Hi guys
I’m a student at Carlos III University (Madrid, Spain), I’m currently in my second year of Aerospace Engineering and next year I would like to study in one of those three Universities. I do not really care about the price of inscription since in my case it would be the same for the three of them (through a program of mobility my university has), however the cost of life there, the social life and the recognition are very important for me.
So… between Georgia Tech, Purdue University and University of California (I am aware this one has a lot of different campus but I will not know the particular campus until further, so I would be applying for all of them)
Which one is better for my major?
Which one am I going to enjoy more?
Which one is the cheapest?
Purdue and Georgia Tech have enormous prestige in Engineering.
Some UCs also, some less so, some way more.
UCs will win on weather and quality of life. However they’ll be the most expensive for housing costs (expect $ 8-10,000). UCM and UCR would have cheaper rents but they’re also less well ranked than the others.
Georgia Tech is high strung, weather will be good most of the year, so social life would be lacking, recognition would be high.
Purdue is competitive with weedout classes but if you can take 3rd and 4th year classes you should be in the clear; you’ll have a lot of snow and cold winds, plan for special clothing (insulated coat, mittens, hats, boots), better social life, probably the cheapest for housing costs.
Housing costs for the UC’s would be closer to $12-15,000 depending upon living situation and location. Are you looking to be near a large city, beach etc… Not all UC campuses offer Aerospace which should narrow it down a bit.
Ga tech is academically very intense and prestigious in engineering. Its in midtown offset from the city but in the city and a car is not required to get around. Contrary to what some think students at GT have social lives. Thursday and Friday are the nights they go out. Rent is running at least $1k per month outside of Home park. There are cheaper options but the housing at cheap levels is pretty bad and very sought after.
What I got was:
Gatech: Pros: Very well recognised, good weather, not the most expensive, no car required
Cons: Stressful and less social life (in general)
Purdue: Pros: better social life, cheapest, well recognised
Cons: cold, sometimes problems in 1st and 2nd year
California: Pros: weather, life quality, some very, very well recognised
Cons: expensive rent (except particular campus), some not so well recognised
I actually have to order them following my preferences I would probably put California on top but now I am aware that it depends a lot on the particular campus and it is also more expensive to live.
Gatech looks great academicly but I am not that convinced with the other aspects of my life there.
Purdue seems like a mix of them both but less recognised.
I am still going to think about it so if anyone else can help me or correct my conclusions that would be great.
Thanks again!
By the way, I totally forgot about California State Long Beach University, I thought it was the same as California University but apparently it is not, any opinions?
Academically it’d be the least recognized of the bunch(although it’s definitely a good university - it’s just that the other are really good). Very commuter-oriented. Not sure it’s a good choice for a study abroad.
My child goes to GT and i assure you those that choose to have social lives have them. You can find a party every night of the week if you choose. Its a perception my child had before attending and it is false. Yes, there are students who are squirrels but there are plenty of students who are very active socially. However, academically the work is grueling and you better love advanced calculus. If you want easy, GT is definitely not the place to go. Its also very diverse in that there are students there from all over the world. What drew my child to GT is that something was always going on with people out and about at all hours. It was not a dead campus. And you could walk to the grocery store, restaurants, the park and what not. I cannot comment on the other schools having never visited.
Admittedly my child was hanging out with some exchange students one night from europe at GT and they were shocked as to the course rigor. It was harder than anything they had experienced at their home university.
I have heard so, however I’m hopeful that the level won’t be that different. In Spain as far as I know the level for engineering is well considered in Europe. But again, I am not that informed for the USA.
US News has GT and Purdue both ranked as top 10 engineering schools, for undergrad, grad, and aerospace. For all its flaws, US News is as close as you can get to some national estimate of prestige. Out of curiosity, I looked up a few senior people and where they went to undergrad:
Richard Ambrose, VP Lockheed Space Systems- DeVry
Jim Chilton, VP Boeing Space and Missile Systems - Washington State University
Todd Citron, VP Engineering Boeing BDS - Purdue
Janis G. Pamiljans - VP Northrop Aerospace - San Jose State
Richard Yuse - VP Raytheon Space and Airborne - Northeastern
Prestige isn’t a big issue in aerospace engineering, or engineering in general. I’ve worked at a couple of aerospace companies, including Boeing, and no company is going to hire someone who went to Georgia Tech or Purdue over a UC just because of where they went to school.