UVA Engineering vs Georgia Tech Engineering

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Virginia
1

Hi everyone.

I am having a very difficult time choosing between UVA and Georgia Tech for engineering.
I know Georgia Tech has a much better engineering program but I am from Virginia and and going to Georgia Tech would be much more expensive.
Also, I have grown to love UVA and UVA feels more like home after having visited multiple times.

That being said, I do not want to make an emotional decision. Here are the pros and cons I have come up with for both schools.

UVA Pros-
-Perfect balance between social life and academics
-I already have friends at UVA
-Cheaper
-Well rounded Engineering curriculum
-Beautiful Campus
-Beautiful downtown

Cons-
-Decent/smaller engineering programs
-Less, limited job opportunities compared to Georgia Tech
-Not too great Mechanical Engineering program
-Too much influence by outside factors such as friends, etc. My paths seem very chosen and predestined at UVa. I’ll most likely end up at this one Fraternity and etc.

Georgia Tech Pros-
-If I do Industrial Engineering, they are #1 in the nation for it
-If i do Mechanical, they are #5
-Top 5 engineering programs
-Beautiful Campus
-More job opportunities
-Study abroad/internship/coop opportunities

Cons-
-4/5 years of hell (or so I’ve heard)
-30% girls
-I didn’t like downtown Atlanta too much when I visited
-dorms/housing
-Honestly, I just don’t like the south, Georgia Tech area too much.

The thing is, my brother’s friends are at UVA for engineering and they seem to be doing quite well. One got an internship this upcoming summer at Goldman Sachs as a Systems Engineer, but apparently they only get paid around $55,000 full time (of course compared to my friend’s step brother who graduated from Georgia Tech as an Industrial Engineer and making $65,000 at one of the top firms (I forgot the name of it).

If I am being 100% truthful, I want to become very successful in life, as in becoming a billionaire. I want to either start my own start up/business or become a CEO.

I am still not 100% set on what type of engineering I want to do.

If anyone had to make similar decisions or attend or attended either schools, please let me know what you liked and disliked about the college and please help me out with this decision.

Please!

2

You can also do a calculation of how much more Ga. Tech would really cost you, after you add in travel expenses and 10 years of interest on loans. If you are planning on flying, tickets can be particularly expensive over thanksgiving and christmas. If you are driving, that is a great deal of wear and tear on a car over 4 years. Then think what else you could do with that money, such as put down a downpayment on a house or pay for a masters degree.

I’d be surprised if the average starting salaries are that different between UVa engineering grads and Ga. Tech engineering grads.

3

@Charliesch that’s a really good point ive never really thought about…and yea, the minimum differences in the average starting salaries was what i was worried about

4

D is a 2013 SEAS grad (CS). I think your information on starting salaries is low for UVA engineering grads. Here is some info on UVA’s class of 2014 that might be beneficial:

http://www.seas.virginia.edu/admin/careerdev/files/seasannualreport.pdf

UVA offers great opportunities to develop business skills as an engineer and also as an entrepreneur.

http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/UVa-Today-Entrepreneurship-Minor-334372191.html

There are so many opportunities at UVA to meet new people and explore new activities - you shouldn’t think of your path as predestined! Charlie’s given you some good advice as well. Good luck making your decision!

5

The average starting salary for a UVA engineer is about $68,000 these days. If you go to the SEAS report, you can see averages by discipline

The engineering business minor info is here: http://techentrepreneurship.seas.virginia.edu/

6

S1 graduated systems engineering in 2011 with a starting salary of $55K. That was considered low because his employer claimed they are spending a lot of money for his high level security clearance.

S2’s roomate and a friend. Both systems engineers graduated in 2014 had offers from $60K to $75K.

7

@davh01 did your sons ever consider other engineering schools?

8

@coooooper

He went to UVA early decision but we did looked at other schools.

Other things to consider:

  • Where do you want to be in 15-20 years and which school will help you get there? Most engineers end up doing something else. ie: team leaders, supervisors, project management or something completely different but related.

Even though we feel other engineering schools were stronger than UVA, UVA has other things to offer and was better fit for him. I went to an engineering school with core curriculum. The strong engineering background helped but I felt lacking in other areas when you get into leadership positions. For the last 17 years I am more in finance and risk assessment than engineering, but the position requires an engineering degree.

