In state academia - debt vs OOS academia+social+debt

<p>TL:DR below</p>

<p>Hey guys was wondering if you all could help me with a major decision... I
know you get alot of these but... Im so indecisive, been thinking on this
for weeks and cant concentrate.</p>

<p>I'm a Georgia Resident, from Ohio but a resident here... and I want to do
Aerospace Engineering, already have been researching it for a year now, and
Im confident in it... </p>

<p>Thing is, here in Georgia it's black and white for me, and many others
actually. And I REALLY Want a balanced college experience, capital W on
want, as in I know it's a luxury. Basically, Ill keep it short. I had
crappy high school years and really, really, reaally, wanted to make up for
it, not just as in making up for having no social life, but academically
too, by having a awesome social experience in College. And I want to do
Aerospace... </p>

<p>UGA is awesome for the social scene, literally Athens is a great College
town and all that... good teams, people... but no Aerospace... and just try
and tell someone "University of Georgia Engineering", yeah, you get the
point. Georgia Tech on the other hand, is what Ive been working two years
to transfer into, I have already been admitted here... and I know I can
find a job easily out of here and make money and all that... but man, this
is literally my last chance in life to get a good memorable school experience. And
grinding out my last chance at GA Tech for awesome money and all that is
nice and all. But Ill feel kinda dead inside not EVER experiencing nothing,
no awesome friends, no cool stories , no hype homecoming games or experiences from HS OR College...?
"Just yeah, was a failure in HS, and had no friends, then went to college
and worked my ass off, didnt have enough time for social stuff, so was
lonely there too, but atleast I have a good job!" Cmon man... :( </p>

<p>TL:DR
Basically, I can go to GA Tech(already accepted via transfer) on HOPE,
which would literally pay almost all my expenses, and graduate with little
to no debt since im in state. But have little to no social life, due to how
much work im gonna do, and studying.</p>

<p>Or... I could use all the courses I took in CC, (I took extra foreign
language stuff etc ontop of what I needed for GT) and apply to transfer to
other places out of state, like UWMadison, UT or even UM. But have some debt after
graduation for AerospaceE. But have a balanced, social/academic experience,
which I really really want... I worked my *** off in CC, let me repeat that,
I worked my *** off. So im confident i have a shot in getting accepted via transfer. And what really motivated me was you know, having a nice time at
University... I want a work hard play hard experience, not work hard play a little. </p>

<p>And tbh being from Ohio I kinda always wanted to get a Big 10 college
experience, Im just not a Southern kinda guy at heart.. Well not UGA level of southern atleast, (get drunk off your arse, all the time, no really, its like every last 3 days out there)Also I have all the
course requirements for the schools I listed, took a long time, but I did
it.</p>

<p>Btw I didnt mean to sound like a snob about UGA, trust me, Im anything but,
Im just a broke, low income guy trying to actually make sure I get a job after graduation(in engineering)? Tired of being poor and unaccomplished. And I have friends
who came out of UGA with unfortunate stories... that's not business related.</p>

<p>So Moms, Dads, fellow students, help me out? (especially the parents) All I have is my Mom and she's behind whatever I wanna do, her EFC is 0 so I told her worst case I'd do loans if I went OOS. </p>

<p>But yes I'm leaning Georgia Tech. Can still be fun, just wanted a more balanced experience. Can't have our cake and eat it too right, not in Georgia atleast...</p>

<p>As a presumably upper division transfer, your contacts and social life will be mostly with people in your major, so the general mix of students and majors on campus matters less than when you are at the frosh/soph level. So the perceived social disadvantage of GT is likely less than you think it is.</p>

<p>If you are from a low income family, it is unlikely that the out-of-state public universities you named will be affordable.</p>

<p>Yeah I never thought of it that way, the major mixing on campus. GT isn’t bad, still has stuff going on all the time and its in Midtown, tbh I just wanted… more. Eh ill most likely wait till post college for all that then, I’m so used to a small social circle now I don’t think id care as much as I think. </p>

<p>If you’re looking to get more plugged into campus, party a bit, and meet new people, you could consider going Greek. </p>

<p>Don’t commute, get an apartment with 3 other roomies close to campus and enjoy your 2-3 years at Georgia Tech. Leaving college with little to no debt will allow you to enjoy your career in aero much more. You will have time to do the social stuff as an alumni. I know it is hard to wait it out, but you will be much happier when you do and there will be little in the way of buying your first condo/house/new car because you have that degree and no debt.</p>