<p>Interesting thread, IOW, bumping.</p>
<p>"So, were the students joking? Possibly. However, when most people pull a prank or joke around, they usually laugh or smile, or have a slight grin that they cannot hide. Anyone taking the campus tour and encountering this behavior will have to judge for themselves the general atmosphere before deciding if it is a fit for them." -- gnusasaurus</p>
<p>I realize that this is quite an old thread, but I wanted to share my connect with tech experience. Prior to visiting GATech I really had no impression of the school and wasn't even aware of its top 10 rating and reputation. After my visit I had a similar impression that the campus was beautiful but was missing some life. </p>
<p>I was there on a rare snow day, so the programs for the first day were canceled. I received a call informing me of this after i was already on campus (drove 4 hrs from NC). My host was very friendly and took me back to hang out and play cards at his apartment (there were girls, though one was visiting from State). My host showed me his room and explained that he had to reorganize so that maintenance could install stoppers on the window. They made it so that you can only open the window 4 inches, apparently to prevent suicides. I went to Tech Rec for a trivia game and then to his frat for a movie.</p>
<p>The following day they had quickly reorganized their programs. I got to see a class, tour ECE labs, and go to some info sessions. An EE professor who seemed to be in a hurry gave us a brief lab tour. He warned us that ECE is hard and reminded us of the saying "look to your left, look to your right" because apparently a great deal of students don't make it through the ECE program. He also warned us about the notorious Digital Signal Processing "weed-out" class. My general impression was that engineering was an obstacle course at GA Tech, only the best survive and if you fail you are left behind. A friend of my host had failed an engineering class and "hopped on the M train." They told me that management is a popular fall back major. All of this made me feel that Georgia Tech was a machine, an ordeal to be overcome, and that anyone who did not make it would be stuck with a management major. </p>
<p>As far as the ratio... My host was a first year sophomore and briefly mentioned that he had recently escaped the freshman dorms that he had for his first semester. He and his friends talked about other people at Tech: those that only play video games, those that keep their doors shut, girls that are uppity because of the favorable ratio. My host and his friends seemed normal and friendly, but it seemed like they were the exception and not the rule. Before I left I went to see the Olympic pool and gym facilities. I went up to the indoor track because I'm a runner. As my mom and I went back to the elevator, someone running past saw me and stopped. He said, "Don't go here kid." Then he just sort of watched me get into the elevator and leave. </p>
<p>Overall I was left with a net negative feeling. I have been reading forums to confirm / dispute this feeling and have found a great deal of bad reviews. People report grade deflation trapping them at Tech, rampant cheating / sabotage, and kids resorting to ADD medication to focus and pull all-nighters. </p>
<p>I'm sure there's plenty of people who have fine experiences at Tech, but Tech also has a disproportionate amount of horror stories.</p>
<p>yrrah,</p>
<p>Thanks for your review although I am not quite sure how you came to the "disproportionate amount of horror stories" unless you and your family have done a number of the overnight sessions at a number of other schools for comparison.</p>
<p>"Prior to visiting GATech I really had no impression of the school and wasn't even aware of its top 10 rating and reputation" - It is kind of hard to believe that you weren't even aware of the schools rating (which may or may not be deserved) and reputation. Most all of the high school students I know (my daughter's friends & classmates) were very detailed in their planning, reviews and evaluations of possible school choices beginning in their junior year. Now this may be due to the fact that the school has two incredible college counselors that work closely with each student and most parents were also intimately involved. The planning required reviewing numerous websites, books & magazines (Fiske Guide, Princeton Review, USNWR, etc.) along with one-on-one interviews with the counselors over the past year. With that much preparation, most all of the present senior class knew the pros & cons of each of their possible school choices.</p>
<p>Having made a couple of trips to GT with my daughter (regular tour/info sessions & a follow-up CWT session), our family came away with a totally different perspective. Of course, we didn't have any snow when we attended last fall.</p>
