Are you applying OOS or In? Overall admission rate is about 12% and it’s around 9% OOS and I imagine less for Engineering majors. No one knows if checking summer gives one any advantage in the admissions decision process. I seriously doubt it. My DS did not last cycle and was admitted for the fall with an option to start in the summer if he chose. Applying and expressing a willingness to start in the summer if offered can’t hurt I would imagine.
You can see what was offered this past summer. Make sure you choose “Short Summer - Freshman” under the “Part of Term” search criteria:
My daughter didn’t take any AP classes (her school didn’t have AP), so she needed to get ahead. I believe she took GT 101, an English class, and maybe 1 or 2 more classes depending on the credits.
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It seems to require a login?
That’s odd, I was not logged in at all. Try the link below, then select “Schedule of Classes” and it will take you to Oscar.
https://registrar.gatech.edu/academic-scheduling/schedule-of-classes
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My kid was accepted for fall, but started in the summer. A full summer ignite schedule is 6 or 7 hours. So just two classes. He had around 30 hours of AP credit. He ended up taking GT 1000 which is a seminar that they are all encouraged to take, English 1102 which is not satisfied with AP credit and psychology. I can’t remember if he had already satisfied all of his social science, but they also have an ethics requirement which psychology satisfies. So everything he took, he got credit for. Classes are significantly easier during ignite and grades are very generous so most end that summer with a 4.0. That extra seven hours also will help with registering in the spring as priority for registration goes by completed hours.
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It has been widely rumored in state for years that if you check the summer box as an option, it increases your admission chances. One of my kids was accepted early without checking summer because we didn’t know any better, and another was accepted to fall despite his willingness to start in summer (and he opted to go in the summer).
It is advice routinely given by guidance counselors at in-state high schools. I believe it is helpful, it certainly does not hurt, and if your kid is on the bubble and really wants GT then they need to check it. There are roughly 800 kids who start in the summer so if you don’t express a willingness to do so you’re cutting yourself out of those 800 spots.
Everyone I know who has started in the summer has loved it. It’s a great way to get adjusted, start to meet people, have an easier courseload and get used to college. It provides good “padding” for the GPA for most. It is also very short. Typically it starts the last week of June and ends July 31. So really just like five weeks of classes.
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As far as the admission statistics, my guess is that’s just a function of math. If you have almost 70,000 applications and only enroll 4000 students, your acceptance percentage will necessarily be very low. My guess is the vast majority of kids choose fall only so they have many fewer applications for the summer - hence, the higher acceptance percentage.
My daughter applied for the new major that Tech just announced – AECT, or Arts, Entertainment and Creative Technologies. It’s launching fall 2026, and it was just added to the Common App to select as an option.
We’re trying to speculate on whether this will make it easier or harder for her to get in, LOL. (I know there’s really no way to know!) We were thinking maybe it will give her an advantage, since they’ll need students to populate this major. But Google AI Overview is telling me that it will actually make things harder, because they’ll want to set the bar high initially to ensure a good reputation for the program. Anyone want to guess with me? 
This is not just a strategy on her part – she’s legitimately interested in this major. (She wants to study UX/UI stuff and some level and narrative design plus storytelling for games – but she’s not a studio artist, and she’s not a coder – she falls somewhere in-between. This major sounds perfect for her, actually.)
I’m guessing since it is not engineering (rates are even lower) I would expect a similar overall acceptance rate as last cycle. 30% for Georgia resident and 9% 00S regardless of major (around 12% overall). It is also possible that new major may be pretty popular as it’s pretty innovative and unique as are most things at Tech.
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Sigh. I was hoping for, “Of course no one else will know about the new major and apply for it, so she will totally get in!”
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It is unlikely to have an impact as you can change your major immediately upon accepting your position in the class (except to CS). What will have an impact is her fit for the major. If she crafts her application in a way to demonstrate why she is a perfect fit for the major as you say that will make a difference - and they definitely consider each application in this light. For example, even with perfect grades and perfect scores an application as a CS major with no coding experience or other demonstrated interest in the field etc. won’t be a good fit.
Thank you! It’s funny, she started with an interest in Computational Media but quickly realized it was too coding-heavy. Then she pivoted to Literature, Media and Communications (the half of Computational Media that isn’t CS) when she realized she could reach her goals with that.
She had the essay written and was about to hit submit when we saw the new major announced. So she pivoted and worked on it for a few days – a lot of the same things still applied (the new major borrows heavily from LMC) – and I hope she was successful in conveying fit. We’ll see.
Tech is not at the very top of her list, but as an in-state kid who will get Zell, it sure is close to the top of MY preferences for her. 
My DS is an OOS at GT this fall but was admitted to both Northwestern University and Notre Dame as well last cycle. I seem to recall when we toured NW and Notre Dame they had similar Media majors with perhaps a more liberal arts flair. You may want to look into those programs as well. Good luck.
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Is he having a good experience so far?
My D26 really liked the vibe at RIT, WPI, and the Emerging Tech program at Miami Ohio. All of those are significantly easier to get into than Tech, so if she’s lucky enough to get into Tech also, she’ll hopefully have a handful of options she likes to choose from.
He loves it! My wife and I just returned from visiting him for Family Weekend. Wonderful time. He fortunately had a lot of options for college and reiterated to us he is so happy with his decision. It’s definitely a tough school academically but they do a great job with academic support for their students wanting them to really succeed and they make it a lot fun for students as well by sponsoring a lot of activities. He’s also rushing a fraternity this semester so it makes it even busier in a good way.
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That’s good to hear! We know so many kids who go there since we’re in-state, and I know it’s a great school for the right kind of kid. I go back and forth on whether it’s too intense for my D26 – she’s academically strong, but I don’t know if it’s a good personality fit.
Things I don’t really need to ponder until after we see if she gets accepted, lol!
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New 2026 US News Rankings have come out. Georgia Tech jumps to the #3 ranked Undergraduate Engineering School in the country. 1. MIT 2. Stanford 3. Georgia Tech.
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I will just note that GT is tied with UC Berkeley for 3rd place. Still good though 
Correct, UC Berkely is tied with GT at #3 Overall Engineering. However, the edge goes to GT because they have the better football team. Below is how the specific engineering majors were ranked nationally by US News 2026. Impressive for GT.
Chemical
- MIT
- Georgia Tech
Biomedical
1. Georgia Tech
2. Johns Hopkns
3. Duke
Aerospace
- MIT
- Georgia Tech
Electrical
- UC Berkely
- MIT
- Georgia Tech
- Stanford
Civil
- UC Berkely
- Georgia Tech
Industrial
- Georgia Tech
Environmental Engineering
- Georgia Tech
- UC Berkely
Mechanical
- MIT
- Stanford
- Cal Berkely
- Georgia Tech
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