<p>Georgia Tech is a great school in a nice area of a dynamic city. 4 years ago when we were looking, GTech’s 4-year graduation rate was low; 5-6 years was typical. Which is fine, as long as you know that going in and you’re set up to handle it.</p>
<p>GTech is not alone in this regard–not intending to pick on it!</p>
<p>a lot of engineering schools have relatively low-graduation rates because students do internships and co-ops during college which can tack on an extra year or two to college</p>
<p>true that, pierre. It is important to ask the question carefully and understand the information you receive. In the case I described above, we were not discussing coops and the internships would be over the summer. One needs to understand how many years of tuition/room/board are on the table when comparing financial information. Sometimes it comes down to something as prosaic as scheduling conflicts, which can become expected and institutionalized. I advocate knowing what you are buying!</p>
<p>also another thing is that the student needs to be proactive in knowing what classes he/she needs in order to graduate, sometimes bad advising can lead to the student taking the wrong classes and as a result be forced to add on another year!</p>
<p>Have to go back to the Pitt comment.</p>
<p>The cutoff for merit aid is 34 ACT!</p>
<p>My son got a 31, and I doubt very seriously he’ll be able to bring it up to a 32.</p>
<p>His SAT went down the second time, from a 2100 to a 2040.</p>
<p>Are state schools more selective in giving out Merit Aid to OOS students?</p>
<p>Many state schools are more selective giving out merit aid for OOS students vs. in-state. Remember that funding for state schools is primarily dedicated to in-state students. Exceptions are for state schools trying to climb the US News or other ratings ladders. They tend to treat in and OOS students equally if they are very high scorers and have high grades, since that drives up the rankings.</p>
<p>We are fine if no merit aid. I had read somewhere that if you are in the top 25% of the schools SAT acceptance then you get some aid (eg, Santa Clara U), if the school is expensive and is private, with aid it comes to the state level tuition.</p>
<p>Since his SAT score and SAT 2 is above what his GPA reflects we thought that some schools might take a look at him even with no merit aid its ok so long as he goes to a good school.</p>
<p>We need to look at Gtech carefully if its going to take him 5-6 years to get a bachelors there - he may not have the patience to last that long. Unless of course he loves it there - which I have no way of knowing right now. He is not enjoying his HS studies as the teachers (mainly AP) are boring and tough. They have been teaching for 30-40 years.</p>
<p>His whole impression about college is that its going to be like HS, so its going to be a big task finding a place for him.</p>
<p>pixeljig, if you are concerned about the expected time to graduate at Gtech, please contact them; my info is from 2005-2006. I just wanted to raise the issue.</p>
<p>Thanks, Yes I was going to do all the research in detail to come up with the short list.</p>
<p>Pierre, you seem to be very active on these boards and I have enjoyed reading your posts - esp since I read a lot of enginr posts too. Would you mind sharing your views about Clemson with me? Or your short list of colleges</p>
<p>We are US citizens, living in Asia…sons go to the American school here. DS is into CS, pretty laid back but bright. He misses HW assignments and due dates due to the laid back, ‘I dont think I am learning anything in HS’ attitude which shows in his B GPA. He has taken tough courses and loves learning for learnings sake. I think he would be happy where he can get some good guidance but not a lot of glare. People in his class think he is a geek, because he is quiet, but when they get to know him, they get amazed how much he knows on just about any topic under the sun. He does not talk because he does not want to show off that he knows so much. I know he has got a lot of potential but am also worried that he might get lost in a big place where competition is high.</p>
<p>pixel, </p>
<p>One of my kids had SATs higher than grades would predict. I did not find that it opened up new colleges. The student didn’t even get into all match schools (got into 2/3 with match based on grades). What it did mean was an unexpected merit scholarship at one school-- but since it was out-of-state, even with the merit we were gapped. Since your son is at a private school, try to guesstimate his rank and find out where similar kids went.</p>
<p>I think our school here is deemed pretty tough so the Naviance gives a better than avg picture for him if lets say I had to just look at the particular college’s website for acceptances instead. We would be happy if he gets into the matches but have to come up with a safety list which I am finding to be very challenging.</p>
<p>If USC, GTech, Vandy, UCD, UCI, CAL POLY SLO is high match and SCU, UCSC is match then what can be safety? </p>
<p>Would LAC’s be better because he can do with some hand holding? Which LAC’s have a good CS/Math program?</p>
