My son has narrowed his choices down to 100% full-ride A&M Brown Scholarship or Georgia Tech OOS full price for ME or EE (still has to decide)? He would not have to take out loans for Georgia Tech, but is it really worth the difference in cost for us (and him in the future)?
Wow, A&M Brown Scholarship is amazing! Not just the total full ride, but the name associated with it and doors that can open up in the future-being an Aggie and part of Brown. It would be hard to turn that down.
So many apply, so few even get asked to interview.
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I agree and it seems impossible for us to think of passing it up! I am 99% sure that will be his path, just wanted to make sure I was thinking about it all clearly since GT is such a great school as well.
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That’s $200k saved. Take A&M for the win. My son likes GT but the A&M offer is fantastic. Good luck.
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Agree that Georgia Tech is a phenomenal school. But hard to pass up the Aggie Network + being a Brown scholar…and a full ride!
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Worth it based on what metric? Based on salary, you’d be surprised. According to College Scorecard, the average salary 2 years out for a GT ME grad is $70,697. For an A&M ME grad…$73,697, and that doesn’t include the prestige and connections associated with the scholarship. Personally, I wouldn’t choose MIT over what he got at A&M.
Think of the difference you’d make in his life if you invested $16K per year of the savings, for 4 years (the max tax free gift), in a Roth in his name.
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Definitely the full ride and prestige of the scholarship! Congratulations!
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Ditto everyone and especially @eyemgh who brings the reality to the “rankings”.
I was at a grand opening in College Station…and all the speakers weren’t there to promote the brand…but were like I’m Aggie class of 82 and Aggie class of 90.
Their alumni network is cult-like - and i say that in a good way.
No brainer…take the money and run!!
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Congratulations to your son! What a wonderful honor! Definitely go to Georgia Tech!!!
Just kidding. Definitely Texas A&M. Hope he’ll enjoy being the 12th man and an Aggie for life! 
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I’m in Texas and the Aggie network is very “cultish” (no negative connotation intended). Congrats to your son! A&M is a no-brainer here, imo.
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TAMU
Mic Drop
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Had to look up which A&M…
Assuming you mean Texas A&M (versus Florida or Alabama), note that it has a first year general engineering program, where students must do one of two things for entry-to-a-major (ETAM):
- Earn a 3.75 college GPA including specified prerequisite courses for automatic admission to first choice major.
- Apply to a minimum of three engineering majors with college academic record and essays for holistic admission to major.
Based on stuff in ETAM for Class of 2026 - #34 by pbleigh and other Texas A&M ETAM threads, mechanical engineering is a significantly competitive major for those not meeting the 3.75 college GPA minimum, but electrical engineering is only marginally competitive.
If he were aiming for computer science (very few non-automatic-admits in ETAM), it would be a tougher call, but since one of his top choices of major is only marginally competitive, the full ride at Texas A&M seems like the obvious choice.
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Sorry, Texas A&M!
If there are 2 parents, they can each gift him $16k/yr
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Even as someone with Longhorn roots going back generations, I say go for A&M. Congratulations!
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Roth is maxed at HIS (not yours) earned income (up to $6K). Meaning, the son must have an income that pays him $X to be gifted $X. Grants & scholarships that aren’t on W2 don’t count as earned income.
But I wholeheartedly agree that the full ride is a way better offer than full sticker price at GT.
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Good point. Let’s assume though that the savings are invested after tax, the worst tax situation for the recipient. It’s still going to be a life changing amount of money. 
Thank you all for your responses, you have no idea how much you all helped! You have helped to soothe this mom’s worried and stressed-out heart that she was guiding her kiddo to a great choice and future! He is going to send in the papers this weekend to commit Texas A&M & the Brown Scholarship!!!
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@hereistohoping22 hopefully you paid housing deposit back in September??
Word of advice, I would not recommend University Honors program at A&M. Engineering Honors yes! But not UH (if considering).
He will do engineering honors. We did pay the deposit in Sept.
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