Ga Tech is definitely a world class university, and a diploma from GT will open doors for employment, at least in the southeast U.S… Don’t know the reach of its reputation throughout the country.
Parents, you have to know your child well to figure out if the stress and pressure of GT will motivate or melt him/her. The lower level classes are taught with a “weed out” mentality. Students used to getting all A’s without much effort in HS could be devastated by the work required to even pass a class at GT. Large lecture halls and TA’s are the norm.
This is one of those schools you really need to visit and experience first hand. It is in the city, but still manages to seem like a more traditional campus with lots of trees and green spaces between buildings. Campus safety could be better, but a student using common sense should be fine. Don’t walk alone late at night, stay aware of your surroundings, etc.
@scubadive - You are right about the hand holding . But DS was in Fitten his first year. While it was small I thought it was fine. I am hoping my 9th grader ends up there in a couple of years. He also has lived in the Graduate living center, the Undergraduate living center and now the Eight street apartments. They have their own rooms in all three of those places and the appliances are newer than mine at home… My husband and I commented that his apartment is a huge step up from what we did both lived in during college and before we bought our house. I can’t see any reason for him to live off campus.
I haven’t seen the apartments yet but the dorm my daughter is in is not great. I don’t have a problem with that except how much money they charge for them. Furniture is way too big for those rooms. My only concern with those apts is their location for safety and I maybe completely wrong. I don’t know what we are going to do for housing next year yet.
I feel staying in the on campus apartments is the safest thing. Only the graduate living center is kind of far away and off of 10th but usually undergrads don’t end up there. DS did but only because last year they under estimated how many kids would stay on campus. The undergraduate living center and the eight street apartments are by the dorms so they are fine. DS tried to talk me into letting him live off campus this year because it was cheaper but I don’t feel any of the off campus apartments or houses are as safe especially if you walk at night.
My s12 was accepted to GT, and to a couple of more expensive privates. Because of the merit money he got at privates, they were cheaper than GT. I suggested he follow the money, because he could transfer to GT if he wound up not liking the private, but he would not likely get the merit money as a transfer. He followed my advice, and he has loved his college experience.
I’m having trouble with wanting to pay for GT OOS too. We have multiple ties to the area and numerous alumni in our direct family which adds to the appeal. If my S16 gets into one of the 100% need met ultra competitive schools they say we would get grant money that would make the cost $10K less than GT despite having a high income. The next year I will have 2 in college and that grant amount would increase at the competitive private schools but GT would only decrease our cost by a few thousand. My son also applied to Purdue which has stats not quite as good as GT but not that far off in many fields BUT they have many more merit scholarship opportunities which would make it very close to instate tuition in our state. It will be hard to justify spending an extra $60K on GT than our excellent state flagship or Purdue.
A couple of things to consider for all that are considering OOS at GT and want to mitigate the costs.
Student should do a CO-OP, (if you are studying engineering, this is a must to land a real good job after graduation. Through CO-OP’s a student can earn around $40K (3 rotations). If youo can do another summer internship that another ~$8K
Do study abroad (in state costs) - At least one semester. This will savean additional ~$10K.
You put that together withthe fact that most engineering jobs are paying at least $65K/year and your kid could be debt free in 3-4 years.
The comment about Purdue caught my eye. I have been watching the acceptance thread this year for Purdue and $10K seems to be the max OOS award I’ve seen. That’s OK, but I think it still keeps you in the GT ballpark.
"- Student should do a CO-OP, (if you are studying engineering, this is a must to land a real good job after graduation. Through CO-OP’s a student can earn around $40K (3 rotations). "
As a parent of a GT engineering co-op student I agree that a student who does a 3 rotation co-op at GT should make at least 40K.
Utility of coop in career (vs costs) depends on the coop. Toured a northeastern well regarded private eng school. Tour guide described her coop, had nothing to do with tech or engineering, sounded like work for a business major. She was some type of eng major. Heard GOOD coops are very competitive. As far as saving money, kids need living expenses unless coop is near home, limiting career-worthy options.
Most of the time CO-OPs pay for living expenses or give an allowance. Even there are others that if the job is too far from home they will pay to take your car there or give an allowance to rent a car.
Help !! I’ve done all the research and I’ve crunched all the numbers (so I think). Can anyone help close the gap between UF (in-state) total 4 Year Costs of $60,000 (inclusive of the $12k Bright Futures Scholarship) and the $180,000 Ga Tech OOS costs? I’m aware of the Study Abroad program offering a semester of In-State Tuition and the CO-OP Program. Personally, I see the CO-OP more as a great learning process in gaining experience but not necessarily something that will significantly close the tuition differential since the income will only offset the extra semester(s) living expenses. Yes, I’m aware of the academic differences between the 2 schools … that’s why I’m continuing to explore every option to close the $120,000 cost differential. Thanks !!
@blevine - I doubt that many of the engineering co-ops that kids get from GT are non- engineering. I think you are probably talking more about internships where students are only there once. Not much you can do with that. However with the 3 or 4 rotation co-ops the companies get a lot more out of the students.If you want to know about the kind of co-ops the GT students get you can ask them over on Reddit.
I’m a current student at Georgia Tech. Regarding co-ops, I’d say there’s quite a range of salaries and functions. It’s easier to get a co-op than an internship, especially if you have a low GPA. If you intern, you can quite often be a repeat intern. I personally don’t see particular value in co-oping over interning, as it ties you to a company and means you’re moving around quite a bit (unless it’s in Atlanta co-op). Some internships and co-op programs offer to provide housing or give housing stipends. Both engineering and non-engineering students have no trouble finding co-ops/internships, but it seems to be hardest for biomedical engineers. Generally, internships are 10-12 weeks and co-ops are 16 weeks per terms, so 3 internships would make you less money at the same hourly rate. That being said, salaries range a LOT. I believe co-ops prefer to start you at a lower salary. I know people who’ve worked for $17 an hour and people who’ve worked for $35 an hour. Georgia Tech has incredible name recognition, so you will be able to find a great job when you graduate. That is also true of Purdue, though, and probably true of any state flagship (within that state, at least). I’m from out of state and don’t regret not choosing a cheaper school at all.
Regarding the dorms and apartments, freshman dorms weren’t tiny, on-campus apartments (be it North Ave, Center St, or GLC) are pretty large but with dated appliances, and the fun, new apartment buildings in Tech Square (SQ5 and University House) are in safe areas and comparably priced.
Georgia Tech’s rank, reputation, research dollars, faculty caliber, and techy urban campus rank right up there LITERALLY with Stanford , Berkeley and MIT. Now Berkeley, also a public school has a higher rank for ENGLISH LITERATURE however. Look up the GT ranks, its very high for everything it offers including business.
Whether a school is a public school like Georgia Tech or Berkeley is not as important as other factors. All state schools, just like privates need to be judged on their merits or measures that matter to your son or daughter, like class size, research opportunities, career center, internships, curriculums offered, recreation (have you seen that GT swimming pool?) arts opportunities etc.
So the fact that GT is a public school should not be held against GT.
DarkStar904, if you applied early decision then your best choice to knock the gap significantly is by either getting the Presidential or the Provost Scholarships (Provost knocks out your OOS premium). You get that and get a Co-op and your are within striking distance. Good luck!
@lapagan - We’d expedite acceptance with the Presidential or Provost Scholarship – Unfortunately, even with an extremely high SAT (including 780 in Math), a 4.6 WGPA, loaded extras (e.g. NHS Pres., etc.) those scholarships are so limited for highly competitive group of Early Action applicants. Alternative plan is UF double major (Civil Engineering & Math) then GT for Grad School.
