#Georgia Tech vs Rice University vs UMichigan (Mechanical Engineering) Potential Interest - Robotics

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ornate garden
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Georgia Tech Pros:

-If I had a dream school this would be it. However, am I giving too much credit to GT and not enough to Rice and UMich or is it the other way around?
-Ranked highest for engineering & my major out of the three schools. (Overall Engineering #4/#5. MECHE #2)
-STRONG focus on technology and engineering. (I geek out about stuff like Iron Man Suits)
-Numerous opportunities for tech and engineering-related activities and clubs.
-Located in Atlanta, a city known for its engineering resources and facilities. (Prefer a college near a city).
-More facilities and resources for engineering compared to Rice.
-More opportunities, clubs, and organizations for engineering and robotics.
-Perfect school for your major and profession, not just in rankings but also in research and engineering opportunities.
-A T5 engineering school, which is prestigious.
-Campus architecture and name brands are attractive.

-Georgia Tech Cons:

-Lowest ranked overall school compared to Rice (#15) and UMICH (#25). Known for being a rigorous school, which could lead to constant work and stress. A larger student population.
-Compared to Rice I feel like a number instead of an individual, GT seems less personal.
-Biggest worry- Might be more difficult to get internships due to competition for opportunities since everyone is an engineer/cs.
-Worse living conditions, including food, dorms, and social life compared to Rice. Food is manageable since it's in Atlanta. Social- not a big partier or outgoing so it might be fine however -there seems to be a constant culture of grinding and working.
-Class registration can be an issue due to the large student population.
-Less diversity in thinking and interests since most students are in engineering or computer science. However, this is a nitpick and something that I think I can deal with.
-Biggest Con- Potentially giving up a more prestigious and caring college for students (Rice) for a school that may not prioritize undergraduates as much.

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Rice University Pros:
-Rice has an overall ranking/prestige that is the highest of the three schools.
-Rice is a smaller college that may offer a more exclusive feel. More student care at Rice than at Georgia Tech or the University of Michigan. Rice's smaller undergraduate population may make it easier to get to know professors and receive individualized attention.
-Due to its smaller and more diverse undergraduate population, I may not have to compete for as many research and internship opportunities as larger engineering schools like Georgia Tech and the University of Michigan.
-Rice offers a more stress-free environment with a good balance of academics and social life. Work hard and play harder.
-Rice offers campus-wide events like OWL day, beer bike, and the 11 dorm system that may provide a more fun and enriching college experience.
Might be able to develop more emotionally and personally at Rice, with less stress and pressure to constantly grind for a good post-grad job. Compared to GT and UMich.
Rice may make it easier to get into research and internships due to its smaller size and more diverse undergraduate population. Rice has a diverse student body in terms of race, majors, interests, location, and ways of thinking.
Rice's teaching quality may be similar to or better than that of Georgia Tech and the University of Michigan due to its smaller faculty-to-student ratio.

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Rice Cons -
Isn’t well known outside of Texas so the prestige of Rice diminishes. Compared to GT and UMich Engineering Prestige is a whole tier lower.
Rice has limited engineering resources compared to Georgia Tech and the University of Michigan. Rice is lacking in equipment and overall engineering resources.
When I attend Rice there will always be a lingering thought in my head that I threw away colleges that are perfect for my profession in terms of resources for a school that I personally feel is lacking compared to GT and UMICH.
Rice feels more like a school that prepares for pre-professional programs like pre-law and pre-med rather than engineering, despite its emphasis on engineering.
Feel like I am giving up the vast amount of engineering resources that Georgia Tech and the University of Michigan offer if I choose Rice. It is hard to justify going here if I want the best school for my future aspirations.
Feels like I am taking the easy way out by choosing Rice over schools that are amazing for my profession/future.
It will be more difficult to find things that interest me about Rice compared to Georgia Tech and the University of Michigan due to Rice's limited engineering resources.
Has a more limited selection of research topics than Georgia Tech and the University of Michigan.
Doesn't have as many engineering clubs and opportunities as Georgia Tech and the University of Michigan.
I can't help but feel that if I chose Rice, I have essentially given up the vast amount of engineering resources that GT and UMICH offer simply because I think I might be less stressed and happier. In my head, I would feel as if I've taken the easy way out by going to a school where I might enjoy life rather than a school that is amazing for my future. I would feel like I've taken short-term pleasure over overall long-term stability and success.