<p>The host for my daughter was a senior AE major. You couldn't have asked for a more cordial, excited and entertaining student for the two days. My daughter felt totally at ease with her and her roommates. Even with the 4 year age difference, they were respectful to her and were sincerely curious about her college thoughts and plans. She did attend a class with her host and it was probably the only time she felt uncomfortable, in that the material being presented was above her head (at this time) as it was a senior class.</p>
<p>The program for the parents was incredibly organized, with great interaction with other students, the GT police force, the administration, the admissions department, etc. The school did a wonderful job of being very detailed with every aspect of GT life (academics, coop programs, study-abroad information, application process, housing, honors programs, financial aid, scholarships, social life, athletics, etc.).</p>
<p>The school provided a plethora of materials for both the students and the parents throughout the two days. There was no shortage of information and whomever the speaker, they graciously made an effort to address any and all concerns and questions for all the parents.</p>
<p>As far as "bad" reviews, you will find them for every school in this country on a variety of websites, forums, BBS, etc. . I believe that you simply must take them with a grain of salt. However, it is also unfortunate that you had some students express their displeasure to you with a "don't go here kid". But it is my guess that you will run into those types of kids at any school. Hence, that is why you will never see a 100% retention rate after the freshman year, anywhere.</p>
<p>My daughter has done overnights at other schools over the past year also. She felt that this program was by far the best (organization, presentation and material). The facilities, the student enthusiasm and the extensive opportunities (clubs, research, etc.) were far superior to anything else she has seen (especially NSCU in Raleigh). That weekend was definitely a factor in her decision to attend there this coming fall.</p>
<p>To each his own as the saying goes. Best of luck on your journey.</p>
<p>A perception (position or negative) of any university is simply about your expectations going in and how that school met your expectations. </p>
<p>If there was a magic university where everyone is happy, the facilities are perfect, the school is ranked #1 in everything, and the social life is outstanding, everyone would apply to that school. But the simple fact is that university doesn't exist. You can find a decent sized population of disenchanted students at any school, including Harvard. </p>
<p>If someone wants to go to Tech to party, have a great social life, meet women, and generally live like they do in most "college movies", they're going to be disappointed with Tech. If someone comes to Tech and doesn't know what they want to do, then figures out that "whatever it is, it's not engineering", they're going to be disappointed with Tech. If someone wants the best education possible in engineering, with challenging classes, meaningful research and internships, then to find a top paying job, they'll be happy with Tech. </p>
<p>In my experience, the campus is probably about 35% disenchanted students, 65% happy students. That ratio would be a lot better if Tech gave up on the "high retention rate" mission, and made it easier for unhappy students to transfer to UGA. In the late 90's, the ratio was probably 25/75, with an 88% freshman retention rate.</p>
<p>thanks for your replies</p>
<p>Beldar, i definitely don't feel that my preparation was as extensive as what your daughter experienced. I still feel like I can't be completely sure of what I want in a college. I was impressed by GA tech's program, facilities, housing ect. It does stand out from other colleges I have visited, the main thing that made me feel uneasy was the "don't go here kid" coupled with what was probably an abnormally empty campus because of the cold day. </p>
<p>I talked to my host through facebook and he says those people are joking, that they think they are being funny. I will continue my college decision making... i'd like to have more college visits like Connect With Tech, it's a great program</p>
<p>my "disproportionate" judgment came mostly from ************** where 48% (of 214) said they would not want to return and "broken spirit" received more votes (124) than "friendly" (121) for describing the student body... the site is by no means scientific, it was just a convenient means of comparison</p>
<p>also I've mostly been a lurker on the forums, so i'm not sure why people replace urls with ************* and blank out the name... after reading the TOS and FAQ it only seems to restrict direct links or advertising posts, so correct me if i'm wrong </p>
<p>EDIT: ah, apparently the forum software does the correcting all by itself - it blanked out the site's name</p>
<p>
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coupled with what was probably an abnormally empty campus because of the cold day.
