<p>So with about 22 days left to visit and enroll in a college, I'm kind of at a loss. Case Western and Georgia Tech are currently my most financially feasible options - my family is in the dead zone between making too much money for any financial aid, and too little to comfortably shoulder $50k+. I also applied to college under different financial circumstances, which is why I didn't apply to more schools that would have given me merit aid. Can you guys give me any insight into where I should go?
Anyway, pertinent information:
[ul]
[<em>]I want to major in biomedical engineering, with a specialization in computational biology (CWRU is ranked 9th, GaTech is 3rd)
[</em>]CWRU is $35k after scholarships, GaTech is $38k (OOS)
[<em>]Case Western is an 8 hour drive, Georgia is 15
[</em>]I'm pretty sure I want to go directly to graduate school after getting my bachelor's
[<em>]I'm seriously not sure how my mental health would stand up to GaTech's academic rigor. This is basically my main concern. I'm not sure how much the engineering ~prestige~ is worth if I'm a blubbering mess for four/five years.
[</em>]If you want to persuade me that the other schools listed in the thread title are worth the $100,000 of debt I'd be in at graduation (other than Stevens), I'm willing to listen.
[li]Also, I mean I like to go out and party and whatnot, but I'm also posting to College Confidential on a Friday night, so I'm not sure what that says about me and what I want in terms of social scene.[/li][/ul]
Thanks in advance :D</p>
<p>
I have no idea what you mean by that.
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<p>Will your family be able to afford CW or GT? There will be little if any difference in academic rigor between GT and CW.</p>
<p>UChicago does not have engineering, right?</p>
<p>Case Western has more diverse majors in the Humanities, Arts, etc. than GT. I’m guessing CWRU has more girls than GT. GT has Div 1 sports, ACC.</p>
<p>Case has the Cleveland Clinic (a top 4 hospital in US) and University Hospitals on campus.</p>
<p>GT’s reputation has risen dramatically in the last few decades, and there has been a lot of investment in CS and Biomedical buildings. </p>
<p>Weather is nice in Atlanta; Cleveland has lake-effect snow. There is more to do in the surrounding area around the campus at Case than at GT. There is public transit (light rail) from both schools’ campuses to the airport.</p>
<p>Biomedical is Case’s plum program, but if you switch to ME, EE, or CS, GT is a little stronger.</p>
<p>I don’t know, but the classes at GT might larger being that it is a state school.</p>
<p>Both schools are recognized by grad schools and employers because they know students had to work to get through their programs. About the Friday night comment: students at Case are pretty serious about their future and their academics.</p>
<p>Co-op program is very big at GT. You can make $ while on co-op (will help with contributing to the costs). But many students take 5 years at GT on the co-op route.</p>
<p>If you are looking to get a job after the BS, the GT co-op might help you sway your decision. If you want to go to Med school, Case might be the better choice, because a lot of students there do that.</p>
<p>I actually think both schools are excellent.</p>
<p>Erin’s Dad: About finances - my dad got a job in another state. We bought a house under the assumption that we’d be moving there and that the money my parents would get from selling the first house would cover my college tuition. However, my parents recently decided not to move and so are paying two mortgages, along with extremely high property taxes. From the FAFSA/financial aid POV, we don’t ~need any aid because my dad does make quite a bit of money and we own two houses, but it’s still not financially reasonable to cover two mortgages and another $55k a year on top of that. I could take loans for the difference, but it’d be reaching the $100,000 mark. Sorry for the long explanation.
My parents are also willing/able to pay for both.</p>
<p>nyquist: Correct, UChicago does not offer engineering; I would have majored in physics there. Thanks so much for the detailed comparison! That’s what I was also thinking - GT is better for getting a job, Case seems better for getting into grad/med school.
Also, the reason I was/am so scared about GT’s workload is the onlyattech.com website, but maybe it’s all propaganda…?</p>
<p>I think I’ll be visiting both. I just wanted to see if I should immediately cross one school off.</p>
<p>If you are good enough to get into the University of Chicago, you should be able to handle Georgia Tech’s academic rigor. The problem with Georgia Tech is that a large percentage of the students major in Engineering and the hard Sciences (CS, Chemistry and Physics), making the entire atmosphere intense relative to schools where many students major in less challenging fields. </p>
<p>Another problem with GT is the male:female ratio. If you are a guy and you like girls, the 70/30 ratio may be problematic. </p>
<p>This said, I would never recommend anybody take on a $100k debt. That is way too much.</p>
<p>OP, you said the additional $100K statement about other schools didn’t apply to Stevens. Did you get some merit aid there?</p>
<p>imeaniguess, even though a lot of students complain about GT while they are there, the school does have quite a bit of pride esp among alumni. The sports teams help w/ this. </p>
<p>Case is more the kind of place you can play on the sports team (if you were good in HS) and also be a real student. </p>
<p>I expect that you’d be challenged at both schools, but would be able to handle it. GT does have a lot of weeding out that you’ll read about. Thats because it has a fairly open admission policy esp for in state Georgians who want to keep their scholarship, but then find the GPA requirements daunting. I think you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>No question, a visit will help a lot.</p>