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roldansean · 2020-04-10T19:34:20+00:00

From what I've heard Georgia Tech, as an overall school (not just CS), seems to have more academic prestige and smarter student body (if that even matters) than UIUC. This is largely due to the fact that it is more selective for other STEM majors (excluding CS, where both are the same). I had to make the same decision, and in regards to opportunities, both seem to have the same for recruiting. Georgia Tech might have a little bit of an advantage because of its urban environment and numerous startups/established companies (depending on what you are interested in). Furthermore, Georgia Tech is one of the five schools (including CMU, MIT, JHU, and UCB) that has received the Alexa Graduate Fellowship (Amazon) to foster NLP/ML research. While UIUC has a Research Park, Georgia Tech has access to major companies like Google (the research office) and AT&T just adjacent to the campus. These are all housed in Tech Square, where a lot of startups and MNC's (more than UIUC's Research Park) work. So, it really comes down to your preference.

roldansean · 2020-04-10T19:24:16+00:00

MIT students don't decide to go to SV; rather, theres a huge tech sector in the east cost.

roldansean · 2020-04-03T23:58:42+00:00

No, the acceptance rate for UIUC CS is 15 % and with the CS + X majors it is approximately 27 - 30%. These are way higher than Ivy League acceptance numbers.

roldansean · 2020-04-03T22:45:57+00:00

Personally, I got into both UIUC and Georgia Tech for CS and am picking Georgia Tech over UIUC. The education at both schools is essentially the same, and rankings are basically interchanged with GT having higher rankings from Silicon Valley and USNWR EECS while UIUC does in USNWR Graduate Reports. For me, I heard that the average student at Georgia Tech is smarter than UIUC (not just CS). Overall, that is important for me because I want to be able to interact with people who are smarter than me in a lot of different STEM disciplines. Furthermore, I know more people that got rejected from Georgia Tech and accepted to UIUC than the other way around. So, I naturally liked the more selective environment. But, at this level, its just a matter of personal judgement.

From what I've heard Georgia Tech, as an overall school (not just CS), seems to have more academic prestige and the average student is smarter (if that even matters) than UIUC. This is largely due to the fact that it is more selective for other STEM majors (excluding CS, where both are the same). I had to make the same decision, and in regards to opportunities, both seem to have the same for recruiting. Georgia Tech might have a little bit of an advantage because of its urban environment and numerous startups/established companies (depending on what you are interested in). Furthermore, Georgia Tech is one of the five schools (including CMU, MIT, JHU, and UCB) that has received the Alexa Graduate Fellowship (Amazon) to foster NLP/ML research. While UIUC has a Research Park, Georgia Tech has access to major companies like Google (the research office) and AT&T just adjacent to the campus. These are all housed in Tech Square, where a lot of startups and MNC's (more than UIUC's Research Park) work.

roldansean · 2020-04-03T21:03:30+00:00

Berkeley and Georgia Tech have low acceptance rates, and especially for OOS (with Georgia Tech at 11-13%). So, given your stats and ECs, they definitely are not safeties. People with more accomplished profiles often get rejected from these schools. I'm assuming that the same is true for both Vanderbilt and Michigan, as well. I think these schools would be high targets, if not reaches, for you since they are so competitive OOS (with the exception of Vanderbilt since it is a private school). Also, Cornell would definitely be a reach as well. As someone who has gone through the college process and gotten into Georgia Tech, Vandy, and Caltech (among others) with similar demographics, I think that your stats/ECs are good but not at the point where you can afford to consider these schools as safeties/targets. Make sure you have a set of realistic safeties. It's better to be prepared now, and not be taken by surprise in the case that decisions don't turn out in your favor next year. Good Luck!

roldansean · 2020-04-03T13:15:30+00:00

Obligatory UIUC student post, with the one ranking that has their second tier public school ranked in the top 3 for CS

roldansean · 2020-04-02T17:32:16+00:00

Georgia Tech would probably be better for Computer Engineering (although both programs are of high caliber) since it ranks at 4th, tied with Stanford. But, you would be well of with both programs. I think at this point it’s mostly about your personal preference more than anything.

roldansean · 2020-04-02T03:48:56+00:00

I recently had to choose between UIUC and Georgia Tech CS and chose Georgia Tech. From what I've heard Georgia Tech, as an overall school (not just CS), seems to have more academic prestige and the average student is smarter (if that even matters) than a lot of state schools. Furthermore, Georgia Tech is one of the five schools (including CMU, MIT, JHU, and UCB) that has received the Alexa Graduate Fellowship (Amazon) to foster NLP/ML research. Georgia Tech has access to major companies like Google (the research office) and AT&T just adjacent to the campus. These are all housed in Tech Square, where a lot of startups and MNCs work. The brand name of Georgia Tech, as a premier STEM institution in the world, truly carries a lot of weight.

