My husband hires CS graduates from GT, and they are consistently better prepared and contribute more to the workplace than just about any school he hires from. He has a hard time getting the GT kids, though-everyone wants them. Since GT is an in-state school for us, both kids will apply there (they’re STEM), and we know people who’ve chosen GT over MIT. There are some smart, smart people there. The one minus we’ve seen is that the first year (and second, and third, and fourth) can be brutal-it’s sink or swim, no coddling. If you kid can handle that, it’s a good choice. I have heard for girls it’s fairly important to get into a sorority there because it provides a sense of community that is otherwise somewhat lacking. It’s not a ‘warm fuzzy’ school, from everything I’ve seen. If your kid can hack it there, they’ll be incredibly well-prepared.
Is there a particular program/courses that can only be accessed at GT? If the likely specific major and interests are covered by both schools opt for the cheaper one. It sounds like both schools are both in the top tier, as opposed to those schools without national reputations. Unless there is a compelling reason, ie opportunities that will be utilized and nothing at all comparable at the other school, it seems foolish to spend such a huge amount for the same degree.
How much of the undergraduate experience will involve those cutting edge research labs? What are the future expectations of this student? If research and grad school GT could be the place for a post BS degree. If joining the workforce immediately after college more time spent in nonresearch classes may be better. Of course, OSU also does its own research.
Remember that there are always several places that will yield good opportunities, never just one.
"How much of the undergraduate experience will involve those cutting edge research labs? "
There are a lot of undergraduate research opportunities at GT. DS17 is an EE major and he is involved in 2 research projects. One in the AE department and one in the ECE department. Both sound very interesting to me. So I’d say that if someone wants to do research at GT they can spend plenty of time doing it.
" If joining the workforce immediately after college more time spent in nonresearch classes may be better. "
From what I’ve read. Employers like the fact kids do research in addition to regular classes verus just regular classes.
I may be able to share some information in answering this question because my S graduated from Ohio State this past May and my D i a freshman at Georgia Tech. My S attended Ohio State on a full merit ride (tuition, fees, books, room and board) for which I am very thankful for . My S did not major in engineering while my D is in the college of engineering. We are OOS for both schools. I must say I love both schools and strongly believe that each of my children ended up at the right school.
Based on my observations I have the following relevant points to share:
- My S's roommates and best friends were engineering majors. I know during their senior year they were recruited by several companies (I remember hearing they spent a lot of senior year flying around for job interviews). Each one ended up at a great job in their engineering field making a good salary. So if you do well in engineering there are definitely job opportunities.
I don’t believe any of them did co-ops and I don’t know if that is offered at Ohio State. One factor that played into my D attending GT is their co-op programs. Just on Tuesday was the Co-op Fair and there were a ton of companies participating in the fair. Plus my D routinely gets emails from GT about companies looking for students for co-ops.
- Right now GT's prestige is rising and companies are flocking to GT to pour more money in the school. Home Depot just opened up a technology center at Tech for the students. http://www.news.gatech.edu/2015/01/22/home-depot-opens-technology-center-georgia-tech Tech Square was named "Outstanding Research Park" and companies such as AT&T Mobility, Panasonic, NCR, and ThyssenKrupp have created innovative centers at Tech.
One thing I have noticed about Tech is never-ending opportunities for students at Tech. My D gets a lot of emails inviting her to presentations, receptions, competitions, research opportunities etc. In fact one thing my D has told me is that she has had to learn to say no and be disciplined in not going after every opportunity presented to her. I think Ohio State’s prestige is also rising. It is a lot tougher school to get into and it seems like Ohio State is spending a lot of money at the campus. It seemed they were always building something at Ohio State during my S’s time on campus. I do know they redid the Engineering Library. Since my S wasn’t an engineering major I don’t know if the same opportunities are presented to OSU students similar to my D at GT.
- Both schools have an awesome alumni base which I think is important. Both of my children are involved in their alumni association and local clubs (e.g. GT club of our home town). One area where GT I think is better is in mentorship. My D is part of the GT Student Alumni Association and has a mentor through that organization; she also has a mentor through WIE as well as the special program she is involved in. Now my S could have been offered mentorship but he doesn't have any.
- Both schools have incredible school spirit which may be a consideration for your D. We attended the National Championship and got to see incredible school spirit for Ohio State. GT has a ton of crazy traditions which my D participated in like Freshman Cake Run. Students at both schools are very proud of their schools.
