GeorgiaTech V.S. UCSD Chemical Engineering Major, Help making decision!

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hi, I am an international student who is attending California Community College.</p>

<p>I have accepted to several UCs and Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech</p>

<p>Up to this point, I have narrowed down my options and submit SIR to UCSD and Georgia Tech for both Chemical Engineering major.</p>

<p>I am planning to spend 3 more years include OPT after transfer.</p>

<p>Please help me making decision considering my situation ! </p>

<p>I will be getting green-card by 2015 summer so my tuition will be in-state for UCSD after that for sure, and I guess for GaTech I will be getting in-state tuition since I will be applying for greencard at Georgia if I make my decision to go to GaTech.</p>

<p>So my total tuition for 3 years will be around : 34100 + 22400 = 56500 (UCSD) 27000 + 15400 = 42400 (GaTech)</p>

<p>Engineering School undergraduate Ranking : 12th (UCSD) 5th (GaTech)</p>

<p>Chemical Enginneering Program undergraduate Ranking : 52th (UCSD) 7th(Gatech)
(I think UCSD has such low ranked because their recent new department of Nanoengineering that they split the major into two as Chemical Enginnering and Nano Engineering . THOUGH NOT SURE)</p>

<p>My Goal is to go to top graduate school : MIT Stanford Berkeley CalTech <- my goal and wishes
However I will still attend graduate school If I ever get admitted to, such as : GaTech UIUC UofMichigan UCLA UCSD UCSB USC etc.</p>

<p>I kinda analyzed some pros and cons I personally think</p>

<p>UCSD - close to parent / weather
GaTech - new experience / highly ranked Engineering Program</p>

<p>However - further informations I am looking for are the actual reputation in industrial field(actual job sites) and the reputation what people might think (Americans)
Eventhough I am international Student from Asia, I consider California is my hometown(grown up since 13) and I am not intending to go back to homecountry, rather I want to get involved in American Society.</p>

<p>Reason why I am having such hard time making my decision is that these korean, chinese international students and most Asians in my community think that the UCs are best and GaTech is school for second choice when you don't get accepted to UCB UCLA UCSD which I disagree with, especially when it comes to engineering major.
(UCB was my first choice, but I didnt get accepted)
(and I thought GaTech>UCSD>UCLA for my major even when I am applying to transfer, but people around me(Asians) are thinking differently and now I am confused)</p>

<p>I really want to make a best decision for my future career here in America, so I decided to ask to Americans :)</p>

<p>I will be waiting for thoughtful responses!</p>

<p>Again, my goal is to go to top graduate school and I am determined and highly motivated.</p>

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<p>It may be more difficult to qualify for in-state tuition in Georgia than you imagine. If you are coming from a California community college, you will be considered out of state unless you live in Georgia for a year prior to enrolling in college. Where you get a green card will not change things. Georgia residency requires physical presence and the other proofs of residence in Georgia for one year.</p>

<p>If you are a dependent student (generally under 24), the rules will apply to your parents, so they would need a year of physical presence in Georgia prior to your enrollment</p>

<p>Also, “International students who reside in the United States under nonimmigrant status conditioned at least in part upon intent not to abandon a foreign domicile are not eligible for in-state classification.”</p>

<p>See:
<a href=“http://www.catalog.gatech.edu/financial/general/classification.php”>http://www.catalog.gatech.edu/financial/general/classification.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I highly doubt that you pay in-state for both schools. Green card means that you can stay in this country legally and the state requirement depends on where you live the year before. Georgia Tech has higher acceptance but more difficult, not the best college experience. Did you apply to UCSB? It’s known for Chemical Engineering.</p>

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<p>Can you explain what you mean by this?</p>

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<p>It means it’s easier to be accepted to Georgia Tech where the acceptance rate is about 55% while UCSD is about 30%. This comment refers to the following comment

</p>

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<p>You must be looking at out-of-date numbers for GT - acceptance last cycle was 33%. In any case, regardless of “selectivity” which is a popularity rating, the test scores at GT are much higher than UCSD, so it’s a very flawed perception that students who fail acceptance to UCSD are likely to have GT as a fallback.</p>

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<p>This link, US news, even though the data is from a year before.
<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/georgia-institute-of-technology-1569”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/georgia-institute-of-technology-1569&lt;/a&gt;

</p>

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<p>UCSD
<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/university-of-california-san-diego-1317”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/university-of-california-san-diego-1317&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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</p>

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<p>I don’t disagree with your comment, but it is what it is. It’s easier to get accept there than UCSD. Same with UIUC CS and engineering, much higher admit rate than the top UCs.
<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/university-of-illinois-urbana-champaign-1775”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/university-of-illinois-urbana-champaign-1775&lt;/a&gt;

</p>

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<p>See:
<a href=“Blow the Whistle! (404 error: page not found) | Undergraduate Admission”>Blow the Whistle! (404 error: page not found) | Undergraduate Admission;

<p>33% admission rate in the most recent cycle.</p>

<p>Your claim is quite wrong - selectivity is not a measure of “how easy to get accepted” - not at all.</p>

<p>The Mid-50% SATs for UCSD are 1170-1390, whereas at GT it’s 1370-1550.</p>

<p>The “selectivity” of UCSD just indicates they have a lot of lousy applicants.</p>

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<p>When comparing colleges, you should use the same year. I don’t care about SAT and I don’t like to argue with you. It’s a waste of my time, really. I just stated the fact that the acceptance rate is lower for UCSD therefore OP’s friends made that comment. That is all!

You can say the same about Georgia Tech, it’s a backup school for lots of candidate. Admission data does not mean much, who ends up attending the school is where it matters.
Note, I didn’t say Georgia tech is not a good school, it’s in top 5 for CS, it’s just the perception.</p>

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<p>Yes, and “who ends up attending” at GT are top caliber kids with mid-50% SATs of 1370-1550, drastically superior to “who ends up attending” UCSD with mid-50% SATs of 1170-1390. It is ridiculous to say it’s harder to get into UCSD in the face of those numbers.</p>

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<p>You need to look at all factors. UCSD doesn’t buy its students either, not a lot of merit aid at UCSD. And UCSD doesn’t superscore, not sure if Georgia Tech does or not. That is why comparing SAT score is not always meaningful. But I think I’m going to stop at this post, like I said I don’t care, I just want to point why other kids don’t think highly of Georgia tech. You can go on and argue forever if you like. </p>

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<p>Your excuses for the lower scores of UCSD students are quite silly. The numbers don’t lie.</p>

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<p>I haven’t applied to ucsb… I know their graduate school has real good reputation on chemE but the school wasn’t my parent ’ s consideration… I mean I hate the fact that this community… I live is so depends on value of the university name and they don’t care about your major or environment especially for undergraduate. …
I really hate… and I want to live in the society of real americans… and this is why I posted… </p>

<p>Thanks for the information about georgia instate tuition I will double check before making decision</p>

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<p>Where do your parents live? That will determine where your residency is once you get a green card.</p>