Georgia Tech or Purdue

My nephew goes to Purdue and does like it but is required to leave the dorm and come home to Chicago during breaks. He cannot stay on campus. He does not have a car so relies on someone to give him a ride to Walmart, it is across a highway from what I have been told. A godd friend of mine went to Purdue and still goes back for games. She loved it. I would look at what she wants to study to make the decision.

My husband graduated with an EE degree from Purdue. He did well, he loved it and is very successful. West Lafeyette is a small town and Purdue is in the middle of nowhere...but it works. It is college after all. When you are there it is your job!! The area itself is fine...not scenic or terribly cultural...it is just there.

Not knowing anything about finances...if she is paying her own way, tell her to go with the one that will cause her the least $ to be paid back. I know the pain of paying back student loans. I should have been more frugal.

Best of luck to her!

My husband went to Georgia Tech, and even though he got a great education overall it was really not a great experience. I think it really depends on the program she will be in. Also, the percentage of girls is still pretty low in most programs at Tech, so she needs to be comfortable with that. The Atlanta area is a wonderful place to live, but many of the neighborhoods right around campus are not great. Some of them are full of students and fine. I walked to and from the MARTA station plenty of times on my own, and I never felt unsafe. If you have any specific questions, you can message me. My husband was in Mech. Engineering, so don't feel like his experience was representative of the whole school.

It really depends on what she's going to be studying.

I grew up in Virginia, have 2 parents who are Purdue grads (my father has BS, MS, and PhD all from Purdue's school of Engineering), and I went to IU (Purdue's rival).

Purdue is an EXCELLENT school for engineering, agriculture, and some sciences. They're not as well known for their liberal arts, but overall, it's an excellent education.

W. Lafayette isn't a bad college town and has good amenities (plus being closer to home). The sports teams are excellent most years - yes, it's hard for me to say that as a Hoosier fan, and Indianapolis/Chicago are both very close driving distance.

I know less about Georgia Tech but enough to know it's also a good school.

Some food for thought I wish I'd considered as a high school student making a college choice: I went 650 miles from home for college. I couldn't afford to leave and go home more than major school breaks (Thanksgiving, Winter, Spring, Summer). It was hard to be on campus alone sometimes, and wasn't practical to spend an entire weekend driving.

Purdue is certainly closer to home, but I think she'll do great either way.

I'd recommend basing it upon the academic program, how she feels on campus (you know when it's the right fit for you) and how she'll manage being further from home.