<p>Wondering if anyone had some thoughts about the civil engineering program differences at GT and UT. I got waitlisted at Stanford and that might happen (Come on people, don't go to Stanford!) but I'm not counting on it and thus have to make up my mind between these two fine institutions. Now i know overall GT is better known for their engineering, but I hear there's massive grade deflation and some of the classes use some computer testing systems that screws everything up. I know UT is also a great engineering school (better than GT in civil I think) but I don't know much more including how their grade deflation is.</p>
<p>Initially I liked Austin better than Atlanta, but I'm visiting Atlanta again and hopefully I'll like it more this time. </p>
<p>Also, I need to find out what the reputation/prestige of these two schools is in the Northeast/West Coast because chances are I'll be heading back to NYC/Jersey for a job/living or the West Coast (if Stanford is a viable transfer option). How do employers perceive a degree from these two schools and what will they think of the grade deflation? Does the grade deflation mean there's no way you can transfer into a better engineering school?</p>
<p>Good luck with Stanford- the waitlist situation this year is so crazy you never know. I have not knowledge on the engineering or job situation; I'm just impressed you are so mature in your questions. My son wouldn't even consider Georgia Tech once he saw the male/female ratio! Austin and Atlanta are both great in their own way; Austin's way more about the college and Atlanta's more varied.</p>
<p>Yes, both fine schools. A main factor driving GT's higher engineering ranking is because it performs more research. However, it can also be argued UT has a somewhat stronger faculty, based on NAE representation. (Interestingly, UT also was ranked higher in the last NRC rankings, which would tend to make sense if the faculty was indeed a little stronger.)</p>
<p>Regarding the civil engineering differences, most of UT's larger-scale engineering research actually takes place off the main campus at a satellite research campus a few miles away. One of the world's largest structural engineering labs is available for research.</p>
<p>The main advantage I would give UT is greater overall academic breadth and depth. UT excels across the board in so many disciplines - natural sciences, engineering, liberal arts, architecture, communication/film, business, law, etc. UT also tends to be stronger than GT in the pure/natural sciences. If for some reason you decide engineering is not your thing, then you could change to a respected program in another school within UT.</p>
<p>Austin and Atlanta are both great places. Given the choice, I would prefer to spend college in Austin then work in Atlanta.</p>
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Also, I need to find out what the reputation/prestige of these two schools is in the Northeast/West Coast because chances are I'll be heading back to NYC/Jersey for a job/living or the West Coast (if Stanford is a viable transfer option). How do employers perceive a degree from these two schools and what will they think of the grade deflation? Does the grade deflation mean there's no way you can transfer into a better engineering school?
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<p>When you're talking about engineering schools at this level, employers see absolutely no difference. Both are well respected and have vast recruiting pools. fwiw, in terms of academic perception, I think they both have very similar undegrad peer assessment scores (4.1 for UT and 4.0 for GT?) per USNWR.</p>
<p>My advisor taught at UT for a little bit, and he said it was a pretty nice and fun college town (and that it was quite liberal compared to the rest of Texas). I collaborated with a few UT civil engineering grad students for my research, and I must say I was quite impressed with their work. Of course, that's just one case, and I don't know all that much about GaTech.</p>
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Does the grade deflation mean there's no way you can transfer into a better engineering school?
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UT-Austin and GaTech are two of the top engineering schools in the country. Do you really want to transfer? I wouldn't worry all too much about grade deflation as long as you can stay above a 3.0 and want to stay in engineering.</p>