Georgia Tech vs PSU Schreyer Honors College for BME (pre-med)

College Search & Selection
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That’s why I said anecdotally.

My kid - couldn’t get a thing - thank god one came in at the end. Then last year it was easier and he had several reach out and a few intern offers - although he went back to the company from the previous summer.
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But then this year - over 20 companies he applied to reached out - and many/most commented on his prior internship. He commented multiple times that companies are seeking kids with experience - and he has said the kids he knows with full time offers have interned - and those struggling never tried. They did study abroad, worked at home, took classes, did research (his gf) - but struggling employment wise. Given as schools show 90%+ success rates, I’m sure they’ll land, but late, nervous and perhaps lower paying.

My daughter is having a tough time now - and if she lands, I do believe, it will help the next summer.

I’m sure every employer is different - but a resume filled with professional experience of some sort does seem to matter - but again I noted anecdotally.

Obviously every hiring manager or organization is different in what they ultimately seek.

But my belief is experience (professional) begets experience - and those I hear about (from my kids) - this seems to hold true.

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Co-ops can sometimes seem more beneficial to employers than students. My kid at VT was asked about co-op at a career fair. I think it was Volvo nearby. He declined to pursue it. He ended up in an internship in the DC area, which was a much better fit for him. Those here promoting co-op seem to be more in the Midwest? Maybe a harder sell to move there? I don’t know but a good engineer hopefully will have plenty of opportunities.

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OP has a decision to make, and thus far (based on his many other replies on various threads) he seems to gravitate toward engineering school rankings as his most distinguishing factor. I was suggesting something else that is important in the engineering industry that he might research about the choices to help in the decision making beyond rankings. I didn’t intend to indicate it was the end all be all to all of college education and certainly not a must have to obtain employment everywhere, but for our engineering heavy division yes the fact was co-op experience carried enough value to be the scale tip between candidates more often than not, assuming appropriate degree obtained and a positive interview assessment, or the reason to offer a higher starting salary. Your experience is different, and that’s why we respectfully share differing opinions on these boards. OP can take it all in and determine how to use it.

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Oh gosh, not even close. Seems like a no brainer. PSU can’t begin to touch GT for quality of students, intellectual vibe, general reputation, facilities, location, industry cred, co-ops/internships or employment prep. It’s like talking about two different planets, IMHO.

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Aren’t you a Georgia Tech person who keeps saying these types of things any time Georgia Tech comes up? I might be mistaken so apologies if so. These are both great choices for undergraduate engineering. Fit, finances, location. It’s all good.

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There are a few things that I am wondering about in reading through this thread.

One is the combination of the rigor of premed classes plus the rigor of Georgia Tech. I have heard quite a bit about the difficulty of premed classes at slightly lower ranked universities (think somewhere around about 100 on the US news ranking). I have experienced the rigor of classes at MIT, which I suspect is not all that different from GT. Perhaps one issue here is that no one should attend GT because they think that it is expected of them nor to please their parents. They should attend a school on the GT or MIT level only if they want to do it, knowing that it will be rigorous, and they will spend some Saturday afternoons doing homework.

Then there is the “what would be best for medical school admissions” versus “what would be best to get a career in BME”. Here I feel that there is no bad choice, and there is no mediocre choice. I think that a student can do very well attending either school.

And there is the difference in location.

If both are affordable, and if it is feasible, I would be tempted to visit both, and support your student with whatever they decide. I would try to make it clear that they do not need to attend a higher ranked school just because it is higher ranked. They should pick whichever school they feel is a better fit for them, with the understanding that they can do well in life with a degree from either school.

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SPOT ON!!

Exactly what we’re doing with the kiddo in 3-4 weeks… back to back visits… I am 100% convinced there are three parts to success… school-student-parents… its called the learning triangle where all three have equal accountability. Once get to COLLEGE … the parent goes to near 1% but still has a role, so we’re playing that 1% role… and say 89% is kiddo and 10% university.

There’s the fishtank theory, freakonomics… better to be big fish in little pond… won’t get into it.

Bottom line they will “feel it”… and then as parents my 1% role is to offer guide rails for the next 4 years whatever that is… student will be doing all the work… it will be their alma mater… and their future… all I can do is hope for the best!!!

