GT admissions does not mess around

InPursuit
Tue, 15 Jan 2019 15:36:43 +0000

Having “dozens of extracurriculars” is not a good sign. Admissions is looking for people who have meaningfully participated in their activities and who have made an impact. You generally cannot hold leadership positions or make significant contributions if you are “involved” in dozens of things.

Having a weighted GPA above above 4.0 also doesn’t always tell the whole story. A large number of Tech applicants have made straight-A’s or very close to it, so someone who has a weighted average above 4.0 but who made a number of B’s may not be as academically competitive as others, despite having a high test score. In fact, a high test score with numerous B’s could be a red flag, indicating a bright but undisciplined student. These types of students do not tend to fair well at Tech, at least at first, because they have not learned good study habits and may experience a rough transition to more rigorous college academics.

And when it comes to test scores, having a 36 vs. a 30 on the ACT or a 1600 vs. a 1400 on the SAT does not represent a huge gap in ability or in preparation for college. It’s not surprising then that admissions chooses to weight other factors when looking at applicants who are all exceedingly well prepared academically, rather than just choosing those with the highest “stats.”

So no, admissions is not playing around. Successful applicants don’t rely on numbers, they submit an application that paints them as academically qualified, yes, but also as mature and likely to make an impact in their communities.