"the school only accepted 32% of Georgia residents. I know you don’t need me to do math for you but that means 68% of the incoming class is coming from other places. "
I almost got excited (we are OOS, and I love GT)
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As an in state parent with a child at GT, we would have happily written the check for MIT (no aid) had he gotten in (deferred then rejected). It is the one school on his list we would have done that for in all likelihood over GT. Congrats on your admission to MIT - that is incredible
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Because Georgia Tech is such a good school, ordinarily it would be a no brainer to go there for only 18K per year no matter what the other school was. But when the other school is MIT, that makes it a tough decision. If it was me, and it wouldn’t cause any financial strain on my parents, I would probably go with MIT. That said, there is no wrong decision here, and I’m sure OP will do fine no matter which school he/she chooses.
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I don’t think it matters at all if you graduate last in your class at MIT. MIT is the gift that keeps on giving 
. It will open doors that GT simply won’t.
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It is not nearly as selective as MIT even for OOS or international students. MIT admit rate was 4.03 % this year vs 16 percent OOS and 11 percent international.
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Maybe that money isn’t there to give. Education trust fund, etc. Maybe he has a healthy college fund plus parents who are used to paying private school tuition. Maybe they aren’t willing to give such a sum to an 18 year old but are happy to pay for a school which will all but ensure his dreams of a research PhD come to fruition. Teach a man to fish, etc. Maybe it is for bragging rights at cocktail parties. Who knows? My parents always say the money they paid for our education was the best money they ever spent.
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Well, that was also a generation ago. In the ‘90’s and before, elite American college education was a relative steal given what you got. It’s debatable whether it still is, but what isn’t debatable is that at some point, with the rate private college education prices are rising, it won’t make economic sense for most any more. Would you pay $1M for HYPSM? $5M $10M? I think at $10M, we can agree that the cost-benefit analysis simply doesn’t make sense (at that point, HYPSM will essentially be a club for the global rich who want bragging rights + brilliant kids on fin aid).
Hey, if it works for the rich and the brilliant … amen 
This family can and probably should afford it.
Like I said - so many of us get a car that’s 50k too expensive? Why not a college?
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From a parent, go to GT if you like the program and culture, save some $ for postgraduate studies in MIT maybe. Weather in GA is better too. That being said, my kid is not choosing GT because he got into his favorite school. We also have to pay but definitely not as much as you parents and better weather. I know it sounds a little hypocrite, but the amount makes a difference.
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I think you’ll be miserable if you’re among the last in your class, even at MIT. I’ve seen my share of struggles and burnouts in places like MIT. It’s never fun to be at the bottom of anything. Even at a place like MIT, the distribution of talents has long tails. I agree with you, though, that MIT will open many doors that GT won’t, and it’s a place that’s worth paying some extra for.
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What do they call the person who graduated last in his medical school…
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Med school is different from nearly other professions, though, as medicine is a cartel that the AMA enforce. They call the person who finishes last in law school a lawyer (if they manage to pass the bar), but that does mean all that much.
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MIT is hard.
- I don’t think it’s harder than GT in terms of core requirements rigor and workload.
- Let’s cut OP some slack and expect him to be right in the median.
He can really get to make life-long friends with (I will quote MIB) “the best of the best of the best, sir!”. My partner at work went to MIT and was in a frat there - I got to meet a lot of his frat brothers (it’s a nerd frat). It’s a ridiculous collection of out-of-this-world smart, unassuming, hardworking and wildly successful individuals… like NEXT level successful.
GT may not be too far behind in education, but (not to take anything away from GT - it’s a great school), in terms of peer group it’ll be miles away … and (at some point) one picks the school for the peer group that you lean on and feed off of.
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Given your family’s situation, take the MIT opportunity. You won’t be the bottom of the class either.
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I’d go with Georgia Tech because of proximity to home, weather, cost. It’s still one of the top engineering schools in the country. You can go to MIT for graduate school. Your parents can invest that extra 60K/yr for you, and you can put it towards a condo in Boston for when you go to MIT for grad school.
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Agree with GT undergrad, make all A’s then MIT for grad school.
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I’ve got to admit that I’m very surprised that anyone who got into MIT and who can afford it would even consider turning it down. It really is on a different level.
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I am very curious about why you applied to MIT in the first place.
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You can compare here:
https://catalog.gatech.edu/academics/undergraduate/core-curriculum/