Purdue NROTC Unit vs Georgia Tech NROTC Unit

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blrhurricane

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My DS is a 4-year national NROTC scholarship winner and is currently placed at the Purdue unit. He has been accepted to Purdue FYE as well as Georgia Tech Aerospace engineering (pulled from the waitlist). He is trying to decide between the two units as his final goal is to go the aviation route. As for as academics are concerned, there is not much of a difference between Purdue (ranked 4th) and GA Tech (ranked 2nd) for Aerospace and he should get a very education at both the places. Can anyone on this forum please share what your thoughts are on these two units keeping in mind his end goal? I know that Purdue is a larger unit with about 130 cadets while GA unit is about half that.
 
As you said, your DS would get a very good education at either school, but I would focus more on the differences between the two schools and what that education would look like. I'm not aware of the sizes of the units, but that may be something your DS wants to consider. What size unit would he prefer? How would the size of the unit affect his ability to obtain leadership positions? etc. While each unit has their own "personality" and traditions, the curriculum is the same at all units. As long as he performs well during his time in NROTC, he should have a good shot at the service assignment he wants, understanding there are no guarantees. Also be open to the thought that his preferred service assignment may change. My DS went in wanting aviation as an NFO; after CORTRAMID he was leaning towards subs; now as he finishes up his 2/c year he wants SWO (N).

As far as the schools go, Purdue is located in a small town in Indiana, while Georgia Tech is in the middle of Atlanta. Georgia Tech has an undergraduate enrollment of just under 15,00 while Purdue has over 30,000 undergraduates. Differences such as those would probably be more important to your DS' success. Also look at how instruction is delivered and the type of learning environment. DS and I visited Purdue and were both very impressed. Purdue stresses a very cooperative atmosphere between students, where some other universities have a more competitive environment. Look at the type of learning environment your DS would thrive in.
 
Hello, We live in Atlanta and our son was accepted to Georgia Tech and won an Army ROTC scholarship. One kernel of wisdom I have gleaned is that choosing the University you like is the best plan as it would facilitate your success the most. This is only anecdotal, but I noticed that on the Georgia Tech NROTC website, all 6(?) of the seniors received their top choice of placement back in the fall. I'm a 3rd generation GT yellow jacket and wish my son wanted to go there, but he isn't interested in midtown Atlanta and prefers UGA/Athens. The Georgia Tech campus is surprisingly enclosed and beautiful. I was impressed with how close the ROTC buildings/sports fields/academic buildings/sports venues and Greek houses are.
 
Mousie29 said:
Hello, We live in Atlanta and our son was accepted to Georgia Tech and won an Army ROTC scholarship. One kernel of wisdom I have gleaned is that choosing the University you like is the best plan as it would facilitate your success the most. This is only anecdotal, but I noticed that on the Georgia Tech NROTC website, all 6(?) of the seniors received their top choice of placement back in the fall. I'm a 3rd generation GT yellow jacket and wish my son wanted to go there, but he isn't interested in midtown Atlanta and prefers UGA/Athens. The Georgia Tech campus is surprisingly enclosed and beautiful. I was impressed with how close the ROTC buildings/sports fields/academic buildings/sports venues and Greek houses are.
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Additionally, at Georgia Tech the housing is very close-in and students can live on-campus after freshman year as opposed to living far away. With walking, campus transport, the Atlanta rapid transit and uber, the students don't need a car or not nearly so much. My son wants to have a car at college eventually but I don't see how to afford it....there are beautiful city views to take in up high on campus at Georgia Tech and Tech really sells their proximity to the top-notch job market in Atlanta. Lots of opportunities for internships and jobs although I know our students are going to be commissioned post-graduation.
 
blrhurricane said:
My DS is a 4-year national NROTC scholarship winner and is currently placed at the Purdue unit. He has been accepted to Purdue FYE as well as Georgia Tech Aerospace engineering (pulled from the waitlist). He is trying to decide between the two units as his final goal is to go the aviation route. As for as academics are concerned, there is not much of a difference between Purdue (ranked 4th) and GA Tech (ranked 2nd) for Aerospace and he should get a very education at both the places. Can anyone on this forum please share what your thoughts are on these two units keeping in mind his end goal? I know that Purdue is a larger unit with about 130 cadets while GA unit is about half that.
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IMHO he can't go wrong at either schools. I believe Georgia Tech is a pretty special place. A top 5 Public school in the nation. Has he visited?
 
Thanks @ProudDad17; @Mousie29 ; @GAPOPS - He has visited the campus but did not take the tour. Based on some preliminary reviews, we believe Purdue is more collaborative while GA Tech is more cut-throat. Is that a fair assessment? Also, my DS has won two merit scholarships at Purdue that will be stacked over the NROTC scholarship - making him go virtually free there - as they will help him pay for the R&B . His biggest concern is if he chooses Purdue, will he miss out on anything in terms of academic rigor/breadth (as Purdue is ranked slightly lower), on the other hand, if he chooses GA Tech, which has a smaller unit, will he miss out on leadership opportunities which might preclude his from getting aviation.
 
@blrhurricane - if you search these forums, you will find a lot of posts regarding the Purdue unit (including some from me).

I believe you may be splitting hairs regarding academic rigor, rankings, and some of the other aspects you note. In general, the unit leadership changes over every 3 years so much of the "culture" can change at a unit as well. Your DS needs to think about the overall picture - rural vs urban, travel to/from, etc.

In the end, both are fine schools.
 
