The daughter that got Stamps is not an activist. More of a jock, I guess. But a thoughtful jock. Homeschooled through high school.
Accepted
OOS
Very willing to attend, but still awaiting on some of my favorite schools (UCLA).
Major: Computer Science
GPA: 4.0 UW (4 AP Classes So far/3 more APs pending and 3 honors classes)
ACT: 36 super scored (36 M, 35 E, 35 S, 36 R)
SAT: 1570 (800 M 770 R)
SAT Math 2 (800)
SAT Physics (790)
EC: Very Mediocre (soccer, soccer coach, a couple clubs (DECA, Red Cross), Java Teacher, Volunteering)
Essays: I think pretty solid (8/10)
The only Ivy son applied to (though he had two more apps ready to fire had his EA round not proved as successful as it did; neither one was was Harvard:).
@TheVulcan The only Stamps people I know of were “pointy” in at least two of the areas that Stamps looks for - one being the academics. I would say demonstrated strong leadership instead of activism is important based on my tiny data set. That leadership could be in athletics, community, even academics. Even if your son doesn’t get Stamps full-ride, he probably has a decent shot at the tuition waiver. Would you pick GT with a tuition waiver over MIT?
Of the Ivies, the only ones with complete engineering programs across all majors are really Cornell and Princeton. But a bunch of the Ivies have specific majors that are good. Harvard is spending a lot of $$$ right now to go after what would have been traditionally MIT’s domain.
If they are ok with these two out of four, then perhaps DS has a small chance:)
But it would have to be Stamps to lure him away from MIT.
Their Gold scholarship “consolation prize”
appears to have about 25-30% yield rate: 15-20 enrolled students out of 60 offered. That is lower than GT’s overall yield, no doubt reflecting the fact that many of their finalists have very attractive options.
http://goldscholars.es.gatech.edu
Son’s current interests are more in theoretical/mathy side of CS rather than software engineering, so engineering program is not a must. GT’s CS Theory thread looks like a good match in that regard. At MIT he was contemplating 18C course (their combined math and CS major), or potentially double majoring.
Hi @TheVulcan I am interested in your opinion regarding colleges, other than MIT and Caltech, that have strong theoretical/mathy side of CS. I want to be a computer scientist, not necessarily a software engineer. I have applied to CMU SCS, Caltech and MIT. I love computing algorithms. I have done well in math competitions like AMC 12 (DHR), AIME (10), and ARML (7) and medaled in USAMT. GT seems to be software engineering heavy in their CS program. That’s just my impression based one visit.
@gRw110, I think one can carve out a niche for themselves anywhere, especially when we are talking about top 10-20 schools. Specifically at GT, the Theory thread seems to fit the bill.
https://www.cc.gatech.edu/academics/degree-programs/bachelors/computer-science/threads/theorythread
Congrats on your strong showing in math competitions! USACO is another competitive and learning venue for those interested in algorithmic programming that I am sure is on your radar. Their training resources are excellent.
Is it true that people accepted for Georgia Tech Class of 2024 through early action can change their major right now?
Nephew rejected (offered conditional deferred admission). ACT 35 single sitting. GPA about 3.75. Eagle Scout. Double legacy. State resident. Applied for non-competitive major. Was not in top 20% of high school class.
I suspect that essays were of poor quality.
Both parents achieved national noteriety while at Tech. One graduated as top student in major. One parent still involved in campus activities. Over a dozen family members are alumni.
Sorry to hear that. Does legacy carry weight at Tech? I just read that Johns Hopkins has now done away with legacy admissions.
Speaking of JHU, I applied RD to JHU for mechanical engineering. Would any of you take JHU over Tech? I liked the JHU campus a lot when I toured last summer (will tour Tech on Feb. 17), but wonder if JHU is more of a pre-med/sciences school?
@PuppyM The GT alumni association claims legacy applicants have a 15% higher admit rate. But they also say that the majority of the legacies are NOT admitted as freshman. Instead, they come in via the Conditional Pathway program, which guarantees the legacies the ability to transfer in as sophomores if they maintain a sufficient GPA at another school. Makes you wonder. I think statistics like this are probably why some Georgia lawmakers are proposing legislation to curtail OOS admissions, including restricting 90% of EA admits to Georgia residents. If this makes it into law, it will fundamentally change the character of the school.
Taking summer will increase your chance I think. But even if you don’t select summer, they will still consider you an option for summer. It happened to my son last year
@RoboticsDad If Georgia requires that GT make instate residents 90% of EA admittees, GT can kiss its #4 ranking goodbye. OOS applicants help keep GT’s admission scores high. Reducing OOS applicants will lower admission scores and then the rankings. UFlorida is going the other way. They started accepting the Common Application this year and expect a 25% increase in applications, mostly from OOS students who, after applying to 10 to 15 schools through the Common Application in years past, were too tired to fill out a whole new application just for UF.
The proposal to have 90% of EA admits come from instate, which may or may not get any traction, is trying to be in line with what UNC. and UF do. Not sure it will make all that much of a difference. This year they accepted 40% of instate applicants EA and only 15% of EA applicants EA. But not sure what percent of all EA applicants were in vs OOS. There wer still plenty of instate applicants with VERY strong stats who were deferred or denied.
Where can I read more about the proposal?
Its just something a state senator proposed - not yet even a formal written bill to the legislature, AFAIK. It was a prefiled bill for 3 or 4 of the state universities. https://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/bill-pushes-early-admissions-preference-for-georgia-college-students/DYr0K3qMcke36g2QYNHFoJ/
Follow up of the GT EA admissions:
Admitted: 21% (40% admit rate in Georgia, 15% admit rate outside of Georgia)
Deferred: 22%
Denied: 52%
Other: 5% (canceled, closed, or incomplete applications)
So all it would mean is perhaps admitting a few less from OOS, and a few more form instate. They could still leave the overall EA acceptance close to the same.
@jym626 Right now, for every 100 EA admits, ~73 are in-state and ~27 are OOS using your stats. If the proposal matures into an actual law, 90 would be in-state and only 10 would be OOS. That is not just “a few less”. Since scholarships are awarded EA, high stat applicants will look somewhere else because the message will be clear that GT doesn’t want them. It will also make it harder to attract and retain a world class faculty. GT strongly opposes the proposal, but it is not under their control. Let’s just hope it is grandstanding by the senator.
“The legislation by Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, would require [Ga Tech] to offer at least 90 percent of early action admissions to Georgia resident students.”
If 90% of EA acceptances go to Georgia residents, that means only 10% of EA acceptances go to OOS residents. I have to believe that OOS acceptances make up a lot more than 10% of the 2024 EA admittees. Anyone have the actual stats?
@RoboticsDad Wow, 73% of EA acceptances are already going to instate residents? That seems high for a world class institution like Tech. And the Senator is not satisfied with that?