Thanks. The question was more general and not about the OP. I was curious is there any documents drawn up or if it is just an agreement in good faith between parents and their kid.
OP was admitted to honors college at Purdue which has beautiful housing. So no housing issues for this student
OP - have you looked into Back a Boiler vs a traditional loan? If your parents havenât considered that, Iâd encourage you to look into that program.
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I do have AP Physics 1 and AP Physics C, AP Calc AB and BC, AP Chem, AP Bio, AP Spanish, AP Micro and Macro Economics, AP World History, AP Human Geo, Ap Stats. I also have some college courses.
My parents would never let me drop out. They will make sure I have the tuition paid. I will just pay them back later.
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My nephew was admitted and probably going to GT and my son will probably end up at Purdue (we are waiting for UIUC). Both boys chose what felt right and lower price. My nephew is in state in Georgia and has the Hope scholarship. The only thing my nephew is worried about is that GT has a reputation of being a very stressful and competitive environment (donât know if that is accurate, my nephew lives in Atlanta and that is what he has heard?) We live in IL, so thatâs why we are still waiting for UIUC and havenât committed to Purdue yet. My son did summer programs at both Purdue and IL. He said Purdue was awesome. He felt everyone was warm and welcoming. He felt it was a very collaborative environment. So even if UIUC is a yes, I have a feeling weâre going to be saying âBoiler Up!â Just remember, youâll get a great engineering education at either school. Now you just have to figure out where youâll be happier for 4 years. After all, if youâre happy, youâll probably do better and get more out of your education. Donât let anyone, even your physics teacher, let you forget that.
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Pay attention to declaration or changing major.
Purdue and tOSU start engineering students as engineering undeclared. Purdue requires a 3.2 college GPA to assure first choice major; otherwise competitive for space available. tOSU lists different college GPA criteria for each major.
GT allows one free change of major early in the program, but other changes require approval.
What engineering majors are your preference?
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Very good point. I will say, that although you need a 3.2 to guarantee your major at Purdue, 93% of students get their first choice major regardless of GPA. And if internships and co-ops are on your radar, youâll need a good GPA regardless of where you choose. But it is an added layer to the programs to evaluate.
The 93% probably includes the 3.2+ GPA automatic admit students.
However, that percentage varies depending on:
- Which major is the studentâs first choice.
- The studentâs GPA.
A 3.1 GPA student whose first choice major is an unpopular one that never fills department capacity will get it. But a 2.1 GPA student whose first choice major is popular enough that the department does not have capacity to take all interested students will probably not get it.
What would be more useful for Purdue to disclose is the percentage admit rate for each major by GPA band (e.g. 3.00-3.19, 2.80-2.99, etc.) to give a better idea of which majors are likely to be more competitive for students who fall below 3.2.
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Agree, more specific data would be helpful!
From what I understand, kids who are at lower limits of GPA requirements often times struggle to get through the rest of the engineering classes. And lower GPA will make finding jobs more difficult. Something to consider if you expect you may be one with a lower GPA.
I certainly hope after being at top of my class and getting all Aâs and 4âs and 5âs on my AP exams that I can handle engineering courses. The only class that has been harder is AP Gov. My teacher was amazing but super hard.
Unless campus culture and vibe are more important than programs, GT would seem to be the better choice. OTOH, after visiting, the OP may prefer the city scene. Only s/he can decide on the subjectives.
I agree itâs between Purdue and GT.
If you canât visit GT- then just go with Purdue.
If you can visit GT and you love it there, great. Go with GT.
If you visit GT and donât think you would be as happy as at Purdue, then PLEASE go with Purdue.
Both are good programs, well-respected. you need to be happy and enjoy your 4 years. Donât think only in terms of job placement and the like. these will probably be the best 4 years of your life- donât ruin them by trying to grow up too fast. If you really prefer Purdue then you should choose it over GT- itâs not like choosing {Random State University} over Harvard (which, by the way, I also might not have a major problem with).