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University of Michigan Pros:
-UMICH is highly ranked for engineering, and there is a clear path toward robotics with a specific building dedicated to it (What I'm interested in at the moment).
-UMICH has a diverse range of highly ranked majors beyond just engineering (Top 10 in most of their majors).
-Ann Arbor is a fun and diverse city that is social. It felt really fun and exciting when I visited UMICH, which has a large alumni network and is well-known as a school.
--Has lots of prestige in engineering and other majors.
-UMICH has a great school spirit, and football days are very fun.
UMich Cons:
-UMICH is not the highest ranked overall or for engineering compared to Rice and GT. The social aspect of UMich draws me in however I won’t experience that if I’m holed up on the engineering campus especially if my dorm is there as well. I feel I would rather go to GT where even though it's only good at engineering there will be more people walking about and interacting than if I got to UMich where the engineering quad is isolated from the rest of campus.
-Since it’s larger I would get less personalized focus and interaction with professors.
-The school felt too large and overwhelming and might make it harder to stand out and gain research and internship opportunities.
-Ann Arbor is not a city like Houston and Atlanta which I would prefer. UMICH may feel like a short-term stop -compared to other schools due to its location in a college town.
The engineering campus is isolated and not very social, which may lead to feelings of burnout and depression.
The weather is pretty bipolar and feels like seasonal depression might be more prevalent especially if I'm not on the engineering campus for the majority of my time.

robust granite
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Wow, you have some sick options! I'm in CS and right now I'm probably gonna choose Tufts or Northeastern over GT because I think I'll be happier (closer to home, prefer Boston over Atlanta) + most of the opportunities + post-grad stats seem pretty similar across the board. In my mind, I think you won't really be hindered by any of those options.

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Sorry if that's a non-answer, all I can really do is give my perspective, ofc you have your own priorities/preferences and stuff

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I don't wanna be like "go GT because it has a lower number on college rankings," because I truly think that you'll make the most out of any of those places

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I know what you mean, though, I don't wanna leave GT behind either, it's like #6 for comp sci or something like that so best on paper for cs by far

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Also not to down GT or anything but I think it's very very hyped up on A2C. It's definitely an awesome school, but I think a lot of people on here just care about the number attached to it and that's it.

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Oh I haven't talked about UMich

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UMich seems awesome to me tbh, but I am more acquainted with cold weather so that's also a factor

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Seems like a fun place + reeaaally good engineering education

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Also I know nothing abt Rice so can't really say anything abt it

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I live on the east coast so I guess that plays into what you said about Rice being more well known in the south

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Idk hopefully this stuff is kinda helpful

mellow isle
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GT

robust granite
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Bruh

mellow isle
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i read the first line and picked GT

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go with the school you dream and want to go

frigid marsh
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YOU WANNA BUILD THE IRON MAN SUIT???
YOU'RE AT GEORGIA TECH YOU CAN DO THAT (quote from a commencement speech)

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I'm a current gt student and a lot of your cons aren't really true.
*i guess I'm CS so maybe it's a bit different

being surrounded by people also getting opportunities does not mean you will get less it merely means you are in an environment where finding opportunities is encouraged.

Overall ranking is... meaningless you know you want to be an engineer it is an awesome school for engineers.

Even though the vast majority are engineers we still have artsy people, theatre kids, musicians etc.