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<p>Well snow isn't very fun to be out in if you're a southerner. I mean yeah I went outside with my buddies and built a snowman and chucked snowballs around but after awhile of not being able to feel my face the only thing I wanted to do was find a nice warm building.</p>
<p>About those ratings, please keep in mind that the people who vote on those websites self-select themselves to do so. One thing you realize after being on the internet long enough is that people are much more likely to register for a website and complain than they are to register for a website and extol the greatness of something.</p>
<p>was amazing.</p>
<p>I attended the February Connect with Tech session and it was one of the best and most informative college visits I have ever been on. As an in-state student Georgia Tech has much appeal becuase of Georgia's HOPE scholarship (covers tuition, leaving only room and board plus fees,etc.) and its reputation. It was until I attended this session and experienced the atmosphere of Tech that I understood how truly great this institution is. Despite having one of the best engineering schools right in our backyard, the overall perception of Tech at my school is likened more as a "settlement" than an achievement; which, ironically, I believe is fueled by the presence of HOPE. But I digress.</p>
<p>Because I am local and live only 30 minutes away from campus, getting to Tech was fairly easy. After arriving and checking in, we were shuffled into an auditorium for a welcome presentation which was an interesting--even amusing at times--slideshow of alumni. Then prospective students were grouped with tour guides for our journey around campus. I cant attest that every group was like mine, but I was placed with many other prospective BME and ChemE majors, which were also the majors of our guides. On campus, we saw many of the major buildings--rec center, a dorm, frat/sorority row--and as a bonus our guide was able to get us into the Whitaker Building where the biomedical engineering department is located. This was a beneficial experience in that I was able to experience first hand where I would be for the next 5/6 years. After the tour concluded we were led back to the student services building to meet our hosts.</p>
<p>My host was local to the Atlanta area as well although he was from the opposite side of town. A sophomore, he lived in the former athletes village for the 1996 Olympics which are now apartments for Georgia Tech, often referred to as North Ave. We dropped of my belongings and went to the East Campus dining hall to eat dinner. Here we met several of my host's fraternity brothers with their prospectives. (Although trivial, yes, the food was decent.) Afterwards, we proceeded to his fraternity house for entertainment. The social organized by the CWT program at the rec room in the student center was good and consisted of bowling, billiards, video games, ping pong, and an area for watching sports in really comfortable chairs. When we were leaving the social we were invited by some other hosts who were gathering at Woodruff residence to play Cranium. This lasted well into the night--I think we got back to the apartment at 1:30 am--but was fun and entertaining. The next morning we went to eat breakfast at the food court in the student services building. Here we seperated from our hosts to attend a class while they went on their ways. I attended a physics class in a lecture hall and it was an interesting experience in that the professor took a minute to talk to the group of 30 or so CWT students while his students were answering a question over the material they were learning. Tech has a system set up where students are given what was termed a PRS (personal response system? i think) which they could answer questions that the teacher sets up class allowing him/her to gauge the overall understanding of the class on the subject. Anyways, the professors acknowledgement of our presence was certainly a nice touch. After class, we were shuffled into various information sessions before the conclusion of the program. These talked about things like Greek life, cutting-edge technologies on campus, honors program, student life, etc. </p>
<p>Overall, I would have to say that this program was really well organized and provided me with a lot of information to consider in my college decision. Although I enter the college search somewhat biased towards in-state schools, this program really affirmed my desire to attend Tech. </p>
