Here is Columbia’s outside scholarship policy:
And GA Tech’s. Separately, not sure how OP’s COA at GT is $25K (assuming they received some type of merit award) and assuming they are OOS because they mention it’s a 9 hour drive.
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How should I go about calling the financial aid office. I appealed before but was denied. That was without the Columbia however. Also, I’ve been to NYC once for New Years. It was a fun experience. I live in a relatively smaller city, so the thought of living in the big city appeals to me greatly.
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I have visited NYC once, but that was a couple years ago for New Years. I’m not sure if i will be able to visit, but I will try. I have reported one of the scholarships and still have to report this recent one.
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Thank you for this insightful response
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It was a merit and need based award and a work study program.
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I would call the financial aid office and say something like, “Hi, my name is HT0405 and I accepted a spot in the class of ‘29. I just got off the waitlist at Columbia University where they offered me more financial aid. I would still like to attend GT, but given the financial aid I received at Columbia, I may not be able to. Would your office consider looking over my award and seeing if you could match my Columbia award?”
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Alright. Thank you so much! I’ll try and call this afternoon, and let yall know by tonight or tomorrow morning!
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Of course, you can ask. But remember…Columbia is a private university with much deeper pockets than GA Tech which is a public university. I doubt that they are considered peer schools.
But nothing ventured, nothing gained…so try.
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I doubt using Columbia’s financial aid award will move the needle with GaTech. These are not peer institutions when it comes to financial resources.
GaTech is a public university and its financial priorities are to support GA students. It does have a few merit awards available to OOS (which you seem to have received) but other than that, most OOS students are only eligible for federal need-based assistance. GaTech does not guarantee to meet the financial need of admitted students.
As a private university with a healthy endowment, Columbia has more resources without regard to a US student’s state of residence and it does meet the need of all admitted students. Most private schools also offer more on campus resources for low income/first gen students.
So while it doesn’t hurt to ask, be realistic about your chances since this is comparing apples and oranges. Good luck!
ETA: @thumper1 jinx
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Thank you so much! Even if gatech doesn’t give me anymore, I will still be very happy about Columbia. I will update you all as I learn more!
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You are choosing between two academically excellent schools so there is no “wrong” answer here. 
Congratulations!
Since finances are important for you, I encourage you to dive into any indirect expenses you should consider at either school. NYC is much more expensive than Atlanta, for instance. Does Columbia guarantee housing for 4 years? GaTech does not guarantee housing so that is worth asking about as well. It may be helpful to ask Admissions to connect you with a current student in a similar position at both schools so they can share their experience with any unexpected expenses or roadblocks. I believe Columbia is your best option by far financially but no one likes surprise expenses. (Apologies if this has already been suggested.)
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You are getting lots of good advice here. Add me to one more vote, as I mentioned upthread, GT is not going to match Columbia’s offer. And I think you said they’ve already declined to revisit the financial aid once already. I am guessing you are somewhere in the Charlottesville, Virginia area given the distance you mentioned to New York and Atlanta. The travel s not likely to be a huge consideration. If finances were not an issue, you would be more in a position to choose based on whatever you wish from these two wonderful institutions. But that offer from Columbia is hard to turn down, and I wouldn’t if I were you.
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Doesn’t this suggest that Georgia Tech may be the better option for you ?
Have you confirmed that you can graduate in 3 years from Georgia Tech versus 4 years at Columbia ?
How do you feel about Columbia’s core requirements ?
Have you investigated or thought about internships opportunities at Georgia Tech ?
Tough decision (if you can graduate a year early from GT) especially since you have not visited either school.
Thank you for this suggestion! I will definitely look into that. I have heard Columbia does guarantee housing for all four years. Also, my financial aid offer did include some transportation books and personal expenses cost to give me a better estimate. That’s where I have the $8k. Without the indirect costs estimate it’s around $5k (tuition and fees+ housing and food - Columbia aid and work study)
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That’s what I was thinking! Thank you for your input and advice. I’m from West Virginia. What’s crazy to me was that Columbia was cheaper than my state school.
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Gatech’s threads would benefit my long term goal a bit more as they offer a couple more specialized classes, but Columbia although they do not do the thread curriculum like Gatech, they still have enough electives to where I could gain enough knowledge in software engineering and AI/ML.
I have talked with a student at Gatech regarding the credits, and he believes I could graduate in 3 years especially if I take a few summer courses.
I like the idea about having some humanities from Columbia because I am interested in some of the classes like art history and American/World History and politics. These classes would be a nice touch and a good way to have a balance between STEM and humanities.
I did look into the gatech coop program and undergrad research and internship programs when I was writing my admissions essay. I liked what they had to offer, but Columbia had similar research and internship opportunities minus the coop.
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I think it depends how you feel about college.
If you’re super-focused on CS exclusively, see college as a means to an end, and want to rush through as quickly as possible, then it might be worth paying more for 3 years at GT. Yes, it’s $75K total vs. $32K total, but it means you’re out of college and employed a year sooner, so the difference could be counterbalanced by the “opportunity cost” of another year without income at Columbia.
OTOH, if you value the full college experience, four years at Columbia at that price is an amazing opportunity. You could learn so much beyond the purely-vocational, and the CS program is more than fine, particularly if you pursue research opportunities, etc (which there will be more time for in four years, and hopefully not all of the tech research is federally funded). You wouldn’t have to stress about rushing through or about having large loans hanging over your head; you would have the freedom to savor your college experience.
But some people would rather savor getting onto their career path as quickly as possible! Which sounds more like you?
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Go into the course catalog and plan things out by semester. Pay special attention to course prereqs, as well as how often/what semester a given course typically is offered.
If you don’t coop and/or have a summer internship(s), you will be less competitive coming out of undergrad than your peers who have work experience. Like so many things, there are tradeoffs to consider.
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This is a good point. The optimal path at GT may be three years of tuition, but four years elapsed time, with the two additional semesters consisting of paid coops.
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I really would prefer the financial freedom Columbia brings. Having more time would allow for more research, internships, clubs and networking, etc. At Gatech, I could coop as I’d have less classes to worry about as well. I do think they both come with some trade offs. This was super insightful. Thank you!
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