- Both of my children were/are involved in the Greek system which my DH and I found surprising since neither of us were greek. One reason my D joined a sorority is that she knew her academics would take a lot of her time and she felt the sorority would take care of her social life during a time when she didn't have much time to devote to it and therefore she could focus more on her academics. This has proven to be very true although my D;s special program has provided a lot of social life for her as well as the three intramural teams she has played on. I have to disagree with the poster who said GT does not have the "warm and fuzzys". People have been very friendly and supportive to my D. One thing I think has made a difference for my D is that she is active in several organizations and those organizations have provided my D with special events (Tea with the Dean) retreats (SWE) and Team Coach (SHPE). in fact we were given the personal cell and email from the head of one of the organizations so that we had a contact if we had any questions or concerns.
- I do like Ohio State's orientation and first year experience better than GT's. I felt the Dean of Students at GT spent the whole time scaring students with how "hard GT is". Now that my D has gone through a semester I do have to say GT is harder academically than Ohio State. You make Dean's List at OSU with a 3.5 while Dean's List requires a 3.0 at GT. Average GPA at GT is 3.1.
My D works a lot harder than her brother but of course that could be due to her major. It takes a lot of discipline to be able to get good grades at GT. This is a point to remember for your D and her scholarship. Be sure to check the requirements for keeping her scholarship. If the GPA needed is high this may be a factor for a student majoring in engineering where getting good grades may be tough. It would be unfortunately for her to lose her scholarship early on which would be GT on the same level financially.
- If you D goes to OSU then I strongly recommend she try to get into the Honors College. My D was in it and the perks of registering early for classes as well as special seminars were very much appreciated. D gets her classes but it takes more of an effort. If your D goes to GT then I strongly recommend the special learning communities. My D is in one and she says it is the best part of attending GT. It provides unique learning experiences and my D spends very little money at GT during the semester because her sorority and learning communtiy .
- The money issue. We pay $40K for our D to attend GT. While my S got a boat load of scholarships my D only received $1200 from GT in the form of an alumni of our hometown scholarship. OOS students get very little from Tech and it appears financial aid is mainly loans. In-state students are so lucky because they get the Hope Miller scholarship which pays for their tuition. Since $40K was more than we felt we could afford we told our D that she had to get at least $10K in private scholarships which she did (she got $14k) and that any monies she earned in her co-ops would have to go toward her tuition for that year therefore bringing the price down. During my D's sophomore year of h.s. we met with the Assistant Dean of Women who told us that she would guarantee my D a scholarship her sophomore year if my D got at least a 3.0 her freshman year. Apparently companies give GT money for women in STEM for scholarships although we were not told the amount. My D did very well academically in her first semester at Tech so last week she was contacted by WIE and told she was eligible for a scholarship for this Spring semester between $1k and $1.5K. Not a lot but every little bit helps.
Continue from above:
Also GT does not charge OOS tuition for study-abroad programs. My D plans on doing two summers of study aboard to help bring down her costs.
My S is very grateful for his full-ride. Now that he has graduated he is very appreciative that he has no loans and never had to worry about how he was going to pay for college each semester. By not having loans he can do what he wants post-graduation without that burden. My D has no loans but she really hustles for scholarship money. To be honest the fact that we did not have to pay for S to attend college helps us in paying for D at GT.
Money was a factor in our children making their college decisions. My D did not apply to any private college that did not offer merit money because she knew $60K price tags were out of our price range. My S knew taking the money would give him the freedom to be free of loans. I think the choice is really personal. Go to both colleges for admitted students day. Try to do the overnight visits. See if there are things in the engineering programs that your D likes. Do these factors outweigh the expense. I don’t know what I would do if I was in your shoes but I can say that your D will get a great education at either school and have a wonderful college experience.
Good luck with the decision.
To clarify, the instate scholarship is either the HOPE or the Zell Miller, depending on certain criteria. Zell Miller has a higher requirement for HS GPA in core classes and a minimum SAT/ACT to cover tuition (only tuition), and the student must maintain a 3.3 to keep the Zell Miller. THe HOPE covers about 80-85% of tuition (tuition only) and requires the student to maintain a 3.0 to keep it. Tech is hard and many students find it challenging to keep their scholarships. Both cover up to 15 hrs/semester and there is a cap on number of total hours it will cover.
I have a close friend whose DD has a very nice OOS scholarship to GT. She preferred another state flagshp to GT but did not get any money at that school, so the pressure was on for her to go with the money. Her father is an engineer, has been for years, hires out of college all of the time and says outright that he went with the money that meant no loans and about $80K or more in savings for his DD to go to GT which is what drove the decision, not any increased job opportunities going to one school vs the others The $80K was just too much for them to leave on the table just because the kid preferred the other school Makes too much of an impact on family life.
But it could have just as easily gone the other way in a simialr family
Tech also has the Presidential scholarship, the full enchilada (full ride plus extras). Its a very desirable , prestigious scholarship available to in and OOS students. Its funded by the Stamps foundation.
