DS has been accepted to both UGA (Honors) as well as GA Tech and is looking to study some variation of biochemistry/molecular biology/genetics, with a goal of becoming a medical scientist/researcher (so, PhD, MD, or joint PhD/MD in his future).
Finances do play a part (given his future educational track and associated costs); we live in GA and he’ll qualify for Zell Miller (4.0 UW GPA currently), so that pays for tuition at either. UGA did also offer a $5,000/year scholarship, and we live close enough to UGA that he could live at home if he chooses, which would further drive down his costs and allow him to save more for grad school (he does want to live on campus for at least his first year, though). Beyond Zell Miller, he’d pay the rest in-state for GA Tech; no offers or special situations there.
He’s actually already doing an internship in a research lab at UGA during his senior year and likes what he heard from the Honors program there, but also likes the vibe and perceived rigor/type of students he met at GA Tech.
Ultimately, it probably comes down to which program will provide him the best education and future opportunities, assuming he does the work to earn them (shouldn’t be an issue). If he were looking at engineering of some variety, I think it would be an easy decision (Tech), but for his path/major, it’s not as clear-cut, so all the other factors come into play.
Any thoughts that might help him as he makes his decision? Thanks in advance.
Stats: ACT 36, SAT 1530, Class Rank 1, GPA: 4.0 UW, GA resident
UGA has a much larger Biochemistry/Life Sciences program. For example, in 2017-2018, UGA awarded 73 PhD’s in the Biological And Biomedical Sciences field, as compared to 16 at Tech. UGA Federal R&D spending in the life sciences was $285M a year in 2017, as compared to Tech’s $22M.
In other words, UGA would be fine, the life sciences are a strength at UGA, and if that’s his preference, he should select it.
Gator88NE, thanks for this, very helpful.
It’s a tough choice because both are solid and the costs are low. Academically it comes down to whether he is interested in the life science or engineering side. Also, if he decides to go the MD route it will be easier to maintain a high gpa at UGA.
Both are great options. In my opinion, it should be decided on the basis of fit as the two campus cultures are quite different.
@PhantomShadow: Amazing stats. Somewhat shocked to read in your earlier posts that Duke & Vanderbilt were rejections. ACT 36, 4.0 GPA, valedictorian/ class rank #1. What do these schools want ? Any other acceptances ?
@Publisher : DS didn’t want to go anywhere he couldn’t come home for the weekend if wanted to, so he decided to apply to 6 schools within a certain radius from home - 3 publics and 3 privates. We are definitely in the proverbial donut hole when it comes to college finances, so the privates were always going to be a stretch financially, barring a good scholarship.
He got accepted early to all of the privates (Univ of Alabama, Presidential Elite scholarship; Univ of Georgia (Honors), Charles McDonald Brown scholarship; GA Tech), denied at both Duke and Vanderbilt, and waitlisted at Emory-Oxford.
“He got accepted early to all of the privates” … whoops, just reread my own post, that should read “all the publics”.