GATech vs. UF, close decision

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>So this is my first post here on this site ever! Haha</p>

<p>I'm having a pretty tough time choosing between Georgia Tech and University of Florida. I'll try to keep it less wall-of-text like in the hopes of getting more replies!</p>

<p>My specific circumstances:
I'm going into university with an AA degree in Aerospace Engineering from a dual-enrollment program I did. This program allows me to transfer this degree (up to 60 credit hours) to any upper-division university in Florida so I can enter junior-level classes once I'm there. HOWEVER I plan to retake Physics 1+2 simply because my professor was terrible and I'm not confident moving on to higher classes without actually learning physics!
I receive a little over $3000 a year for bright futures starting this fall, but only for Florida public universities.</p>

<p>While my AA major was Aerospace Engineering, I'm still not entirely sure I want to go into that (I didn't take any "general engineering" classes so I haven't really been exposed to any real engineering, let alone aerospace). I want to explore some types of engineering and have been wanting to do Bioengineering (not biomedical) more extensively. Also, I want to starting minoring in an asian language (preferably Japanese, maybe Chinese) so I can study abroad and be marketable for jobs. I have interest in other areas like astronomy that I might explore too.</p>

<p>I visited Georgia Tech and I loved it. The atmosphere was nerdy in a good way (for me anyway :P) and the campus was beautiful. A friend of mine who goes there showed me around after the official tour, I saw the dorms and was unimpressed. Really liked the diversity on campus. I thought it was kinda cool that they required an internship or co-op rather than just strongly encourage, and a lot of them are right in Atlanta. But having to pay out of state tuition and living farther away from home is a big downer for me. The major turn on is the ranking, it's all my mom really talks about when she compares UF to GATech!</p>

<p>I just visited UF and I also loved it! The campus was just as nice as GATech's, even a little more spaced out. I didn't really get to see the dorms, but I'm hoping to get into Humes or their new Lakeside apartments. Coming in with an AA gives me a little leverage in getting into dorms that aren't freshmen only since i'll be taking classes with multiple groups. I went to their engineering information session and everyone seemed really in to what they were doing, the students all had interesting jobs in past and future internships. Walking through campus felt exciting, lots of stuff going on. A lot of my friends from my dual-enrollment program are also going to UF!</p>

<p>I heard from the engineering school that UF and GATech are considered competitors in the region, I know GATech is like 3rd in the nation and UF is in the 20s or 30s. My mom keeps telling me money isn't an issue (when I know it is), she really wants me to go to the best school we can afford. She wasn't with me when I visited GATech, only UF, so she didn't get to see the different energies each campus had.</p>

<p>Does it really make a difference which one I go to when I go to apply for graduate school in California? Should I go to UF or Georgia Tech??</p>

<p>Thanks for the help!</p>

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<p>Aerospace engineering is a subarea of mechanical engineering in many universities. To the extent that you took any specific courses in that area at your community college (beyond the typical math and physics common to all engineering), they would likely be the same courses as for mechanical engineering.</p>

<p>Would you be entering as a freshman or a transfer student?</p>

<p>What would the net cost after non-loan financial aid be at each university?</p>

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<p>I basically got all of the pre-req’s for engineering out of the way with the AA.</p>

<p>UF has a specific category for accepted freshmen with an AA. GeorgiaTech would need to take a look at my transcripts and transfer most of the individual classes over, not necessarily all of them.</p>

<p>GATech is nearly 40k a year including everything and I’m not eligible for any financial aid besides loans according to the response I got from them. UF would be around 20k a year.</p>

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<p>How long would it take you to complete your bachelor’s degree, assuming you use a lot of your community college credit?</p>

<p>If 3 years, would that mean $60k in net cost / loans at UF and $120k at GT? Have you figured out if the amount of loans involved would be doable in each case?</p>

<p>GT has a career survey [url=&lt;a href=“Georgia Tech | External Redirect Landing Page”&gt;Georgia Tech | External Redirect Landing Page]here[/url</a>], including placement rates and average pay of graduates.</p>

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<p>Did you ever decide?</p>

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<p>Decided on University of Florida :slight_smile: It’s a better and cheaper fit for me in the end, I want to go to grad school in California so I might as well save all the money I can now</p>

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<p>Go Gators! (Just flashing the colors :p)</p>

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<p>University of Miami > UF</p>

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<p>I go to GT and I can tell you that you made a smart choice. Not because I do not enjoy Tech bc I do, but bc spending excessive amounts of money on undergrad is crazy!!! wish you the best!</p>

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<p>@craig1212 I already live just an hour outside of Miami, kinda wanted to get away from that scene haha</p>

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<p>Miami is a good school, but UF >>> Miami for engineering.</p>

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<p>You made a great choice! I am a current Gatech student in Biomedical Engineering and I was in your position a few months ago. I now regret not having gone to UF, is not that Tech is a bad school, it just that UF has the same or better quality education for a cheaper price. Gatech professor’s are much into their research, they don’t really care much about teaching. So in that sense UF is better, good choice! Good luck!</p>