"Her father is an engineer, has been for years, hires out of college all of the time and says outright that he went with the money that meant no loans and about $80K or more in savings for his DD to go to GT which is what drove the decision, not any increased job opportunities going to one school vs the others "
-I totally agree with the post #46. I am also talking from experience. My H. is an engineer and so are most of our friends and many of their kids who actually attended at OSU. As I said previously, while the name of UG may play some role in other fields, for engineering (as well as for several others like pre-med, CS, etc), the name of your UG does not matter. Just make the best out of your experience at ANY place. Choose the one that fits you the best and financial fit is a heavy one. It will work out, guarantee. And in addition, the OSU is pretty well known for the great engineering program, anyway.
I am suprized that Case Western was not considered (but this is besides the point, just a comment). Great engineering and very well known for high Merit awards for the top caliber students, more so than OSU. This comment is for future applicants who may happen to read this thread.
We don’t know what other schools the OP’s dau applied to. We just know the ones she is discussing here- OSU and Ga Tech.
For many, the bottom line cost is the driving factor. Others might be fortunate enough to decide based on other variables. I agree that taking out significant loans for undergrad is ill advised. But I don’t agree that its always true that the name of the UG does not matter, especially if someone doesn’t plan to attend grad/professional school. It, and/or the strength of an alum network, can be helpful in some circumstances. Regional employers are going to be more familiar with their nearby U, which could be a benefit if one plans to seek employment near their undergrad.
The OPs dau has nice choices. It might be helpful for her to compare the OSU placement office services and upcoming career fair attendees https://swefair.engineering.osu.edu/sites/swefair.engineering.osu.edu/files/uploads/swe_program_2015.pdf with Ga Tech’s http://career.gatech.edu/pages/careerfairs.php Looks like the on campus fair just happened this week.
Here’s a comparison of average salaries after graduation from the engineering programs: https://webapps.gatech.edu/cfcampus/adors/commencement/salary_report_result.cfm?college=TOTAL&level=1&surveyid=85&Submit=Submit ANd OSU (this is the 2013 report-- see p 97 for salaries and 99 for top employers) https://engineering.osu.edu/sites/engineering.osu.edu/files/uploads/uess2013.pdf
Having trouble locating Tech’s top employers. Here’s a list of who is scheduled to attend an upcoming career fair https://gatech-cfm.symplicity.com/events/students.php
You can also plug inthe schools on payscale to see salaries http://www.payscale.com/index/US/School
I usually take a dubious view of salary reports (who replied to survey, who didn’t, etc.). However I did notice a big difference in salaries for industrial engineering, the major being discussed in this thread. OSU reports a median salary of $57,500, while GT reports $63,500. My guess (and it’s just a guess) is that GT might place more IE grads into the higher paying consulting type jobs. I have heard this from GT students, tales of their IE friends getting six figure offers from high end consulting firms.
@Chardo,The salary figures for IE are for 2014 for GT but 2013 for OSU so you would need to see OSU’s 2014 figures for more of a direct comparison.
I looked at Virginia Tech’s figures in their post grad surveys. In 2013, the median for IE was $59, 500. However, the median for IE jumped to $64,000 for 2014 grads that reported. OSU could have had a similar jump.
Nice to know that salaries have jumped 10% in a year, if that’s the case. Hot major.
I found something online for OSU from 2014. The average IE that reported got $60,472, so also a nice jump. As we know, some of the figures are a result of who reports, location and types of jobs they take, etc.
IMO, Engineering is a tough enough major so that if finances allow it, the school the student most prefers is what I’d go with, But then that is how I did thing even with whatever majors. If my kids wanted a school that came right up to the dollar limit, we went with it, instead of pushing even the free rides. I think the student desire and choice of schools is a powerful thing if and when things get tough at school, as they often will. Al things equal, yes, the money is a tie breaker, and maybe then some.
Here’s the 2013 report from Ga Tech. The median industrial Eng starting salary was $62,500, still higher than OSU https://webapps.gatech.edu/cfcampus/adors/commencement/salary_report_result.cfm?college=TOTAL&level=1&surveyid=84&Submit=Submit
Sevmom.,
Can you post the link from OSU for 2014?
Engineering Career Services at OSU. https://ecs.osu.edu/ Click on statistics, then career employment starting salaries.
More of the salary differences are probably related to location and the type of job. A good student from either GT or OSU should have good opportunities. GT probably does have more kids going into consulting type jobs if that is an interest.
OK- found this for OSU for 2014 https://ecs.osu.edu/sites/ecs.osu.edu/files/uploads/2013-2014-grad-salaries.pdf