More Prestigious Out of State School OR FULL Ride to State School?

Hi guys, so I’m planning to major in computer science and then master in Business Admin. I was accepted to Georgia Tech without a scholarship and also The University of Kansas with a $68,000 scholarship (I am in state so basically, free education for 4 years). I would love to attend Georgia Tech due to their high ranking CS program and the chance to live in Atlanta. My parents are able to pay the out of state tuition, but I am just wondering if it’s worth it. I know this should not be relevant, but I also have a boyfriend of 2 years here who I really care for and that has impacted a lot of my hesitance as well, as much as I wish it didn’t. Anyways, any sort of advice/information you guys have would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

At first glance I’m thinking Go Jayhawks (even though as a Mizzou grad, it pains me)! That’s a big difference in money. Your parents could split the difference with you and you’d both have it quite a bit easier.

With that said, what do you want to do with your degree? Why the MBA right out of the gate?

I get that it’s on your parents’ dime, but Kansas for free or 200K for Georgia Tech is a pretty easy call.

Engineering curriculums are going to be pretty much the same wherever you go, ABET sets the bar fairly high. Just from personal experience, I’m at a high-ranking out of state school right now, but when I need extra study material I often use practice tests or problem sets my high school friends send me from the no-name commuter school back home. The curriculums, at least through the first two years, have been nearly identical, and the commuter school actually covers some topics in a little greater depth. Georgia Tech is definitely going to be better recruited and have better job opportunities than your state school, but I doubt there’s any real difference in the quality of education you’ll receive. And with a price difference equal to a small house, this is a no brainer.

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@eyemgh My ultimate career goal is to manage an IT department in a company, which is why I want to get an MBA. I understand I wouldn’t be able to achieve such a position right away, but it’s what I would like to do eventually.

@KF7LCE What school do you go to? And if you’re a CS major too, what are the classes like?
Also, thank you so much for your information and advice!

I’m at Texas A&M right now and I’m a EE major. Never made it beyond one intro class of C++ programming, so I really can’t help you there. The CS majors I know usually have their hands pretty full with homework and projects, but that’s the case for everyone in engineering.

I would highly suggest you hold off getting the MBA until you’ve had at least a few years of work experience. An MBA without work experience in the technical field is pretty useless, and once you’re working, your employer will most likely pick up most of the cost of the MBA.

@xkatiel13 I suggest before you make your decision you checkout the Denning Technology and Management Scholars Program at Georgia Tech. http://www.scheller.gatech.edu/centers-initiatives/technology-management-program/ It sounds exactly like what you are looking for in terms of your interests in college. One of my DD’s friends is in it and loves it.

My DD goes to GT and loves it. Tons of opportunity while being in a great city with sports teams she can cheer for. If money was an issue then I would say take Kansas’ merit award. If money is truly not an issue for your family then I say go to Georgia Tech. As you can tell I am a big fan of the school, it provides much more than an education for my DD- it also has opened up a world of opportunity for her and she has got to participate in a variety of activities. Faculty is very accessible, Tech Square and the innovative centers opening up there are wonderful for the STEM student. Wonderful faculty in the Women in Engineering Program. Cutting edge labs and equipment. She minors in CS and really likes the Dept. especially all the different CS tracks like intelligent machines. Dr. Ayanna Howard is a rock star in that field http://robotics.gatech.edu/team/faculty/howard My DD had coffee with her last month as part of the GC faculty fellows program.

Things to make GT cheaper are study abroad (everyone pays in-state rates), and co-ops/internships- you can earn money to apply toward your tuition.

Finally do not make your college decision based on your boyfriend. I work with students and I can tell you lots of stories of of my students have regrets having done that kind of college decision making. He can always visit you. I know it will be tough, but trust me you don’t want to go down that road.

Good luck in making your decision. It is nice to have those choices.

@xkatiel13, can I ask how you managed to get a $17,000/year scholarship from KU? We’re also Kansas residents, and when researching KU I thought the premier scholarship (for NMF) was worth $40k total ($10k/year).

Source: http://admissions.ku.edu/cs

@NUwildcat92 I applied in the fall of 2015 and was accepted in a few days. A couple weeks later later, I received a letter in the mail from KU offering me $12K per year. The scholarships that made up the $12K are Chancellor’s ($5K), Dean’s ($4K), and EECS ($3K). In February, I received another letter informing me that if I keep a 3.4, I would also be given the Summerfield Scholarship ($5K per year). That is a total of $17K annually. I did not explicitly apply for these scholarships; I only applied for admission. I hope this helps!

Computer Science may not teach you the IT side of things - you’ll be a fine software engineer but to make it to IT manager you need to know stuff like ITIL, operations, SLA’s and assorted business side esoterics. Maybe take a few Information Systems classes on the side (should be a cakewalk for a CS major). Also agree with the common wisdom of working for a few years then MBA.

@xkatiel13, thank you for the reply.

I’m going to weigh in on your original question, as I happen to have a BS in Computer Science + an MBA, plus I work in the information systems industry (an enterprise software company).

While GaTech has to be tempting, IMO free undergraduate education at KU is the way to go. If your parents are willing to pay the ~$160k it would cost to send you to GT for 4 years, perhaps they would be willing to let you defer that investment and use it for graduate school instead. Graduating without debt gives you enormous flexibility in the future, and $160k would cover the majority of costs of a two-year MBA from a top program, should you choose to pursue that in the future. Besides, your progress in your career goal of being an IT leader will be based on your work performance, so having a degree is from a higher-ranked Computer Science program won’t be a factor. As @turbo93 pointed out, CS and IT are really two different things.

I agree with @NoVADad99 that you are best served working for a few years before getting an MBA. The top MBA programs are mostly comprised of students with 2-5 years work experience. And most full-time MBA programs are designed to get you into a different company/career than you had going in–that’s why people quit their work to go to B-school.

FYI, most employers aren’t going to cover your MBA costs unless you are working for them at the same time. In such cases, you’re looking at a part-time or Executive MBA, and even that may only be partially subsidized by your employer. While there may be a handful of situations where a company will pay you to take off work for two years and will pay for your MBA, I wouldn’t go into your career expecting it; such situations were rare 15 years ago and are even more so now.

If this is a “use it or lose it” situation with respect to your parents’ investment in your undergraduate education, then you might as well go to GaTech. But if there’s any way you can convince them to defer that investment and allow you to “claim” it later, I’d recommend that. You’d be in a tremendous situation.

The other thing is whether it’s worth it to spend $160k to work in IT. It is this simple. My wife has a few degrees, one in CS, and has been in IT for nearly 3 decades. Getting to be a manager? maybe a lead software guy, or team leader, but from there to senior IT management… It is a big leap.

In our experience with large companies with large IT departments, I can’t recall an MBA being an IT manager unless we’re talking very high up or unless the MBA was obtained while working.

To be honest I would not spend $160k to work in CS either - in the off chance I’d be hired by the big names…

@xkatiel13 what did you decide?