Choosing which school to go to...

Grundlterror

Alright I'm trying to make a decision about where to go to school. I started going to school at Kennesaw (a pretty nice school, considering) but after a few semesters of me not being ready for the responsibility of college (I just stopped going, didn't withdraw, got depressed, drank too much etc etc) it wasn't working for me. So I transferred to a 2 year school.

Well, after realizing what a dumb ass I was being I completely restructured my life. I got a good job and started getting all A's in classes at the 2 year school. I'm now about to graduate and I have a couple of options open to me.

With my SAT score (1290... its ok) and GPA I could definitely get into either Georgia State or another school Southern Poly Tech. Georgia State is in Atlanta. I love the city, I currently live there even though my school and work is far away. Plus it would be a more sociable school, more people to meet. I just moved down to the city so I don't know too many people around there, so this would be perfect for me. Problem is, I'm a computer science major and apparently Georgia State does not have the greatest computer science program. However, Southern Poly Tech supposedly has a great computer science program. I would probably end up taking all of my classes online, however (campus is about a half hour away, not bad but it's a small school so going to classes really won't make any difference).... no social stuff going on. The third option is try to get into Georgia Tech (I would probably be on the fringe of getting in or not) and pulling all nighters because I hear it's hell for computer science students. Although I do hear they have a good CES program or something (have no idea what it was, thats just a guess) which is a mix between English and Computer Science which is for game design... could be fun.

I really need to get a social life going on because the people I work with are all 6+ years older than me (I'm 22, next youngest person is 28 ) and I take most classes at the 2 year school online or in lab. Thing is the people who go there are mostly loners, parents or old people. I've met a few people there (including a girl who I dated for a year and a half) but other than that I really haven't met too many people I'm interested in. I basically go to work, go to school, come home and theres nothing to do because everyone I know is 30 - 40 minutes away. If I meet anyone new it's like a friend of a friend or something.

I figure it's also worth mentioning that I have to pay for my rent, food, gas, insurance.. I'll have to be taking out loans to go to school in the future... I work at a place where I do my school work during work, so online classes are nice in that regard.

So to break it down, I'm weighing different things together, I have 3 choices:

(1) Go to Georgia State, get a decent education in Computer Science and have a better social experience. Also live in the city, very close to school.

(2) Go to Southern Poly Tech, get a good education in Computer Science. Take classes online. Make no social connections whatsoever.

(3) Try to get into Georgia Tech. Have no time for social connections because of all the work I'll have to do. Also, there is a lack of the ladies there. Could try the GES program though, that interests me.

What do you guys think?

lordswing

I'm at Tech right now, and if you're looking for a social life, don't go here. There is a social scene obviously, 'cause there's frats and clubs, etc, but the one guy I knew who went to the same HS as I did is probably going to flunk out due to focusing on his frat. I will say though, that Computational media? is supposedly pretty balanced guy:girl ratio-wise (roommates are CS majors and want to change, haha) Tech is doing a "better" job at trying to balance out the male:female ratio, though this sometimes means the females are less qualified here, take that for what you will.

Also, Hope?? Or did you take too many credits or something?

Trowizilla

Just so you know, it is possible to have a social life at Southern Poly; I've hung out with people who go there, and they have parties and such. Also, because it's a small school, you might get more out of going to classes as far as professorial attention and such, and you'll definitely meet people if you actually attend class.

State is a really good school; however, it can be hard to make friends because it's so decentralized. MARTA is your friend in the city; sooo much better than sludging through traffic, and you can get a nice discount card with a State id.

As far as Tech; yes, you'd have to work your butt off. It's a tough school, and computer science is notorious. Also, you'd probably have to spend more than the typical 4 years to graduate. I don't actually know anyone from Tech who graduated in 4 years, except by reputation; everyone seems to take 5 or 6 years getting out. However, you'd have an amazing education and you'd probably be able to get a pretty good job coming out. (I note that, although everyone I know from Tech studies like mad, they do have some excellent parties and many many geekish pursuits, so don't discount the social life.)

Grundlterror

Hmm, this is a hard decision. Tech is probably out, even though I'll probably apply anyway.. I just don't have the free time to dedicated to a CS major there. So it's between Southern Poly and State. I mean right now I just want to go out and have fun, preferably in the city.