+1 to Grunt. Available leadership roles are proportional to the size of the unit, so he should have a good a shot at leadership roles at either unit.
 
Agree with @USMCGrunt about the academics. Those rankings can be very subjective and change a bit year to year. Your DS will get the most out of the program that suits him best. Units of all sizes will have available leaderships spots. They will be proportional to the size of the unit. For example, a larger unit will have more platoons and more squads, each needing leaders. I can't speak to Georgia Tech being cut throat, but I know Purdue does stress collaboration.
 
Current Midshipman at Purdue here. PM me if you have any direct questions relating to our unit and how we operate. For what its worth, Purdue has a 2nd or 3rd largest battalion in the nation and a reputation thats pretty hard to beat (although I may be biased...)
 
puzzled said:
Current Midshipman at Purdue here. PM me if you have any direct questions relating to our unit and how we operate. For what its worth, Purdue has a 2nd or 3rd largest battalion in the nation and a reputation thats pretty hard to beat (although I may be biased...)
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Is there any listing of the various units and their sizes... hopefully by MO/Navy?
 
blrhurricane said:
Thanks @ProudDad17; @Mousie29 ; @GAPOPS - He has visited the campus but did not take the tour. Based on some preliminary reviews, we believe Purdue is more collaborative while GA Tech is more cut-throat. Is that a fair assessment? Also, my DS has won two merit scholarships at Purdue that will be stacked over the NROTC scholarship - making him go virtually free there - as they will help him pay for the R&B . His biggest concern is if he chooses Purdue, will he miss out on anything in terms of academic rigor/breadth (as Purdue is ranked slightly lower), on the other hand, if he chooses GA Tech, which has a smaller unit, will he miss out on leadership opportunities which might preclude his from getting aviation.
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IMHO Georgia Tech does not have a cut throat environment at all. It's the exact opposite. There is a lot of group work at tech so you better be a team player or your in trouble. As for grades, may the curve ever be in your favor. Also, understand that selective schools are generally kind of inflated, but that the technology schools are less inflated. Here's how grading works. Some courses will be unusually challenging to students at certain institutions (at Tech, this is often the physics and math sequence for first years) such that the average is low on exams. The instructors with the lowest course GPA's curve to like 2.0-2.3 (their exam averages are typically a D or failing, just as it is at most selective colleges with a difficult instructor). However, when you look at chemistry and biology, those means usually end up being curved to the standard 2.7-3.0 (just as many selective private school instructors do). It just depends on instructor (unfortunately some of the higher quality ones are the ones with the least generous curves), but regardless, if you are in a hard class and aren't completely floundering, you'll likely end up with a higher transcript grade than you anticipated. You'll of course run into some instructors who simply won't curve (and in some cases it isn't needed, because their mean is already near 2.7-3.0 if you graded exams and assignments on a normal scale). I wouldn't worry about this. Science grading at Tech is very stereotypical from what I've seen. There is no need for students to be cut-throat (seriously, in a hard class, if you get a 90, you are getting an A, no matter how many people have 90+). Just do the best you can. Also, it's an engineering school. Tech isn't chock full of pre-meds or something where every student is desperate to look perfect for all 4 years (sure people want to, but there isn't as much desperation).
 
blrhurricane said:
Thanks @ProudDad17; @Mousie29 ; @GAPOPS - He has visited the campus but did not take the tour. Based on some preliminary reviews, we believe Purdue is more collaborative while GA Tech is more cut-throat. Is that a fair assessment? Also, my DS has won two merit scholarships at Purdue that will be stacked over the NROTC scholarship - making him go virtually free there - as they will help him pay for the R&B . His biggest concern is if he chooses Purdue, will he miss out on anything in terms of academic rigor/breadth (as Purdue is ranked slightly lower), on the other hand, if he chooses GA Tech, which has a smaller unit, will he miss out on leadership opportunities which might preclude his from getting aviation.
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my son is a 4C at GT and the unit is not super small. its 3 colleges combined into one Atlanta consortium with a good deal of leadership opportunities. id say there are 75-80 mids in total which is a nice size. the rigor at GT is my sons favorite part of the university. its hard but it feels damn good to succeed.
 
blrhurricane said:
My DS is a 4-year national NROTC scholarship winner and is currently placed at the Purdue unit. He has been accepted to Purdue FYE as well as Georgia Tech Aerospace engineering (pulled from the waitlist). He is trying to decide between the two units as his final goal is to go the aviation route. As for as academics are concerned, there is not much of a difference between Purdue (ranked 4th) and GA Tech (ranked 2nd) for Aerospace and he should get a very education at both the places. Can anyone on this forum please share what your thoughts are on these two units keeping in mind his end goal? I know that Purdue is a larger unit with about 130 cadets while GA unit is about half that.
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Decide which is the best fit as if ROTC were not even a consideration. Each battalion will be filled with high achievers like your DS and each battalion will have cadre who understand the rigors of the institution. It will take about 15 min at your son’s first duty station to realize that no one cares where he got his college degree.

Best of luck to DS!

p.s. Personal experience. My DS had 4yr AROTC scholarship to GA Tech. When we visited, the PMS couldn’t have been a cooler guy. The chairman of the Chem E department was an imperious p*****. We sat with him for 30 min and he didn’t ask my son a single question. My son, on a lark, applied to U Minn. One week after submitting the free application, the Dean of the College of Science and Engineering called my son at home and offered him the world. He transferred the scholarship to MN, went off on a gap year to Taiwan.

My advice is to go where you are wanted,
 
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