<p>mathmom, </p>
<p>You’re right. GATech gets you into many, many doors. (I lived in GA during HS and college, and my brother attended GT.) They also have a terrific co-op program which several of my friends went through, so they were able to attend GT for almost nothing after completing freshman year because the co-op jobs paid quite well. I also have a friend who went to GT for UG and Princeton for his PhD. It is a top school. </p>
<p>The HOPE scholarship programs are having the effect of keeping many top-scoring in-state kids at home rather than losing them to OOS. It has raised the bar for admittance considerably among in-state kids. (I have a niece who would dearly love to attend UGA. She’s extremely talented and a good student. I have serious concerns about whether that will be enough in the current admittance climate down there.)</p>