Hi All,
I am currently between three schools and because I can’t visit, I was hoping some people could give me some insight. I am currently undecided on what I would like to pursue. My plan is to go in as a materials science/engineering major while also fulfilling the pre-physical therapy requirements. The three schools are Georgia Tech, Case Western, and U of Washington.
Georgia Tech:
51k/year
Best engineering program
Nice weather
Case Western:
50k/year
Would be a varsity athlete
Bad(?) weather
Smaller class size + lots of shadowing opportunity
University of Washington:
27k/year
Tolerable weather
Most affordable—if going PT
Don’t want to stay in Washington—not desirable college experience
Given this information, does anyone have advice on which to pick? Thank you!!
If you have ANY inclination that you want to do PT, choose the cheapest option. None of them are bad schools for engineering. PT is expensive and salaries aren’t commensurate with that expence. Save the $100k for PT school. You’ll need it.
On an engineering basis alone, the financial math suggests that not even MIT is worth $100k more than UW, especially if you will be needing to finance it.
This is drifting off topic, but there’s zero evidence that this produces better practicing engineers. I was told that by not one, but two Caltech profs and a family member who is a MIT grad. Both are very niche fits. Both have amazing graduate programs.
If you think that GT has the best weather, you might not have been there in July. Of course, as a student whether you are there in July would depend on what you do over the summer.
Personally I think that these are all great schools. I would save my $$$ and attend U. of Washington.
By the way, congratulations! You have three great choices.
@eyemgh, fair point. But my original main point stands. I think you’ll find pretty much no difference in average outcomes among GTech, UW, and CWRU engineers with the difference in outcomes coming down to the individual rather than the school.
@PurpleTitan, I agree 100%. I was told such by the manager of one of NASA’s biggest projects. Paraphrased as closely as I can remember “Some of my best engineers went to Podunk U and some of the most pedestrian were from my institution (Caltech as the project was a JPL endeavor). What matters above all is curiosity and drive.”
That’s the biggest problem with rankings. People assume that if they get their kid into school X, they will have amazing and wonderful careers. That die is already cast at the time they graduate from high school for the most part no matter where they go to undergrad. There’s good literature to show that.
Hi,
The reason I am hesitant to go to the UW is because it is my state school, and I live just 20 minutes away. Everyone from my high school goes, and I really want to get away and experience living by myself. I plan on pursuing materials & PT at every school I am considering. The reason is if PT does not work out, I want to have a useful degree.
How would you fund the price difference between UW and your other choices? If your parents could easily pay out of pocket with no hardship/debt that is one thing – if you will have to take out a lot of debt to go to Case or GT then that is quite another thing.
Also, if Case is affordable, consider how much you want to be a varsity athlete. Think about if you with have time for varsity sports and engineering.
You can live by yourself many ways before or after college. Just find a job that pays the rent and living expenses.
Also, so what if your whole HS goes to UW-Seattle? It’s a massive school and people who go to those schools discover that they really don’t hang out with or even run in to their HS classmates any more unless they make a concerted effort to hang out together.
My parents are willing to pay out of pocket. The only thing I would do is take the federal loans of about 5k/year. That would be at every school though. Yea, I get how athletics might take a long time, but I’ve done it all of high school, so im hoping i have the time managment skills
@sportz606, college isn’t HS. Unless you went to an elite STEM school known for its academic difficulty, CWRU engineering will be tougher, and unless you were spending 25 hours/week every week on sports in HS, being a varsity college athlete will take more time.
I have an engineer D1 and a D2 who will begin PT school this summer. For most people I would recommend the least expensive option. A DPT program can run from $50k (I don’t know the cost of Washington’s instate public DPT programs) to $150k depending on whether or not you go to an instate public or a private school. Plus you have to add living expenses. Add that to the cost of your undergraduate degree and your talking $400-500k at your most expensive options for a job that will pay $80 to $100 per year. If your parents can handle that then price isn’t an issue.
A second thought is that you have chosen a challenging path to PT. Similar to Med school, DPT programs look at GPA and GRE (as opposed to the MCAT) scores to determine their top candidates. They typically have minimums that if not met will mean the applicant won’t be considered. Engineering normally has very sequential and challenging coursework as well as a high number of hours requirements. It would leave less opportunity for courses required for PT such as Biology, Anatomy, Physiology, Exercise Physiology, etc. As gen. ed courses go those will not be easy and they are all lab courses requiring time commitments that could be a challenge with already full course load. It is also not easy to maintain a top GPA as an engineer. Most DPT programs have average undergrad GPA’s of around 3.7-3.8. As you’ve mentioned you will also have to find time for shadowing. Most programs require a minimum of 40 hours and up to over 100 in a variety of settings. Both Materials engineering and PT are good careers. Good luck.