expect low 40’s coming out of UGA and low 60’s coming out of Tech. UGA has a 62% placement rate and GT has a 90% placement rate.</p>
<p>G.P.Burdell,</p>
<p>That site you gave me looked awesome, but what do you suggest I major in to take them?</p>
<p>Also, you said that I “can expect low 40’s coming out of UGA and low 60’s coming out of Tech. UGA has a 62% placement rate and GT has a 90% placement rate.”
Is this for a specific major, or just for the universities overall? Because I kind of doubt Psych majors from Tech could start out with low 60’s… =/</p>
<p>That’s UGA students with a major of Cognitive Science and GT students with a concentration of Cognitive Science. </p>
<p>The thing is, Cognitive Science isn’t really in demand at all. With that degree, you either go to graduate school or you find a job that requires any college degree. Tech requires you to complete that concentration through the CS department, which gives you a very in-demand degree from one of the top CS schools in the country. This helps you in employment and puts you in a much better position when applying to graduate schools.</p>
<p>When it comes to Tech/UGA, you should listen to this general rule: if your degree involves business, math, or science, go to Tech. If your degree involves drawing, writing, or birthing animals, go to UGA.</p>
<p>Oh wow, I thought figuring out the brain was the next big thing in science (especially neuroscience?) =/ Maybe I’m setting myself up for a trap if I major in Cog Sci…?</p>
<p>Ah, I wish I could see myself majoring in Comp Sci, because then I would definitely pick GT over anywhere else. Sure, I’m interested in it, but not enough to study it extremely hard at Tech…</p>
<p>So, do you think it would be alright if I get a 3.6+ gpa at UGA and go to a really good grad school to master in neuroscience or whatever? I’m actually not seeking to become filthy rich when I grow up; if that was my first priority, I’d go to Tech. I just want to study what I like (the brain :D), get a job I like (haha, so easy to say), and make an adequate amount of money enough to travel around once in a while. I JUST WISH GT HAD A COG SCI MAJOR… </p>
<p>I found that general rule very funny. Thank you so much for your responses–they really help me a lot.</p>
<p>You will need to know a lot of math and science to understand the brain. I recently took a course that showed how the brain’s electrical pathways act in a very efficient way from an information theory standpoint, for example. I don’t think you need to be a CS major to take that track that G.P. linked, and the College of Computing houses many tracks that do not involve computer science such as the entire School of Interactive Computing.</p>