Engineers: Georgia Tech vs Kennesaw State (Southern Poly)

[roundhouse]

Any engineers in the house? One of the kids is going to college for mechanical engineering this fall. The choices close by are

• Georgia Tech
• Kennesaw State University (formerly Southern Poly)

Assuming both are close in price, would you favor one over the other? And if so, why?

Unless your kid has fallopian tubing, the odds of them getting into GT is near zero

GT doesn’t accept hardly any males anymore unless they are from out of state , (because they pay 2x ) or from foreign countries ( they pay 3x )

Showing my age here but when my best friend went to southern , it was called Southern Tech . Not sure when they changed it to poly

KSU is the lowest cost school
Not sure if that applies to southern since they took over .

If they are living nearby , I’d rather my kid live in Marietta kennesaw Smyrna , than in downtown Atlanta at tech, that’s for sure .

A lot less armed robberies and BLM riots outside 285 .

 

[roundhouse]

Don't mean to rain on your parade but if I'm not mistaken applications for Fall at Tech are closed so that's not even an option. January 5th was the deadline. Tech had 50,000+ applications for a Freshman class size of 3,600.

I believe the deadline for KSU is June 1st.

I have twins. Both are HS seniors this year. One has been accepted to Tech under the conditional acceptance program or whatever it is called. He has to take the necessary courses, carry 30 semester hours, and maintain a 3.3gpa his freshman year at a school other than Tech and he's guaranteed a spot in Summer '23. His major will be aerospace engineering. Any and all prayers are appreciated for his success!

Other son has applied to Purdue (stretch school), UGA (yes, they have mechanical engineering), Auburn, and was accepted to UT Knoxville and MS State (since I'm a vet he gets in-state tuition). We're praying he gets into UGA because of Hope and Zell scholarships. UT is $50k/year for out of state tuition.

Best of luck - this has been a very stressful year dealing with all of this college entrance stuff and quite frankly my wife has been doing most of the research.

FWIW I graduate So Poly in '88. Very practical education. Once you're out in the work world your job experience means a lot. My nephew graduated KSU (mechanical engineering) and is now working for General Motors doing some pretty cutting-edge stuff.

I thought Tennessee had reciprocal in state tuition with Georgia ?

 

[roundhouse]

The company i work for doesn’t care what school , or what GPA

Do you have the degree in geology or Enviromental engineering or environmental sciences or civil engineering ?

Are you comfortable in the interview ?

Do you have any actual work skills ?

We had one that got hired because in college they were a referee at high school games . Which meant they were making quick decisions that half the players and parents were going to be unhappy with ,
And were not afraid to do it .

Another person got hired over the other candidates because in college he worked on the maintaince staff at a trailer park , repairing plumbing and wiring and roof leaks etc .
Which meant actual work experience and getting dirty , which most young folks are terrified of

Another person got hired with zero experience in their field of study but after college they went in the peace corps and spent two years working in a remote village in Central America , accessible only by boat at high tide .

Which meant actual work experience and getting dirty .
Which most young people are terrified to do .

The school name doesn’t really matter to most people , if it does, you’re applying at the wrong company , because that will also expect you to driver the “right “ automobile , live in the “right “ neighborhood etc

What matters is getting an internship or working co op , where you go to school a semester and work a semester at a nearby company , and get actual work experience and meet actual people in the field you are studying .
Almost every intern or co op student gets offered a job , if they are knowledgeable and get along with the co workers

 

[CaptBrad]

I thought Tennessee had reciprocal in state tuition with Georgia ?

Tennessee will get you to in state tuition if you have a certain gpa and test scores. I just went there and visited too.

 

[Hayata]

I thought Tennessee had reciprocal in state tuition with Georgia ?

I think you are correct if they offer a degree that isn't offered by a GA institution.

 

[Hayata]

Tennessee will get you to in state tuition if you have a certain gpa and test scores. I just went there and visited too.

I think they call that a scholarship, right?

My son got that from MS State but not from TN.

 

[Redclay]

I'm a senior mechanical engineering student at KSU in my last semester before graduating and to be honest I don't think he could go wrong either way. While GT certainly will look better to employers looking at entry level applicants, the fact of the matter is both are ABET accredited programs and both will satisfy jobs that require a bachelors in engineering. My professors have been extremely qualified and some have taught at GT in the past or continue to do so while teaching at KSU and I would put them up with some of the best in GA. I think what matters more is what he will be doing outside of the bare minimum to get his degree during his time at school such as internship opportunities, research, relevant work experience or clubs and their associated projects to set himself apart from the students who only went to school just to get a piece of paper. That being said, if he has the grades, is competitive with other applicants applying to GT, you don't mind paying for the tuition or he is on full scholarship, and going to school and maybe living in downtown Atlanta isn't a problem to you guys, he might as well pursue his degree at GT seeing as it is a more prominent university.

At the end of the day, I think once you are an established engineer in industry, your portfolio and job experience speaks volumes over what school is listed on your degree. Personally, I decided to go to KSU because it was cheaper, closer to home and I don't have to live downtown or commute to Atlanta which gets more and more crime ridden as time goes on. Before and during my time at school I have worked extensively in an aerospace manufacturing environment as a machinist as well as currently doing an internship to set myself apart from my peers and to show employers that I am one of the top candidates for entry and mid level mechanical engineering jobs outside of just showing them a degree and a good GPA. I think that is something your son needs to take very seriously to outshine his classmates and other applicants when it comes time to look for a job post graduation and it will also get him some valuable hands on experience so he isn't lost when he gets on the job. Best of luck to your son and again I don't think he can go wrong either way, but there are many very important factors to be mindful of outside of just school selection. (I'm assuming it's your son looking at going to school and not a daughter as you didn't specify and this is a very male dominated field but if it is your daughter the same thing I said obviously applies 100%)

 

[BH-ATL]

Tagging along with R Red Clay you should check the coop program at both schools and see which might fit your needs. The program provides experience while earning money at the same time. Some companies use it as a long term interview process to hire new engineers.

 

[Lightning8]

I graduated from GT decades ago and had a great career. I went back to campus several times on recruiting trips. Both schools are very good. Yes, GT will "pop" on the resume.

I think it also depends on what a student wants to do with their degree/career. Want to work for Google or similar tech giant - definitely go GT. Want to work more hands-on in manufacturing - suggest Kennesaw.

 

[backbeat57]

You all, thanks for the replies. My kid (daughter) is a math whiz (loves calculus), and has met the academic requirements for both colleges. She has been accepted to KSU, and we should get the results from GT any day.

The part that concerns me is that she is NOT hands on. She had thought about getting a math major and teaching, but the thought of 150 high school kids and their parents is not as appealing as it once was. So she was encouraged to think about engineering. So we are investigating what she would like to do for a job with that degree.