ASMAJ

Thanks for the info, gthopeful. I know different schools are harder than others in certain majors (e.g I have looked at some of MIT's problem sets and they can get pretty complicated). I just know that the chem eng major I know often feel overwhelm with the amount of work she has to do. How you like it a GT? I have a friend that went there for a PhD in biomedical engineering. One of the good things about getting a PhD is that the school will basically pay you to finish and get the it.

gthopeful

I guess "I'm going to GT" was ambiguous use of future tense. I'm actually doing research at UF (because my thesis advisor was awesome) until the fall when I matriculate at Tech. I only really have experience in electrical engineering, but I think chemical engineering has more "overhead" because every other class is a lab by nature of the degree. I only had to take I think 5 labs.

One thing Tech is good about is being pretty liberal with funding at the graduate level. I got a teaching assistantship as an MS student, which is pretty rare at other universities because they try and save funding for those PhD students who work as slaves to their advisors for 3-5 years :P. Behind every great discovery, there are grad students doing the tests and making the measurements!

RChris173

Well, after reading these posts and the anger/frustration from my parents, it looks like UF is where I will be going!

RChris173

I know several posts in this thread that people have said they went or are going to go to Georgia Tech after UF...Considering I was accepted as an undergraduate and plan to do well in undergraduate studies at whereever I decide to attend, do you think it will be hard to get admitted as a transfer or graduate at Georgia Tech?

gatorjacket

Transferring into GT undergrad is tough. I looked into doing it but they seemed pretty tough on what credits they would accept.

RChris173

what about graduate?

gthopeful

GT's graduate acceptance rate is about half of its undergrad, but you also have to consider you don't have internationals fighting each other to get in for undergrad as you do for grad. I think there is some preference for domestic students because comparatively few go on to graduate school. Transfer acceptances are easier to get than first time undergrad, but as was mentioned, they have a very different curriculum from UF (calculus 2 is linear algebra + calculus 2, for example).

physh

Go to UF and be glad you did.
My brother is graduating from GA tech, I go to UF. He wishes he went to UF.

Yes UF is easier, but that also means you'll get better grades.

SSobick

UF engineering is not too shabby. It jumped two spots and now is ranked 24th overall.

ABCB7099

One look at that male-female ratio of GT should tell you all you need to know.

ladistar

Yeah but all the hot chicks are already taken up by frat guys and Gucci-model lookalikes anyways so unless you fit into one of the preceding categories, you're just back at square one

MisterCrowley

I grew up in gville, went to UCF and Gatech. Now im a junior at gatech.

I can say that UF people are by far some of the most happy people i have ever seen. Yes Gatech is hard, in fact.... seeing what some people at UF do in classes.... UF is easy as hell (UCF isnt even a college in my opinion). Gatech is by far more prestigious than UF for engineering. AE at gatech is ranked number 2 in the nation second only to MIT. Within your field, Gatech grads will be looked at before UF grads.

But goddamn, despite all the good academics, there are only 2 kinds of people here. There are people who are miserable, stressed, and usually depressed from all the work. These people usually have higher grades. Then there are the happier people in either business or something else OR they are in engineering with a 2.5 or lower GPA. They probably wont be happy when they graduate.

In all honestly, i would probably rather go to UF for my remaining undergrad and consider UF medschool or applying to a graduate school anywhere else. UF isnt that bad in engineering, but comparing it to georgia tech is silly.

rogracer

...well I guess the world's leading aerospace companies are just being silly then

RChris173

My dad works at Lockheed Martin in Orlando and he can personally say that a lot of interns and new hires come from UCF...but I agree with regracer, I decided that I am going to go to UF so I don't see the silliness incomaring UF to GA Tech when that was my ultimate problem to begin with.

orchid_2010

My son had to make the same decision when he was accepted to both schools last year. He ran the numbers himself and came up with some figures that made the choice easier. First, he had the free bright futures tuition at UF -- this made GT 20,000 per year more expensive than UF. Then, he looked at salaries after graduating with the same degree (mech engineering) from each school. The salaries were identical. Then he talked to someone from a company that hires engineers and discovered that they don't have any preference for GT grads over UF grads. It's all the same to them. Finally, he is interested in grad school for a master's, and UF has a five year program. OR, he can do grad school at GT, with a better chance of getting financial assistance there as a grad student.

In the end, UF won hands down. He's just finishing his first year (which seemed rigorous enough!), and he is very happy there.