<p>OOS here. I'm disappointed DD didn't make PSP semi-finalist. She got her acceptance in the mail today. (She got her invitation to join the honors program a few weeks ago.) Okay, now what? $35K/yr is not in my budget. But she really likes Tech! Soooooo disappointed.</p>
<p>lots n lots of loans to pay back</p>
<p>If she is planning on majoring in engineering and your state has a decent/good engineering school I would stay in state. Simply going to Georgia Tech for undergrad is not going to significantly improve your daughters chances for graduate school or jobs although it might make a marginal difference in starting salary(maybe). What state do you live in? Is your daughter interested in any other schools as much as Tech or at all? Has she visited Tech yet?</p>
<p>If she isn’t going to major in engineering I would say you should be able to find an IS program that is just as good or better than Tech depending on what state you are from.</p>
<p>Of course, If Tech is her dream school and practicality is less of a concern than happiness there are always loans, but I personally do not feel that is a good idea unless there is no other option or you are positive you are entering into a field/career where paying them off will not be an issue. </p>
<p>I wish you guys the best of luck!</p>
<p>move to GA, get HOPE (or do they have time of residence requirements</p>
<p>requirements…i wud lol</p>
<p>I was in the same boat a few years ago…Tech did manage to give me a generous financial aid package, so you might want to wait until her award letter comes before you make any decisions. Loans are also more manageable if you split it between you. For example, you guys pay maybe 5k a semester in plus loans while your daughter takes on another 5k in either stafford or perkins loans (I’m assuming your daughter is eligible for the subsidized stafford and perkins loans).</p>
<p>^^^
Similar question for us. Our d is also OOS. Currently, she still is in the running for PSP. However, if she doesn’t make finalist. Are there other merit aid options available? For us … the OOS tuition is a deal-breaker when we can go to UF (assuming she gets in) with Bright Futures paying tuition. She really likes GaTech, but we told her up front that her going there would be dependent on merit aid. We won’t qualify for financial aid; our FAFSA will be too high.</p>
<p>zebes</p>
<p>^^^^
zebes</p>
<p>We are in Florida and have that same UF Bright Futures situation. UF also has good engineering, but the school is just so HUGE! D has visited UF twice and remains unimpressed. We visited GT last year and she loved it. UF is the safety default school if nothing else pans out, but she really doesn’t want to go there.</p>
<p>UF is a large school but I think your daughter will find that any large university has programs and organizations that can make it seem much smaller and personable. Considering UF’s academics and its value for in state students I can’t see it being logical to go to GaTech unless you get significant aid, but submit your Fafsa early and maybe things will turn out for the better! What is it that your daughter does not like about UF?</p>
<p>I wish you and your daughter the best and hope she will be able to be happy wherever she ends up!</p>
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<p>I understand where you’re coming from so much with this. Up until a day before the decision deadline I thought I was going to GT for undergrad, but then my parents sat down with me and we found out that the money they had been stashing away for 20 years amounted to less than a semester in tuition, and the NMF money they offered me wouldn’t make a dent really. At that point, I decided to go to UF to save my parents the grief, though I wish a lot I could have gone to GT for undergrad still.</p>
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<p>Yeah UF’s engineering is just outside the top 20 and really it wasn’t bad, but the caliber of student is noticeably less than what you’d find at GT (having attended both schools). The instruction is just fine, however. I try to say this in the least arrogant way possible, but I basically set the curve even in the grad classes I took, but at GT I’m barely above average. Of course, the curves are easier, but I don’t know some people might be less inspired to try hard.</p>
<p>Edit: Oh, and plus Gainesville is extremely boring if you don’t like nature. In Atlanta, there are so many things to do.</p>
<p>^^
gthopeful,</p>
<p>Interesting perspectives coming from someone who’s gone both places. We’ll just sit here and bite our fingernails waiting to see how this all shakes out. LOL And, if it wasn’t nerve racking enough wondering which way she’s going to go this spring … I read in the paper today that FL legislature is considering messing with Bright Futures again. If they make that need-based, we’re sunk in terms of her getting it, which might make the financial disparity less between gatech and Fl. Oh … the drama, as we tell her. :)</p>
<p>Land64shark,
We feel your pain. D’s always felt FL was where she’d be … until her engineering dad convinced her to go to preview. (not happy with him, LOL, too far away) Now, she’s seriously considering Gatech … for so many reasons, including the fact it’s not sooooo huge, and it still has a great football program (I mean … let’s keep those intangible perks at the forefront shall we <g>)</g></p>
<p>To be honest, I don’t think it matters significantly where you go for undergrad engineering provided you enter an accredited program. For the most part the curriculum is identical and the teaching is not going to vary greatly. There are a few exceptions, such as GT’s Industrial Engineering program which allows specialization even as an undergrad, but for the most part your education will be identical…</p>
<p>The difference is usually in the level and amount of research being done at the university. Unless your daughter is wanting to enter into academia an get her PhD in engineering this isn’t an issue.</p>
<p>I also do not think it is fair to compare graduate level courses at Georgia Tech to undergraduate level courses at UF and in engineering the amount of classroom interaction is so significant that having less brilliant peers would affect your own education.</p>
<p>One advantage to Georgia Tech is their Co-op program which would also help pay for the cost of attendance as the usually pay very well.</p>
<p>Land64, my son applied for the scholarship and program last year. He was not accepted to either, and got his acceptance to GTech in March without any merit money. It was not a top choice of his, but had it been, we would have been in the same boat as you are.</p>
<p>One thing I did learn was that if your state has some reciprocity with GA, and I THINK it does, if she picks some major that is not offered by your state university, she can get a reduction on the tuition with your state somehow making up the difference. I will look for a web site for that info. I did find a major that my son could do that he could not get in our state. GT has some really unusual micro specialties that make this possible.</p>
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<p>I took 5 graduate-level classes at UF. Considering I’ve also taken 5 at GT so far, I have a pretty good sampling of both.</p>
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<p>Like I said, “I don’t know”. Some people like to be surrounded by the best students they can in order to be motivated themselves, to network, whatever. I wasn’t that kind of person but I know people who are.</p>
<p>Academic Common Market is the program for reciprocal in-state tuition for certain majors at certain schools:</p>
<p>[Academic</a> Common Market/Regional Contract Program](<a href=“http://sreb.org/programs/acm/acmindex.aspx]Academic”>Academic Common Market - Southern Regional Education Board)</p>
<p>^</p>
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<p>According to the website. Very interesting info though.</p>