Georgia Tech vs UIUC for CS Major [rigor vs work life balance]

College Search & Selection
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Many people come with AP credit, especially those going into competitive majors. Otherwise they wouldn’t have gotten into competitive majors.

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22

Yes, but it seems to be common advice around these forums to repeat one’s AP credit, which likely results in cancellation of that AP credit. I do not agree with that advice – instead, if a student intend to go on to more advanced courses, trying the college’s old final exams for the course that is allowed to be skipped will allow making a more informed decision about whether to move on or repeat.

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23

At a minimum you can skip Physics and Chemistry if you are going into CS (assuming you have APs for these at a 5 or whatever the college wants). You can also skip some foreign language (at some colleges), and econ where those are requirements. You can also skip out of regular calc at the university and take the next level. You can create some room in what you need to do for number of credits. You can also skip out of the intro CS course if you have AP CS A. Our kids have made these choices without any negative effects.

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24

Yes, but the students who follow the “take 12-13 credits” advice are probably less confident about moving ahead using their AP credit and are more likely to waste their AP credit by repeating it.

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25

Its a good way of breaking time in 4 zones and then see that every bucket gets time.

26

My daughter did A level, Maths , Physics and Further Maths. Not sure, where to find out if her courses give her credits. The website of G tech gives some idea, but not much.

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My son at Univ of Michigan, CS, did that, he took classes in summers after sophomore, and it made his life much easier and enjoyable in rest of the many terms.

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Did not understand it well. One will waste AP Credit, if he repeat the subject in Univ (which otherwise, he can skip it). ? is this correct.

29

Generally the information on AP/IB credits is found in the school’s academic catalog.

Georgia Tech:

https://catalog.gatech.edu/academics/undergraduate/credit-tests-scores/international-baccalaureate-exams/

https://catalog.gatech.edu/academics/undergraduate/credit-tests-scores/advanced-placement-exams/

UIUC:

30

Yes.

31

Most GT kids we talked to said to take earned AP credit so that is what my son did. No issues.

32

Here is the IB credit chart and what she must receive on exams to get credit. International Baccalaureate Exams < Georgia Tech

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Thanks

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Thanks a lot, very useful.

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Which school did your D choose?

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She finally accepted GT. But she was 50:50 on both univ till end.
Very tough decision and a feeling of sadness, to drop a name like UIUC.

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37

Excellent choice. Don’t think she will regret it!

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38

Congratulations. She will love it, and it will change her life. She’s lucky to have had two incredible schools to choose from, but she selected the right one, no doubt. Considering the stellar academics, gorgeous campus, unbeatable Atlanta location, powerful networking, and on and on, she is on an amazing life path. Good luck!

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39

CS is a ridiculously employable degree no matter which university you choose. Both schools will be fine, bordering on “overkill” for an entry level job. Ranking mean nothing to employers. They recruit locally and regionally, because it’s cost-effective. What it really comes down is geography and flavor. Since we’re dealing with schools in 2 different states, at least one of them has to be out of state. Are you willing to pay the cost of tuition without taking out massive student loans?

40

OP’s kid made their choice (most had to make their choice by May 1). It can often help to read threads before responding.

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