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Strange that a technically capable engineering student would be at UGA when GeorgiaTech is of similar cost (and both free to Georgia residents who maintain a 3.

by ynniv 14y ago

Strange that a technically capable engineering student would be at UGA when GeorgiaTech is of similar cost (and both free to Georgia residents who maintain a 3.0 though the HOPE scholarship). Not saying that you won't find good people at UGA (biting my GT tongue!), but following his rationale and years of work experience in Atlanta (showing Georgia residency), his story seems a little thin. Even more so when his examples of work turn up 404's, 403's, placeholders, and ads for premium versions of the wordpress theme he used. Not every rockstar went to Julliard, but they were good at what they did.

iopuy 14y ago
Off topic but I think the HOPE scholarship and Bright Futures in Florida are outstanding forms of financial aid.
- ynniv 14y ago
  Yes! They were not available to me, but I am glad they exist. HOPE could be improved by easing up the 3.0 requirement for GT, tho.
  - astrange 14y ago
    HOPE is only getting more exclusive, not less, because they can't afford the old system. I think it's on a sliding scale vs GPA now.
  - waterlesscloud 14y ago
    Tech was ridiculously cheap as an in-state student in the late 80s. Pretty much everyone graduated with no debt even then. MIT was $16,000 a year when I looked at it at the time, I believe. I'm having a hard time remembering the details of their financial aid, but they had some need-based assistance on a sliding scale. You'd end up owing several $10s of thousands, which everyone said you'd "easily" pay off once you got a job out of there, which is likely mostly true. Still, it was an intimidating amount to a lower-middle class kid. It's telling I didn't go there and still have the cost fixed in my head. My high school counselors/teachers were sort of limited in their knowledge of the upper end of the scale. MIT was all I ever heard about in terms of out-of-state tech schools. All the rich kids went Ivy League, and all the other smart kids went to GT. The Naval Academy had a special aura for a few. A couple people in my class went to Harvard, but no one ever talked about it in terms of a technical education. No one from my high school went to a school in California. I was aware of Caltech, not that I could have found Pasadena on a map. I knew the name Stanford, but only because of its physics department, and literally did not know what state it was in. I've made sure my teenage niece is at least aware of what the top schools are.
    - ynniv 14y ago
      Cheap, no holds barred, technical education is an invaluable resource! Without splitting hairs, an engineering degree has the lowest unemployment[1], and GT has the highest ROI[2]. [1 http://www.studentsreview.com/unemployment_by_major.php3?sort=Rate http://www.studentsreview.com/unemployment_by_major.php3?sor...] [2 http://www.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/bs_collegeROI_0621.html http://www.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/bs_collegeRO...]
LockeWatts 14y ago
Lol, okay. "Strange that a technically capable engineering student would be at UGA when GeorgiaTech is of similar cost (and both free to Georgia residents who maintain a 3.0 though the HOPE scholarship)." UGA has a combined bachelors & masters program that I wanted to do, and I knew the security professor and adviser going in who have both been very supportive to me, while Tech's staff were absolutely horrendous. "Even more so when his examples of work turn up 404's, 403's, placeholders" I put the cart before the horse, so to speak. I made the links and banners & such as I was working on the projects, and then my circumstances changed and I had to find a job. I mentioned this in the post. Would you like me to send you some of my completed work? "ads for premium versions of the wordpress theme he used" Where were those? I'd love to go kill those links.
- majormajor 14y ago
  "Tech's staff were absolutely horrendous" Good ol' Tech... IMO it's a terribly outdated approach, but there's a ton of "I got through it, so everyone else should have to deal with it too" momentum there. I went there as an out-of-state student and wouldn't recommend it for other out-of-staters. There are quite a few other good public engineering schools.
  - bcrescimanno 14y ago
    Another GT alumni here; I totally get the "I got through it..." mentality of the above. However, Georgia Tech is generally seen as one of the absolute best values (especially for in-state students) available in Engineering schools. Even without the HOPE scholarship (which I lost after 3 semesters due to too much partying and never having learned to actually study after breezing through high school) it was insanely cheap when considering the quality of the programs and stature of the school. I'm not sure what the costs are for out-of-state; so, the value proposition may not be there in that case.
    - ynniv 14y ago
      A decade ago they were ~ $20k/year, which was below average at the time. http://colleges.findthebest.com/ http://colleges.findthebest.com/ says that it is $27k now, on par with other public schools and $13k less than "elite" schools. As I've been unimpressed with Comp Sci grads from more expensive schools, I recommend Tech to anyone who is primarily interested in a career developing software.

