It was a fun hobby several years ago when my older kid was applying. Back then, there did seem to be a correlation between the sudden appearance of certain features in the portal and an impending offer of admission. But like you said, it looks like they fixed it. Just curious to see if there is anything this year. Good luck to all.
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Not sure about portal astrology for this year, but pretty consistently over the past few years in Oscar under financial aid tab there appeared a link for āmy award letterā. This didnāt appear until mid or late afternoon on the day of admission. But if you had that you were in.
EDITED TO ADD: Because Iām sure this may be a question, it did not appear to matter whether you had applied for financial aid or not. There was no actual award letter in the link. It just populated as an admitted student.
There is also a spreadsheet of personal information in Oscar that may go through some changes right before the deadline.
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Well, todayās the day. A little perspective may be helpful to someone out there. I have two kids in college right now. One is at GT, the other is at a different state university that is not as nationally recognized and is much easier to get into. Iād say both are equally happy, and I expect both of them to do well in their careers. Now my third child is applying, and Iām not nearly as nervous for her as before. Whether she gets into GT or not will not determine her happiness or success. If she gets rejected, it will sting (no pun intended), but sheāll be fine. So will all of you. But good luck no matter what.
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Wonderful post. 
Parents should take note as this applies anywhere.
Good luck to everyone. May the Jackets be with you today!
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A lot of wisdom in your post! Every kid has to have their own journey and for most it isnāt the one they expect. My eldest had his heart set on one school and didnāt get in but has absolutely thrived at the school he did go to. In the end I am 100% sure that it ended up being the best thing for him, he is now going to graduate early and is carrying a 4.0 and has a tremendous job offer.
The important thing is to realize that itās about you and not the school more than anything and that you can be successful based on your actions. There are pluses and minuses to every school and that includes your dream school and especially the highly competitive schools like GT. If you are on the edge getting in realize for instance that means you are going to be competing every day against extremely bright kids for everything from grades to activities. For some thatās awesome but for others thatās incredibly stressful.
Iāve come to realize that there is a reason why kids get accepted or not to different schools and itās very hard to see it when you are so close to it. Things usually turn out for the best and kids get in where they should. Donāt ever think that one school is the magic ticket to success or happiness, itās what you make of it no matter where you go.
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Howdy! If, a big if, getting into both TAMU and GA Tech, for engineering, what would you choose for your DC (assuming tuition is not the problem?) Pros and cons for each? I understand GATech ranks top 5 in engineering, while TAMU is about 11-13, but would that matter a lot in terms of fining an intern or job later on? TAMU has a strong network which is a big plus, how about Tech?
The Countdown Clock has started working on the Admissions Portal. Good luck everyone!
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Both are great schools and my son is likely to be in a similar situation. Here would be some things to think about:
Specialty. Both are great and well rounded Engineering schools but they also have different strengths. GT is definitely stronger for CS for instance and really has no weak areas even though A&M is no slouch. A&M is very strong in Mechanical, Civil, Petroleum, Chemical. My son is looking at BME and both are great for that though GT is higher rated.
Biggest negative to me on A&M is ETAM which is a program where you get accepted to Engineering out of HS but then after your Freshman year you apply to your major and it is based on GPA. If you fall below a 3.75 you arenāt guaranteed major unless you are NM Semifinalist. If you are looking at CS, Comp Eng, Mechanical, or BME you really need to focus on getting those grades. GT you donāt have to worry about that, you are accepted straight out of HS into your major.
Culture. They are similar in some ways and night and day in others. Both are pretty heavy STEM schools (A&M has nearly 25k Engineering majors) but A&M is also huge overall at 70k students and has a massive B School, Ag School, and other specialties. GT is very heavily STEM. GT is obviously in the middle of Atlanta while A&M is in College Station which has about 250k in the Metro but is about an hour from Houston which is even bigger than Atlanta. Both are sports oriented schools but A&M is much moreso, absolutely fanatical and borderline cult like for good and bad. I was at the Texas game last weekend with 109k people and probably that many at tailgates outside the stadium so in that way itās more like UGA (though without the recent football success sadly). Baseball is also a huge deal there. They just love sports and there are a million and one student activities both academic and otherwise available. GT has a lot as well but not on the same scale.
Academically you have an overall stronger student body at GT than A&M and more OOS students. A&M is something like 93% from Texas and most of those who arenāt are in a few fields. GT is more diverse and more difficult to get into with a stronger pure academic feel. That said the Engineering College at A&M is very similar culturally to GT as it is much harder to get into Engineering at A&M than just getting in to A&M in general.
Both have strong networks and people respect the degree. A big thing to keep in mind as well is where you want to live long term. If you want to be in Georgia or Texas that is something to keep in mind, for instance Atlanta is loaded with GT alums and Houston and Dallas are loaded with Aggies. That said the degree will open up lots of doors at either. If you are wanting to be in some other part of the country the GT brand is going to be a bit stronger though and it is continuing to grow in reputation, many see it as the next tier from MIT/Stanford. A&M has a really solid reputation but not quite the cache because they are much larger and arenāt as focused, they also have many things structurally like the Top 10% rule that hurt it rankings wise.
