Hey there, I am a graduating senior, and I have narrowed down my college choices to the University of Georgia and Virginia Tech, and I was hoping for some insight from people more familiar with these schools.
For context, I am currently a political science major at UGA and a Politics, Philosophy, and Economics major at Virginia Tech. Although I would be interested in switching my major or double majoring in business at both. Distance from home is not really an issue for me. The cost difference is about $10k a year, I would love to hear opinions about cost/benefit, but the 10k difference likely won’t be an issue for my family.
I’ve visited Tech, and I like it a lot. I am visiting Georgia in about a week, but it is definitely the kind of campus style I love just from what I’ve heard/seen online.
I think they are similar - large sprawling campuses sort of away from things although Blacksburg is within distance of Roanoke and Athens of much bigger Atlanta.
Many like Athens. I prefer Blacksburg which I think is a great town and Va Tech the nicest campus in America. That’s opinion of course.
Va Tech food is top rated. But Niche at least rates UGA food highly so it’s likely good as well.
One thing I would look at is admission to Terry School at UGA and Pamplin at Tech. Can you double major and how difficult would admissions be since you didn’t apply initially?
Both are fine schools. UGA is well know for international affairs, if that side of the political realm is an interest to you.
My daughter is a sophomore at VT and a double major in Pamplin. She was accepted into Pamplin as an incoming freshman. One of the things she liked about VT over other business schools was the ability to take business classes right away. VT does not make students wait until junior year to be admitted to Pamplin and start taking classes. They integrate their gen-ed requirements (they call them Pathways) along with business classes, from day 1. They also are opening a brand new business school building this fall, which from what I’ve read and seen, will be an amazing place.
The majors in Pamplin are restricted, so you’d have to meet with an advisor to see how soon you could switch your major. Not being officially in Pamplin may affect your ability to get into classes, but you should be able to switch in December of freshman year assuming you meet the requirements. My daughter switched both her majors within Pamplin and it was a fairly easy process, but they have certain windows in which you’re able to do it.
is Politics, Philosophy & Economics one major at VT? If you’re interested in Political Science, I would think that VT being closer to DC than UGA, would be an advantage.
On the other side, Terry is also a great program at UGA. You have to apply during sophomore year, and some majors have more competitive admission than others, but generally people have said on here that as long as you’ve met the GPA requirements, you can get into Terry.
If cost is not an issue, then I would wait for your UGA visit and see which place feels more like home to you.
I loved VT and doubt you can go wrong there, but UGA is also a terrific school, so either pick your preference or save the 40K to use on something else if both are equally appealing to you.
Perhaps where you want to live in the future could come into play? Many (not all) people end up settling relatively near to where they went to college (within a state or so).
Sometimes there is no wrong answer, and I think this is one of them if the 40K doesn’t mean loans or raiding retirement.
Thank you, yeah, I love Blacksburg; it’s great. I am excited to see Athens because I have also heard great things. Yeah, I am trying to look into Terry vs. Pamplin. UGA doesn’t admit by major, so it will likely be easier to switch to business and then later apply to Terry where, whereas Pamplin is a direct admit, but I didn’t apply to Pamplin; I applied to the College of Liberal Arts. I am also interested in international affairs, which is why UGA appeals to me. Terry has a great program as well.
Thank you, yeah my main concern with Pamplin is that since I didn’t apply into it it would be a hassle to switch and maybe even set me back a bit. And for my current major yes it is all one major, and having Atlanta in such close proximity to UGA is a factor I am considering in my decision since it has the state legislature and is a large political center. I also live very close to D.C. so regardless during the summer I could work/intern there commuting from home. But thank you, the pathways in Pamplin are definetley something I will be considering, I’ve met faculty from Pamplin and they’re all incredible and it’s a great program.
Yeah, going into politics, I will likely end up in D.C. eventually, but I would be happy living near either. At UGA, they have a very popular 5 yr master’s program, which I could do in 4 becuase of all of my AP/DE credits. I would be able to graduate in 4 yrs with a master’s which could save a lot of money in the long run as well. Thank you, and I agree, there’s no wrong choice, which makes this so difficult.