What's the overall opinion of UGA?

<p>I'm just curious to know what people think of UGA, especially outside of the south. And after the party school/football reputation, what else?</p>

<p>The best way to answer this is to ask what you think of Rutgers. UGA’s reputation outside of the South is similar to Rutger’s reputation outside of the Northeast.</p>

<p>I actually think Rutgers is pretty good. I did a report on an author who came from Rutgers.</p>

<p>I wasn’t trying to insinuate that it isn’t a good school. Just that it’s a good comparable (large, state flagship, ranked about the same, similar course offerings, places the vast majority of students in the immediate region, well known sports teams).</p>

<p>Well since you seem to know a lot about Northern schools,
What do you think of the University of Pittsburgh? I’m currently deciding between UGA and Pitt. But, everything/everyone is telling me UGA. But I kind of like Pitt…</p>

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<p>Gee, that’s a very interesting observation. The campus cultures and settings are quite different, but perhaps they have similar reputations. In fact, UGA is the oldest chartered State university and Rutgers is even older (both 1700s), but was initially private. Athens, GA adds a quintessential college town element that’s missing in New Brunswick and UGA admissions is more selective. But Rutgers has the bigger name academically, perhaps because UGA’s star has risen dramatically over the past 20 years with the advent of the HOPE Grant; perhaps because the name “Rutgers” doesn’t sound public. Both are within an easy drive of a major U.S. city.</p>

<p>To be honest, I think that most large public flagship universities that are below the elite publics (Berkeley, UVA, Michigan, Wm & Mary, etc.) are going to have a lot in common. They’ll have some great opportunities mixed in with a lot of more mundane ones, and those who take the effort and make the personal connections will be the ones who get access to those opportunities. That’s true at UGA, where you also have some world-class students (thanks to highly elite scholarship programs) as well as a significant anti-intellectual good ole boy factor. The allure of the campus and the Southern charm is IMHO a huge advantage over Rutgers.</p>

<p>Actually, UGA and Pitt make for pretty good comparables too. Princeton Review grades each of them as a 93 on their 60-99 selectivity scale. They rate both similarly high in campus quality of life though UGA is college town and Pitt urban. Pitt also has the massive scholarship program that lures away Ivy acceptees, and it’s smaller than most major State Us - about 18K undergrads (25K at UGA).</p>

<p>My overall opinion? Rutgers for academic reputation with Pitt and UGA tied not far behind. Pitt for the smaller campus size. UGA for campus ambience, rising academics, and moderate cost.</p>

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<p>Pitt is a good school with strong placement of graduates. Since your goal is graduate school, I would strongly favor schools with more research funding and higher rankings. Pitt ranks higher than UGA in your field. Pitt has has considerably more research funding: $650 million per year compared to UGA’s $170 million per year, despite the fact that Pitt is considerably smaller than UGA.</p>

<p>chronome- are you a GA resident eligible for Hope and instate tuition?</p>

<p>Yes, I am. Another thing to consider.</p>

<p>My son has had a wonderful freshman year at UGA and our pocketbook is very relieved that we chose not to attend the “elite publics.”</p>

<p>Hmm…I’m really having a difficult time deciding. I want to go to Pitt SOOOO BADLY but I don’t want to pay $35k a year.</p>

<p>I just got $5500 to Pitt.</p>

<p>Also, my dream is Medical school. UGA doesn’t even have a medical school and Pitt has one that is very very reputable.</p>

<p>Did Pitt offer you an admissions guarantee to the MD program? If not, I wouldn’t use that as a deciding factor. Go to the best college you can attend. GT is the obvious choice if you get off the waitlist. The difference between UGA and Pitt will depend on how much debt you’re willing to take (imaging how crushing a $2000 per month debt payment will be for 30 years after BS then MD debt).</p>

<p>omg!! I am between UGA and Pitt too!!! This is so odd to find someone else who is torn between these two colleges! haha! </p>

<p>I am in LOVE WITH PITT! It has EVERYTHING I wanted but obviously the COA is a MAJOR factor! I just got $16k for Pitt (quite frankly i’m shocked that they even provide OOS students that much!)</p>

<p>…just waiting on UGA’s acceptance and their offer. My parents want me to go to UGA with in-state tuition and HOPE but it really depends on final COA. Does anyone know when we find out from UGA?</p>

<p>I’ll be happy on any campus…I love them both for different reasons.</p>

<p>Wow really?!?! Hahaha! I kept searching online looking for people that were in similar situations but I couldn’t find any!!</p>

<p>I am shocked that I even got $5500 to be honest. My mom actually told me to not even apply for financial aid because they made too much this year to qualify. Which is why I feel bad not taking up this opportunity!</p>

<p>I’m not sure…I got into UGA early action but I hear that you get a decision before April 1. That is coming up!! Good luck!!! Let me know what you decide and maybe we can influence each other’s decisions! Everything and everyone is telling me UGA though.</p>

<p>CFB, I really feel GA Tech is not the right school for me. I honestly just applied because I am a GA resident (since July) and I liked the campus when I visited. I do not plan on going on their waitlist. I feel as though the rank of a college based off of USNandWR is not a logical deciding factor. Sorry. Plus, I hear that Tech is very research-oriented/based and that’s not really what I want to do.</p>

<p>Sorry for being harsh, but I really was not happy when you kept talking down on UGA. UGA is a great school and many, many, many people at my school would do anything to get in. If we were talking Vanderbilt or Wash. U in St. Louis or a similar school, I would go onto the waitlist without a doubt. But we are not.</p>

<p>I’m not talking down, I’m being honest. I’m not really sure your comparison with WUSTL and Vanderbilt:</p>

<p>GT #24
WUSTL #41
Pitt #59
Vandy #70
UGA #201-225</p>

<p>[Top</a> 400 - The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2011-2012](<a href=“http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2011-2012/top-400.html]Top”>World University Rankings 2011-12 | Times Higher Education (THE))</p>

<p>If you’d gladly wait list and pay full tuition at Vanderbilt, then Pitt seems like the obvious choice.</p>

<p>I have no idea what rankings you just showed me and I have no idea the source or legitimacy of these rankings.</p>

<p>It doesn’t make sense though because W&M is ranked worse than Pitt. (?!) And so is UVA, Georgetown, and Dartmouth??! Something is fishy…</p>

<p>That’s Times Higher Education (THE) which is the most commonly cited rankings of academics and student success.</p>

<p>On here people like to cite USNews, but those aren’t educational rankings but rather rankings of student satisfaction (i.e. USNews are the “best colleges to attend” while THE is the “best colleges from which to graduate”). THE primarily considers the success of graduates and reputation rankings. USNews primarily considers freshman retention rate and the percent of alumni that give after graduation (both heavily favoring private schools and smaller schools).</p>

<p>Huh. Makes sense. Thank you for showing me that. Puts things in a new perspective, I suppose. Never appreciated Pitt, Tech, and Michigan that much.</p>