<p>Holy Moly..that's a big error. </p>
<p>This could really change the playing field. As it was, there was no way I could see you justifying all that debt.</p>
<p>I think at any rigorous engineering school you'll find people of the type at Caltech; they might just not be the overwhelming majority. You might actually find a broader spectrum of people you can get along with at a school like GT than Caltech. I know back in undergrad I had two groups of friends I'd generally hang out with. One was the traditional nerdy engineer types that would stay in to order pizza, watch Stargate, and play board/card/video games, and the other group I'd be able to go to do stuff outside of our dorm rooms.</p>
<p>You guys are overlooking something VERY important.</p>
<p>college, as she got a ridiculous scholarship.</p>
<p>Read about it. It is actually verrry selective, average sat score of ppl in the onors college is fourteen twenty-six. [Georgia</a> Institute of Technology :: Honors Program :: Prospective Students :: Class Profile](<a href=“Home Page | GT Honors Program”>Home Page | GT Honors Program)</p>
<p>It will also have plenty of intellectual stimulation. So you can STOP worrying about how it will be difficult to meet smart,driven students because you will be SURROUNDED by them. [Georgia</a> Institute of Technology :: Honors Program](<a href=“http://www.honorsprogram.gatech.edu/]Georgia”>http://www.honorsprogram.gatech.edu/)
"Greetings from the Honors Program
The Georgia Tech Honors Program combines the challenging academic standards of one of the finest technological universities in the world with the closer connections between students and faculty that one might expect to find in a smaller college. Our mission is to create a lively environment in which students and faculty members learn from each other through a common commitment to intellectual inquiry, careful analysis, and energetic exchange of ideas.</p>
<p>To promote and sustain this close engagement between students and faculty, the Honors Program will offer unique opportunities to students in the first two years of their studies at Georgia Tech:</p>
<p>An Honors Program Residence where first-year students can find a supportive community of interesting people, continue their conversations beyond the classroom, and develop connections to Georgia Tech and the surrounding community;
Small sections of introductory core courses designed to emphasize not just mastery of the material, but innovative inquiry and exploration within the discipline and often beyond;
A selection of small special topics courses, each with an enrollment limit of twenty HP students, that encourage critical thinking and an interdisciplinary approach to some of the most significant issues facing the world today;
A program of well-coordinated advising that will help students build upon their first two years in the Honors Program as they move into their chosen undergraduate majors in the third and fourth years. "</p>
<p>DEFINETELY go to georgia tech with a full ride. A degree from caltech is prestigious, but if you put “full ride to Georgia Tech’s honors college” on a resume, anyone would be impressed. The debt is NOT worth it at all, GTech’s honors college will be great.</p>
<p>(he)
I’m not doing the honors college actually. It requires you to take certain courses that I can get permission to take without being in the honors college. Two of the courses must be introductory, and I’m done with intro classes at GT. The president’s scholars tend to room together/near each other anyway, and it’s also a closeknit/selective group. All in all, I say no reason to do honors college. I’d rather keep fewer restrictions on my schedule, giving me more time/flexibility to chill, work, or research.</p>
<p>My FAFSA EFC (finally filled out correctly as best we can tell) would mean 90k in loans, which is hugely much better than the 140-150 I was looking at. Does Caltech tend to offer better financial aid than FAFSA suggests you’ll get?</p>
<p>I’ll have more to say on April 6 when I’m back from cpw.</p>
<p>I’m now back from Caltech and MIT’s CPWs. Caltech was wonderful. It was warm, friendly, closeknit, genuine, beautiful. It felt like home. I knew very quickly I’d be quite happy spending the next four years of my life there. The people were brilliant, friendly, interesting, everything I’d hoped. MIT was bigger, had more a feeling of energy in the air. It was a little less warm and inclusive by merit of its size, but I found that there were a bunch of small groups within it that felt very much like Caltech. I loved MIT too. It took about a week to decide which school I wanted to go to, and I’m still not sure that I’m basing the decision on much at all, but I sent in the paperwork yesterday - I’m going to MIT. A good bit of it was the size and their having a nuclear engineering major. I am still about $90,000 short, but have decided that MIT is worth it. That college is worth it. I figure MIT (or Caltech) grad is a well paying place to be, and that it’ll be worth it. I loved both schools, and ultimately the decision was more GT or not GT than Caltech or MIT. I’ll get financial aid information Saturdayish (a reevaluation from MIT), and I hope it’s good, but I’m going to MIT either way. A professor there said something that rang very true for me: someone who can get into Caltech/MIT needs that kind of school and those kinds of peers to push them to their potential. I need that kind of school to reach my potential academically, but at least as importantly, to grow as a person. And who knows, I’m certainly taking a risk here, but I feel I’ve made the right decision.</p>
<p>Prudent choice is debt free, especially in the current economic climate. There are many gifted, talented, motivated intellects at GT you will surely find one another.</p>
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<p>This is coming from someone whose children will likely get free tuition at MIT if they get in.</p>
<p>@spring: I’ve already matriculated, so it’s a bit moot for me at this point. My parents agreed to contribute more and I’m getting another job, so I think I’ve gotten the predicted debt down to about 80k. I just can’t see anything better to spend the money on, ever.
@racin: I’m really not special enough for this professor to lie and try to get me to go there. I just didn’t get the feeling of an ulterior motive at all</p>
<p>It’s great to hear that you’ve considered your options and made an informed choice. Visiting schools is one of the most important, in my opinion. MIT and Caltech have truly unique academic environments. Judging by your posts, I’m sure you’ve got the head to handle the financial burden while having a great time at MIT.</p>
<p>I do disagree with this point, though:</p>
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</p>
<p>Need? I doubt this if you are considering PhD school. If you look at the faculty websites of many of these schools, a lot of professors come from small colleges that don’t have the MIT/Caltech atmosphere. There are far too many success stories to refute this claim. Many great scientists have never been affiliated with any “elite” institution.</p>
<p>However, this advice might have been specifically designed for you. If you think you need that kind of environment, that’s fantastic. I think you made a great choice.</p>
<p>I wish you the best of luck.</p>