<p>First off, congrats to all of of you who got into your choice univ. and thanks for being a part of CC where we can help each other out.</p>
<p>I've been wait listed at Stanford and have been accepted into UT and Georgia Tech. I've gotten into some other good schools with $, but I want to go to a better school, which brings me to this question...Which of these two schools, UT Austin and Georgia Tech, has a better academic reputation? I know Stanford's at the top of the heap, no argument. I know prestige isn't everything, but how do they rank like if you said to someone (employer/guy on the street) I went to GT or UT? Sure, it's not an Ivy, but I know Texas has great engineering programs as does Georgia Tech, but Texas has a lot of other good stuff like Arch, Law, Business, Pharmacy, etc.. They rank pretty much the same in Civil Engineering (US News), but GT has a higher national ranking (35 vs. 44?) and is said to be a top 7 public school. Also, in those Shanghai Jiang Tao Ratings (don't know how reputable) UT is a lot higher than GT. Same in the Times Higher education supplement. But Texas is a public Ivy whereas GT is not.</p>
<p>I'm not a ratings whore, but it does constitute a portion of why I want to go to a certain univ. At this point I am liking Texas better, but GT was okay. It's just that I don't understand how Texas can be ranked much lower than its counterparts because it excels in so many programs. I feel it should be closer to U-Michigan in rankings.</p>
<p>Additionally, which one would you guys go to? Just wanted to get your thoughts. And also, anything I can do to up my chances at Stanford? That would be a miracle.</p>
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It's just that I don't understand how Texas can be ranked much lower than its counterparts
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<p>Probably because UT-Austin is extremely stingy about admitting out of state kids (more so than other public schools), causing the school to be well-regarded mostly just in the state of Texas. It's a great school though, and I would have no worries about going there, and plus, Austin rocks as a college town.</p>
<p>Georgia Tech is better for engineering...but UT is much better overall...their engineering is a bit below GT, but all their other departments are so much better. UT also has the top 10% rule, which according to many of my fellow Texans, is holding the university back. It has the resources to be a top 5 public, but because of its large size and lack of selectivity, it is just a top 10/top 15 university. UT also doesnt give its undergrads very much attention, when you consider that GT has around a little less than half the undergrads UT does.</p>
<p>fwiw, UT actually has a higher number (and percentage) of faculty in the National Academy of Engineering than GT. It's also important to point out that per the last NRC rankings, UT's engineering programs were ranked higher than GT, despite the recent rankings to the contrary. (And UT also excels in the pure/natiural sciences, where GT isn't as strong.) UT also has a slightly higher USNWR undergrad peer assessment score than GT. </p>
<p>As the others have stated, really the main (only?) thing that keeps UT's national reputation from being among the elite is that it has an extremely large student population that is required by law to be at least 90% instate at the undergrad level. This means it can never be as selective as other top schools, nor offer the same faculty/student ratios, etc. Programs and resources are all top notch... it's just that they're shared by a lot of people. It doesn't help it's national reputation either that the vast majority are required to be from the same state.</p>
<p>GT is clearly an outstanding school too... however, I do think that its higher position in the undergrad rankings despite not being as strong as UT overall clearly shows the impact of UT's overall lower selectivity. A more fair comparison would be UT's engineering school student #s to GT's.</p>
<p>Both schools have outstanding Civil Engineering programs, but Texas is the better overall school for academic reputation as well as student life. I haven't met a Texas graduate who didn't love the social life in Austin, while GT is 70% men (of course, it is a technical institution)...you do the math.</p>
<p>I think you are a bit too focused on rankings. How about this: how would you rank them if you didn't already know how others had ranked them?</p>
<p>We visited Georgia Tech with my daughter a few weeks ago, and, although my D is not interested (too far away, too techy, too large a student enrollment, in a city), I was more impressed than I thought I would be. For a city school, it has a nice, defined campus, not crammed together. Co-op programs sound fantastic. If you are looking at engineering then it is an awesome choice. </p>
<p>I do not know much about UT, but as a flagship state university, it should offer a lot of alternatives if the engineering thing turns out not to be your path. </p>
<p>You also haven't mentioned whether either of these is in-state for you. If so, the in-state tuition is a bargain and should be an important factor in your decision. Avoid a lot of debt or save the bucks for grad school, house down payment, etc.</p>
<p>If you want to live in TX, TX hands down. If you want to live anywhere else in the country, probably GT (on the west coast, at least with my experiences, people are much more aware of GT's rep than UT's). Not to question that Longhorn excellence, but its athletic reputation sometimes overshadows its academic one it seems, and combined with the ginormous number of in-staters in comparison to OOS students, it is hard for it to reach its full potential.</p>
<p>Ranking fourth overall. There also number 1 in industrial engineering in the country. As a alumni of Tech as an Industrial Engineer, I can safely assure you that the education you will get here is the best. Also Coop and internship opportunities are abundant. I had the chance to intern with Intel 3 times while I was at Tech. As far as "Brand Recognition" goes Georgia Tech is an extremly respected name across the US, even in the west. As far as texas goes it just seems like more of a school for partying which is fine if you plan to major in liberal arts or want to be a flamingo dancer. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>I know you're not a rankings whore, and I don't think you should let rankings influence your decision too much, because GT and UT are pretty equivalent in your planned field of study. The biggest differences are going to be in the feel of the two schools, which I think would be fairly different. GT, as the name suggests, is much more narrowly focused on science and engineering; hence the high percentage of males. You would meet a much wider range of students at UT (although many will be Texans). I have lived many years both in Atlanta and in Austin. They are really different. Atlanta is a vibrant large city. GT is just a little niche in the city, not in the most interesting of neighborhoods. Austin is probably 1/5 to 1/8 the size of Atlanta, a very livable size. It's a definite city, but not overwhelmingly large. UT is a much bigger part of Austin, due to its relatively large size and Austin being much smaller. It is full of young, fun, attractive people. It has a more laid-back southwestern feel. Atlanta is proud of its southerness and still has a lot of southern traditions. Both are southern in the broad sense, with an emphasis on friendliness, good manners, relatively polite drivers. (E.g., it's pretty taboo to use your horn in either city.) Both are hot. Atlanta is stulifyingly humid in the summer. Austin is a little hotter, but also drier, which I probably prefer. Atlanta, as an eastern city, has great forests and beautiful falls and spring. In Austin, the city goes from summer straight into the very mild winter, but doesn't have the beautiful fall colors. Austin is more liberal. Atlanta is a political mix, ranging from evangelical red-necks to enlightened progressives. Of course, it has a much stronger African-American presence, while Austin doesn't have much black culture, but instead the relatively strong latino influence. You probably knew all of this. I didn't mean to give a geography lesson. I just think the feel of the 2 places and where you will be comfortable and have good times is more important than trying to deduce which is going to have more prestige. They're both great, and I don't think you will or won't get a job you because you went to one school rather than the other.</p>
<p>Not to rehash what I said a few months ago, but it does need to be-iterated that UT-Austin does have much stronger programs than GT in the natural and computer sciences. Contrary to the USNWR rankings, UTs engineering programs were actually ranked higher per the NRC, so the new NRC rankings will be quite interesting to watch. GT does have an impreesive number of NAE faculty (including hires from UT), but UT is still #4 after MIT, Stanford, and Berkeley in terms of total #</p>