<p>D got admitted to GT Eng program. At this point, we are comparing GT and Urbana Champaign (she is also admitted to Uiuc eng). To me, it appears GT is better in so far as location, student body (in terms of OOS student percentage). But D is against a techie-only school. She wants broader humanities curriculum along w/ Eng (even if we leave alone the possibility that she may not like eng at all). </p>
<p>Question: how weak is GT in humanities? Is it really a techie-only school? D’s concern is based on the name. She also thinks MIT is techie only. But I know MIT is quite broad… I don’t know much about GT. </p>
<p>GT has the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, with the following majors:</p>
<p>Computational Media (joint between College of Computing and Liberal Arts)
Economics
Economics and International Affairs
Global Economics and Modern Languages
History, Technology, & Society
International Affairs and Modern Languages
International Affairs
Public Policy
Science, Technology, & Culture</p>
<p>also, their school of business is renowned. However, at the tour, they said that ALL of th majors have some sort of tech spin. Also, Computer Science is a required freshman course.</p>
<p>If I had a choice between the 2, I’d personally choose Illinois, but thats because I want to do journalism Which brings me to the fact that UI is much more broad. But if she IS sure she wants Engineering, GT can’t be beat unless you’re MIT or Caltech.</p>
<p>Thanks, rsxwxx. This is good info. It is hard for anyone to be SURE that they will end up liking engg without actually going through the curriculum. In her case, her long term plan is to go for a graduate degree/professional career, where a technical degree is useful but not required.</p>
<p>Thanks, Feez.
For now, I am leaving aside the possibility that she may want to swtich out of engg. Withing engg, how much opportunity is available to GT eng undergrad to take humanities courses? What is the quality of those courses? Is the general attitude in student body/factulty that these are necessary evils or do folks actually engage in these classes?</p>
<p>I finished my first semester here at Georgia Tech and took ENGL 1101, which is basically the first english class most people take. I thought it was an ok class; it wasn’t considered “evil” or anything, and it was actually kind of fun. Generally it’s much easier than math/physics/science classes, so lots of people consider them GPA-boosters, even. The instructor was good, had a PHD, and generally seemed interested to teach the course.</p>
<p>Also, if you don’t want to do engineering, you can always switch into management, international relations, or other things. There are humanities options at Tech, it’s just not big so people think they don’t exist. The Ivan Allen College seems to attract more students each year though, from what I hear.</p>
<p>Feez is right that Ivan Allen gets bigger every year. I believe it’s the second largest college on campus now (behind engineering but ahead of the sciences). There are a decent amount of well-rounded people that go to Tech. The only difference I’ve noticed in arts courses is they may have a technology component to them.</p>
<p>For fall term just past, IAC is 4th for undergrads. MGT (business) is 2nd, Sciences 3rd, etc. Still, 4th is darn good for a college that didn’t exist 20 years ago…</p>
<p>I was also accepted to both UIUC and Gatech. I chose Gatech for the location (Can’t stand not being in a city), finaid, and because of the better ranked program. I, however, was already certain of my major.</p>
<p>GaTech, I think is very much a tech oriented school. If your daughter is not certain she wants to be in some sort of engineering, or technology based major. We really don’t have all that much besides that. Sure we have International Relations, Public Policy, Management, Industrial Design, and Architecture (Am I missing any others?), but comparatively, these programs are small and not as highly regarded as our engineering/computer science programs.</p>
<p>Tell your D to check out dual enrollment b/w Emory and Georgia Tech. I’m doing that to get an ECE degree from Tech and an Econ degree from Emory, and it’s working out great!</p>
<p>I am probably one of the VERY few people who did this, but I applied to Tech knowing fully 100% adamantly that I DID NOT WANT TO DO ENGINEERING OR THE SCIENCES. I am going there next year to study in the Ivan Allen College- HTS program.</p>
<p>While the IAC is probably not ranked very high nationally, it is at the GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, a very well-regarded university. A degree from there (especially because all of their degrees are Bachelor of Science degrees) is looked upon very highly.</p>
<p>nah, im with you, Lbr. I’m applying to the Ivan Allen College as well. However, my prospective major (Computational Media) is 1/2 IAC and 1/2 College of Computing.</p>
<p>However, I must emphasize that even though we do have non-engineering majors, our primary focus was, is, and always will be engineering. If you are a business or international affairs major, it is very likely that you will be looked down upon by at least some of your engineering brethren.</p>
<p>Which points to the flaws in those engineers who can’t see value in other majors. Most of the engineering students realize the need for diversity in thought and in what we all study. Unfortunately, some engineering majors are unable to appreciate that someone might be in a good and valid major for that person. [To make themselves feel good, they have to step on others.] So, anytime someone disparages your major, make a mental note to associate less with that person. That type of behavior is something you certainly do not want to encourage.</p>
Which brings me to the fact that UI is much more broad. But if she IS sure she wants Engineering, GT can’t be beat unless you’re MIT or Caltech.</p>