It's just depressing since I just moved there and the only people I know are my roommates really. I know a few other people here and there but the majority of my nights are spent sitting at home thinking of something to do. I mean last night I almost logged on WoW ;p

So, in the future I might regret going to State because I've heard the Southern Poly CS program is one of the best in the state. Prepares you for real world situations better than any other college, according to my Computer Science adviser at my current school. But right now I just want to meet people, branch out. I've lived in the suburbs (Roswell) for the last 12 years and recently my life chewed me up and spit me out a new person, so it's like I'm starting almost from scratch in the city.

So right now I'm weighing what I know to be a better education for my major vs. enjoying my life right now. Preferably I would like both, I would like to go to Southern Poly and still meet lots of new people. So, like, where should I go to meet people in Atlanta? :P

mrcheesypants

Isn't state in Atlanta? Like right next to GA Tech?

Also GA Tech Male:Female Ratio is 71:29 according to collegeboard.com.

cooljammer00

well, isnt the social problem a personal choice? i mean, talk to people and try and get out there.

Grundlterror

mrcheesypants wrote:

Isn't state in Atlanta? Like right next to GA Tech?

Also GA Tech Male:Female Ratio is 71:29 according to collegeboard.com.

Yeah, it's quite close to GA Tech. I live within walking distance of Tech and very close to GA State also.

And also, I'm not looking for just girls to hang out with. I mean of course it's on my mind and I would like to meet one that I could get along with. At this point I'm just looking for more friends to hang out with. Someone to go to a bar and get a drink with. Just get the ball rolling and I'm sure everything else I want will come along in due time

cooljammer00 wrote:

well, isnt the social problem a personal choice? i mean, talk to people and try and get out there.

Well it's less a personal choice than it is just a mix of complicated issues. I started going out with this girl thats older than me and when we started dating I was in a pretty bad place. Now that we're broken up I've been chewed up and spit out a new person. Dating her has matured me to a point where my old friends just don't do it for me anymore. I mean theres a few I still talk to all the time, but the other ones would rather get some beer and sit there and watch TV or something. I wanna go out and do things, thus why I moved to the city.

It's frustrating because at work everyone is much older than me and no one I would really hang out with (with a few exceptions, it's complicated). At school I take mostly online classes, and since the classes i do attend are night classes at a two year school there really aren't that many people who have enough in common with me that I would hang out with them. I know I should talk to people and get out there but at this point anyone new I meet is through my roommates and so far (I've only been living there for about a week and a half so far, so i know this is premature) I haven't really met anyone new. It's depressing just sitting at my house by myself or with my one roommate (the other one is rarely there). So I figured where should I meet people? School sounds like a good place to start, but my current school is somewhat lacking in that aspect as I've already mentioned.

I mean what am I supposed to do? Go out to bars and talk to random people? I mean sure people go out instead of staying in to drink for the social aspect but if someone comes up and just starts talking to me at a bar I just assume (and am 99.9% of the time right) that this person is just drunk off his/her ass and is being belligerent.

Food?

You'll be far better off going to a college you like and you'll excel at than going to one with a "better reputation".

Trowizilla

Oh, as for meeting people, there's a coffee shop pretty close to Tech called Octane; it's a nice place to hang out, you get a wide variety of people who often like to chat, and they have djs sometimes. There's usually different art on the walls, so you get an easy way to strike up a conversation.

Besides that, try parks (if you like dogs, that's a great way to meet people; just ask if you can pet the dog), bars if you're comfortable in them, community events, volunteering, etc. You want friends who want to go do something, so the best way to meet them is by going and doing things.

Grundlterror

Trowizilla wrote:

Oh, as for meeting people, there's a coffee shop pretty close to Tech called Octane; it's a nice place to hang out, you get a wide variety of people who often like to chat, and they have djs sometimes. There's usually different art on the walls, so you get an easy way to strike up a conversation.

Besides that, try parks (if you like dogs, that's a great way to meet people; just ask if you can pet the dog), bars if you're comfortable in them, community events, volunteering, etc. You want friends who want to go do something, so the best way to meet them is by going and doing things.

Ah thanks a lot, I'll check Octane out sometime. I have a dog and I'll definetly be taking him around Piedmont Park soon.