DS is deciding between Northwestern, Georgia Tech, or University of Michigan for Materials Science & Engineering. Has visited GT and NU and loves both, has not seem UM. We are full pay and OOS for GT and UM, so the costs are: Northwestern 97k, GT 50k and UM 80k. We can afford GT, the others are a stretch and will require loans. We are really struggling to justify paying 47k-30k extra a year when GT is such a great engineering school, but we also want him to feel he did have a choice in this decision. Its also hard not to be dazzled by the prestige of Northwestern and even Michigan; GT seems lesser known (we live in the northeast). In terms of fit, he can see himself at any of them. Any advice appreciated, thanks!
that’s a lot of $ for UM. GT is amazing for his interests. Unless there is a chance he pivots to a liberal arts type of major, I would save the $ and happily go with GT. I am in the Northeast and GT is definitely prestigious here.
Our good friend’s son is at Yale for CS. he was rejected by GT.
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Thank you, this is what I need to hear 
He has no plans to pivot, is very determined to stick with engineering and doesn’t feel he’ll miss any of the liberal arts stuff. Has pretty much eliminated NU based on their interdisciplinary approach and his desire to do much less writing in college!
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Last year, our son was in the same boat as your DS. Deciding between Northwestern and GT was hard for him. We live close to Northwestern and could easily afford the cost. Despite that, our son chose GT keeping in mind his career prospects. He had one of the two options: Prestige from Northwestern degree or the opportunity to become a top notch engineer from GT. Our son loves the academics at GT but he does regret letting go off Northwestern because some of his highschool friends are having a good time at Northwestern. Our son is majoring in computer engineering at GT. He will complete his degree in 3 years. As a freshman he has 4.0 GPA with all math courses competed in Discrete Math, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra and Multibariable Calc. With only 4 semesters left to go, our son would be saving 150k by the time he completes undergrad (as opposed to Northwestern) He will use that money towards his grad school. Hope this info helps. Best wishes to your son.
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I don’t care if it’s Ga Tech or U Georgia or Georgia State.
You had me here.
“We can afford GT, the others are a stretch and will require loans.”
If you can’t afford the Ritz Carlton, you stay at the Courtyard Marriott.
Fortunately for you, the choice is the Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, or Waldorf Astoria. There’s no Courtyard Marriott involved.
All fantastic - but one just happens to be much less.
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This isn’t about wants and feelings. This is about a fiscal reality. Being able to afford an elite tier engineering school (and being accepted to an elite tier engineering school) like GT should be viewed as a huge win.
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@tsbna44 I love your response! I agree. We can swing the loans, but why? No Courtyard Marriott here!
Why would you take loans?
Most engineering kids make the same. My son chose Bama (no rank) over Purdue. I thought he was nuts. Yet he works with Michigan kids and other top kids - and guess what, they all make the same. They’re all ABET accredited - and he correctly pointed out rank is for magazines and parents, not companies when he decide on this school. In fact, he met an Ivy leaguer at Trivia Night in Utah and said - I make more than him too.
He interned and lived for a summer with two kids from one of your schools. He was invited back a second summer. They weren’t.
So - that’s why I say - I don’t care if it’s UGA or Georgia State.
If you can’t afford something, you can’t afford something.
I give my kids a choice where we go for dinner - when they’re home and we go out.
But usually a $100 steak isn’t on the selection set. They wouldn’t even ask.
In your case, given Michigan is extremely high priced and you are out of state (and don’t forget they charge more the last two years) and NU doesn’t give merit so you’d have known the cost up front - perhaps these schools shouldn’t have been applied to in the beginning.
But you only need one - and you found the one. Nothing worse than an acceptance you can’t afford - which makes it a rejection - so to me that solves your issue because you have a wonderful affordable acceptance. It makes the choice for you - which makes your life easier.
Oh - I just read one more thing - I’d disagree GA Tech is less known. I mean you have Michigan Football and NU as a well rounded school but for CE/CS - nope - you’re just not asking the audience who knows the field.
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Thanks, he’s actually an MSE major, not CE.
Mixed up threads. Oops. Thx
Edit new list same result
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Yes! But you can see NU is in top 10 for MSE, that’s why he applied, although I don’t disagree with you about rankings. Oh and yes, we knew the price of NU and UM before he applied. Just because loans would be needed didn’t mean we were completely opposed to taking them. He cast a very wide net and we wanted to weigh all options. But of course we are happy to not borrow money for college! GT is even giving him a small scholarship for his major.
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Not sure if you saw the career outcomes.
Here’s U Mich - about $80K
NU - not a fan of how they show career data - they don’t by major or even college.
Ga Tech = $78.5K median
So on par. Usually companies pay by location, not school. UF, for example, a year old data was median $77.6K. UMN is $81.6K average (doesn’t show median).
So I think ROI, respectability, and rank - Ga Tech wins. But frankly, salaries are going to be similar no matter where he goes - at least if the goal is to work specific to that industry (vs. say a high end thing like consulting that NU might provide different opportunities - might…you might ask).
Best of luck to him.
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Parent loans are generally not a great idea when there is a more affordable suitable option without loans.
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GT is well regarded in the NE.
Graduating in 3 years is doable if you have AP/DE credits. S20 graduated ISyE in 3 years. His HS friend did CS in 3 years and stuck around another year for a Master’s.
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I don’t know if this helps, but for various reasons I have been kicking around circles where this sort of thing is sometimes discussed for quite a while, and my two cents is Georgia Tech has both a national and indeed international brand for being an absolute top engineering college. So does Michigan, of course. Northwestern is definitely good too, but I would not put it at the same top powerhouse level as Georgia Tech or Michigan. I get that you can find specialty rankings where different colleges will be in top groupings, but one of the great things about a true engineering powerhouse like Georgia Tech (or again Michigan) is you can safely choose them and then let your engineering interests evolve as natural during college.
So if it was me, I would not worry about that factor at all. Of course if you could comfortably afford the difference and had some other reason to prefer Michigan (or Northwestern), sure. But if the difference is not comfortable AND your only concern is reputation in engineering? I think you have your winner in Georgia Tech, and no need to second guess it in my view.
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GA Tech is a fantastic school, a great fit for your son’s interests, and is comfortably affordable. Sounds to me like it is time to buy a GT hoodie and celebrate his success.
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All 3 universities are highly respected for materials science. In the not too distant past, Northwestern was ranked close to #1 by US News for undergraduate material sciences engineering. (If I recall correctly, it was tied with U Michigan at #5.)
P.S. Just checked the most recent ranking: U Michigan tied at #4 with U Illinois. Northwestern is #7 for material science engineering. Georgia Tech is at #1 and MIT is #1.
The OP would have made a choice by now.
Did not realize GT was #1 for Materials. That’s great to hear because he’s going to be a Yellowjacket! I really appreciate all the advice here, it helped confirm what we knew was the right decision.
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