Son is trying to decide between VT and UT Austin for Engineering. UT Austin seems like the obvious choice because it is ranked higher academically but I feel that there is more to the decision than that. He likes both schools. Although it’s lower on the rankings, VT is highly regarded for Engineering. VT is in a mountainous area (son is not a city kid) and has club sports in his favorite sport so he would have an “instant family” when he joined the team. He also liked it very much during our tour, whereas the UT tour was kind of a neutral experience for him. When we visited, VT felt like a much smaller campus while UT felt like a sprawling city. Also, he was admitted to VT Honors and the Galileo LLC but didn’t get Honors at UT so he wouldn’t be part of a smaller community there. Son is super smart but doesn’t love studying so Galileo seems like a great option to guarantee academic success. UT is a comfortable choice because many of his friends are going there (for different majors) but it is so large it seems he will just be swallowed up there. My question is: Is it a bad decision to turn down the higher-ranked school if the lower-ranked school just feels like a better fit? (Tuition thankfully is not an issue so that is not a deciding factor.) Any thoughts are appreciated!
The engineering schools at both universities have stellar reputations in industry, so I wouldn’t pay a bit of attention to the rankings.
I don’t know if this has been studied, so I am speaking a bit off the cuff, but if your son has any idea where he may want to work or go to graduate school, sometimes there is a regional preference for specific schools, but that really has nothing to do with the caliber of a school.
@c151515 My son turned down Purdue with a scholarship for VT because of fit.
The strength of the engineering program is what you would be concerned about. If a company wants engineers, that is what they care about, not theniverall “tanking” of the school, which can be manipulated in many ways.
Since you seem to feel that VT is a better fit for your son, and he did too, rest assured that VT is an excellent choice, ranked #12 right behind Cornell for engineering. DD turned down many schools, including Cornell, and couldn’t be happier. It’s a special place. Hokies love their school.
ps - Honors isn’t as big a deal at VT as it is at some schools, meaning the Honors program isn’t as well developed, but being in Galileo the first year will definitely benefit your son. Also, if he has taken Calc BC, do not advise him to re-take calc 2 as a GPA boost. It is probably the most work of any class he will take in engineering. That was probably the best peice of advice DD received going in - from 3 different people. If he does take it though, the good thing about Galileo is that everyone is taking the same classes and has tests at the same time, so temptation to party when you should be studying is low, and there is always some one to ask if you get stuck on a problem set.