I was planning on attending Georgia tech, but today I was notified that I will not be getting any financial aid at all, being from New Jersey. So, I have a decision to make in two days, and I would love to hear some insight from current/prospective students. I can attend Stevens institute of technology for 16k/yr, OSU for 17k/yr, or Georgia tech for 45k/yr. GT has been my dream, but my grandparents will make me take out loans to help pay for the tuition. However, they will pay my full tuition at the cheaper institutions. If you were in my situation, where would you enroll? Thank you!
Depends on your major. Also how much debt are we talking here?
Is OSU Ohio State?
Chemical engineering, and about 60k
Yes
Hard decision. All are, at least, very good schools. 60k in loans for GT is NOT a good idea at all. And while Stevens is very good, I would recommend that you get out of New Jersey to see the world. Ohio State is your best bet.
YOU cannot borrow the amount you would need to attend Georgia Tech, so that’s not going to work. Have you visited the other two schools?
That sounds like too much debt for undergraduate. The environments at Stevens (mid-size technical school) and OSU (large public) are very different so pick where you’d rather spend the next four years and go there.
Did you get into the Honors College at tOSU?
Do you want a big flagship with football fans and tons of different people, or a preprofessional, tech-y college that faces Manhattan?
OP, something you should be cognizant of, is the 4/5/6-year graduation rates for Stevens Institute of Technology (SIT).
4-year = 38% (much better than 2009 when only 25% graduated in 4-years)
5-year = ?
6-year =78% (22 % did not graduate after 6-years)!
The annual tuition of $16K/yr at SIT would likely end after 4-years, so anytime spent at SIT beyond 4-years is likely to be billed at full cost. Are there any GPA requirement associated with your reduce COA at SIT and OSU? Are you getting any credits for AP (or dual enrollment) courses such as Calculus AB/BC and/or any of the Physics/Chemistry courses? I’m not sure of the graduation rates for OSU engineering students, but it should be a factor in your decision making process. Chemical Engineering, IMHO, is probably the most challenging of the engineering discipline and might pose some challenge to graduate in 4-years.