I would love some help on choosing a college for the fall of 2017.
I have been accepted to Georgia Tech, Purdue University, and Penn State with the intended major of Material Science and Engineering. I have visited all the campuses and enjoyed all of them. My favorite would probably be Georgia Tech. My only concern with GT would be the social scene there. The reason being, there is a very high percentage of males, and I have heard that a lot of the students there never leave their door rooms. I am a pretty social guy and am not sure if I would fit in this environment. I do not have this concern with PU or PSU because they are Big 10 schools with large sports teams and a large social scene.
The other concern I have is the money. Currently, it looks like I would be going roughly twenty thousand dollars in debt at the end of four years at Purdue or Georgia Tech since they have roughly the same tuition prices. Since I live in PA, penn state will be the cheapest. So, I was wondering if it is worth the extra money to go to a better school like Georgia Tech and receive a better education.
PSU sounds like your best bet from both a cost and social fit perspective. They are all great schools for engineering. That aspect of things seems to be pretty much a non issue. There may be slight differences in overall program quality but these schools are all well regarded and well recruited. “better school like Georgia Tech and receive a better education.” It’s not a better school if it’s not the right school for you. Not sure where you’re getting the idea that GT will provide such a better education than you could get at Penn State. You will get the best education at the school that’s the best fit for YOU. Georgia Tech is a great school , but so are all your options. Good luck with the decision.
PSU has a fine engineering program. GT is rated higher by USNews, and has a better “reputation”, but not a significant difference in the real world or necessarily a “better education”. The advantage of GT is that it is very engineering focused and it might have more engineering-related resources, be more focused on the needs of engineering students, and have more internship/job opportunities out of college simply because of its focus (companies who come there to recruit are looking for engineers).
Honestly, for a degree in engineering, $20K of debt at the end of four years isn’t much; you’ll be able to pay it off reasonably quickly with your first job. So I wouldn’t necessarily base your decision on that. If you like PSU more, then definitely go there and save money to boot. But if you prefer GT then I wouldn’t let the 20K be the deciding factor.
As for the social scene. Yes, GT has a high percentage of “nerds”, but that doesn’t mean there is no social scene. My D goes to another “nerd-ville” engineering school (RPI) and there’s plenty of non-nerd social activity, sports, etc. And the high m/f ratio is mostly a problem if your introverted and stay in your room. So I’m sure you’ll be able to find the social scene you want at GT, though granted it won’t be the same kind of Big10 scene as PSU.
GT is an urban campus. If you attend GT, join a frat - that will help a lot with social life. The M/F ratio at GT has been improving over the years and the target is around 60/40. There is a lot of cross-campus activity with nearby Emory (free bus between campuses) and Georgia State, Spelman, Morehouse and Clark are also nearby. You also have the entire Atlanta metro area for socializing - millions of people - for entertainment Buckhead is pretty awesome.
If the price difference is only $5K per year, I would go to GT. If you are saying that you have to incur debt on top of a large price difference that is a different story. The co-op programs are really outstanding and large Atlanta employers are easily accessible on the Metra or bus. The athletic facilities were built for the Atlanta Olympics and are pretty awesome. Plus the fight song is second only to Michigan.
You will find a similar M/F ratio at Purdue without the big city and nearby colleges. Also an excellent school and Big 10, but is in a small, somewhat boring college town.PSU, IMO is a bit isolated but is well known as a party school. Sports wise, PSU is still working through issues.