I am from the Atlanta area and my daughter will attend GT this fall. We know so very many people whose children (young adults) go to GT and absolutely love it.
Will they work hard? Oh hell yes! Do they also have lots of fun? Absolutely. It is an intense, fun, nerdy environment overall with a spectrum of interesting things for students to get involved in from greek life to robotics clubs. Happiness there depends on your student getting involved in what they enjoy.
We do know of one student that left due to stress and nerves over probably 100 students we know that went there. It absoutely can happen but does not happen any more frequently than it does at any of the top colleges in the country. Students attending these schools are typically excellent students and perfectionists used to perfect grades. Talk to them ahead of time about accepting lower grades, that it really doesnt matter, that they will be successful without straight As. GT has a ton of resources to assist freshmen adjust to the rigors and the students we know have raved about them. The stress is greater for in-state students that need to maintain certain GPA to qualify for the reduced tuition, and they seem to manage well.
As for safety - I feel very qualified to talk about this as a former professor at a different Georgia college. Do we all hate the concealed carry law? Oh boy yes. It was hugely stressful when it came out. Has there been an increase in incidences of issues since the law came out? Nope. Rate of gun issues across GA colleges remained the same. The US has a huge gun problem everywhere with school shootings, weirdly it is not any worse here in GA with this law.
GT Is in a city. The city has majorly cleaned up downtown in the past 25 years and the area GT in is now lovely. But it is a city and a college campus and things happen. I took a look at the safety info through the GT police department (the Clearly law makes all this public) and it is typical for a college campus in the city. I am not more scared of my daughter at GT than I would be at any campus - we are already starting talks about not walking alone, etc… Sux, but the reality for college students, especially females.
Anyway, this is the opinion of someone who lives near GT. In this area parents are thrilled to send their kids there for a multitude of reasons and the students (who all wish they were going farther from home) within a week are in love with it there. If you can visit, definitely do as you will be able to get your own vibe of the place which will help in your decision making. Best of luck!!!
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