LOL… some Saturday afternoons… I went much lesser university than MIT… EVERY SATURDAY 12 hours studying… EVERY SUNDAY 12 hours studying… I was not gifted… but a hard worker… and that is a trait nobody can take away.

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Agree.

Yeah… to me its a complete tie… whatever DS decides… we will support with all the love and positive energy to ensure in +4 years it offers whatever he may have hoped for… at least that’s what we think we signed up for when we had kids.

God Bless.

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Totally anecdotal . Husband went to CMU in engineering. He has said more than once over the years that he would have probably enjoyed Pitt or Penn State more! You are doing a great job . Some smart engineering kids will like Georgia Tech, others will like a school like Penn State more. And it will all be okay. Good luck to your son with the decision!

And Georgia Tech kids have ACC sports and can/do have plenty of fun. Just a different atmosphere than a place like PSU. Smaller vs. bigger, city vs. more of a college town, men vs. women percentage, etc. Both great schools and great opportunities!

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You bet I am.

Georgia Tech, Cornell, CMU, UWashington, UT, UIUC, RPI, a handful of others —all top tier choices for engineering.

But Penn State? It’s just not in that league. Not even close, and it would be disingenuous to suggest to someone that it is. If cost is a serious factor, the discussion changes. But for a purely merits-based inquiry, there’s no place for PSU in the party.

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Whrling… and PSU Schreyer Honors College… the highly touted, very selected, honors college?

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The comparison here isn’t just GT v. PSU but Schreyer v. GTech, adding the complicating factor of being premed.

If BME on its own with no other thought, Georgia Tech would be hard to beat (unless the student really dislikes urban environments). The level of engineering teaching and learning + professional opportunities are at the same level as all the elite engineering schools.

However, Schreyer offers incredible support, especially for premeds. The founder of the RAM college branch was a Schreyer premed (currently at UCLA Med). Schreyer students will have 2 personal advisers. If they do well in their classes they will be able to participate in a summer medical internship at Hershey medical center. They can balance their classes, participate in leadership opportunities, live in very nice dorms with quiet hours and onsite cafeteria, etc. In short, they’re supported to the max in their endeavors.
Add to this the fact GTech’s grading is so strict that the State had to change sth in the way Zell Miller scholarships are evaluated, because so many of these topnotch students failed to meet the GPA requirements due to the grading scale and lost their scholarship… (Extra points are now added for STEM classes for Zell Miller recipients but no such thing will be done for med school), and it makes your son’s dilemma very vivid.

All in all, most premeds never make it to med school, so GTech has the edge, but if he’s hesitating about being an engineer and truly knows what to expect wrt being a physician (especially, if he has volunteered at a health center or clinic for instance) ie., if being premed isn’t just sth he iddly adds to his possibilities, then Schreyer has the edge.

Both are excellent choices and after a tour (make sure to book a tour with Schreyer at PSU and to organize a quick coffee with students in both places if you can) things should be clearer.

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Im glad you decided to become 1% of the process.

I am going to now solve this for you.

He needs to be happy.

All these threads are lost in the weeds with rankings etc.

IT really is a hodge podge of schools as someone said, chosen mostly as random big names, rankings, bragging rights, who knows.

You are losing the forest for the trees.

Go visit, he will know.

My daughter visited UPenn and hated it - too urban, wouldn’t even get out of the car, hated UVA , Ivy types seemed to preppy and serious, I had a friend visit cornell and everyone looked sad, then visited Penn State and was in instant love. Everyone was happy. Who cares about the US News rankings. I would put this site away and let him pick where he loves. Is GT stressful, cutthroat? Sounds like it.

