As decision day comes up, I am more confused on what to do than ever before. I have almost considered flipping a coin at this point! I’ll break it down:
–both have the exact same cost
–I’m not sure what I want to do yet, but I definitely plan on going to grad school
–I really loved the vibe at tech and the whole city location, and I felt more at home there. But it wasn’t like I hated UGA.
–Ok so at tech I do not want to do engineering or business–I’ve considered doing Psych major/comp-sci minor, Econ major, or Industrial Design major, and at
UGA I’d consider Cognitive Science, econ, neuroscience, ect.
I would love to work for a big company like Google or Amazon, since women in tech fields tend to make more money.
–Basically I don’t want to go to tech and stress out all the time and live the perpetual notion that I’m doing horribly in academics, but I don’t want to flounder around forever trying to figure it out at UGA either! Plus the UGA honors program has great resources, but idk man.
–I would like to study abroad and graduate in at most five years.
–Although I am doing science/econ related things, I do really enjoy politics, so having those intellectual convos and debate-like discussions is very important to me. Does anyone go to either school? Does a lot of that go on at those schools?
–How much free time would I have at tech vs uga, especially if I’m not doing engineering at tech?
Take the UGA Honors Program! You will get great benefits, including priority registration for classes. In a large school, registration can be a nightmare. Having your own advisor and getting into the classes you need without a hassle is a huge benefit.
I reread the other benefits of UGA Honors and it sounds like an incredible experience. At Ga Tech, you will be a regular student. At UGA, you will be one of their star students. Now, just getting into Ga Tech is a huge deal, so pat yourself on the back for that accomplishment. But go for the UGA Honors Program, and enjoy the smaller classes, the extra attention from professors, and the mentoring from advisors who can help you discover and shape your future.
Athens is a great college town, and you will enjoy your time there. Good luck to you!
@powercropper what if I’m deciding about computer science vs another field? do you think I’ll still have the same options?
Ga Tech seems to have a much better Computer Science program. That is not anything I KNOW to be true, just the prevailing reputations of the two schools. My young son is a few years away from college still, but he is a computer science kid.
UGA with Honors will get you connected with professors, and in a large school setting that will make the difference in the level of research you might participate in.
Education is what you make of it. You can make a great education at either school. Honestly, if you were certain of cs, it might make a case for choosing Ga Tech. But to be so undecided of your major, you might do better to go to UGA where there are a number of good programs to choose from.
The real reputation of Ga Tech lies with the engineering/computer science side. I hear folks who are Ga Tech liberal arts students complain that they feel like “lesser” students there.
I can’t tell if you are truly interested in tech stuff, or if you are sensing that is where the big $$ is, and you want to be smart and go after the big money. Don’t do that. You will be miserable. My D’s friend was being influenced by family to go Pre-Med. That wasn’t his strength, and he was miserable his freshman year in college. But he saw the dollar signs, not wanting to be rich, but wanting to be able to provide for his future family. He had to retake some science classes and finally switched to another major more suited to his personality and strengths. He is so much happier now, even though his chosen major/profession is not at all a high-paying industry.
So, think through what skill sets you have…critical thinking, poetry, problem solving, logical brain, etc. How/where do you picture yourself in 10 years? Are you sitting behind a desk, roaming the world taking stunning photographs, interviewing heads of state, helping kids, etc?
I would not be pushing UGA so hard if you weren’t in the Honors Program. Without Honors, UGA and Ga Tech would be more equal. I’ve seen my D fight to get into her registration system. Wake up at odd hours and check to see if there are openings yet for the time slot she wants, etc. And the larger the school, the harder it is to register with any kind of plan. (My D is not attending either of these schools.)
Have you visited both campuses? Have you visited them more than once? My D was accepted at UGA, but didn’t like the large, spread out campus. She is not a big fan of downtown Atlanta, but liked the Ga Tech campus. Thought it had pretty buildings and lots of open green space. (That was one of her requirements for a college.) She felt like UGA was its own city, with its own buses. It overwhelmed her more than the downtown vibe of Ga Tech, even though she was not a big fan of the big city life.
Trust your gut. Make a decision before you go to bed tonight. Sleep on it. Wake up and decide if you are happy with tonight’s decision.
@powercropper Thanks for all of your help! That’s how I felt as well with UGA’s campus–it was very overwhelming, and it’s weird because my friends say they see me more at tech. However, since I am so undecided, I think it would be a good idea to go to uga (and maybe if I really like computer science that much I could transfer to tech after a year). My gut is not really helping at this point haha. What is your daughter studying at UGA?
My D is NOT at UGA. It was an in state public for us, so she would have gotten free tuition. I made her apply there. She got accepted but did not attend. She is at an LAC studying Chemistry.
I think you need to trust your gut a little bit more. Maybe your gut is telling you Ga Tech but you are overriding it with logic. Maybe logic isn’t always the right answer.
Please tell me how much exposure you have had to both campuses. Was it a one time tour for each of them? Or do you live close enough that you have visited a number of times? Did you do an overnight at each one?
Why do you have to decide today? I thought you had til May 1 ? Is it possible to come visit both campuses again?
I would strongly recommend visiting both campuses again.
@MYOS1634 I did visit both campuses again–and I loved ga tech more; felt out of place at uga. I’m just scared I’m missing out on some humanities/flexibility at tech. Do you think if I go to tech evergthing will work out in the end?? @powercropper
It’s hard to tell. Going to GTech NOT TO do technology would be off, and yes you’d miss out on both humanities offering (not the strong point at a stem school) and flexibility if you’re unsure of your major.
However, trust your gut feeling, embrace the calculus/engineering/CS classes you’ll take in your first year, join a LLC, in the end it’s up to you 
YES, you will miss out on everything UGA Honors has to offer. What you have to decide is, can you give it all up and be happy at Tech ? A Pros and Cons sheet can only do so much for you. At some point you have to dig deep inside you and do what you know to be true and right for you.
The liberal arts side of Tech is not going to be top notch, but if you are happy on campus and can make the most of what you do have there, then you will come out fine.
College is what you make of it. If you can jump in, get involved, make friends, engage with your studies, you will have a good experience. Just don’t spend any time with regret or thinking “what if”.
Make your decision and then enjoy your life. Good luck!