<p>It is unfortunate to hear about your horror stories and it's unfortunate that it happened to you. I would say that the host-to-student matching process worked out well for me since my host was also interested in soccer--a sport that I have been involved in for some 12 or 13 years. I would assume that if you filled out your preference for host characteristics truthfully that they would be able to match you to someone with many similar qualities. I didnt have any passersby on campus tell me I shouldnt attend, however, I didnt come across any openly outgoing students commanding my attention. This didnt seem odd to me because these students are attending one of the nation's top universities with a very demanding courseload. To tell you the truth, many students I talked to didnt even know that the groups of touring students were CWT participants or that the program was even going on that weekend.</p>
<p>In summation, I would highly recommend this program to anyone who is invited or looking to attend.</p>
<p>It's been three years since I posted on this thread - my son is now in his third year at GaTech and is not a bit sorry he chose to go there. Make no mistake - it has been very tough - tougher than he expected academically - but he is progressing towards his degree in EE. To go from top 10% in his college prep high school class to getting D's in classes that he needed a C or better in to progress has been an eye-opening experience. He finally made Dean's List last fall, but he is about a semester behind due to having to retake some classes early on. He expects to graduate after summer or fall of 2010.</p>
<p>He has enjoyed being in Atlanta, and loved the snow they had last weekend. He hasn't been all that active in campus events (except band), but has had a steady girlfriend since freshman year, and that has contributed greatly to his satisfaction level. Now that he is past the worst of the "weed out" classes in EE, he is enjoying his classes more and is glad he stuck with it. The "M" train wasn't for him, though I suggested he make the switch more than once early on. </p>
<p>GaTech is not for everyone and certainly not for the faint of heart. If your child is certain they want to be an Engineer, the preparation and reputation of Tech will take them great places!</p>
<p>Nice write-up, mellofello27. Historic note: all of the dorms at GT were part of the Olympic Village. Athletes stayed in every one, not just those recently purchased from GSU. It was a fun time to be on campus: I got to see LL Cool J for free from the 2nd row, Hootie and the Blowfish, and the "International Premiere" of Eraser, at which Governor Arnold S. and Vanessa Williams made an appearance.</p>
<p>The athletes even lived in the fraternity houses.</p>
<p>Do you guys mind if I bump this? I’d like to hear some more experiences at CWT.</p>
<p>I have a quick question about the CWT program, I was just wondering what time it starts and what time it ends?</p>
<p>[Georgia</a> Institute of Technology :: Undergraduate Admission :: Connect With Tech](<a href=“Blow the Whistle! (404 error: page not found) | Undergraduate Admission”>Blow the Whistle! (404 error: page not found) | Undergraduate Admission)</p>
<p>Dates are listed for the current academic year. Usually a 2 day event and well worth it.</p>
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<p>Yes, that is a normal experience at Tech, and after a couple years of being there you’ll become of those mindless drones.</p>
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<p>Good thing you got out while you could.</p>
<p>Any advice to anyone considering going to Georgia Tech- Run. While you can.</p>
<p>^lol</p>
<p>I’m sure the whole “good morning” thing has to do with: a) it being in the morning. b) they are college students, I don’t think they are into socializing with high schoolers and this goes for any school you go to. c) Tech is a top engineering school with top standards for admittance (I don’t say highest, but I say top in a broad sense b/c it is easier to get into than Stanford, etc…) so I think you are bound to say “good morning” to some kids who don’t leave their room except for classes.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t trust the “people’s reports” that you quote since very few “file reports” to praise something - the majority go to ridicule something as to make it unsuccessful (see Schaden). I’m just saying - you have a lot more Tech-haters lining up to talk about their experiences than those who enjoy being at Tech. As for grade deflation, I know that almost all Tech classes have curves that HELP students. Very few classes have deflation (the only one I’ve read of is Professor Morley’s Calc I b/c it’s so easy, he had to make the A/B cutoff 94 so that every student wouldn’t get an A). The ADD medication thing is widespread amongst all campuses so don’t just target Tech. Same w/ cheating - I’m sure there’s cheating, but it’s again, widespread, especially amongst top colleges I would assume.</p>
<p>I had a great experience at CWT at the August 2009 session. I stayed with 2 tech students in their apartment by the rec center with 3 other high school guys. The 2 hosts were extremely nice and outgoing, they made us feel like we were at home in their apartment. They had honest answers for all of our questions, I learned a ton of new stuff even though I had toured tech before CWT. CWT was a great way to get a better feel for the campus and what life is really like there. 2 of the other high school guests that were grouped with me were a bit immature and obnoxious but that didn’t take away from my CWT experience at all! CWT confirmed my decision to attend Tech next year!</p>
