With the cost of attending college continuing to climb, more and more parents are starting to make post-secondary education a priority when it comes to purchasing a new home. With the HOPE Scholarship program and the affordability of in-state tuition, your child’s future college career can have a huge impact on where you decide to purchase Atlanta real estate.
The state of Georgia is home to some of the top-ranked universities and colleges in the country. Below, we have highlighted some of the major metro Atlanta universities, their current cost of attendance and some major selling points on why your child would want to stay in-state to attend these schools. Whether your child dreams of being a future educator, industrial engineer, executive of a fortune 500 company or a nurse, there is guaranteed to be a college in Georgia that fits their needs.
Georgia Institute of Technology is ranked no. 83 on Forbes’ list of top colleges, both public and private, in the nation. With a student body of just under 21,000 and an average annual tuition of $23,120 for in-state students and $43,120 for out-of-state students, Georgia Tech is located on 400 acres in the heart of downtown Atlanta. Georgia Tech is known for their excellent academic programs in engineering, mathematics and the sciences, which is illustrated by their consistently high rankings in those fields. For example, Georgia Tech is ranked as the no. 7 public university in the country, the no. 4 graduate engineering program, the no. 5 undergraduate engineering college and the no. 1 industrial engineering program in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.
Emory University is a private research university located in Atlanta’s historic Druid Hills suburb and it is also a member of the Association of American Universities, a private association of only 62 research universities that are considered to be on the leading edge of innovation, scholarship and solutions that contribute to society’s economy, security and well-being. Total cost of attendance for undergraduate students is estimated at $58,180 and Emory has a total student body of just fewer than 14,000 across their nine divisions. U.S. News and World Report ranked Emory no. 20 among national universities, the Goizueta Business School’s full-time MBA program was ranked no. 18 in the country and both the Emory Schools of Law and Medicine were ranked in the top 25 nationally.
Located just northwest of downtown Atlanta in Cobb County, Kennesaw State University has consistently been one of the fastest-growing post-secondary schools in the state. KSU has a relatively low average cost of $33,161 for out-of-state students and just $23,345 for in-state students. With a student body of 24,600, KSU is now the third largest university in Georgia. The suburban campus boasts the largest nursing program in Georgia and an award-winning first-year experience for freshmen, which schools across the country have modeled their own programs after to help improve student retention. The College of Education at Kennesaw State prepares the second-largest group of future educators in Georgia and the Executive MBA program in the Michael J. Coles College of Business is recognized among the best in the world by CEO Magazine.
Located an hour east of Atlanta, the University of Georgia is not technically considered part of metro Atlanta. However, it becomes the home for an overwhelming majority of metro Atlanta high school graduates due to its stellar educational opportunities at an extremely affordable in-state tuition rate. The total cost for tuition, room and board for Georgia residents is estimated at $19,508 and for out-of-state students the cost averages $37,718. UGA, which holds the title of being the first state chartered university in the country and is home to a population of nearly 34,500 students, is ranked as the no. 15 overall value among public institutions by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine, and as no. 21 in the nation for top public universities by U.S. News and World Report. Terry College of Business was ranked no. 19 among public business schools in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, and both the graduate and undergraduate program in landscape architecture are ranked first and second in the country, respectively, according to America’s Best Architecture and Design Schools rankings.
Georgia State University is located in the financial hub of downtown Atlanta and has the unique position of being able to provide its students with unsurpassed connections to the city’s business, government, nonprofit and cultural organizations. GSU has a student body of slightly more than 32,000 students and costs an average of $22,554 for in-state students and $40,764 for out-of-state students. The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies ranks fourth in the nation in public finance and budgeting according to U.S. News and World Report, and the school is home to the largest experimental economics laboratory in the Southeast. GSU is the second largest producer of nursing graduates in the state and has ranked as a top 5 best value law school by National Jurist for five consecutive years. In addition, Georgia State has the largest business school in the South, the J. Mack Robinson College of Business. The part-time MBA program is ranked no. 1 in Georgia and no. 22 in the U.S. for teaching excellence by Bloomberg Businessweek and no. 17 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. GSU’s Executive MBA program is ranked no. 19 in the country and no. 63 globally in the Financial Times, and the business school is also home to the no. 4 ranked risk management program in the country according to U.S. News and World Report.
If you’re considering becoming the owner of new real estate in Atlanta, make sure to consider the future educational choices of your children. Not only can living in-state be a great benefit, but living within an optimal commuting distance can save your family thousands of additional dollars in room and board costs. With so many exceptional universities located in metro Atlanta, every child has an opportunity to further their education in their own backyard.