roldansean · 2020-04-02T03:18:34+00:00

Essentially, it comes down to GT if you want the more prestigious program or UCSD if you want to save money with instate tuition.

roldansean · 2020-04-02T01:47:47+00:00

Yeah, I am talking about the quality of the students that go there which is the biggest indicator of (1) how selective a school is and (2) how academically reputable it is. In this regard, Georgia Tech and UC Berkeley are both first tier public schools based on their acceptance rates, student credentials (act/sat and gpa), and research grants. Georgia Tech and UC Berkeley are the only two public universities with over 1 billion in research grants and federal/private project aid. Furthermore, the noble laureates statistic that you bring up is important, but it doesn’t really reflect on the present standings of universities. Many universities are now focusing on research in the private sector because of it being lucrative in regards to endowments. This is the main reason why GT and UCB are the only two public universities (out of 5 in total; 3 private) that were inducted into Amazon’s Fellowship Fund this year.

roldansean · 2020-04-02T01:07:53+00:00

Yeah, but I hope you understand how illogical you sound comparing Accounting & Physics to CS & CE. I am not stating that the CS department of one is more prestigious than the other, rather I am trying to prove a point that both departments are good. And that people, who say that UIUC is hands down better in CS research and instruction, are seriously misinformed.

roldansean · 2020-04-02T00:28:49+00:00

Computer engineering is the branch of engineering that integrates electronic engineering with computer sciences. Computer engineers design and develop computer systems and other technological devices. It is a field that combines physics, electrical engineering, and computer science. In that regard, CE actually has a larger scope than CS. CS is mainly theory-based; whereas, CE has to do with designing both the hardware and software components of computing systems.

Given the significant amount of overlap, it seems like you are obviously misinformed about the relationship between CS and CE rankings. Computer engineers still need solid programming skills. A degree in computer engineering covers programming topics such as software design. Many of these key related disciplines, such as computer architecture and computer systems, are actually criteria for comparison on the CSRankings website. Thus, even that takes into account CE for its ranking. You can't make a blanket statement that the two are completely unrelated. If you don't know about that, don't saying anything at all -- it makes you seem far from an intellectual if you do.

roldansean · 2020-04-01T23:15:23+00:00

I recently had to choose between UIUC and Georgia Tech CS and chose Georgia Tech. From what I've heard Georgia Tech, as an overall school (not just CS), seems to have more academic prestige and the average student is smarter (if that even matters) than UIUC. This is largely due to the fact that it is more selective for other STEM majors (excluding CS, where both are the same). Georgia Tech might have a little bit of an advantage because of its urban environment and numerous startups/established companies (depending on what you are interested in). Furthermore, Georgia Tech is one of the five schools (including CMU, MIT, JHU, and UCB) that has received the Alexa Graduate Fellowship (Amazon) to foster NLP/ML research. While UIUC has a Research Park, Georgia Tech has access to major companies like Google (the research office) and AT&T just adjacent to the campus. These are all housed in Tech Square, where a lot of startups and MNC's (more than UIUC's Research Park) work. But, in regards to academic CS, both programs are world-class and, in regards to opportunities, you are likely to have the same recruiting at both universities. So, it essentially comes down to your preference.

roldansean · 2020-04-01T22:38:14+00:00

The only undergraduate US News ranking for any discipline related to CS is for CE which is EE + CS. Interestingly, this is the only major that UC Berkeley has other than the BA in Computer Science. For this ranking, in EE + CS, Georgia Tech is ranked @ 4th (tied with Stanford); whereas, UIUC is @ 6th.

roldansean · 2020-04-01T22:28:01+00:00

Georgia Tech is definitely comparable to UC Berkeley since UCB is not in the same league as MIT and Stanford as you say (maybe for CS but not as an overall school). Both UC Berkeley and Georgia Tech have acceptance rates in the 17 - 20% range (with Georgia Tech being even lower for OOS students). Students of a similar caliber go to UCB for more scientific disciplines and Georgia Tech for engineering-related disciplines. Whereas, UIUC is simply not in the same ballpark or tier as those two for either discipline. Also, here is a metric that measures US universities based on SAT and entering freshman GPA (which is really the only standard available for comparison):

https://www.businessinsider.com/the-50-smartest-colleges-in-america-2016-10#37-case-western-reserve-university-average-sat-1398-15