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From an industry perspective, I have always thought GT and Purdue to be equivalent in the quality of their graduates. Iâm not sure what your physics teacher is basing his/her opinion on. But I would go with gut feel after visiting GT.
Regarding cost, there are conflicting statements over whether cost is really an issue. If it is, I donât believe either of these is worth the additional $150k over Alabama. Engineering salaries are relatively flat across schools. Also, your academic performance suggests you may be the type that will ultimately go on to grad school. If so, that $150k could come in handy. Whether or not you choose to reveal to this forum, I would recommend honestly looking at why Alabama wonât work.
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Definitely not going to Alabama. I know I would not be happy there or fit in. Cost is not an issue. I do truly believe that going to GT or Purdue will help me land my first job as an Engineer with a higher salary.
If I go to Grad school, I will go through my employer. My father did that and it was 100% paid for by the company.
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Also, I think that my physics teacher just knows how hard it is to get into GT. I am the first person at my school to get into GT Engineering.
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Couple things (not trying to talk you into another school).
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Super star students get their a$$ kicked in engineering - depending on the study, 50%+ of engineers donât make it through. My son got merit at Purdue - so a top student - and is at Bama and is getting his a$$ kicked. Iâm not saying you wonât do well - but be confident but take it serious. You may also consider re-taking some of the engineering core classes - on the day we visited Colorado School of Mines, their students said to do so - take the AP for Human Geo but not for Calc BC, etc. Personal choice - but my son wanted to use hall is AP credits had to withdraw and re-take a class because he shouldnât have been in the class anyway even though he was placed there by his 5 in AP.
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Grad school - depends what you study. Many engineers will study business - itâs a personal choice and so much comes into the equation - i.e. how much are you making, do you have a family, etc. - but typically going full time is a smarter move. When you go via the company part time and graduate, you get a pat on the back - and not much elseâŠbut these scenarios are many years off.
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You do need to go to a school that you are comfortable with. Iâd ask though - have you been to Bama? You said itâs not right for you and it was never part of the equation - but Iâm asking are you killing it based on experience or stereotype?? If not, you can tag onto your Ga Tech trip - what you see as the South is 60% OOS with tons from the midwest, NE, and West and what kids say - the nicest engineering campus. They also have the most NMF qualifiers in the country - so tons of smart kids - over 900 of them. All the rankings rate itâs overall campus very high and my son says how beautiful it is - I personally donât see it - but he chose it for the dorm (Ridgecrest South) and being close to mom. It never hurts to check things out is all iâm saying - but you seem tied to the three you listed and really just Purdue at this point with a tbd of Ga Tech. I will say - everything I hear about Purdue and my son experienced in his week at STEP - man, what a fantastic program and campus does it sound like!!!
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As for going to a school and getting more money - I donât think thatâs the case. Where you work and who you work for will impact that. When I got my MBA from a lesser school, my starting salary was identical to my counterparts from Dartmouth and UCLA. My son earned the same last summer as his Ga Tech intern counterparts and he was invited back and they werenât. Will Ga Tech likely give you better career opportunities than name pretty much most any other state school - absolutely - but for the vast majority of these kids, financially salary outcomes will be similar.
is there a specific industry of interest? Not sure where your dad works but automotive, aviation, appliances, steel, paper, healthcare - or anything specific are you agnostic as long s it pays well?
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Isnât it past Alabamaâs application deadline?
I read some excitement in your original post about tOSU. I am one that doesnât believe that there is much of a difference between all 3 in engineering. Intel just committed to a $20 billion investment in Columbus. I would look at other quality of life factors also to make my decision. For the greater area, I would put them Columbus, Atlanta, West Lafayette. For sports it is tOSU > Purdue >> GT. Everyone is doing GT vs Purdue. I am just here to say it is OK to pick tOSU.
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It sounds like OP has already been accepted to Alabama. I think @mom2collegekids had a child or two who attended Alabama for engineering. I donât believe employers will pay more if you get an engineering degree from GTech.
My COA to Alabama would be 4k but I am choosing to not go there.