<p>Agreeing w/Manifesto. Especially about the deflation. It’s actually been proven that Tech has some grade inflation. However, it’s less noticeable b/c it occurred later than at most other institutions. But if you look at stats. you’ll realize that grades have risen the same amount at Tech as ours has over the last decade or so. As for being a trap, that’s typical of many public (even private. I think Caltech has about the same 4-year rate as Tech, but I forget) engineering based schools. The graduation rate is lower than a liberal arts or non-engineer focused counter part. It just seems as people struggling at Tech want to make it out as if they are at the only school where many students struggle. Again, this is simply not true. For example, you could go to Purdue where there is no inflation at all. They have had an average graduating GPA of 2.8 for a while, and it fluctuates up and down around that general vicinity). Tech is now at like 3.07. Or you could go to a school that actually uses methods to deflate grades like Princeton. They have been successful. They used to have an average of 3.41, now it’s 3.26 (Keep in mind this grading policy was implemented like 5-6 years ago). People just need to face the fact that a school primarily for engineering and the sciences will have lower grades because there is no great selection of GPA buffer courses. It’s not Tech’s fault that some people decided that they did not want to be engineers. They assumed the risk when attending.</p>
<p>Hey, just thought i’d share my CWT experience!</p>
<p>I first visited Tech in September '09 and just did the information sessions and the tour. It was kind of a bad experience actually because my guide was absolutely horrible. But there were still a lot of things I liked about Tech so i decided to do the CWT session in February '10 to get a better feel for the school. Overall, i really liked the program. My tour guide this time was fantastic, and we even emailed back and forth once I was home and had a few questions. The sessions were informative. The “social” was kind of awkward but still fun, in a way. My favorite part of the experience was meeting other potential students and staying in a dorm…it was cool to actually experience the facilities that you might decide to spend 4 years in. Also, I loved the opportunity to attend a class. You get to choose and I went to intro to physics and I liked it cause I actually understood what was going on haha. well, more or less. What I DIDN’T like about CWT was my host. She was really friendly and answered all my questions and such but she acted like she wished she wasn’t doing it. And she wasn’t very hospitable. She made me late for a few things and didn’t give me time to shower. Also, after the organized social most of the hosts took their CWT-ers to a frat or sorority to hang out (unorganized). I really wanted to do that because apparently it was fun, but my host decided she’d rather go back to her room so I didn’t get to go. And then when we got back she just studied for a test. But anyway, her attitude wasn’t really the fault of the program. </p>
<p>Bottom line: I enjoyed the program and it made me excited to go to Tech. It was actually my 2nd choice school but I didn’t get accepted to my 1st, so I WILL be attending Tech as a freshman this fall. And I’m really excited 
Just so you know: if you want to make the best out of your CWT session be prepared to be social and talk to new people. It’s nothing to be afraid of! Haha, well…enjoy!</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing your experiences. I visited Tech in April - really loved it. Does it make a difference on your decision whether or not you go to CWT? I’m not sure whether to go at an early one or, god willing, an accepted students one. I have a 3.5 and 2160/32 if it makes a difference in your opinion on whether I’d need the “show interest-help” on my admission counselor’s decision (if there is even such a thing).</p>
<p>I know this is reviving a pretty old thread, but I went to Connect with Tech last weekend and I loved it. I had a wonderful experience with all the informational sessions, tours, and the one-on-one time with my host and other students. I was given some very good advice by all of them.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if it affects the admissions decision very much, but the Admissions Officer who spoke to us said that they will see that you attended “Connect with Tech” when they look at your profile for admissions. It will probably have a very marginal, if any, influence on your admissions decision though. </p>
<p>It’s entirely worth going to CWT, though, just for the experience!</p>