With all my college decisions out, I’ve narrowed mine down to Georgia Tech and Boston University (Major: computer science. Minor/Major: Biomedical Engineering). I want to create software for medical instruments.
I’ve been thinking about colleges for several weeks, and I’m still very conflicted. Georgia Tech is twice as expensive as BU, and I’m just not sure if it’s worth the price. On one hand, I want to go to Georgia Tech because it has a bigger name (the part of me that is shallow and cares very much about the prestige), but I also know that going to a certain college is more than just its name (the more rational side of me).
Job Opportunity: I know that Georgia Tech has a heavy emphasis on Co-Op programs and internships, so I know that they have great job opportunities. But what about Atlanta itself? Do they have good comp sci opportunities? Boston, of course, has really good opportunities due to its location.
Finance: Georgia Tech ($50,000) vs. BU ($25,000). Are there any significant scholarship opportunities at Georgia Tech that I can apply to while being a student there?
These two factors are my biggest considerations, but I do want to know more about the student experiences at the two schools better. Such as …
Clubs and activities, any competitive clubs? (especially for comp sci)
Location: To be honest, location isn’t really a big factor for me, because I’m interested in both. Both places are quite different from where I’m from, and I would equally like to experience both.
Any general student experiences
Faculty and teachers (Do the teachers focus more on the student or on their own research? How is the quality of the teaching at both schools?)
i’m a rising second year at gatech and i think if you’re really focused on comp sci and are looking for a lot of comp sci related opportunities to choose gatech. there are so many CS related clubs, we have our own college of computing that is always hosting companies to do interviews, we even have a separate job fair from the general job fair that is across all colleges because we have a lot of connections to companies.
just in my first year i applied for a scholarship to attend a diversity in computing conference in san diego, all expenses paid for, and there were so many cool workshops and networking opportunities. all in all, a really amazing experience i couldn’t have received without gatech. hackGT is also a pretty well-known hackathon and a lot of CS majors end up getting involved in it. there are also a lot of other pretty competitive CS related clubs.
the out of state tuition is pretty hefty but there are scholarships that come out throughout the year, but it does depend on your family’s income level. for example, halfway through my first year i got notified that i was qualified for a BlackRock scholarship that was essentially a full ride for the rest of my three years. (i didn’t end up actually getting it but these opportunities do come up).
atlanta is also growing quickly in terms of job opportunity. there’s a Google HQ, NCR, and Delta is really big here too. the college of computing can also help give you guidance towards this type of stuff. CS majors at GT are also expected to make 90k after graduation. overall, i think if youre pretty set on CS and are willing to put in the work, then GT is a pretty solid choice that will give you a lot of opportunities!!