Berkeley OOS [$79k, mech eng] vs Gtech OOS [$52k, mech eng] vs Emory [$38k, business + engineering 3+2 with GT]

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Hey, I am an incoming college Freshman, and I’m having a really hard time picking between my top options. I’ll give more information for each school below, but overall I’m interested in both engineering and business. As for my career goals, I’m not sure at all yet, but I’m thinking of starting in tech consulting and then moving on to creating my own startup (this could very much change). I am aware of the different school environments each of these schools have. I’m mainly looking for advice on which school will help me the best academically and financially.

Berkeley OOS - $79,000 per year
Major: Mechanical engineering (might switch to industrial engineering, not sure yet)
My thoughts: I really liked the campus, social life, and start-up culture Berkeley has (my goal is to create a startup in the future). And, of course, all the opportunities I’ll get from being in the Bay Area is a massive plus. My main drawback is the competitiveness and toughness of classes at Berkeley. I’m worried I’ll fall behind and not be able to join many clubs. Also, I’m from the east coast, so it’s far from home, and obviously, it’s my most expensive option. I’m not sure if the cost is worth it, especially since gtech is very similar academically.

Georgia Tech OOS - $52,000 per year
Major: Mechanical engineering (might switch to industrial engineering, not sure yet)
My thoughts: I really loved Georgia Tech’s campus and its practical approach to engineering. It’s also closer to home, and I have many friends going there, so the transition would be easier. The main drawback is it doesn’t have as big a start-up culture and fewer resources/employment opportunities compared to Berkeley.

Emory as a Goizueta Scholar - $38,000 per year
Major: Business + Engineering (5-year dual degree program with Georgia Tech)
More info: I’ll give some background on what a Goizueta Scholar is and the dual degree program I plan on doing. Firstly a Goizueta Scholar is a pretty prestigious title that only about five people a year get. It gets me automatically within Emory’s Business school (which you usually apply after your first or second year), has many perks (such as priority registration, easy access into business clubs, Goizueta Scholars community, special events, etc), and gives me merit scholarship. Basically, I’m at the top of the “food chain” at Emory’s business school from the start, which is nice. Now, the dual degree program is where I spend three years at Emory and two years at gtech, gaining a business degree from Emory and an engineering degree from GT.
My thoughts: This is what I’m leaning towards the most right now. I really love Emory’s campus and this option lets me explore both business and engineering. Also being a scholar gets me a lot of benefits I wouldn’t get at the other two schools. And of course, it’s the cheapest. My main drawback is that I’m not sure how useful my business degree will be if I also get an engineering one. Also, Emory is a much smaller school than the other two so I won’t get the same social life and D1 sports, which was something I was looking forward to (but gtech is like 15 min away so I could go there to experience that social life).

Anyways, I know that was a lot so thanks to anyone who took the time to read it. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

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what is the Emory/GT total cost over 5 years vs. the others at 4? What is teh GT cost for years 4 & 5? The same $38K? (38 * 5 is not much different than 52*4)

Who is paying? Could your parents afford Cal?

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The Emory program sounds a lot like the Berkeley MET program. In my mind, if you are somewhat interested in business then Emory seems like the best bet. Also, a lot depends on whether you can complete the integrated program in 4 years. If you do need to spend all 5 years, then Goizueta is likely to be more expensive to you given the extra year of tuition and lost earnings.

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https://goizueta.emory.edu/undergraduate-business-degree/dual-degree/engineering.pdf describes the requirements to transfer to GT for the last two years after the first three years at Emory.

You should assume that the last two years of the 3+2 program will be at GT’s list price. Completing the full program with three years at Emory followed by two years at GT will cost more than just going to GT for four years, based on the prices you list above.

School Price through graduation Notes
GT $208k Mechanical engineering
Emory only $152k Business only
Emory+GT 3+2 $228k Need to fulfill transfer requirements for GT admission for engineering
UCB $316k Mechanical engineering

If mechanical engineering is your primary interest, GT looks like the best choice based on major and cost.

How much does cost matter to you and your family? If it matters a lot, do you have lower cost admissions for mechanical engineering (or other engineering majors that interest you)?

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Thanks for all the replies.

Cost isn’t too big of a factor in the decision. My parents are able and willing to pay up to 80-90k per year for my college (so enough for Berkeley). It’s just that it wouldn’t make sense to pay lots of extra money if it doesn’t provide me much benefit.

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I’m not a fan of the 3/2 programs so to me GA Tech makes the most sense. But if you strongly prefer UCB and it is comfortably affordable (no hardship, no loans) then that would work as well.

Congrats on the great options!

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Ga Tech fulfills your desire for start ups and fear of being far away from home.

Not sure why you’d fall behind at UCB but not Ga Tech - unless your emotional state will be worse due to being far from home.

Emory is interesting but you can do a minor at Ga Tech and still get business exposure.

The issue with the 5 year is not just will you complete it - but you’d lose a year of income - $80K+. So the costs savings is not as you think - and of course you may end up doing an MBA later if/when you work somewhere and get that business education anyway.

btw - you may (or may not) get the social life at Emory as UCB or Ga Tech - but it could in fact be better / tighter - but yes you won’t get D1 sports (not that UCB or Ga Tech consistently deliver).

