Hi, I’m a junior in high school currently looking to major in international/global studies or something similar. Is it a waste to go to a school like Georgia Tech or Virginia Tech for a degree like this? Any advice is greatly appreciated!
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You may want to check the actual major and course offerings of each school to see whether it has the offerings you want, rather than rely on the name of the school.
VT has an international studies major: http://liberalarts.vt.edu/academics/majors-and-minors/international-studies-major.html
GT has an international affairs major: http://catalog.gatech.edu/programs/international-affairs-bs/
But you may want to check what other majors each school has in case you decide to change.
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I just had this discussion with my son who is an engineering major at Georgia Tech. My high school junior is not interested in any STEM majors and I was saying that if the junior could get in to GT he could major in liberal arts or business at GT… So I don’t think it’s a waste but I would look at other colleges too.
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I think it’s a good choice, perhaps, for students who are residents of those states and are looking for low-cost options at excellent public universities in their state. I also think it can be a good choice for students interested in how the social sciences and humanities intersect with STEM fields - Georgia Tech is pretty well known for that in their non-STEM majors, for example. Even their social science and humanities majors are required to take a heavier load of math and science classes than they would at Georgia State or UGA, and a lot of the coursework is focused on how the field impact science and vice versa.
I would wonder, though, why a nonresident student would pay $$$ to go to a public technical university to study a liberal arts major. It seems to me that it would make more sense to go to a public in his home state, or at the very least find a private university with a good international/global studies major and some financial aid.
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What attracts you to a school like Va Tech or Ga Tech in the first place? Why would you prefer one of these schools over, say, William & Mary?
Selective private schools sometimes offer lower net costs than out-of-state public universities (although public universities sometimes offer more merit scholarship money, even for OOS students). If cost is a driving factor, be sure to run the online net price calculators for any schools that interest you.
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Agreed. Why would you want to go to a school for such a particular major? If it is not a traditional area the school is strong in, you may find more limited opportunities, classes available, and caliber of professors you may desire because that is not their strength and they are likely dedicating their resources elsewhere. It would be an interesting experience for sure, but perhaps not the most productive.
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Thank you all for your responses! I brought up these schools as they are very good universities that are still a lot cheaper than private schools of the same caliber even though they are out of state for me (PA resident). I realize that these schools are still above my budget and would not be a good investment. It’s unlikely for me to apply to any, but I am just trying to gather a list of reach schools or middle schools that are somewhat affordable. Thank you all!
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What are your stats? What’s your budget & EFC?
People on this website are quite knowledgeable about colleges, so they can probably give you ideas of colleges to look into, that would be reaches, matches, and safeties for your area of interest. 
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Check out New College of Florida.
NCF’s out-of-state sticker price is a little higher than VIrginia Tech’s, but it grants $15K/y scholarships to OOS students.
https://www.ncf.edu/admissions/cost-and-aid/scholarships/out-of-state-freshmen/
http://ctcl.org/new-college-of-florida/
https://www.ncf.edu/academics/undergraduate-program/interdisciplinary-programs/international-area-studies/
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