Iāve toured both extensively and facilities wise they are comparable. Both have just about any toy you can dream up and crazy money and research opportunities. A&Mās campus is massive but the Engineering area is kind of like a campus within a campus with the Zachry building at the center which is the $265 million main Engineering building. Then all the individual majors have their own buildings within a few hundred yards. GT has some incredible areas as well and both have most of it in new buildings (or at least renovated) with all the equipment.
In terms of internships both have lots of opportunities and encourage them. GT probably gets a little more high profile companies there and the Atlanta location helps but itās not that dramatic of a difference. Internships have a lot more to do with the individual than the school as well, you have to work and pursue them.
In summary you can be very successful at either. GT has the stronger overall reputation but it isnāt a canyon of difference. It doesnāt take long going to the 2 schools though to get a feel for what is the right one for you. You will have the resources at either to do just about anything, the question is really what environment feels like a fit for you and where you would be happiest. The only glaring negative to me on A&M v GT is ETAM but if your a strong student thatās really not a big concern either. Hope that helps!
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Thank you so much for such comprehensive and insightful info. Really appreciate it!
And good luck!
Georgia Tech has an amazing network. Graduates who do well are always in demand. The network is nationwide, and they place graduates all across the country. I have been blown away by the opportunities my graduate and current sophomore have received. Best thing is it has been a great fit for them and theyāre happy. We are also in state so the free tuition doesnāt hurt.
I would think Texas A&M would have a similar track record and network. For me, it would come down to finances and fit. Two totally different schools and experiences. College town versus urban. 60k undergrads vs less than 20k. Research is super available for anyone who wants it at GT. Not sure about A & M. if finances truly donāt matter, if my child were in into both I would visit both close together and decide. I think itās pretty valuable to step foot on campus to get the vibe
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Thanks! Weāve toured Georgia Tech twice as we are in the East Coast just a few hours away; havenāt toured A&M though. I believe he will āsurviveā better at A&M as there are clearly more top students at GATech, even those got rejected in previous years had phenomenal stats. (It may be too early to worry about this 
, as I see his chance of getting into Georgia Tech is about 50% as being OOS)
Will you guys remind me, if you know: does GT ever offer transfer pathways at the EA stage, or will those applicants get deferred and then find out about any transfer pathways in the spring?
There are a lot of top students at Georgia Tech for sure. But also I think iron sharpens iron. And the average GPA at Georgia Tech is roughly a 3.6. So it is a challenging school, and they do work very hard, but the kids that get into Georgia Tech can do the work.
There is also a āhustleā culture at Georgia Tech I think. My Georgia Tech sophomore will do an internship this spring and start a co-op fall of his junior year. He was talking to one of his friends who is at an excellent school ranked much higher than Georgia Tech who told him that people there really donāt get internships till their junior year. Georgia Tech really likes kids who were āmovers and shakersā in high school and they carry that mover and shaker mentality to Tech.
Wishing your kid great luck!!
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You too, great luck today!
I think GT OOS acceptance rate is much lower than 50%. Probably around 10%.
Son is in Dallas and it seems like thereās an active GT alumni group.
He worked, interned or had a co-op pretty much every semester. Iām certain it helped with career opportunities.
Good luck.
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such a great perspective. totally agree, its the student and studentās curiosity to explore knowledge which matters most end of the day.
Getting into GTech might make the options easily available but nonetheless not the end.
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Definitely should tour A&M if you have seen GT. Make sure when you tour though to reach out to the Engineering Dept and the Major and meet with them separately from the main tour. A&Mās campus is just massive and the main tour barely goes in that direction as there is so much to see and do. Hereās a good video on the Zachry building for instance which is the main Engineering building and then they have each Major has its own building in the area nearby with it at the center: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ_3sREKsv8
I also would be careful in thinking that A&M is easier than GT for Engineering. There is A&M and then there is A&M Engineering and A&M Business which is are a different level and very competitive. For instance they have a Top 10% rule in Texas that ensures admission to A&M but not to A&M Engineering which is holistic. The classes are also very rigorous and competitive. Both A&M and GT have a similar Research spend but A&M is obviously bigger (though it has a lot of majors that arenāt really researched focused).
FWIW, Iām an Aggie obviously and have a lot of connection to the school but if all was equal I probably liked GT slightly better if I didnāt have a connection. I liked the vibe and how it really didnāt feel like you were in a big city most of the time but having access to all the big city stuff. The people were super friendly and accommodating. The facilities top notch. Plenty of nerd paradise but also plenty of things to do and be involved with besides just academics. I like how it is a good sized campus but not so big as well.
My son probably likes A&M better as he likes the college town culture of A&M and living in a major city doesnāt appeal to him as much. He loved all the equipment available at both (he works the CNC Mill and Lathe and other equipment in Robotics) and thought A&M has a very slight edge there but both have everything you could ever realistically ever want. A&M has a more deliberate culture to it and embraces traditions as much as any school you will find, some love that and some hate it.
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Any idea when OOS EAII decisions released? TBD on website, BUT, GT sophomore son who got his OOS EAII acceptance Jan25th Saturday two years agoā¦ when talking to advisor, he alluded GT doing away with gap between EAI and EAII release datesā¦ and doing all at the same time.
Any GT insiders on this forum that are āin the know?ā
PS - No need accost me for this post, it is strictly what I had heard only so seeking if any validity. 
My younger D just came back from school and looks like GTech decisions are out. Not sure if true.
Maybe its just rumor.