Hey all. I was wondering if I could get some advice in choosing between the above four schools. So far, I’ve been accepted into UCLA, USC, and GTech, but UMich is also one of my top choices. I know I may not get in, but I feel like I should start thinking about it as an option just in case.
I’m from CA, but don’t mind being far from home. I also received 10k/year for UCLA from some sort of academic scholarship, but I am fortunate enough to have parents who are willing to pay for my top choice college, so cost isn’t the biggest issue for me.
Some things I’m particularly interested in:
-campus life (this is super important, not really one for huge parties but I do consider myself very social)
-quality of education (going into MechE)
-which will help me the most in applying to graduate school
-surrounding area/city
I know that Georgia tech has a phenomenal MechE program (2nd in the nation according to US News) but at the end of the day I was wondering just how much of an edge it would give it over my other choices. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!
If you intend to work in Ca after graduation, none of those other schools gives you an edge over UCLA/USC. Furthermore, if you can get a 10k/yr scholarship with UCLA, then your best choice should be obvious.
(A 10k/yr academic scholarship for UCLA is very impressive, where as the most prestigious one from UCLA, namely Regents, is only 2.5k/yr! May I ask you the circumstances of this reward?)
Main advantage of UCLA: much lower cost than the other three.
Main disadvantage of UCLA: if you want to change major, it is likely more difficult to change into another engineering major than the other three.
UCLA: Lowest cost. May be difficult to get classes #17 ranking.
Michigan: Best college experience #5 Ranking. Most expensive
GT: Worst college experience #2 Ranking. Medium Cost.
But if you are comparing roughly $60K for UCLA vs $190K for GT vs $240K for Michigan the choice should be obvious. Save the money, ask your parents if you can use it for grad school. If your family can afford the extra $180K without feeling it, go to Michigan.
Even if your parents can pay, it’s hard to see any advantage that paying OOS for GT or Michigan gives you over instate for UCLA (esp with the scholarship). UCLA has a great reputation in engineering, and getting into grad school will have to do more with how you perform in college rather than which of these 4 you choose. Quality is also top-notch at all four, so USNews rankings notwithstanding, one won’t give you an “edge” over the other. Save the $$ for grad school.
@uclaparent9 its what they consider to be their “achievement award” scholarship. There’s not a whole lot of information on the web about it, but from my understanding it’s given to a very small percentage of the top applicants (not sure at all why they would choose me, but I’m not complaining)
Thanks for the responses. It seems to me that the general consensus is that the other schools simply aren’t worth the extra cost. However, I’m still interested to hear what others have to say. Are there any current MechE students/ alumni out there who would be willing to share some input?
All colleges you mentioned are strong in terms of their engineering program! I think what makes them different is really the lifestyle in the campus. I think USC UCLA AND U Michigan are all big schools with great social life, but maybe GIT is a bit more geeky.