<p>My S is deciding between GT and UVA. He is an EE/CE major. He's well rounded, enjoys athletics, and wants to have what he calls a "SEC" experience and join a fraternity. He'd like to co-op and study abroad. At GT, he would be a Presidents Scholar (full tuition) and in the honors program. No one from his high school has attended GT in the past 8 years and his college counselor and physics teacher have mentioned that GT might be too nerdy for him. He has visited GT and met some great people. My husband/I think GT offers what he's looking for. Please tell me the pros and cons of each school?</p>
<p>I want to say it would be crazy to pass up Georgia Tech’s honors program as a President’s scholar and an engineering major. Academically it is unquestionably a better school. However, I know college seniors can be more concerned with fun than with academics. I think social considerations are more important than some would claim, so that decision needs to be made based on his overall maturity level and his priorities. However, if tuition will not also be covered at UVA and you aren’t millionaires you might want to put more weight on the academic/opportunity factors. On top of academics, study abroad opportunities are abundant at GT, and Georgia Tech’s co-op program is unmatched.</p>
<p>He must be more mature than most to have done as well as he has. Still, GT is still a big school and I’m sure he’d find where he fits in, especially with Emory and Georgia State only a couple miles a way with plenty of cool kids who have time on their hands.</p>
<p>Georgia Tech is stereotyped as a nerdy school and in this case those stereotypes can be true, but there are plenty of kids like your son there and they always find each-other.</p>
<p>@KA</p>
<p>Just one thing:</p>
<p>Georgia Tech is a better school academically when only engineering is considered, but Virginia is a stronger school overall.</p>
<p>If he really wants to be an engineer, no question, GT. Every technical company wants GT grads. If he wants to be consultant or get a top tier MBA, UVA may be a better choice.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter if UVA is a better school overall, if he will be studying engineering. Every school has its strengths and weaknesses. UVA’s engineering isn’t stellar and I’ve heard students complain about the labs, facilities, and TA’s. Georgia Tech is one of the best in the country and companies line up to hire their graduates. They have amazing resources and instruction. Atlanta is amazing. The business school is attracting a lot of great kids and cute girls…the industrial engineering program includes many classes there and is the #1 program in the country. I know that because we looked at it carefully. Fraternity life at GT is just like it is everywhere else - well-rounded and fun.</p>
<p>the presidential scholarship??? This is a no-brainer.</p>
<p>My vote would be for GT in this case, with the presidential. But bear in mind that the stats overall for transfers from engineering to other majors is high, and UVA is more well rounded in other subjects.</p>
<p>If a student has math/science ability and wants to do engineering, he/she should do all he/she can to stay in that field. The world is changing very quickly and it will be important to have skills that are useful in the sciences. All our kids should be aware of this…GT and an engineering major is the way to go, rather than something that might send you back home to live with Mom and Dad after college. I see this happening every day and it’s something that high school students should be made aware of.</p>
<p>UVA is a special place… with a special price. GT’s best days are yet to come, given the development and job opportunities in Atlanta. The people at GT are very down to earth and practical. Not sure what an SEC experience is… 
People at GT can certainly understand geeky jokes, but they also enjoy socializing, football, basketball, service, academic excellence, etc. If you had a great experience, I’d go with that. What do the counselor and physics teacher know about what GT is like now? You recently visited, so you should have a better handle on things. Very few people in the presidential are nerdy/geeky compared to the GT population; maybe in honors, but less so in PS.</p>
<p>GT with full ride equals no debts…</p>
<p>@mhergenrader: I am from VA, and my son could have gone to VA (instate!) but preferred GT for ChemEng. </p>
<p>If your son is an accepted PS and committed to major in Eng., he’d be <em>crazy</em> not to take this opportunity!! UVA has budget-issues mainly in science and engineering (biomed probably the exception to it), whereas GT continues to thrive in the eng.-field. </p>
<p>GT a ‘nerdy’ school? According to my son it depends absolutely on your son what he makes of it … I don’t think my son is a ‘nerd’ (but then again, I’m probably a bit biased …), and he enjoys many hobbies (sports, entertainment, etc), and he hasn’t pulled any all-nighters in almost 2 years. </p>
<p>On the other hand - do you want to send your son to a ‘preppy-school’ like UVA?? (Probably equally wrong like the ‘nerd-image’ on GT …)</p>
<p>There are “nerds” in every school and they often become the kids who are the most successful post-college. That shouldn’t sway anyone. This isn’t high school…UVA is great for business, religion, history and those types of things. It’s resources and teachers don’t hold a candle to the opportunities at GT. Just walk the GT campus - many of the most successful “nerds” who are graduates have donated millions of dollars to their alma-mater and have built amazing structures for GT undergraduates. UVA doesn’t have the money to even compete in engineering. In Virginia (we are residents), VA Tech is the the best engineering school.</p>
<p>UVA
Pros: well rounded university offering top quality education in many majors; balanced male-female ratio; very nice college town.
Cons: engineering program may be best suited to those interested in using engineering knowledge but not actually working as an engineer, e.g., patent lawyer. Not the premier engineering school in the state. However, if student changes mind on degree and switches outside of engineering the other majors are truly top notch.</p>
<p>GT
Pros: excellent engineering school highly ranked in all engineering majors; free; did I say free?</p>
<p>Cons: if student decides to be a pre-business major the prospects aren’t comparable to UVA. Male-female ratio is 70-30? </p>
<p>I know some students that were completely set on attending GT until they visited and decided they hated it (go figure). If DS was okay with the school when he visited then disregard any comments from school advisor. Since no one at the school attended GT for the last 8 years they probably have no idea about what it’s like.</p>
<p>Gt’s last class was 60/40 and the next should be similar, and the business school just jumped ~12 spots in the undergrad rankings. Does that change your take on the cons?</p>
<p>GPBurdell32 “Gt’s last class was 60/40 and the next should be similar, and the business school just jumped ~12 spots in the undergrad rankings. Does that change your take on the cons?”</p>
<p>Not really. If the OP had asked whether he/she should study business at UVA or GT then the answer would be UVA without question. Likewise, if the OP wants a career in engineering then I’d say go GT. GT’s business program likely has the same quality of teaching at UVA or any other major university. The difference really is only in the brand and UVA’s brand has been developed over a long time.</p>
<p>Select UVA : prestgious - excellent- environment - competitive</p>
<p>Admit only 30% OOS - well rounded </p>
<p>Will prep you for working and getting along with other people.</p>
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<p>Are you saying ppl are poor in terms of social skill in Tech? I have to disagree here. </p>
<p>Many classes in engineering majors at Tech require loads of teamwork, and I’m pretty sure Tech does prep you a lot for working and getting along with others too.</p>