It seems you are looking for validation that Penn State is ok. Like how you responded to whirl. You are worried that all the other families of the kids he is competing with in high school(don’t say he isn’t you know all of their stats and grades and applications from the other threads which is creepy lol) will look down on Penn State. Well-- WHO CARES!!! Penn STATE is OK. It is. Schreyer is selective and validates what he has done. 10000000%%$%$ Only 8% that apply actually matriculate. It is safe. GT is in Atlanta with crime. Does he like big cities? Sounds like he’s from a rural area. Penn State- Its fun. Its well rounded. He can be a complete person. He can thrive. He can focus his honors on what he is passionate about. He will 100% be happy. It is closer to home. He will be recruited closer to home. He will get a better GPA. He will be positioned for medical school. They even have a combined assured acceptance program with Hershey, closer to home, if he wants assurance. Given his stats, he can get in. That might even be easier than trying to get into med school with GT. And if he becomes a doctor NOBODY cares where you went to college or even medical school, when hired, they look at residency, after that, it is experience, skill and personality. Georgia Tech isn’t going to make him a good doctor, or a good BME job. He will. He needs to shine, be the best at what he does, and interact with people. Penn State has the largest alumni network in the world. He will be noticed. If he is a good person(like you said- God, County, Family, Academic, Athetics, Arts) he will succeed. Schreyer will give him the opportunity. Schreyer also gives him the possibility of being in a combined masters engineering program. They just built an 88 million dollar engineering building. Thier football team is going to compete for #1 in the country next year. Tell me why he wants to go to GT? All I see is ranked #2 , ranked #4…I can think of 10000000 reasons why PSU will give your son exactly what he needs, not only in his career but to grow as a person. Dance Marathon, Lion ambassadors, fraternities, all under the pretenses of a honors college within a college that caters to the best of the best. He was given the golden ticket of schreyer acceptance people dream of, its harder than an IVY to get in—300 matriculate!!! So tell all the people you are worried about impressing why. Read what Sevmom said. Husband went to CMU, wishes he went to PSU. Its about the college experience. If he visits GT, and he falls in love - fine. But my instincts tell me you want PSU, you just want someone to say its ok for a valadictorian to go there. It is. Plus with the Schreyer Scholarship, he is going for 1/2 the cost. I have tried to hold back but this is a no brainer for me. If he is cut throat and competitive and wants that fine - but you said he isn’t - and you aren’t - and he didn’t apply to Ivys. You should be so proud of this kids, and Schreyer meets all of his needs and more. Its not a risk. To me - its not even a question. You were considering VT? WHY!!! PSU is just as good and has all of the above at 1/2 the cost. I think you are worried PSU is common. Its close to your home and everybody goes there. Well, Schreyer is different and it will position him well for either med school or engineering grad school. Save the money for that. You said money not an issue, but you do bring it up as a way to eliminate. Use it here.

Bottom line- visit GT and PSU. Spend the night. Immerse yourselves. Go when its warm. Go to a game. Walk around town on a Saturday night. Throw US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT AWAY. And let him decide and don’t look back.

I think I know where he will choose.

This came from the heart, I mean no offense, I want what is best for your son, just like you do.

I also want the other posters on here to tell me why I’m wrong. Debate me. Tell me why GT, Case Western, CMU will somehow position him better than Schreyers? I want to hear it. Then you will have all you need to guide him. Both sides. I know people that would give their arm to be in Schreyers. The best of the best. RPI? UIUC? Cornell? - not the same college experience. What does he want? What does he want to experience? does he want to go to RPI and say US news ranks them high due to publications, or does he want to be part of the celebrations every saturday and get an elite education at the same time at a school with the largest alumni network in the world?

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This. 100% this!

These are very different schools. Your child will have a preference after visiting!

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And forget about rankings in magazines. Forget about rankings…period. The ONLY ranking that should matter is the one your student makes.

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This is religion here :-). The truth is somewhere in between. Fit only amongst peer colleges.

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Thanks for the feedback… but serious (JHC… stop inferring I’m looking for validation) :slight_smile:
Every thing else I agree with. My validation in life is not even close to on this forum. :slight_smile: :wink:

Am, and will be, 1%… for some reason you think I went from making his decision for him to 1%… you got me all wrong.

But, I agree with the vibe on the schools, etc.

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Wait, wait,… hold on… one thing you said… PSU has a football team???

That cannot be!?!?!?

:wink:

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Who knew!

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Thank you. My only point being is it would be helpful to hear how he feels about size, location, etc so we can help you make a more well rounded decision. Good luck!!