<p>Yes I know there are many threads just like this, but I was hoping the adults of CC could consider my case as well. The two colleges I'm considering out of the ones I have gotten into are Rice and GA Tech. I'm planning on majoring in bio engineering, and both schools are great engineering schools. However from what I have gathered from talking to people and on the respective websites, Rice's bioengineering is much more broad and offers several areas of specialty while GA Tech offers only biomedical engineering which focuses almost solely on the direct medical aspects of the field, which is not exactly what I'm interested in. In terms of campus/atmosphere, I like Rice's a lot better, its not in the middle of a city, much smaller classes, less solely technical oriented, etc. I like GA Tech's athletics and school spirit much better, and its size has some advantages reflected in the number of alumni networking you can do since there are so many more graduates. In addition, many of my friends are going to GA Tech (this is both good and bad as well.) In terms of money, if I went to Rice and worked summers and did work study or paid research half of the semesters I would graduate with about 15-20k in loans. If I went to GA Tech I would graduate not only debt free, but my parents would have an additional ~40k left over from what they have set aside that I could use for any legitimate purpose (grad school, starting a family, etc.) </p>
<p>I truly appreciate any advice as I am really torturing myself over this decision and will probably second guess myself for years to come either way.</p>
<p>normally you hear go to where you like better but 60 k is huge money. decide on how much you can expect to make right out of school. how significant is 60k now. keep in mid there will be interest on the money. additionally, working the summers is good and the research wont hurt your grad school ap if you go that way. decide r u interested in medicine or do you want other bioengineering fields</p>
<p>I faced this same decision a few years ago, went to Rice. There is no comparing the experiences you will have, the schools are so different. Decide if you want a big school and a state school atmosphere, or a small private school. Also, Rice has strong engineering (chemical, mechanical, electrical, bio) but the number of students in these programs is dwarfed by GT, where there will be greater course offerings and more students in your classes. Also if you want to do civil or environmental engineering or industrial engineering, Rice does not have large programs in these like Tech does. I am not an engineering major, but just about 100% of Rice engineering majors get jobs pretty easily; they mostly work for large energy companies.</p>
<p>EMM1, could you elaborate? I know its probably because of the money, and at some times I agree with you, but other times I think it is worth it. I figure I can pay off 20k in debt in 5 years or less of working if I go straight into industry.</p>
<p>Hey,
I know the person before me said go to Georgia Tech. I'm a freshman at GT and i'm finishing my second semester right now so i'm goign to tell you the positives and the negatives of Gt.
Lets start with the negatives. I know most everyone who applies to this school gets good grades in high school with mild to moderate effort and expects that it will be the same in college. ITS NOT. If you go to this school, you will spend more time studying then you ever thought possible. You WILL be up till 2am at least twice a week and YOU will get an F on at least one test during your first semester. No joke. This is a really hard school. The professors demand a lot from you. It is also very likely that you will have a class where the average grade is a 64% (so that F from earlier will probably become a C/B at the end of the term. This school</p>
<p>Sorry posted too soon. This school is very discouraging until you get used to it. The professors prefer to make classes very hard and then just "fix" the grades at the end of the term. And i am comparing this to other schools. I have friends at MIT who look at me like i'm crazy when i tell them how much work i have.</p>
<p>That said: the positives: I garauntee you that when you get out of this school, you will get a job. A good job. That makes money. Also, the way they teach the actual biomedical classes is absolutely phenominal. Its basically on-the job-training. Like right now, i'm in BME 1300, which is the intro to BME course. Basically, they put you in a room with 7 other BME students and one member of the BME department with a doctorate and give you problems similar to what a BME major would have to solve in real life. I know it sounds crazy. But it teaches you how to react and think and break down problems in a way you would never get in a normal classroom. Also(this may just be my opinion) the biomedical faculty is AMAZING. They really make time to talk with you and help you out if you have questions about classes or just the major in general. They all WANT you to succeed. And this kind of work really helps you make friends and socialize. Yes, once you figure out how much work you need to put into tech and how to get it done efficiently, you do get to have fun. And there are tons of things to do and so many amazing people to hang out with that the work becomes worth it. </p>
<p>So basically, if you are willing to put in an inordinate amount of work, Tech will gove you an awesome education and basically garuantee you a job after 4 years.
P.S. Sorry, I know this is really long ;-)</p>
<p>I'll vote for Rice. I believe its program is more science-based and is more flexible for a person's long term growth. The near by hospital and medical school/complex and the stronge science program in Rice will benefit the course of your study.</p>
<p>First, I neglected to congratulate you on your accomplishments. You have every reason to be proud of yourself.</p>
<p>It is not just 20k, it is 60K, if I understand the original post, which stated that your parents would also have 40K left over it you attend Georgia Tech. Since we are talking about after tax dollars, you are going to have to make approximately an extra 10K per year after you graduate just to break even. Does the employment data suggest such a difference.</p>
<p>By the way, just to show you that I am not a bloodless calcualtor, I also think that going to a school where there are big sports would be more fun (in the limited free time that you are likely to have, given the challenging course of study that you have chosen). But that's just me.</p>
<p>I am a parent that is much of a bloodless calculator. You've appear you could be happy at both; you're seeking advice- to put it my way- on which is the better investment. I say take the less expensive school, confident that it will prepare you well, graduate without debt, and YOUR PARENTS have 40k leftover. They may wish to give you THE GIFT of all or part of this dough, but remember it is their money.
Most young adult(which I define as supporting himself-not by age) desires his own place, nicer car, proper clothes, and begins utility costs, etc. If a young adult has all his starting wages going to loans plus living necessities like I have mentioned, he soon finds little money leftover for discretionary spending on fun things. People in that position soon find themself feeling lke they are working for nothing.</p>