<p>I'm in a dilemna. I got into both of these schools but I cannot decide which one to go to. I live in california so basically it's a question of distance and quality of education. UCI is in california and I would love to go there but the engineering school there is ranked much lower than GT's. The only problem with GT is that it is very different from what I am used to at home and it's so much farther away than Irvine. I see myself happier at UCI.</p>
<p>My question is is the difference between a tech school like GT and a lower ranked engineering program at UCI big enough that I should worry about my quality of education? Will my salary when leaving college be that much different if I went to UCI than GT? How different will employers look at me?</p>
<p>At GT, they have one of the best co-ops in the country, so it's easy to get an internship. Also, many of the departments have job placement rates of 95% to even 100%. I read somewhere that the average GT grad with a bachelors will make 3.2-3.5 million dollars over his/her lifetime whereas most high-end, elite bachelors make around 2.5 million in a lifetime (though, this includes liberal arts majors, as well).</p>
<p>And, don't worry about the "difference in environment". You wear shorts in winter, there aren't people with country accents, and there are a **** load of people from California that have moved to Atlanta (as well as from the Northeast and other parts of the country).</p>
<p>There have been many opinions on here of "experts" that rankings for undergrad engineering are probably not all that critical. Don't discount your "happiness" in the equation. If you are a good enough student to get into GT then you'll probably excel at UCI, and do just fine with internships etc.</p>
<p>Your salary will likely not vary that much if at all. Don't choose GT because of some ranking, choose it if it is the right place for you. If you want to continue to live and work in California you will find lots of opportunities through UCI.</p>
<p>Yeah, rankings don't make the difference IMO... it's reputation. And, I know GT has a very good rep with most engineers/firms.</p>
<p>But, dr. r is right: make sure you will be happy at your school. However, be sure to give each school its fair shake and evaluate them carefully ;).</p>