Georgia Tech vs. CMU CS

Hello! I have been admitted to both Georgia Tech and Carnegie Mellon for Computer Science. I am OOS for both (although CMU is a private school so it doesn’t make a difference). I have visited both and liked both, although my first impression of the school was better at GT. Georgia Tech fees amount to a little less than $50k a year, whereas CMU is a little over $70k. My parents can pay GT for sure, and they can pay for CMU but it would take a little bit of a toll. Here are my pros for each:

Georgia Tech
better campus
better weather
better location (Atlanta > Pittsburgh)
better social life (variety of people, not everyone is STEM-focused)
less expensive
from what I’ve seen, more students get internships the summer after their first year (not that important)
less intense/more time to do other things
can get instate tuition by studying abroad

CMU
closer to home (I live in NJ)
ranked higher (#1 !!)
prestigious
I think they have better full-time job placements, but feel free to tell me if I’m wrong
although it is more intense, you emerge as a better thinker
smaller class size

It seems as though GT comes out on top for everything unrelated to academics, whereas CMU is better academically. I am really struggling here. Although CMU is undoubtedly better for CS, is it really that much better to justify paying so much more? And is it worth sacrificing some of my happiness (it tends to be quite depressing especially in the winter and with the very intense courseload)? But it’s CMU! CS there is so hard to get into and it’s extremely difficult to turn it down. Please guide me, anything helps. Thank you.

CMU (assuming SCS) and GT are both top 10 schools for CS. For a $25K a year difference amongst other things, I would probably go with GT.

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If money were not an issue I’d strongly recommend CMU (SCS) for CS. But since it sounds like it is, then GT is a great option. Your goal should be great education with zero debt at graduation.