UCLA vs UT Austin vs Georgia Tech Aerospace Engineering

Hey everyone,
I was admitted to UT Austin and Georgia Tech for Aerospace engineering and am currently on the waitlist for UCLA Aerospace Engineering and I CAN’T DECIDE where to go next year.
Im lucky that my parents are paying for college so price does not matter much but here are the costs per year for each school (im OOS for all):

  • UT Austin: 50k
  • Georgia Tech: 50k
  • UCLA: 59k

Also here is the per year costs for each school for me

Heres notes on each school in my mind

UT Austin -

  • Investing Heavily in engineering over the last few years (EERC is amazing)
  • Austin is a great place to live
  • Connections with NASA
  • Great student life
  • Great for entrepreneurship, McCombs is highly rated (thinking about a minor in business or dual degree with econ)
  • I have been admitted to the engineering honors program with 10k scholarship (scholarship already included in coa price above)
  • Great school spirit
  • Great alumni network but only within tx

Georgia Tech -

  • Most highly regarded
  • Extremely rigorous
  • top notch professors
  • AE program is one of their best programs so they care about it alot
  • I have family in Atlanta
  • Student life is meh
  • Most resources specifically dedicated to AE students ie. AeroMakerSpace
  • Gender ratio is kinda bad at around 65/35
  • most hands on experience (I think)
  • best connections with industry

UCLA -

  • Might not get a great dorm freshman yr cuz im on waitlist and havent had the chance to find potential roommates via facebook
  • I have always wanted to live in California
  • SoCal has one of the largest Aerospace industries in the world (JPL, SpaceX, Boeing, Lockheed, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Armstrong FRC, etc.)
  • Love the culture at UCLA
  • Nicest campus and dorms
  • Best name recognition across the country and internationally
  • smallest classes for engineering students out of the three
  • Lots of things to do in LA (Disney, Sports, Hiking, Skiing, Santa Monica, Hollywood, etc)
  • Most diverse campus
  • Best weather
  • New Engineering building (Engineering VI)
  • Has one of the best economics programs in the country so will try to minor or dual degree with econ

CC do your thing i need help deciding!

UT and GT are both really good schools. GT is ranked higher for engineering, but it’s not like UT isn’t a strong engineering school, it is. Austin is a great college town and UT has so much school pride and school spirit. Keep in mind though, 90% of students come from Texas, so you might have to search harder to find your niche if that makes sense. UT Austin is also like 2 times the size undergrad so if you don’t mind a bigger environment, then UT is still a good option. Good luck deciding, both are amazing choices.

UT-Austin was the one of two schools that rejected me! I’m from NJ.

Hey thanks for the insight! NJ here too. Bigger undergraduate size at UT for sure, but the number of engineering undergraduates is less than GT. I totally agree with the 90% thing too, not much geo. diversity at UT.

@Jingle321 you’re welcome! I know of some people who have attended UT from the Northeast and really liked it. If you’re an outgoing person you should be well suited to do well there, or at any school. It comes down to preference for the school itself and location… and cost of course. At UT, about 4,000 students (10%) are from 49 states other than TX and international locations, which is a bigger population than all liberal arts colleges combine. It’s all the perspective you view it in. I don’t know much about either school though since I don’t have any family or close friends at either.

I’ve been reaching out to people at the schools I’m considering, whether they are close friends or people I know of without really even knowing. I’ve also reached out to some students who were featured on the instagram stories of the schools I’m looking out, and everyone has been really kind and eager to talk about their experiences.

Don’t waste your time on a business minor no matter where you go. Go deeper or broader in your tech curriculum instead. A business minor signals that you aren’t fully devoted to the technical path and will make it more difficult to get a job (UNLESS you are an IE). Companies don’t want inexperienced engineers to manage. IF the managerial path is in your future, your company will fund your training.

@Jingle321 hey I know this is late and irrelevant as you have already picked your college, but I was in the same exact situation as you. I’m from NJ and was picking between the exact same colleges and had similar conditions and considerations. I ultimately went with UCLA for the reasons you mentioned, just curious about where you ended up choosing…

As the saying goes, it’s six and 1/2 dozen. Academically not significantly different.