I’ve been accepted into the Mechanical Engineering programs at all 3 of these colleges and now I am having difficulty in deciding which one to attend. I know ranking wise Georgia Tech is the best but there are other factors I’m considering as well.
-Which college has the most rigorous courseload (in terms of difficulty not workload; I am looking for a challenge)?
-How do the colleges colleges compare for industry connections particularly those in Silicon Valley (SpaceX, Tesla, etc)?
I have a dream of creating a startup engineering company. How do the colleges compare in terms of culture? Which ones foster innovation more? Which ones are mostly just degree factories?
-I am interested in research involving renewable energy, particularly nuclear fusion. I know UIUC has a fusion lab for experimental research while Tech is involved in theory research for ITER. Which one would be better for research opportunities and taking classes in this field as an undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering?
-I am not completely sure I want to stick to engineering. I am considering doing a Physics minor to keep the option of doing a PhD in Physics open. Which college would be best for allowing me to see where my interests lie?
@Jpgranier I’m not sure what the norm is but my D’s friend graduated from GA Tech with an engineering degree in 4 years and didn’t seem to have any issues doing so from what my D could tell.
@happy1 ah okay, I bet the ability to graduate in 4 years is due to the amount of college credits coming into GaTech with. The average student has taken between 7-13 DE/IB/AP classes.
To the OP, I can’t imagine any difference in teaching quality, connections, or research at either of these three schools.
One thing to keep in mind is where you’d like to live when you graduate. Each school will have many national companies as well as regional ones who will recruit from each school. If you’d like to live in TX, a degree from UT will be the most credible. The same goes for GA and IL.
I’d focus more on which environment you’d like more than the capability of the engineering programs because they are all about equal.
I could not see a way to justify 20-30k more per year in tuition based on just on the criteria you listed.
To give some more light on UT, Texas, specifically Austin, is becoming quite the tech hub. Many California companies are migrating to Austin which could bring more job opportunities to a UT student. The low cost of living in Texas is also very appealing for future work, and you’ll be able to do internships with large companies in Austin
They’re comparable, so it’s hard to justify OOS for UIUC or GT over UT-A (depending on how much that extra $20K/year means to your family).
I recommend you carefully compare the specific departments of each one (online) and course catalog to see if either UIUC or GT stand out in particular. (And if you can visit all three, that’s the best.) Since you’re in state for Texas if you can at least visit the Mech E department at UT-A and see what’s happening there it might help you make a decision.
If you’re still unsure, then go with UT-A – Austin is a good city with plenty of opportunity, and at a much cheaper cost. No point in going to GT/UIUC unless you’re really certain that’s what you want to do, for X reasons.
I’d chose UT. it has a great program and will be much less money. Austin is the fastest growing US city, so I think you’ll have better connections and job oppurtinies in Austin. GT may be ranked higher, but I think it’s pretty comparable. I don’t think it’s worth spending 20,000 or whatever if is a head mods.
Hmm that is true. But I really like Georgia Tech’s curriculum. It seems to have more challenging courses with some electrical engineering too (I am still debating between Electrical and Mechanical). UTs program on the other hand seems to have lot more of a liberal arts focus. Also, the research opportunities for GT seems to be far more diverse and well-funded.
The tuition is a real pinch. I am hoping for some kind og merit scholarship. Are there any external ones that I can still apply for?
If you live in one of the states with great flagship engineering schools, it is pretty hard to justify $120K in additional tuition. My son visited at all of the schools you mentioned as well as Michigan and Rice and there are no bad choices. He liked GT & Michigan the best, UT 3rd (mostly because of the 100 deg heat on the 1st day of classes). The question you should be asking is whether GT or UIUC is worth the extra money. That is enough to pay for graduate school or an MBA. I think the choice is pretty easy.