DS is graduating with a double major in CS and Math. He also did a summer abroad, 2 internships and a co-op. He took some pretty heavy loads but at least in the early years a lot of it was not overly challenging as GT makes it very difficult to “test-out” of subject material you know already, so he was repeating a decent bit of material in CS/Math. Other top uni’s assess where you are and then let you take the courses that will challenge you but GT is much more regimented.
Also, keep in mind the GPAs are very inflated, so while it is hard, it is also unlikely you will get bad grades.
This is very much major and situation specific. Some students can transfer a lot of credits (AP or dual enrollment) and get far from top grades from full load. Classes are not easy. DD’s team was dinged even with top graduation project ( that was chosen for competition) due to picky professor who had another opinion.
Agree. S23 was able to use 11 credits from PSU dual enrollment from high school summers and a host of IB-exam credits. This allowed him to do a bit of GPA / course load management at least for his first two years at GT.
Now if one has 30 credits transferring one could take the approach to graduate in 3 years. Instead, we took the approach to take 12-13 credits per semester and devote enough time to each class to maximize learning.
And, this approach provides max-flexibility… so if he knew he could only take PhysII with the worst rated professor… fine, skip it, take it the next semester… or try to really target having only one “really hard” course like Ochem or SysPhys or whatever one at a time for GPA management. Yes yes, I’m certain someone could see-through it on his transcript in the future, but so be it, I’d rather debate from having a higher GPA and saying one did it this way in the spirit of love for learning… than negotiate from a lower GPA but having taken 18 credits every semester.
No one right answer… its just another view. That written, no matter what we have done… every single semester he has had to sweat out one class right to the very end. That’s just how it has to be at GT.
Exactly what my boys did. 12-13 hours a semester balancing hard/demanding classes with lighter work load ones. And using this flexibility to skip classes with bad teachers and take them another time. The only negative about coming in with those sorts of hours is you do run the risk of placing out of some required core classes that can balance hard STEM classes
My child was deferred from early action to regular decision (in-state). Does anyone have an idea of when regular decision will be released in early March? Last year (2024) it was Friday, March 1st. This year the first Friday is March 7th. Any guesses if they will release in-state decisions before the 7th? Thanks!
I think it varies from year to year, but definitely follow Georgia Tech admissions on Instagram. Also be sure your kid reads through the FAQs on the portal. They typically let you know what they need as follow up and also give you the most recent acceptance percentage for deferred students. When my middle kid was deferred in 2021 the acceptance rate from deferral was 20%. My expectation is it is a little lower now given the volume of applications. I only mention this to manage expectations because deferral can be tough. We learned this the hard way!
And, in reading your comment, it made me think of another “disadvantage” of coming in with 30+ credits. Being a Biomedical Engineer with a Prehealth track to MD school, one draw back is that a lot of MD schools do not accept AP/IB credits… so in some cases, my son has to backtrack, and, say for example take ENGL1101 formally at GT even though he already has IB credit to show that he took two semesters of english (in reverse order albeit ENGL1102 & ENGL1101). Oddly enough, we cannot even find another ENGL course for him to register for at GT!
A top 1 or 2 student from one HS can still feel stiff competition at Caltech, but a top 2% student can easily survive at Gatech, that is purely from a college experience point of view. As for other life aspects , not much difference, lots of other factors matter more than a college name or education.
Such different schools and environments. Caltech is the elite of the elite but requires a very special person and personality. As mentioned below, it has the reputation of being much more difficult than GT, where the average GPA is about a 3.6 and the majority of kids are doing quite well academically. Georgia Tech also gives a traditional college experience, which is one of its strengths I think. Caltech is tiny and not a usual college experience. Absolutely worth a tour and investigation before committing, but if it is the right place for your student it can be life changing I think.
Historically about 20% of deferred applicants are ultimately admitted. While that sounds like a lot, deferred applicants are typically top of the applicant pool so it is still very competitive.
No idea. I don’t think they break it down that much. Plus, it is very dependent on yield year to year. Georgia Tech is trying to get 60% in state, 30% out of state, and 10% international enrolled in their first year class. Yield for in state is obviously much higher for lots of reasons, not the least of which is free in state tuition at one of the best engineering schools in the country. Out of state yield is quite a bit lower because they offer almost no merit and most out-of-state students are full pay.
After May 1 they will figure out where are the gaps in their committed students and offer off the waitlist. Some years it is just a handful, other years it is hundreds. There are usually upwards of 4,000 on the waitlist though and all are qualified. No way to tell. My best advice is that if you are waitlisted move on. Chances are slim you will get off, and the sooner you can fall in love with a school that has accepted you and loves you the better. And if you get off, what a fantastic bonus! I have two that got in early and one that was waitlisted during the Covid fiasco. On paper, they were the same or very similar applicants. The waitlisted kid ended up at UGA, in the business school, and with an amazing job on graduation. I am a believer in things working out!
Did any OOS admitted students hear about any merit scholarship from GT? I believe the financial aid letters will be sent out during early April. Just curious if the notification for merit scholarships for OOS students has already been sent.
Georgia Tech gives almost no merit money unfortunately. Other than the Stamps scholarship competition (those students were admitted early action and have already been notified of their consideration) which is where most of the merit money is allocated, there are a handful of dean’s grants given out by the college of sciences/Ivan Allen liberal arts/business school that are merit based. There are also 40 Provost scholarships given to out-of-state students which constitutes a tuition waiver to in-state tuition for eight semesters. Typically, those are announced shortly after acceptance, but not sure if that holds true for the last couple of years. There is a list of institutional scholarships on their website, but other than the ones I have listed they all require financial need.
