I have always considered that the benefit. There are often a few structured events that encourage a community within the LLC. The benefit of explore and honors to some might be having a single room and an apartment as a freshman. This is the only way you will get that. The negative is eighth Street apartments are really kind of out of the way and that is where those LLCs are located. The other negative is they will be the only freshman over there as it is typically upper class housing (although not sure how much upper class housing is left now that they have put two LLCs in there) vs east and west campus dorms that are mostly freshman.
There are many many ways to find community at Georgia Tech, though. The week of welcome is a great one. Whatever dorm your child goes in tell them to leave their dorm door open when they are in the room. This is a particularly good idea for the days around move in and for kids that are more introverted. There will always be the social butterflies who are popping in and introducing themselves. Also move in is a great time to connect because you might find yourself needing something - a screwdriver, a rubber mallet, etc., that a neighbor may have. A lot of kids once their stuff is in the dorm are itching to go explore. Go to the gym and play basketball, walk over to the student center, go to Tech Green, etc., and taking advantage of these early days is helpful.
I thought he had to start in the summer for ignite as a condition of admission? Did he decide to go somewhere else or were you able to get his acceptance moved to the fall? If so, that is quite a feat because that is something they almost never do.
Got off the waitlist for CS (I am OOS)! The letter explains that it is a Summer 2025 Semester and the First-Year Semester Abroad Program in Paris is required before rejoining the main campus in the Spring 2026 Semester.
Very much stuck between Berkeley DS and Georgia Tech. Cost-wise and location to home, GT is def better, but I have family and other upsides at UCB. And GT FYSA program gives me a vibe I will be a bit behind with connecting with everyone once spring starts.
Personally, I wouldnât worry about that. With an incoming class pushing 4,000 students you will continue meeting new people all the time, the entire four or more years you are there. Classmates who you meet your first semester in spring wonât even realize you werenât there in the fall.
I have heard from others when I first visited GT who have done FYSA at GT that itâs quite the opposite. They become close with a lot of other students through doing FYSA at whatever location they are attending and they all come back to GT in the spring together having made a lot of friends they were with. I thought I also heard they can/do usually live in the same dorm when they get back to campus with all their new friends from FYSA which also helps. FYI
I would also recommend calling GT and seeing if they can connect you with some students at GT that have done FYSA to get more information. I know one FYSA GT student talked to our tour group and he said he loved it and recommended every student do it.
You will definitely meet a lot of people in your cohort through FYSA. You will all come back to campus at the same time and I think most/all live in the same dorm. Also, if you are interested in rush, fraternity rush is typically both fall and spring so thatâs another good way to meet people. Also, Georgia Tech is about half the student population of Berkeley which I think makes it easier to meet people as well. And at least for the Oxford program, you will be spending three weeks on campus in Atlanta before you leave and there will be students there taking classes including 800 or so summer start freshmen ignite students
I assume because youâre still deciding you got off the waitlist?
Also, just so you know, it sounds like you got off for Georgia Tech Europe, which is actually in Metz France, which is almost to Germany. My son did the summer program after his freshman year and it was awesome. Not sure how FYSA is different? I think yâall probably have more supervision/organized travel.
The regular program for non-freshman Georgia Tech students is four days in the classroom and three days for travel a week. All travel is organized by the students and they receive a 90 day Eurail pass. My son went to 11 different countries, hiked in the Alps, ran with the bulls in Pamplona, gambled in Monaco, and lounged on the beach in the south of France - oh and he went to the Olympics!. It was the experience of a lifetime!!
Edited to add the link to this program. It looks like the first six weekends there is organized and faculty led travel. And then the last month or so is self directed travel with other students. GTE Program Details â First-Year Semester Abroad