<p>my son wants to study comp. sci, maybe math or physics as a minor or double major. any advice among these 3 schools?</p>
<p>Undoubtedly Georgia tech ranked the highest among these 3.
Which state are you in? How much fin-aid does RPI provide you?</p>
<p>In my opinion, as a practical matter RPI is in no way second to Georgia Tech.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Exactly. RPI is every bit as strong academically as Gatech. GT tends to be ranked higher because its much bigger, but the quality of RPI and GT grads are about the same.</p>
<p>Gt >>>> rpi >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>rit</p>
<p>We’re in Mississippi where Ga. Tech is well-known, RPI much less so, except among engineers who hold it in high regard. Don’t have a financial aid award from RPI yet (expected today). Don’t expect to receive anything from Ga. Tech.</p>
<p>Just got our letter. He’s being offered $12,600 in a Rensselaer Leadership Award, less than we had hoped. That gets the price down to about $7,000 more than Ga. Tech.</p>
<p>If your son want to stay south, Ga Tech. If north, RPI.</p>
<p>Also, consider RPI now has a very good Business school. GT is limited.</p>
<p>S1, chem eng, chose UF over GT due to variety of people and interests.
Family members hv gone to RPI. Gotta say, they are all successful and still very involved with the school.</p>
<p>Comparing GA Tech vs RPI (I can’t say anything about RIT, since I know almost nothing about the school, but most of what I’ll list below does generalize), you’ll get valid arguments in either direction. Here are some things to keep in mind:</p>
<p>1) Size of the school. GT has about four to five times the number of undergrads that RPI has. The departments are correspondingly bigger. This can either be a good thing (larger pool of potential friends, more course offerings per semester, more research groups to enter, etc) or a bad thing (you see your close friends less often, it’s harder for professors to get to know you on an individual level, etc).</p>
<p>2) Academics. GA Tech has some really good faculty (in theoretical computer science, at least, they have a few really big names), while RPI’s faculty is generally younger and less well known (at least in “core theory”… I can’t say as much about other CS sub-fields). Professors at both schools are more than good enough to give your child an excellent undergraduate education. The undergraduate populations at both schools are generally comparable, with similarly qualified high school students electing to attend either.</p>
<p>3) Rankings and public perception. Georgia tech is higher ranked than RPI in all of those majors. Some would argue that its because it’s a better school, others claim it’s solely due to size (I personally don’t know which to believe, nor do I think it really matters). From what I heard, GT is very well known in the south (where RPI isn’t really known*), whereas both RPI and GT are well known in the north (with RPI possibly having a slight edge?). Your son will eventually want to do something with his degree, so as arbitrary as this metric may be, it’s important to consider these factors in your decision-making.</p>
<p>4) Location. Is one of them much closer to home than the other? I liked being close enough to home (Boston, in my case) that I could occasionally travel there on long weekends. Another possible consideration is weather (Troy winters are harsh, Atlanta ranks 10th in worst US cities for Spring allergies ( [In</a> Pictures: Top 100 Worst Cities For Spring Allergies - Forbes.com](<a href=“In Pictures: Top 100 Worst Cities For Spring Allergies”>In Pictures: Top 100 Worst Cities For Spring Allergies) )).</p>
<p>5) Cost. If the schools are close enough on your list, it might not be a bad idea to start thinking about price. Is a marginal difference worth the added financial headache? Maybe. Only you can decide.</p>
<ul>
<li>My colleagues’ experiences lead me to believe that this phenomenon is mostly be restricted to the southeast. I know plenty of RPI alumni who ended up finding work or pursuing further education in California or Arizona after graduating.</li>
</ul>
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<p>Anyway, if you have any specific questions about either the Computer Science or Math curricula, feel free to PM me (or start a new thread). I double majored in the two (at RPI), and will try to answer any question you have in as unbiased manner as possible.</p>