by ynniv 14y ago

iopuy 14y ago

Off topic but I think the HOPE scholarship and Bright Futures in Florida are outstanding forms of financial aid.

ynniv 14y ago
Yes! They were not available to me, but I am glad they exist. HOPE could be improved by easing up the 3.0 requirement for GT, tho.
- astrange 14y ago
  HOPE is only getting more exclusive, not less, because they can't afford the old system. I think it's on a sliding scale vs GPA now.
- waterlesscloud 14y ago
  Tech was ridiculously cheap as an in-state student in the late 80s. Pretty much everyone graduated with no debt even then. MIT was $16,000 a year when I looked at it at the time, I believe. I'm having a hard time remembering the details of their financial aid, but they had some need-based assistance on a sliding scale. You'd end up owing several $10s of thousands, which everyone said you'd "easily" pay off once you got a job out of there, which is likely mostly true. Still, it was an intimidating amount to a lower-middle class kid. It's telling I didn't go there and still have the cost fixed in my head. My high school counselors/teachers were sort of limited in their knowledge of the upper end of the scale. MIT was all I ever heard about in terms of out-of-state tech schools. All the rich kids went Ivy League, and all the other smart kids went to GT. The Naval Academy had a special aura for a few. A couple people in my class went to Harvard, but no one ever talked about it in terms of a technical education. No one from my high school went to a school in California. I was aware of Caltech, not that I could have found Pasadena on a map. I knew the name Stanford, but only because of its physics department, and literally did not know what state it was in. I've made sure my teenage niece is at least aware of what the top schools are.
  - ynniv 14y ago
    Cheap, no holds barred, technical education is an invaluable resource! Without splitting hairs, an engineering degree has the lowest unemployment[1], and GT has the highest ROI[2]. [1 http://www.studentsreview.com/unemployment_by_major.php3?sort=Rate http://www.studentsreview.com/unemployment_by_major.php3?sor...] [2 http://www.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/bs_collegeROI_0621.html http://www.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/bs_collegeRO...]

LockeWatts 14y ago

Lol, okay. "Strange that a technically capable engineering student would be at UGA when GeorgiaTech is of similar cost (and both free to Georgia residents who maintain a 3.0 though the HOPE scholarship)." UGA has a combined bachelors & masters program that I wanted to do, and I knew the security professor and adviser going in who have both been very supportive to me, while Tech's staff were absolutely horrendous. "Even more so when his examples of work turn up 404's, 403's, placeholders" I put the cart before the horse, so to speak. I made the links and banners & such as I was working on the projects, and then my circumstances changed and I had to find a job. I mentioned this in the post. Would you like me to send you some of my completed work? "ads for premium versions of the wordpress theme he used" Where were those? I'd love to go kill those links.

majormajor 14y ago
"Tech's staff were absolutely horrendous" Good ol' Tech... IMO it's a terribly outdated approach, but there's a ton of "I got through it, so everyone else should have to deal with it too" momentum there. I went there as an out-of-state student and wouldn't recommend it for other out-of-staters. There are quite a few other good public engineering schools.
- bcrescimanno 14y ago
  Another GT alumni here; I totally get the "I got through it..." mentality of the above. However, Georgia Tech is generally seen as one of the absolute best values (especially for in-state students) available in Engineering schools. Even without the HOPE scholarship (which I lost after 3 semesters due to too much partying and never having learned to actually study after breezing through high school) it was insanely cheap when considering the quality of the programs and stature of the school. I'm not sure what the costs are for out-of-state; so, the value proposition may not be there in that case.
  - ynniv 14y ago
    A decade ago they were ~ $20k/year, which was below average at the time. http://colleges.findthebest.com/ http://colleges.findthebest.com/ says that it is $27k now, on par with other public schools and $13k less than "elite" schools. As I've been unimpressed with Comp Sci grads from more expensive schools, I recommend Tech to anyone who is primarily interested in a career developing software.