Oh, and you talk about doing IE - both are top notch but and it’s splitting hairs, Ga Tech is routinely #1. If you have to break a tie :slight_smile:

Good luck.

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Emory /GT program sounds cool. But heavily look into the Industrial engineering program at GT. It’s ranked like #1. This is essentially Business engineering. My son graduated from Michigan with two minors and one was entrepreneurship from the Ross business school there. That ended up being a powerful combination for this current job.

I would look at that and pro /con the program there and look at business minor to fill in the gaps at GT. Congratulations BTW. Very nice gets. You should be proud. I would forget Berkeley.

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I think one way to look at it is to determine what’s your level of interest in business. If your primary interest is engineering/technology, and you are only looking for basic business knowledge, then GT engineering plus some minor/certificate may be the way to go. For example, you can look at the following offered by Sheller:
Entrepreneurship Certificate
Engineering & Business Minor

Compare the above with Goizueta BBA Curricular Structure. If you are more into a full-bloom BBA and also interested in exploring business career options, then my personal opinion is that the Goizueta/GT 3+2 program would be more “efficient”, both in terms of time and money. The total cost for 5 years would be only 10k more than 4 years at GT. If you are to do engineering+business double major in GT, as long as it takes more than 4.5 years, the cost will be higher than the 3+2 option, not to mention that it could usually take longer to double major in GT.

I would also suggest that you do a deep dive into the 3+2 program, to make sure you can complete all the requirements within the expected timeframe under normal course load. You will need to complete the general education requirement at Emory, the BBA requirement of Goizueta, as well as the GT pre-engineering requirements. Information below may be useful:
BLUE GER (FALL 2023 AND LATER)
Goizueta Student Handbook
Dual Degree Handbook

Also I assume you would have a few AP scores to get credit at both schools? You can look into the AP credit policies below:
Emory AP/IB Chart
GTech AP Credit

Lastly, you should look into the ME curriculum to make sure that once you complete the pre-engineering requirements you can indeed finish the ME degree in two years.

Congratulations on all the great options! I would forget about UC Berkeley, though it’s definitely a great school.

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With the five year program you should be certain your financial aid remains intact for the fifth year (often financial aid covers 8 semesters).

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3+2 program financial aid offers to frosh typically only apply to the “3” school. The “2” school’s financial aid may be different or none at all.

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Thank you for all the replies. I think Berkeley is off the table now because I don’t think it’s worth the cost. At this point it depends on how much I want to do business. Honestly, I have no clue what I want to do in the future, just that I like engineering and business. I definitely think engineering is my primary interest, but still not to sure. Does anyone have any insight into what type of jobs I would get with both an engineering and business degree? Would it be different than those with just an engineering degree? Would a business degree give me more opportunities within engineering/give me an edge over other candidates?

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Some engineering employers may see a second major in business as a minus for an entry-level engineering applicant.

See posts #17, #19, #33 of this thread: Best Business Degree to Compliment and Engineering Degree? - #17 by HPuck35

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I’m sure that poster was truthfully sharing his own experience, from a highly technical position within engineering.

However I’m not sure his experience is the only perspective to look at a combined degree/dual degrees in business plus engineering. Otherwise, Penn’s M&T program or Berkeley’s M.E.T. program would not be so prestigious and selective.

@HTTC24 OP, I would suggest that you find out outcome information on the two programs mentioned above, and see what types of jobs graduates from these two programs get into. If these are not your interest, then you know you should probably just get a pure engineering degree.

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Engineering + business combinations seem to be rather attractive to pre-professionally-oriented high school students, even though adding a full business major to and engineering major may not actually add that much value. Many engineering managers do not have additional (bachelor’s or master’s) business degrees.

Some knowledge of economics, finance, workplace sociology, and social/ethical/political issues around business and engineering is obviously helpful in the workplace, but it does not require a full business major to learn a useful amount of such.

If the OP does switch to industrial engineering, some of that is already more business adjacent anyway.

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If the premise is going straight into engineering and becoming an engineering manager down the road, I would probably agree with you under certain circumstances.

However it seems to me that OP is equally interested in engineering and business, from the beginning of this post as well as from his “match me” post last year. He just does not fully understand what kind of possibilities would be available to a graduate with dual degrees and where/how much such combination of skills would be valued, which is perfectly normal for an upcoming freshman. Therefore I believe knowledge/examples on potential outcome will help him make a more informed decision, based on his own interest.

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Comprehensive outcome reports from Penn M&T or Berkeley M.E.T. seem to be hard to find. I ran into a alumni profile page in Penn’s M&T program, which may be indicative of potential paths for a dual-degree graduates:

  • Technology practice in consulting
  • Investment Banking
  • Private equity
  • Entrepreneur
  • Engineering where business skills are valued
  • Academics in the intersection of STEM and business/econ

I’m sure there are more possibilities.

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In other words, mostly traditional Ivy League career directions, though where some knowledge of engineering may be helpful.

But then many Ivy League graduates go that direction without a business major (which is not offered at many Ivy League schools). Indeed, those directions seem to be the target for students doing the non-ABET-accredited versions of engineering majors at Brown and Dartmouth.

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