University of Washington: Seattle vs Georgia Tech? (CS)

College Search & Selection
1

Hi! I’m having a hard time picking between UW and GT. I got into GT for CS, and UW for regular admission.

For those unfamiliar about how UW’s admission works, only a very small number of high schoolers (usually around 40-120) get directly into the CS department (called direct admission). Most people who do CS at UW apply into the major their sophomore or junior year. However, it’s extremely competitive, with only 30-40% of the applicants actually getting into the CS major. So the earliest I could actually declare and start my major would be my sophomore year of college.

GT is normal, I would be coming in as a declared CS major.

I’m leaning towards GT as of now, as I visited and I really liked the campus, as well as the general feel of it. I also talked to a friend of mine who attends GT right now, as well as some of the students around campus. They seemed to love GT, and they love it because it’s extremely rigorous and because of the opportunities provided for internships and jobs (major tech companies recruit several times a year- Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, etc- as well as hackathons and other events). This, plus the fact that they accepted me directly into CS, makes me want to pick GT. Also, I would be getting my hands dirty with CS from day one, rather than year two.

However, I’m not sure I want to move further south (I currently live in North Carolina), and I eventually want to live on the west coast. Also, the fact that UW is a major feeder into Microsoft, Boeing, and Amazon really helps.

I’d also like to note that I am dead set on being a CS major. Loved computers since the age of 5 and my interest has only grown in them :slight_smile:

Price is NOT a factor.

To sum it up, here’s a pro con list:

Pro: GT
-atmosphere
-directly into CS
-students love it
-opportunities for internships from major tech companies
-rigorous + excellent education

Pro: UW
-location
-feeder to Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon
-rigorous + excellent education

Con: GT
-location
-geographically distant from where I want to be

Con: UW
-not directly admitted into CS
-chance I won’t even be admitted to CS
-rain?

Thank you! :smiley:

2

You’ve already identified one hurdle at UW; no direct admission to the CS department. You have to trust yourself and be candid with yourself. You know it will take your best efforts to assure you a spot in the UW CS department. Are you committed to do the necessary hard work at the UW? Sure, GaTech is hard too, but at the UW you will have to keep that goal squarely in the front of your mind.

3

Direct admit to CS is key.

Plenty of software companies recruit at GTech as well, so frankly, this is a slam dunk decision for me if I was deadset on CS. What good are all those software companies in WA if you can’t actually major in CS?

Also, by being able to take CS classes earlier, you can spread them out more, which is a good thing. Taking 4 CS classes at the same time is really tough.

4

Thank you both for you inputs!

I decided on Georgia Tech. The fact that I’m not going to be able to do CS for the first year or two at UW was a dealbreaker, and the more I thought about it, the more I agreed with @PurpleTitan‌.

5

Good decision. Georgia Tech is an awesome institution.

6

Georgia Tech is great, and I used to recruit at a tech company in Seattle and we did a lot of trips to find interns and entry-level SDEs from Georgia Tech. Direct admission to CS is huge - congratulations!

7

Congratulations on your decision, @thattypicalnerd ! My son will be right there with you this fall as a freshman CS major at Tech.

8

Make sure you join the facebook page for admitted students. There are lots of kids looking for roommates and getting to know each other on there.

https://www.********.com/groups/GTClassof2019/

(replace ** with facebook)