UMD or Georgia Tech

I am split between these two really good colleges for engineering! Maryland is instate for me but Georgia Tech seems to be slightly better in their engineering program. GT would be about 20k a year but they have study abroad programs and co-ops that are popular at the school. I got into the honors program at UMD while I may be mediocre at GT (but also challenged more). Also, I want the whole college experience. Would I be able to get the same vibrant social life at GT compared to UMD? Which school would leave me with a better life after graduation?

GT would be about 20k a year? How? You’re OOS.

You have two strong choices. Maryland really is super strong in math/CS and many other subjects. GT is smaller and more focused school. What is your intended major? Atlanta is the better high tech city if you intend to study engineering. DC has more government positions like Naval Research Lab, National Institute of Standards, and government contractors like Lockheed Martin.
However you could work anywhere after degrees at Maryland or GT.

@Chardo sorry i meant 20k a year more than umd

@Coloradomama my intended major is engineering! undecided engineering right now but leaning towards mechanical!

@LemonTwenty -if the additional costs of GT would mean loans etc, then I recommend UMD. You will get a good engineering education at UMD. If money is not an issue then I recommend GT because it is smaller while still the “whole college experience”.

A couple more points to raise:

  • the companies and organizations mentioned in post #2 all recruit from GT. My DD has friends working at Lockheed this summer.

-If you are undeclared engineering then make sure you can easily declare ME at UMD. Some colleges like University of Washington have certain criteria for switching from undeclared to ME and some of my DD’s friends have not been approved for declaring ME. One thing that made my GT attractive to my DD was the flexibility of switching majors.

Finally just to show you some hands-on work, it is the time of the year for 2nd year ME’s to compete in their big design competition which takes place next week. This link explains it more, but what is fun is to see the video camera feeds of the invention studios with the students at work. (Scroll to the bottom of the page). Sometimes I catch my DD and she is many miles from home. http://2110.me.gatech.edu/

How strong is your STEM preparation?

What’s your parents’ budget and how much do they cost?
(Where would the 20K difference come from? A college fund or a parent loan?)

As an honors student you may be able to declare ME as your major and get in automatically as long as you do it before classes start in the fall. After that, you’ll have to apply like any other UMD student.

@MYOS1634 My parents would be paying for it… it’s just a matter of whether it would be worth paying the extra 20k/yr to go to GT

How strong is your stem background ?
What AP classes have you taken with what grades, any dual enrollment classes with what grades ?

@MYOS1634 As far as STEM APs go, I’ve taken AP Calc BC, AP Biology, AP Physics 1 and am currently taking Calc 3, AP Statistics, AP Physics c: Mechanics (Grades were all As, 5 on both Calc tests and 3 on both Bio and Physics 1)

In that case, GTech sounds like a worthwhile investment. Schedule classes that look easy for your first semester though. “Retake” calculus 3 (in fact, check the final for their calc2 ) and physics 101 because you’ll zip through what you know in a couple months. Choose a balanced schedule and don’t overextend. GTech is brutal and all students are well prepared, so it’s really hard… But inbthe end it’s worth it. Also, plan to go study abroad for a semester sophomore or junior year, it’ll be a great experience and a bit of a relief to prevent burn out.

@MYOS1634 Most advice I’ve read said “take the credit at GTech for math and science” rather than retaking, unless it’s a core class within your major. Thoughts?

Will you not need these classes as a foundation? If so, take the credits indeed.

@MYOS1634 It depends on your major and how well you think you know the subject. GT and MIT are the same level, so look up MIT Open Course online and attempt to take the final for 18.01 and 18.02 in calculus, 8.01 for Physics/Mechanics and 8.02 in Physics/E&M. Once you look over college level finals which are going to be similar at MIT and GT you will understand what I mean. AP courses are college prep. They are not really college. They are high school classes. So if you feel you were the very top physics student and understand physics well, then maybe take the credit. If you want to take it again and feel you can still finish GT in four years, then repeat for comfort. I think IB tests are harder than AP tests by far so if you have all 7s, in HL Math HL Physics and HL Chem, you are probably in good shape if you had an IB curriculum. I think you said AP, so then you don’t really know if you have college level understanding until you try to take a college final. AP courses are solid but the AP tests are much easier than IB exams in my estimation of them. AP is more memorizing facts. IB is more about understanding the subject so the questions are harder, one must show the math work etc.

Sorry that message was for @CSinPA, my message about how to determine whether to skip a college level intro class.

Choose Georgia Tech–it’s worth the 20K/year. I hope that at this point of your education/career that you are still dreaming big because Tech’s resources will help you realize your dreams. Being a large school primarily dedicated to engineering means you have better research, co-op/internship, and networking opportunities. The people you get to know whether it be classmates, friends, or professors will be part of your network and that will be invaluable.

If you take advantage of what Tech has to offer, 20K/year is small money if you’re thinking of the big picture. I also recommend that you go to college further from home. It helps you grow into yourself as a person and the south has a very different culture mid-Atlantic culture which may or may not be a good thing. Since you are looking to study abroad, seems like you are open to learning about new cultures.

Some other perks of Tech:
-Gym that was built for the 1996 Olympics, look up Georgia Tech CRC. Blows any other school’s gym out of the water.
-Atlanta is one of the best cities for youngins, amazing food, beautiful landscape, very vibrant. Tech is in Midtown where all the good stuff is happening
-Not many schools have a workshop like this open to all students: http://inventionstudio.gatech.edu/