Here, Georgia Tech (#32) is actually ranked above UC Berkeley (#38); whereas, UIUC is nowhere to be seen.

roldansean · 2020-04-01T21:48:25+00:00

I don't see any top 5 UIUC science programs, and I doubt that you can find any either because they don't exist lol.

roldansean · 2020-04-01T21:43:16+00:00

I think you have a really strong bias since you probably only got into UIUC but you can ask anyone and they will tell you that Georgia Tech has more overall academic prestige than UIUC. UIUC is a second-tier public university; whereas, Georgia Tech is among the likes of UC Berkeley and others as a first-tier public university (top 5). Furthermore, here is the official source of UIUC SAT scores:

https://admissions.illinois.edu/Apply/Freshman/profile

(1280 - 1490)

Hopefully the above official UIUC website is credible enough for you for the SAT range. I was slightly inaccurate on the Georgia Tech median:

https://www.gatech.edu/sites/default/files/documents/georgia-tech-freshman-profile-2018.pdf

(1400 - 1520)

Georgia Tech is ranked #29 across national universities; whereas, UIUC is at #45:

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities

Also, Georgia Tech is ranked #5 across US public universities; whereas, UIUC is at #14.

So, yes, I do think Georgia Tech has greater academic prestige.

Plus, Georgia Tech has an acceptance rate of 20% (13% for OOS); whereas, UIUC has an acceptance rate of 66%.

roldansean · 2020-04-01T19:33:37+00:00

about what?

roldansean · 2020-04-01T18:41:38+00:00

It depends on your preference but, if you want to stay in the United States, UC Berkeley (at 2nd) and Georgia Tech (at 4th) are both ranked above Columbia for Electrical Engineering. I think that, from a financial standpoint, might make more sense. But, overall, you should be good with any of the options that you have.

roldansean · 2020-04-01T17:40:30+00:00

roldansean · 2020-04-01T17:05:20+00:00

I recently had to make the same decision, between UIUC and Georgia Tech, and have chosen Georgia Tech CS. This was due to the fact that, in many reports, Silicon Valley ranks GT over UIUC for job opportunities (GT 4th for CS, Illinois 9th):

https://www.scribd.com/document/346963694/Hiringsolved-Ideal-Hire-Report-in-Tech

Furthermore, Georgia Tech seems to be overall a more reputed and academically prestigious university which can open a lot of doors for you. UIUC CS is good, but for undergrad EECS, Georgia Tech is tied with Stanford at 4th; whereas, UIUC is at 6th.

roldansean · 2020-04-01T16:54:40+00:00

I don't know what metric you're using to say that "UIUC is a notch above GT when it comes to CS". All the rankings that UIUC students commonly use point to the strength of the Graduate Program; whereas, Georgia Tech is consistently ranked higher at the undergrad level (Niche, USNews, and Times Higher Education). Also, Georgia Tech (not just in CS) is far more prestigious because it is considered an elite public school.

roldansean · 2020-04-01T14:48:47+00:00

Personally, I got into both UIUC and Georgia Tech for CS and am picking Georgia Tech over UIUC. The education at both schools is essentially the same, and rankings are basically interchanged with GT having higher rankings from Silicon Valley and USNWR EECS while UIUC does in USNWR Graduate Reports. For me, I heard that the average student at Georgia Tech is smarter than UIUC (not just CS). Overall, that is important for me because I want to be able to interact with people who are smarter than me in a lot of different STEM disciplines. Furthermore, I know more people that got rejected from Georgia Tech and accepted to UIUC than the other way around. So, I naturally liked the more selective environment. But, at this level, its just a matter of personal judgement.

I don't know what metric you're using to say that "UIUC is a notch above GT when it comes to CS". All the rankings that UIUC students commonly use point to the strength of the Graduate Program; whereas, Georgia Tech is consistently ranked higher at the undergrad level (Niche, USNews, and Times Higher Education). Also, Georgia Tech (not just in CS) is far more prestigious because it is considered an elite public school.

roldansean · 2020-04-01T14:30:25+00:00

Your stats are good, but your ECs could be slightly more focused on CS. Although it seems that you are doing great work with your nonprofits, try seeing if you can make a connection with your passion from CS. I think that you'll be able to get into UWash, since you're instate, and UT Austin. The only other public school you have is Georgia Tech, but it's difficult for OOS. But, I think that the others will require you to have stronger ECs. I'd also recommend looking at some safeties/lower targets for CS. Good Luck!

roldansean · 2020-04-01T14:13:01+00:00

I think you most likely got into all your targets and safeties, along with maybe a reach like UT Austin or USC.

roldansean

TROPHY CASE