What school you go to only helps you getting the first job. After that, only your experiences matter. I went to a smaller engineering school and worked along side with graduates from Cornell and other to engineering schools. Our organization also has turned down job applicants from Columbia and other better know schools.

  • Where do you want to live? Many companies tend to recruit locally and are more familiar with nearby schools, their curriculum, and the quality of graduates they get. Your first job offer can very likely be near where you went to school.

I work in DC. I was in a hiring manager’s office one day and someone handled her a job application. She did not look at it and only asked 2 questions: what is the GPA and school. Her comment was: anyone with a 3.3 from UVA can do the job. He was hired. Hiring personnel who knows your school well, helps!

Hiring managers like candidates who are motivated, have initiative, quick learner and with good analytical/problem solving skills. UVA students with good GPA have those qualities. A strong engineering background from a better engineering school may only give you an advantage based on a few extra engineering classes, but lots of what you do is learned on the job, or they can send you to training classes. (S2 got a one month technical training before starting on his 2nd job, fully paid by his company).

  • Cost. We are in-state. Out-of-state tuition for some schools would have been ~$25K per year more for him. That's $100K for the 4 years. Even if the starting salary is $10K less, it would take him at least 10 years to recoup.

S1’s offer was ~11% less on the average than his classmate in systems engineering. In his 1st job, he took the position believing that his salary will be adjusted after the first for the money the company spent for his security clearance. It did not happen after 2 years and he took a job elsewhere for about 20% more.

His job offer was given after his interneship before his 4th year, conditioned on he graduating. He had the comfort knowing there is a job for him upon graduation.

He actually used some of the money saved and used it as a down payment for a condo after working for a year. He has since moved out-of-state and now his renter is making his mortgage payments. Just think you you can do with the money you save.

  • UVA systems engineering graduates do very well and better than other disciplines in the job market.
  • S1 initially thought he wanted biomed. He applied and was accepted to both biomed and systems but decided on systems after further research on job prospect after graduation. He wanted to start working after graduation and most biomed graduates tend to do masters or med schools. The job market for undergraduates are very slim and also tends to be very localized.

Hope this helps.

S2 was not in e-school. He was a psych major.

9

@davh01 Wow! Thank you so much! This was very helpful. Thank you so much for your time and advice. I am planning on visiting UVa again soon and currently, I am leaning towards UVa.

10

with the pros and cons you wrote, it sounds like your heart/gut is saying UVA. I think you know. Plus you will save a lot of $. You can always go to GaTech for grad school on the money saved if you think you missed something.

The engineering dept has a new dean at UVA and is doing a lot and very impressive. UVA eng. gives you well balanced education. My son (ME) will be graduating soon and loves it there.

Also since you want to be a CEO, UVA allows the engineers to get a minor in business. And UVA has a great business school. SO you can explore that as well.

11

@cali60 Thanks for the input! Do you know how the mechanical engineering program is at UVa? Ive wanted to do it for a long time but it seemed weak compared to other engineering majors at UVa. Has he been able to get internships/jobs easily? Also, does the major allow him to involve in lots of hands on experience/research/projects?

Thank you!

12

3 internships and had multiple offers though some were CS/or more systems related and not interested in that. Also job offer and grad school offers at 4 out of 5 schools applied. I think the internships depend on the person and going after them. This would be at any school. If you want it, go after it. He started freshmen yr and some classmates asked him “why so early” Heck, its better pay than being a lifeguard or whatever and looks great on resume. I will say some people interviewing him for internships thought he wasn’t technical enough. But this was more early on. There are a lot of things outside the classroom you can get involved in to get more hands on and that makes a difference.

And your senior year you have a capstone and thesis. Most schools have capstone but not thesis for undergrad.

I don’t know how UVA compares to VA Tech or Ga Tech as far as engineering. Never been there. IF you search there are post about VT vs UVA and the differences.

UVA does publish where people get jobs and pay, Most universities do…its often called an exit survey so you can search on google or ask the schools you are thinking of. IF you want to work in a particular industry then this might help. For instance, if you want to work for the auto, space, oil industry or non-eng like wall street, then they may be more recruited at certain schools. Maybe that will help you.