Would I be crazy to turn down a full-ride to Columbia? [versus full ride Georgia Tech, computer science and engineering]

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Yes, the aid package does include a dollar amount for travel. I actually just received a scholarship that covers travel/transit from college to home and vise versa, so that’s not a worry anymore thankfully!

Agree with you, I feel that from my GT visit it felt like a breath of fresh air knowing that I’ll be a bit more independent and away from my family (although I love them very much lol). Felt like a good balance between a new start whilst still being close enough to family. Overall did really like GT and everything that it has to offer, but idk something in me feels like I’m going to regret giving up Columbia to go to GT, although I did get better vibes from GT.

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That’s great advice, thanks for sharing. I feel like from my visits to both colleges, GT did feel like the better fit, although I’m not sure if it’s because I’m familiar with it or if Columbia was just such a new and different experience. I also get this sense of FOMO whenever I think about going to GT instead of Columbia, I guess it probably comes from Columbia being an Ivy League and the doors that it could open that GT may not be able.

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I wholeheartedly agree, my parents have always taken care of me and nurtured me all throughout their life, and I definitely understand their perspective of how hard it is to just one day let go. But like you mentioned this is one of the only times in my life where I’ll be able to explore and learn more about the world, and I don’t want to endure anything that will limit that.

I feel like in 5 years, if I were to go to GT, I would enjoy my time more due to the school spirit and having friends that go there, but I do feel a sense of FOMO of missing out of Columbia given that it’s an Ivy league school and cost isn’t a factor. I know I can’t go wrong with either, it’s just such a tough choice!! Hopefully speaking with current students a bit more at both schools will give me a clearer picture.

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Congrats on the scholarship! Do check on Columbia’s financial aid policies regarding outside scholarships. Most schools require that such scholarships be reported, and unfortunately many will adjust your institutional grant downward as a result, on the premise that they are obliged to meet need, but any additional money you receive reduces your need.

The thing with having two such great offers is that you’re likely to have “road not taken” regrets either way. Neither of these schools wins or loses a “which of these is too good to pass up” match-up, but you have to pass up one of them. Gut feelings aren’t infallible and do deserve to be interrogated as you are doing; but I still feel like following your gut is better than letting “FOMO” decide.

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So first off, congratulations, you’re amazing and you have wonderful opportunities in front of you, based on all of your hard work: equally amazing is that you’re committed to supporting your family. Awesome and congratulations.

I’ve read everything you’ve written, and tried to get a sense of you (always hard in written message boards!), and if it was my decision, I’d say to get on the bus to Georgia Tech and don’t look back.

Some of this is about “comfort,” and about controlling the number of things that are going to change, so that you maximize your probability of success (“set me up for a full-time job after graduation”). I don’t think GT will be comfortable! You will absolutely be dealing with scenario after scenario that will be new to you, and that family that’s 20 minutes away will feel like forever away when you’re deep in discussion, or school stress, or roommate nonsense, or whatever. You’re not attending the local junior college and living at home - you’ll be a Yellow Jacket every day, if you want to be. Reducing the number of things that change is a very reasonable choice.

Your career opportunities as an engineering student will be tremendous coming out of GT. It’s a nationally-renowned engineering institution and people who hire know that. Columbia is also a good engineering school, but it certainly won’t open up more opportunities for you. If you want to work for a NY Bank? They’re happy to have a GT grad. An NYC startup after you graduate? Same. GT’s alumni network is strong and the name carries genuine weight. GT grads get jobs.

Other stuff? If you aren’t vibing with the Core Curriculum, that’s a genuine flag you should be thinking about. I think the political situation at Columbia should be a genuine factor for any student considering the school right now - each student should decide how much that matters to them, but you’re right not to ignore it. And based on what you’re writing, do you seem like someone who really, really wants to be in NYC? You don’t, and every student I know who’s moved from non-NYC to NYC for Columbia has really wanted to be there.

I get this, I really do. Our culture makes the Ivy League into a huge deal, but one thing I’ve learned is that once you land and get settled at the place you’re at, if it’s a good fit for you, all those outside things melt away. Speaking as someone who did turn down the Ivy League path for a non-Ivy school, I haven’t spent a moment regretting my choice, and I know that at GT, you will be among plenty of other students who will have done the same. Practically, I’ve spent 20+ years hiring engineers, some of Ivy League schools and more from other places, and once you’re in college, it doesn’t matter. You’re going to be in classrooms with super smart students, learning from dedicated professors, and going to bigtime college sports. Sounds amazing and I’m sure you will feel lucky to be there.

Either way - good luck and keep us posted!

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Maybe talking with students who are in your position at either school would be helpful here? You can reach out to the FLI Office at Columbia, for example, to get in touch with other first generation college students.

It sounds like part of you wants to make the leap to Columbia, which is a little bit scary and unknown, and part of you feels like it would be just be better at GT because you would know people there, it’s a part of the country you’re familiar with, your friends and family would be close by.

It’s hard to know what to prioritize here. On the one hand, as a private school, Columbia will have smaller classes, more tutors, TAs and staff. The faculty student ratio at Columbia is 6:1 and at Georgia Tech it is 22:1. You will get more personalized attention at Columbia. The university will expose you to careers you might not even have heard of yet, like patent law or consulting. Your classmates will be studying all kinds of different things, and you will have to stretch yourself academically as well, in terms of the core curriculum and other kinds of academic distribution requirements. Is this something you want to do?

One thing you could do is to google the distribution of majors at each school, to get a sense of the kind of students you’d be going to school with and living with. What people are studying at each school is really different. Another thing you could think about is size. Columbia is approximately 10,000 undergraduate students while Georgia Tech is double that number, and also expanding. Did one feel too small or too big to you?

Generally speaking, being at a public school means dealing with more stuff on your own–class registration, getting off waitlists, figuring out housing. Some students are pretty independent and totally fine with this and some students benefit from more help with the transition to college. Are you the kind of person that would like to have help from the institution in the form of RAs and counsellors and advisors, or are you the kind of person who is good with figuring this stuff out on your own and just asking your friends?

The five year graduation rate at Columbia is 95% versus 90% for Georgia Tech. Those are both very strong numbers so you can’t go wrong! But I think the two experiences will be quite different so it’s really which one speaks to you—

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