I need some input because I am conflicted between two schools.
Currently, I am enrolled at Gatech for upcoming fall semester as a freshman for computer science. I just got off the waitlist at Columbia though and now have to decide before next monday. The amount of loans I would need for gatech made my initial decision to enroll there hard. Where should I go?
Cost:
Gatech ≈ 25k a year
Columbia ≈ 8k a year
Location:
Gatech is 9 hours driving and is most likely going to have to be flights to get down there.
Columbia is a 5 hour drive and is accessible by train.
College Credits:
For Gatech, I would basically have all core and humanities classes out the way and could jump straight into comp sci classes. I have around 40 dual enrollment and aps that I could transfer in.
Columbia doesn’t take any dual enrollments, so I could bring in 6 ap credits that would satisfy maybe two humanities.
Ranking:
Gatech. I have seen this school anywhere from 5-7 for comp sci.
Columbia. I have seen this school anywhere from 14-20th for comp sci.
Have you visited either or both?
Would you have to take out loans to attend Columbia?
Would the 40 credit hours you’d bring into GaT allow you to graduate a year early?
Georgia Tech is better, sure, but I’m not convinced it’s worth the money and inconvenience compared to Columbia. The train and the closer distance are important. I agree with the previous poster that if your increased AP credits at GT mean you can graduate a year early, that could move the needle. Also, would your price at Columbia stay low like that? 8K per year for Columbia is a pretty good deal. My own kid did not apply to Columbia and did not like it when he looked into it, but if you came to us and said 8K per year, he would consider it!
You will get a better CS education at Ga Tech, but your opportunities coming out of Columbia are in some ways superior. Plenty of grads from both are considered for FAANG level jobs, but Columbia’s location also opens up the finance jobs as well.
On the flip side, you should consider that these two colleges will feel very different from each other. Columbia is also facing federal budget cuts that will strain the university, although I do expect them to honor your aid package for all 4 years.
Both are outstanding options. If both are affordable, go with your personal preference.
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I sadly have not been able to visit either because of my parents both working and not having the time to set time aside to visit.
Also, my credits would definitely set me up to graduate a year early possibly due as I would also be willing to take summer classes to knock any class I could out. Most credits do directly transfer, so I’d be pretty confident I could graduate a year early.
That’s what I worried about to. I applied to Columbia because of their research opportunities for freshman and sophomore. Gatech also offers some similar opportunities. How much do you think these cuts will hurt the university? Do you think they will still offer opportunities like these for first and second year students.
I would figure this out for sure…you may want to coop during the school year and/or have an internship in the summer.
What are your career goals? Will you be going to grad school?
How much are we talking in loans for Ga Tech? Most students can take $27K max ($5.5K first year) in loans during undergrad, loans beyond that will be on your parents, either directly or as co-signers. Even though there are some banks that will give non-cosigned loans to undergrads their rates and fees are high and not competitive.
Yes, my cost every year would look like that. It may fluctuate a thousand or two either way. My family’s SAI for fafsa and CSS profile should look about the same for next academic year. Also Columbia does do a commitment to pay full tuition at least for students that come from families that make under a certain total income.
Well, I have a bunch of scholarships to hear back from, so I do not have a definitive price. My family was looking at the federal loans from fafsa which would cover $5.5k, but we also were offered the Parent Plus loan which would cover the rest of the cost that any unexpected scholarships don’t cover.
As for career goals, I want to do something with AI and machine learning such as a machine learning engineer. I also am pretty interested in software engineering in general. I want to eventually work at a faang company, but also want to explore around with startups.
As for grad school, I am still on the fence.
Almost anyone can take out the full COA with parent plus loans. Each family’s financial situation is unique, but I encourage you to understand the financial picture if you are considering parent plus loans. Here is a loan payment calculator so you can model what things would look like after you graduate: Student Loan Repayment Calculator - Mapping Your Future
Here are the current terms for parent plus loans (9.08% interest rate and 4.228% fees for 2024/25, not sure what those terms will be starting July 2025). (Note the Federal government is also discussing eliminating parent plus loans) Federal Student Aid
Are these scholarships renewable, or just for one year? Note that any outside scholarships will have to be reported to the school you choose, and it may impact the current FA package.
Thank you so much! I have gotten 2 small local $1k ones that are renewable. The ones I have to hear back from are a mix. I’d say about 30 are non renewable, but 25 of them are. They range in amount as some are small $1k ones to some that are $10k.
I would call GaT’s financial aid office today and ask if they will match your Columbia offer.
I would not go $100k in debt to attend GaT.
That would be a HUGE reach (for GT to match the Columbia FA offer)
True, but $32k will be enough of a burden to repay. If GT doesn’t match, I’d accept Columbia and never look back!
My only concern is living in NYC. OP, have you been to NYC before? Columbia’s campus is absolutely beautiful but relatively small. While I have been on Columbia’s campus a number of times, I know nothing about GT’s campus. Perhaps others here would have more insight.
You need to report the receiving of any outside scholarship to the college(s). Please keep in mind that it is very possible your need based aid will be reduced because these outside scholarships will reduce your financial need. You need to contact the colleges about their specific policies. Most reduce need based Audi starting with self help (loans and work study) first.
I think Columbia opens up different and varied doors. And at $8000 a year, that is quite the great price. GA tech would be just over three times that cost. And add to that the cost of transportation would be higher.
Have you visited NYC? Can you take the train yourself, and at least visit Columbia before Monday?
It sounds like GTech is only affordable with ParentPlus loans, which means… Not affordable (and if ParentPlus loans are cut, what will you do?)
The CS program at Columbia is excellent and will open doors to many internships or even externships (ie., an internship one day a week). We’re not comparing GTech with Western Central State College. No one teaches at, does research at, or attends Columbia who isn’t at the top of their game.
Is it the same as GTech? No, but it’s like comparing being #3 and #11 in a class of 1,000 - the difference is negligible at the undergraduate level.
The ROI will certainly be in favor of Columbia - even over 3 years it’s 75k vs. 4 years to develop your skills and improve your resume at a total cost of 32k.
The non-stacking of scholarships is real and affected at least one of my kid’s friends.