I’m at a bit of a crossroads. I have been accepted to both Georgia Tech (instate) for Eng and Northwestern for dual degree music and engineering. I loved NU when I visited and love the concept of the dual degree, but am concerned about the return investment-- I may have to take out loans to finance all of my education, and NU costs around 13K per year more (and the dual degree program is 5 years). Georiga Tech ranks higher in most eng areas (I’m considering ChemE, CS, and BME) so if I do choose NU I want to make sure I’m going to have just as good of an education/job opportunities as I would with GT. GT has no music majors which really draws me towards NU, but I have to make sure ill be able to pay back 100K+ student loan debt on top of possibly going to graduate school… any suggestions would help. Thank you so much!
There’s no ROI guarantee, and $13k/year is a significant consideration. I’d head south, if I were you (and I’m a huge NWern fan).
Yes, Northwestern is a great school, but probably not worth $50,000+ more over four years. Georgia Tech obviously is also great in Engineering and has plenty of rep. So – unless you absolutely favor NU over GIT from a fit standpoint, I think
Tech is the better deal and choice.
Thanks guys!
I am a graduate student at GT with an undergraduate degree from a top 20 institution (US News Ranking). Having been educated at both institutions, I think my opinion can be somewhat useful albeit biased and opinionated. So, take it for what it’s worth.
For GT,
Pros:
- It is a top premier public engineering program
- Tuition is very cheap (even for out-of-state students)
- There are some very well-known scholars and academics in the engineering program.
- Location (warmer; also at the heart of Atlanta)
- Better at sports - football and basketball (not by much these days)
Cons: - After all, it is a public institution, which means that…
- admin service really sucks (lazy government workers with inferiority complex)
- professors tend not to care for students (trust me, this doesn’t happen at a private institution like Northwestern)
- Tenured professors are often complacent and lazy. Those without tenure-ship are too busy trying to publish. Teaching is the last thing both care for.
- For many students, GT was their back-up school - many with a chip on their shoulder.
For NW,
Pros:
- One of the best institutions in the world
- World renowned professors, some of whom may be Nobel laureates
- Professors tend to care more for students (know students by their first names)
- More school pride
Cons: - Expensive
- Location (Chicago’s winter can be brutal)
- Virtually no sports
Overall, both are great institutions, but if I have to choose only one, I would go to Northwestern. In fact, my overall experience at GT has been sub-par and underwhelming compared to the one from my undergraduate.
@mongoose2, just want to put out there that these days, NU football is a big deal.
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may have to take out loans to finance all of my education, and NU costs around 13K per year more (and the dual degree program is 5 years). Georiga Tech ranks higher in most eng areas (I’m considering ChemE, CS, and BME) so if I do choose NU I want to make sure I’m going to have just as good of an education/job opportunities as I would with GT. GT has no music majors which really draws me towards NU, but I have to make sure ill be able to pay back 100K+ student loan debt on top of possibly going to graduate school… any suggestions would h
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It would be insane to borrow $100k when GT is on the table. You wont’ get paid more with a NU degree.
Besides, what person would be qualifying and cosigning the majority of those loans? Does the person understand that they’d be responsible for those loans if you can’t pay them?
How much is GT costing you and how will that be paid?
Are these your only two choices??
Which one did you pick OP?
Oh my, financing own education. Pursue your music interests outside of GT and go there as the lesser cost school.
The graduate student posting is not in the ‘real world’. He won’t be paying all the years of that debt. You will have enough debt from GT. Don’t go over the deep end with NU.
I wouldn’t make that assumption if I were you. I did have plenty work experience before coming back to school. Whem I graduated from my undergraduate, I had 80k plus debt, most of which is paid off now due to my living frugally; this doesn’t mean that one has no life but work. I am happily married with a baby.
Despite all the student debt, my experience in college was worth the cost and more. See, the problem is that most of you wouldn’t know whether you like something or not unless you taste it yourself. Fortunately, I have had the chance to experience two institutions and know which one I like better.
This will perhaps be my last post as I have better things to do. Graduating from either school, you should have no problem finding a decent job that pays you a decent salary with a nice year-end bonus. The accumulation of 5~6 year annual bonuses alone should be enough to cover most of your student loans. Sure, you won’t be able to buy a house or a new car during those years, but it’s certainly doable and not as bad as some others say. Especially, schools like NW have enough endowment money in their warchest that they should be very generous with scholarship (I went to Notre Dame - another school with a pretty good endowment). There is also a reason why schools like GT is cheap to attend; I find their service to be cheap as well. That being said, you shouldn’t let money your major factor in choosing which school to attend. It’s certainly a factor, but not the major one. You should visit both schools and talk to alums from both institutions and all. Good luck with your search, and I am sure you will do just fine.
Sorry all, I haven’t logged on in a while, but if you were wondering [@SouthFloridaMom9 ] I ended up choosing to attend Northwestern. I really could not pass up the opportunity to study voice and engineering, along with the fantastic education and resources provided by Northwestern and Chicago. I still think GT is definitely an amazing school, but after receiving enough scholarships from NU to make it feasible, it was clear to me that NU was the appropriate choice-- I feel like with how selective it is, I wouldn’t have even been admitted if I weren’t meant to be there. Regardless, with my family’s help and my own resources & scholarships, I should be able to graduate with a lot less loans than I thought. GT is definitely an amazing institution for the value, but I honestly do not think I would have been happy in that environment. Thank you all for your help!