I’m planning on majoring in computer science at one of these three schools that I choose, but I’m kind of stuck between the three. There are so many pros and cons to each school, Georgia Tech being the most expensive and NC State the cheapest (since I’m in-state). I’ll list some of the pros and cons I’m considering.
Money - what my family would pay for but I would take out private student loans
Georgia Tech:
Pros: warm, great reputable school, great CS program, people, environment
Cons: 28k, Atlanta is dangerous, rigorous - might destroy my GPA, large classes
RPI:
Pros: 18k, 5-year BS/MS program, great CS program, reputable in industry, smaller classes - more one-on-one with professors, people, environment
Cons: Cold (And I absolutely despise the cold), 12 hours away from home
NCSU
Pros: 12k, Close to home, great CS program, Scholars Program, warm, somewhat reputable
Cons: people
I know the last cons might sound bad, but I would like to be surrounded by like-minded people. I’m going to visit RPI and GT (again) soon so I’ll compare the three around the end of april but I would love for input! If there are any other opinions out there, please let me know!! I know as a CS major I might get a good job to pay off my debt if I go to GT but…
I recommend going to NCSU. Computer science is a very employable degree and you could easily find a good entry level job regardless of which school you go to. You’d be throwing your money away going out of state. NC, especially in the Raleigh/Durham area is a big hub for tech jobs. Most skilled jobs come from small/medium size companies where it’s more cost effective for them to hire locally rather than relocate someone. Plus, you don’t want large amounts of debt anyway, especially if you have plans to start a family sometime in the future. Your adult self and future spouse will thank you later
Why do you assume NC State would not have like minded people? It’s a large school. You’ll find all kinds of people. And even if that were the case, what’s wrong with broadening your horizon?
With CS, it’s all about what you know, not where you go. While GT and RPI are top notch, NC State is also a fine school that will not hold you back in any way.
If your cheapest option requires $12k per year in private loans beyond the federal direct loans of $5.5k, it looks like you have a cost problem. Private loans will require a cosigner.
Thanks for the input!! I really do love NC State, it’s just I’ve been dreaming of going to GT for years on end now, but reality really has hit me. I have quite the decision to make in a few weeks
GeorgiaTech at only $28k is a great bargain. Is that the total COA? I thought they don’t offer OOS financial aid (most state schools don’t.) If $28k is the total cost, I would say take it and run! You will be making more than $100k a year fresh out of school and you’ll pay off that loan in no time. NCSU and RPI are good, but they are not in the same league as GT.
I’m going to disagree with @bogeyorpar on this one. GT will cost you an extra $64,000 over four years. How do you intend to come up with that cash? Student loans of that amount will take quite a long time to pay off and the interest will be shocking - go ahead and find an online calculator and do the math on that.
NCSU and RPI are totally in the same league as GT when it comes to Comp Sci - that may have been true in years past, but students are heavily recruited from all three schools. I would argue that in the wealthy metro NY corridor, RPI has a better reputation. The financial outcomes for Comp Sci grads for all three are within $5,000 of one another.
GT also has a higher student/teacher ratio and RPI beats them out on both retention and graduation rates. GT does not stand head and shoulders above these other schools - just sayin!
The benefits I see at RPI are that only professors teach the courses, TAs and grad students don’t, only to help out/lead labs, etc, but at GT and NCSU there will be TAs and grad students teaching courses so I’m not feeling so great about that. I like that RPI is a smaller school, but the only problem I have with it is that it’s so cold up there I’m not sure if I can take it. I’m sure I’ll get used to it though.
But GT’s graduation rate is low because most people take five years to graduate bc they’re in the co-op/internship programs, which would be the case for me. Participating in co-ops would also help me pay off for GT, but I’m not sure how much. Either school I go to, I’ll participate in co-ops and pay tuition off eitherwise.
@bogeyorpar I was surprised that they gave me aid!! I thought GT was out for me, until they came through with the aid.
In most courses with TAs in most universities, the TAs run discussion or lab sections associated with a lecture by a faculty member, rather than being the main instructor for the course. Which courses at GT and NCSU are those where the main instructor is a TA?
@treepanda , regarding debt and co-op, my opinion is that you don’t need to do co-op to payoff debt. Graduating in 4 years (or even 3 - 3.5 if you have enough AP courses) is more important. Once you graduate and find a good job, if you live on your college budget, you can pay off the debt in 1-2 years.
How much exactly are you talking about? And what’s your parents’ budget?
To know your net cost at each, do (tuition, fees, room, board) -(grants, scholarships) =
Do not deduct any loan or work study.
More debt and financial pressure may force you to chase the money instead of having the choice to prioritize long term career development. See the discussion below.
@MYOS1634 Okay so I calculated all of that, my net cost would for GT be 34k(including the grants I received from gt) and my parents would contribute ~10k, and with outside scholarships it would be 20k(first year, 21k others), which is actually doable! 80k in debt after four years, but study abroad and co-ops will decrease the debt
RPI - with everything calculated including parent’s contribution and outside scholarships would be 10-11k, so 44k in debt, 55k if I do the 5 year BS/MS program
NCSU - would be 4-5k, 25k in four, 30 if participating in 5 year BS/MS program
Also, I want to participate in co-ops in order to gain experience in the CS world, not just to pay off my debt
@bogeyorpar Pay off my debt in 1-2 years? Is that even possible? I was thinking like a 10+ year payment if I decide to attend GT
Looks like NCSU is the only one where you could take the loans yourself without needing a cosigner or parent loans. Since cosigned loans and parent loans are usually a bad idea, NCSU is the most favorable choice on that basis.
However, if the OP and parents do not really have the money for GT or RPI, then NCSU is the only choice. Lots of students must make their college choices based on affordability.
