Greetings from Atlanta! I was lucky to have a campus tour and conversation with an admissions officer at Georgia Tech today. Here are five things to know about Georgia Tech!
1. Location and campus:
In my opinion, one of the coolest things about Georgia Tech is its location. Right in Midtown Atlanta, the campus has amazing views of the Atlanta skyline, and yet the campus feels cohesive, traditionally collegiate (with lots of trees, green spaces, quads, and some old-fashioned brick buildings). For someone who wants access to the amenities of a thriving, cosmopolitan city but also a more bucolic, removed campus, Georgia Tech really delivers. Proximity to huge companies like Delta, Coca Cola, and hundreds of others means that students routinely have internships throughout their time at GA Tech, and there are lots of opportunities to visit landmarks like the Georgia Aquarium and Piedmont Park, which are within walking distance of campus.
2. Tailored academic programs:
With just 39 majors offered (compared to over 100 at many state flagship universities), Georgia Tech’s academic programs appeal to students who are makers! Probably most famous for its programs in aerospace and mechanical engineering and in computer science, Georgia Tech is a great fit for students who love to design, to improve, and to build. Some interesting but lesser-known majors include construction management and music technology. While Georgia Tech used to be a great fit for students interested in STEM fields but relatively undecided about their majors, Georgia Tech now requires students to select two majors on their application, and how the students describe WHY they are attracted to those majors in an essay is a significant component of how their application is reviewed. All students at Georgia Tech take Calculus and English, but for the most part, students jump right into their majors as soon as they arrive!
3. “Community Contributions”:
Admission to Georgia Tech is competitive, especially for out-of-state students. Like most universities, Georgia Tech puts the strongest emphasis in their application review on students’ transcripts. But second to the transcript in importance is what GA Tech’s admissions office calls “Community Contributions,” or how students have engaged in and influenced their school and local communities. Something like leading a club related to volunteer work would be an impressive extracurricular activity to Georgia Tech. They aim to admit students who are not only academically prepared, but who have records of service and engagement and are likely to continue to contribute once they are on campus.
4. Greek life and sports fandom:
About 20% of students at Georgia Tech are involved in Greek life, and there is Greek housing on campus, though it is not prominent. Much more prominent is Georgia Tech’s football stadium, which is located centrally on the campus, along with all the other athletic facilities. As a Division I school and part of the ACC, you might expect that athletics play a major role in Georgia Tech’s social scene, but the student body does tend to be more academically-oriented than at some other medium- and large-state universities I have visited. Though the football stadium is undergoing renovations and looks very fancy and impressive, it is actually Georgia Tech’s baseball and basketball teams that garner the most fan support.
5. Diversity on campus:
As a state public university, part of Georgia Tech’s mission is to educate students from the state of Georgia. But only 60% of undergraduates at GA Tech are from Georgia, and a little less than 10% of students come from countries outside the U.S. Georgia Tech aims to educate a diverse community of learners, but one of the university’s key priorities is to enroll more black and LatinX students, who presently make up a small portion of the school’s population.
Bottom line? I was incredibly impressed by Georgia Tech’s campus and location. For a driven and high-achieving student who wants to learn in a fast-paced and innovative environment, it could be a great fit!
