Notes from my Georgia Tech Visit

A few weeks ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to tour GA Tech with colleagues from HECA. We attended a wonderful information session followed by a thorough campus tour. This was my first time visiting the campus, and I was impressed with what I saw and learned about the school.

As one of the nation’s top public research universities GA Tech offers more than 39 majors within their six colleges of Computing, Design, Engineering, Sciences, Liberal Arts, and Business. As they are a ‘tech’ school, technology is indeed woven into each major. All awarded degrees are Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and all programs require Computer Science courses. While they do offer business and liberal arts degrees, it may not be a good fit for students who want a more liberal arts approach with less of a tech focus. Outside of the highly coveted programs in Engineering and Computer Science, Design and Architecture are also quite popular. Some of their newest majors include Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences and Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Currently, they enroll close to 20k undergraduate and 28k graduate students with more than 1000 transfer students each year. 29% of undergrads are out-of-state students, 10% international, and 61% from GA. They do have more out-of-state students than many other state schools in the U.S. such as UT Austin, UNC, and the UCs, but competition for those spots is tough. Out of the 60k applicants last year, only 11k were from Georgia. That means 49k applicants were competing for those non-GA spots. The acceptance rate for GA students is actually 3x that of non-GA students.

The Georgia Tech campus is spread over 250 acres and they are continuing to grow with the addition of their exciting new Science Square which will have more than 1 million SF of lab and office space dedicated to life science research. What surprised me was how although the campus is nestled against the capital city of Atlanta, it felt like a separate, more peaceful world next door. There are plenty of green spaces and places for students to be ‘away’ from the hustle and bustle of the city. Having lived abroad for the last few years, I was a little excited to see some favorite American chains located right on campus such as Dunkin’ Donuts, Chic-fil-A, and Jimmy Johns. What shocked me as I walked through their beautifully renovated library, is that almost all of their books have been moved off campus to make room for more study and working spaces. It is the first time I have visited a library without actually seeing books. Students have access to more than 35,000 scholarly journals which they can download digitally or they can order one of the more than 3.5 million books through the online catalog and have them delivered. Last but not least, the campus Makerspaces at Georgia Tech are amazing! Students, regardless of their major, have access to six different makerspaces including their newest, the first artificial intelligence supercomputer makerspace in the nation.

While GA Tech sometimes gets labeled as all work and no play, there are plenty of opportunities for students to get involved outside of the classroom. Their athletic and recreation facilities are impressive and include a beautiful pool which was home to the 1996 Olympics and a 42-foot climbing wall. They offer lots of intramural team options and fitness classes. 25% of students are Greek and rush primarily during freshman year, but some choose to rush later. Greek life definitely has a presence, but it is not as strong as at other schools such as UGA. There are many creative arts options on campus including Dramatech, the student-run theatre group which is housed within part of the Robert Ferst Center for the Arts, a state-of-the-art performing arts center with a 1000-seat auditorium. There are more than enough non-academic activities to get involved in, but students need to be self-driven and make the effort to join. With a 98% retention rate, students must be finding ‘their place’.

While lower 4 and 6-year graduation rates are sometimes seen as a negative, two of the causes of this at GA Tech are their amazing co-op and internship programs. GA Tech has the largest voluntary co-op program in America and it is a five-year program through which students alternate between study and work semesters and complete three full semesters working with the same employer. Students may instead choose to do full or part-time internships through the internship program and many do choose to take a semester off to work full time. Most students graduating from Georgia Tech come out with fantastic resumes with at least one work experience, often leading to jobs soon after graduation.

So how do you get into Georgia Tech?

Students need to show the admissions office that they have truly challenged themselves in high school. Students coming into GA Tech have taken rigorous courseloads and done well in them. GA Tech does not recalculate a GPA, they take it directly from the transcript and focus on the courses students have taken and their grade trends.

Math is very important! While not everyone has taken calculus, that is a big plus, and being calculus-ready is a MUST for students applying for CS and Engineering. Whether it is taking an online course, community college course, or something offered by your high school, make sure you have demonstrated knowledge of high-level math by the time you apply.

The college major listed on your application matters! While they do not admit by major, programs in CS and Engineering are extremely popular and they do have to limit the number of students they accept so they are not overrun. Students need to show that they truly are interested in the fields they are applying to. Extracurricular activities like research, jobs, and volunteer work in those areas are a great way to demonstrate this. But that being said, they want a diverse student body. You should also continue to do what you love, whether or not that is related to your college major, and show the admissions team who you are both in and outside of the classroom.

Test scores are important although it is a holistic review process. After becoming test-optional during COVID, the GA Board of Regents voted to require test scores for applicants to several of the big state schools in GA including Georgia Tech, UGA, August University, Georgia Southern, and Georgia State. All students applying to GA Tech are required to submit either an SAT or ACT score as part of their application. They do superscore and accept unofficial scores until enrollment. Start preparing early and plan on testing early enough to eliminate last-minute stress close to application deadlines.

The supplemental essay is another chance to shine! Here is your chance to show them that you are passionate about your subject(s) AND truly know why you want to go to Georgia Tech. This can not be a cookie-cutter essay.

Another important note is that GA Tech accepts up to four recommendation letters including one OTHER recommender. While I don’t recommend submitting four just because you can, you do have an opportunity to distinguish yourself here. Develop strong relationships with your teachers and provide them with information to write quality recommendation letters that go beyond the basics. Also, take this opportunity to ask someone outside of school to write one of your letters!