<p>There are great LAC’s on the west coast for CS</p>
<p>Harvey Mudd and Reed are 2 examples but they are probably reaches/high matches</p>
<p>Another school you may want to consider, even though it isn’t necessarily in your geographical area, is Virginia Tech. The engineering school has a very good reputation, though I don’t know about CS. I had two step children graduate from VT (one this year) and both had multiple job offers comming right out of college…no small feat in these times. Also, the tuition is actually affordable.</p>
<p>My D is one who had an odd experience with her applications to colleges. Her grades were very good, but her SAT’s were just a tad above average. She was accepted to every school she applied to except one, which was a long reach. She was offered merit aid at all the “fit” colleges (except our in-state school…rather odd I thought), but no merit aid at the “reach” schools. She will be attending American University in Washington DC.</p>
<p>My DS applied OOS to Georgia Tech and UT Austin this year (legacy at UT) and with 3.59 UW (top 25%) GPA, top 14% SATs, several APs and lots of ECs, he did not get in or wait-listed at either school. One of the most difficult things I learned is that Texas guarantees admission to the Texas university of your choice if you are a top 10% Texas high school student. A lot of kids with the choice choose UT so OOS admissions are very low. And with Georgia Tech, Georgia residents have the Hope scholarship, so if they get admitted, they attend for free…with this economy a LOT of kids are choosing in-state where they can go for cheap or free. He was accepted and will attend UMCP in their limited enrollment Architecture program. Maryland has strong engineering and CS courses so it’s probably a solid match for your S. He’s very happy with the idea of going to Maryland, although his pride was hurt at first for not getting into Georgia Tech and Texas. He’d have been a shoo-in for Texas if he was in-state and we always knew GT was a reach. BTW, Georgia Tech throws out all electives and recalculates the student’s GPA based solely on core courses, something else I didn’t know going in. You can find more on this issue here under the High School GPA/Rigor of Curriculum FAQ: [Georgia</a> Institute of Technology :: Undergraduate Admission :: Freshman Application Review Process](<a href=“Blow the Whistle! (404 error: page not found) | Undergraduate Admission”>Blow the Whistle! (404 error: page not found) | Undergraduate Admission).</p>
<p>^^agreed about Virginia Tech, pixeljig, when I get the time I’ll send you a message talking about how I picked my schools to apply to for engineering</p>
<p>Oh, one more reason I’m glad S didn’t get into Ga. Tech…69% male student population.</p>
<p>well that’s an opinion that different people will differ, I know my dad would be happy to send me to GT because of the lack of women on campus haha</p>
<p>Friend’s mom vetoed GTech because of lack of females. Son goes to all boy HS. He’s going to UVA. </p>
<p>Keep us posted on UMCP. Son is interested in attending school in the DC area, so we’re going to apply. First choice is Marquette, but if can’t take the cold, may be a transfer option.</p>
<p>Pierre-do you know anything about Mississippi State? They have BME, and son could probably get in there.</p>
<p>Also, Pierre, I heard that Auburn and Clemson are sister schools. Auburn is well respected down here. As a matter of fact, most of us always thought that Auburn and Clemson were private schools like Tulane, they were that highly regarded. BTW, this is not a snub to state schools. Just an old stereotype bias.</p>
<p>I actually do not know anything about Mississippi State and I have not heard of anybody suggesting it for engineering. Is that your in-state college?</p>
<p>Students who consider Clemson also often consider Auburn too so they are in fact sister schools for applicants. To be honest, neither Auburn or Clemson are particularly “prestigious” in the US for engineering but you can definitely get a solid engineering education at both schools and graduates earn salaries similar to those at the top engineering schools.</p>
<p>My DS had results similar to Katytibbs - higher sats (1420) and A- average, admitted to honors programs at public colleges similar to her list, with some others. DS lived abroad, had significant ECs, many APs - was denied at all reach schools, and all match schools save 2 lacs, which did not look attractive compared to the merit monies at the publics. My Ds also liked American, got 20K year in scholarship monies from them, and almost attended. We listed him as applying for financial aid. </p>
<p>VERY weird year - some kids with lesser stats accepted at the reach schools where DS was not. </p>
<p>Advice - move the target zone slighly lower if you can not pay full cost and higher if you can… For many middle class or slightly upper middle class families, the public tuitions looked attractive this year — DS ended up at a public with merit aid. So, too did some of the kids in his HS class with lower ivy admissions whose financial aid packages did not work for the families…</p>