Georgia Tech CompSci vs Penn State Schreyer CompSci

The cost of attendance is the same for me as I’m out of state for both schools. Is the Schreyer advantage enough to make Penn State a better option

For the same cost, I’d choose GT.

I flagged a mod to put this in the right forum.

@ESchrodinger I’d wait and find out where you are admitted before you make a decision!

@lucyvanpelt I’m a rising sophomore studying Computer Science at Penn State (Schreyer Honors), and I have been accepted to Georgia Tech (Computer Science)

It’s November. Are you a sophomore or a freshman? Are you looking to transfer?

Why are you looking to transfer? What is it about PSU that prompted you to look elsewhere? Have you visited GT’s campus? The violent crime in Atlanta is skyrocketing, and GT is not in the best area of the city.

@momofsenior1 I’m a rising sophomore at Penn State, and I’ve been accepted to GT CS and I’m looking to transfer

@Dis3456 I’m transferring because of the lack of resources for CS at Penn State, I’m not satisfied with the courses offered. I love the thread system for computing at GT, it’s unique and will allow me to better personalize my degree and learn CS skills that I’m passionate about.

Also, Atlanta is a startup powerhouse, and GT would also allow me to further accelerate my entrepreneurship skills development, Penn State doesn’t have such a vibrant startup culture.

I’ve visited GT’s Campus and while it’s not as big as PSU, I love it.

The “rising” part is confusing us. Are you currently in your sophomore year?

If you are not satisfied with the resources at PSU and you have visited GT’s campus, I think that transferring could be a good decision. As a longtime resident of Atlanta (just shy of 40 years - yikes!), please know that the crime situation here has gotten out of control (namely murders and armed carjackings but also street racing… the street racing is hard to describe unless you live it every single day… a couple of pedestrians were struck and killed right by Tech within the past couple of weeks ), and residents are leaving the city in droves. As soon as our kids finish high school, we are out of here. If the city doesn’t clean up its act, businesses will be leaving in short order too.

Re: crime in Atlanta

According to this opinion in an Atlanta newspaper, crime overall is down (-20%), but homicides and shootings are up (+42%): https://www.ajc.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-trying-to-make-sense-of-atlanta-crime-in-the-coronavirus-era/XZAKIEFHWFG7LI7MUIKYB54TLU/ . The opinion mentions that similar trends (but not as large in magnitude) have been observed in other cities as well.

Atlanta has generally had higher crime rates than the US average, even though it has generally followed US trends (of crime rates falling since the 1990s).

When will you transfer? As noted, “rising” is typically used over the summer when you’ve completed one year and haven’t started the next, so there may be confusion on your year.

If you’re a current sophomore, when are you looking to transfer? Have you looked at the impact on schooling duration? If you don’t transfer until after the current school year, will you need to repeat some GT Fr and So classes, meaning it may take more than 4 years. To graduate? If so, is this OK?

Starting Freshman year, I’d recommend GT. The time/financial impacts make the decision less clear.

@ESchrodinger So, are you currently in Schreyer at Penn State or will you be doing gateway admissions? Are you in-state for PA? GA?

Honestly, it sounds like you want to go to GT. You wouldn’t have searched and applied for a transfer unless you were unhappy and looking for something different. I’m not convinced Schreyer is that “thing” that will make Penn State what you are looking for.

The other thing I will throw out is that if you are a sophomore, you have just completed freshman entrance-to-major courses and probably only taken one or two CS classes. The junior experience with small classes is incredibly different than Math 140/141, Phys 250/251, etc. Having said that, it sounds like GT is where your heart is. Unless it causes significant differences in cost, I would say transfer.

@lucyvanpelt I’m out of state for both schools, and I started at University Park (not gateway). I’m in my third semester and have taken a few 400/300-level CS classes. I just committed to GT yesterday :))