Idk how meche culture is but CS culture varies heavily, there's 16k undergrads you can be surrounded by grinders or by chiller people by choice

frigid marsh
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and I do still wonder if I made the right choice

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although it is pretty sweet to be at an engineering school

robust granite
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Dandano weren’t you in the gt discord I think I talked to u before lol

warped gale
robust granite
dry wraith
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i would go rice

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it's a private and it's SO much smaller than the other two

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with the faculty attention and resources

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though you do have a good point with the engineering resources

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between umich and GT i've already made a few posts comparing the two, i'll slide them over

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georgia tech is highly regarded because they give their students some tough work that will prepare better than most colleges in the future for when you graduate. GATech has some of the highest employer satisfaction in the entire country, and their name is highly regarded when it comes to big tech. granted, by choosing GATech (assuming you’re engineering), it will be a tough 4 years that will prepare you a lot for the future. granted, you might have to sacrifice a few things that are fun, but what you get in return is a training and opportunities that are unlike most other places
umich, on the other hand, is also great for eng fields (or if you’re CS). umich is huge, and it has all types of people. the good thing about this is you can connect to just about everyone alongside a huge alum network and many opportunities as well. the down side is that in order to utilize the opportunities and stand out, you’d have to work harder than a few very smart students. life would be very fun at mich, and you still get an amazing eng/cs education, but your life will probably be a lot more vivid at mich. oh also, u you wanna do anything interdisciplinary, Mich has a top tier program for almost everything.
overall, both amazing choices. id say pick GATech if you’re career focused and/or if you’re more introvert and prefer alone time and if you want a straight solid path to a bright future
pick mich if you’re more extroverted and want to experience more college life/try different things and are willing to work hard to stand out
oh also the town vibes are very diff
atlanta huge city tons of opportunities
ann arbor big college town with lots of things to do
so up to you
overall, both schools will get you an amazing future if you work hard

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sorry for the text wall LMAO

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that's the umich vs georgia tech diff

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though admittedly i wrote this for CS

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but the differences still kind of stand

viscid grail
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in addition to what everyone said, don't look at GT overall rankings coz US News weighs arts and other majors heavily and GT doesn't offer half those majors. If u look at Times now, QS, or any rankings, GT is #25, even above Mich and others

dry wraith
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yeah what's more helpful is lookin at GT's engineering rankings

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where it's a consistent top 10

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sometimes top 5

mellow isle
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yep GT engineering, CS, most of stem is t10-t5

frigid marsh
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t10-t5 according to...?

robust granite
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US news and the like

frigid marsh
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ah for US news it's all T5

robust granite
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It’s def good but ya basically that’s what people base things off of most of the time

dry wraith
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if you look at their placements

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and how well known they are in engineering

mellow isle
dry wraith
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so it's good for research in specific fields

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this one for placements

mellow isle
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UCLA/USC only exceptions of dat

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Well actually nah

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A better statement is that some of the top feeders also have some of the research output, possible correlation

ornate garden
# dry wraith i would go rice

Hey I really appreciate your insight as it has been quite helpful. You stated that you would pick Rice over GT and UMich. Would you be able to elaborate? I think you already know but my main concern is the lack of engineering resources compared to GT and UMich. I just feel like as much as I feel I would develop personally and maybe maybe be happier (of course no guarantees of that) at Rice, I just can’t disregard the blatant difference in ranking and resources.

dry wraith
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Let's say a school like UMich

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TONS of resources

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Let's say it offers 1000 resources

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Well, although they have a lot of resources, you gotta keep in mind that they also have a LOT more people

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And the fact that you probably won't be able to use all these resources. People always think the more resource the better, but in reality you'll most likely be focused on 2-3 resources

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I would say at a school like UMich and GT it actually might take more to stand out just because there's so much competition

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Whereas for Rice you don't really have this issue and get both the tight community of a LAC while also getting the resources of a big University

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And this is coming from someone who got admitted to UMich as a transfer, and really wants to be accepted into Rice

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Realistically, the attention and faculty relations that you can form at Rice is probably not comparable to the 50 people classes at Mich and GATech

ornate garden
# dry wraith Realistically, the attention and faculty relations that you can form at Rice is ...

I hear Rice is a tight net community where you can get close with the professors. Is that truly the case or is it in part blown out of proportion as kind of like advertising the best part of a college. Also are the advantages of a smaller school like you stated really like that or are they in part blown out of proportion? Same with GT where honestly is GT really as good of an engineering school as people make it out as compared to others like UMich or is the echo chamber of A2C making it better than it truly is?

dry wraith
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it's not blown out of proportion

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but more like

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some people really thrive in that environment