UTK vs. Maryville (appointed, fit in, private school)

[TNNative]

My son is looking at both colleges. He is going into engineering, civil or aeronautical. He has been somewhat disappointed that with a 35ACT/2170SAT that UTK hasn't really come forth with any $$$ other than the guaranteed one. He has the "rounded" background (pres of clubs, NMS, Eagle scout, community service, etc) and a 3.9 GPA, and so far, UT has only offered the Honors program.

He is also looking at Maryville who has offered half the tuition at first contact. He is going to interview with them tomorrow for a possible full-tuition. He really wants to go to UTK because of the variety of clubs, organizations, etc, but he may change his mind if there is not much merit aid. We really don't know much about Maryville and would like some comparsions between the two. Can anyone help?

[JMT]

Originally Posted by TNNative

My son is looking at both colleges. He is going into engineering, civil or aeronautical. He has been somewhat disappointed that with a 35ACT/2170SAT that UTK hasn't really come forth with any $$$ other than the guaranteed one. He has the "rounded" background (pres of clubs, NMS, Eagle scout, community service, etc) and a 3.9 GPA, and so far, UT has only offered the Honors program.

He is also looking at Maryville who has offered half the tuition at first contact. He is going to interview with them tomorrow for a possible full-tuition. He really wants to go to UTK because of the variety of clubs, organizations, etc, but he may change his mind if there is not much merit aid. We really don't know much about Maryville and would like some comparsions between the two. Can anyone help?

Even with half tuition at Maryville, UTK should still be a heck of a lot cheaper.

UTK is a big public school with 27,000 students in the middle of a big city. Maryville College is a small private school smaller than most high schools and is in a much smaller town. Other than the fact that they're both in the same area code, I honestly can't think of anything else that they have in common.

MC has a much more limited selection of classes, but the classes are pretty much taught by real professors instead of graduate teaching assistants. UTK obviously has a huge variety of classes but many are taught by GTAs and not real professors.

Your son would probably have many more opportunities for leadership at MC, then again UTK would offer many more opportunities for social networking.

Since he's interested in engineering, has he checked out Tennessee Tech? It's somewhat of a compromise between tiny Maryville College and huge UTK. I believe tuition at Tech is also a little lower than at UTK.

[Beretta]

What about Virginia Tech? In some circles that is one of "the" engineering schools. I also would look into Tennessee Tech. Between MC and UTK I would choose UTK.

[Kitties of Domination]

UTK is a well respected engineering school, though probably behind Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. Maryville College is a liberal arts college. Honestly, I would choose UTK over Tennessee Tech also. If he wants to be an engineer, UTK is the place.

[jabogitlu]

UTK has so many kids that sometimes they (speaking as a former student) get lost in the shuffle. I assume you have contacted the finaid, but I wouldn't let up. Let them know that without further aid your son will be *unable* to attend and stress his scores. (BTW congrats on that. A 35 is nothing to sniff at, indeed! I took it over and over in hopes of getting that high, but never got up to that level, lol!)

These guys are professionals at getting the most bang for their buck. You (or your son) have to be that advocate for your family.

In the end I agree with KoD. UTK is a gargantuan university with many well respected schools. MC is a liberal arts college. There's very little comparison.

[Pimpy]

Originally Posted by TNNative

My son is looking at both colleges. He is going into engineering, civil or aeronautical. He has been somewhat disappointed that with a 35ACT/2170SAT that UTK hasn't really come forth with any $$$ other than the guaranteed one. He has the "rounded" background (pres of clubs, NMS, Eagle scout, community service, etc) and a 3.9 GPA, and so far, UT has only offered the Honors program.

He is also looking at Maryville who has offered half the tuition at first contact. He is going to interview with them tomorrow for a possible full-tuition. He really wants to go to UTK because of the variety of clubs, organizations, etc, but he may change his mind if there is not much merit aid. We really don't know much about Maryville and would like some comparsions between the two. Can anyone help?

If I were an Eagle scout with a 3.9 GPA and a 35 ACT, I would tell any school that didn't give me a full ride where to go and where to stick it. My stats were not as impressive and I had plenty of scholarship offers.

That said, there is no way to compare UTK and Maryville College. One is a massive state school and the other is a tiny liberal arts college. He needs to ask himself in which of those two distinctly different environments would he fit in best.

[TNNative]

The trip to Maryville was informative. Beautiful campus, with a peaceful atmosphere. He said the interview went well, he was less nervous than the one at UTK where the interview entailed "rapid-fire" questions about foreign events and people. I didn't really understand that process but my fairly intelligent son came out saying he got "killed" with the unexpected questions. Of course that was for the Chancellor Honors scholarship. They preferred to give it more to people from places such as "the Republic of China" is what the rejection letter said. :/

That said we we wait to see what MC offers. There were many kids there yesterday that had parents that attended Maryville and raved on about it. While the campus was nice with a student body of 1100 and 750 living on campus, he may forgo their offer. They eventually send the engineering students to UTK or TTU anyway after three years. He said today that since our high school is less than 1000, he would welcome the change of going to UT. He's "done small" and as someone said, while I am sure some apects of small classrooms would be great, he feels there is something to be said for everyone NOT "knowing your name"...

[TNNative]

The offer from MC was 21K a year.....32K tuition.......and he's leaning to UTK. MC has a 3/2 program for engineering...3 year on core classes and 2 years at UT/VT or GT to get the enginneering degree. Come out with a minor degree from MC and an Engineering degree from the other.

Decisions, decisions.