This drag and indefinite wait incapacitating the ability to plan ahead - feels like suspended animation, or a frozen or extremely slow computer response - dragging for weeks, with zero possibility for a quick reboot.
You definitely need to be planning ahead with your committed school. Find a roommate, register for housing, go to orientation, submit immunization forms, etc. if you happen to get off a waitlist, you can pivot but you donât want your first year in college to be difficult because you end up in a bad dorm or canât register for classes until the end because you didnât move forward with your choice. Who knows, maybe youâll fall in love with the school that loved you first 
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Hi, seems incoming freshman needs to do 2 semesters. Summer in Atlanta and Fall in France.
Summer (iGniTe in Atlanta): 6-7 Credit Hours
Fall (GTL): 12-14 Hours
I checked the classes, only 2 (Engl 1102 and INTA 2030) are applicable to engineering or business majors. Others are just fillers. You think it is worth it?
I think having them start in person in the summer in Atlanta makes it much more appealing. There is great value to starting in person in the summer. In years past, prior to Covid, everyone who did it raved about it (and many were placed in it and bummed about it first). This would alleviate some of my concerns about not knowing any other freshmen and not being able to go through rush if you are a guy. There will be at least 200 other freshmen on campus during iGniTe (versus those going to GT Lorraine which will be a much smaller group) so it will likely be a good bonding experience. Even if you get placed in an upper class dorm when you return (which you may), you would have already met some of your classmates. You will still miss your freshman fall football season which some donât care about, but my son does.
The classes in Metz are not great for first years, although I am glad to see they have posted a suggested schedule. My current senior would not be able to fill a schedule without a heavy use of electives due to AP credit.
Have you been offered this option? I am curious as to whether any waitlist offers going forward (at least at first) will be for France. At some point they will not be able to make them due to the necessary visa and passport requirements.
As far as whether it is worth it, that is a personal decision based on cost and how much your child wants to go to Georgia Tech. This is their way in - surrounded by other Tech students from the get go and without transferring.
I do think it is helpful to wrap your head around the idea though. Georgia Tech only gives you a couple of days to decide so worth figuring out if this is something you are willing to do beforehand.
The Georgia Tech First-Year Fall Abroad program only limit to 50 âluckyâ students. I am surprised GT not able get enough takers. It costs a lot extra for in-state, but not much more(not including the summer session) for OOS like us.
Too bad GT doesnât give summer tuition break for OOS students. Most charges everybody in-state tuition for summer. No, my D is still in the WL and has not been offered a spot. She is excited to study In France, but not quite 18 years old by August. I suggest she can petition by writing or call. Seems the general application deadline has already passed.
I think if she is not 18 it likely will not be offered to her. Where is she committed now? I am not surprised they did not get enough takers. . . . Interesting that it is only 50 and they are trying to fill them?!
She is committed to another OOS UIUC.
Reading it carefully, âFirst-Year Fall Abroadâ means you have to be there the whole years? Would be hard to find enough CS class to take!
Maybe because of the Covid uncertainty. People are still reluctant to travel. Per CDC, France is still on the No Travel list.
@legojedi UIUC is an absolutely great tech school, with the advantage that it has a significant non-STEM part too, which balances the nerdiness (and cut-throat tech environment). I have heard that balance is missing at GT. Also, the Champaign college town is just great with zero distraction. If my son would have got UIUC for his CS major, we would have gladly accepted that (since my older son from CA went there and we are very familiar with that location).
Just being curious, do yâall think they will offer study abroad at China, Shenzhen campus?
I think itâs a very personal decision on what will or not work for a student. If you think of what you get for the money, itâs different based on whether you are in state or out of state.
Wishing you the very best if you are in the process of making that decision. Keep us posted on what you decided. Also, weâre you accepted from WL?
@andychen2387 I believe GT will allow study abroad to China, Shenzhen after your kid is admitted.
No offer. Just checking out the option.
We visited all the accepted UCs, Champaign and Atlanta in April. UIUC and GT are both top Engineering schools.
UIUC campus is beautiful but is too big to walk around. Teaching was remote but most buildings were open. We were able to get inside the Advanced Computing building. Campus Town is 10 minutes away, where there are variety of restaurants and pubs. However, the isolation of the city gave my daughter second thought.
Almost everything was open at GT. There are many students on campus, reading, eating, and participating in group project. The campus is more compact and easier to get around. We checked out the Computing building as well as one cafeteria also. We all like the vibe.
UCSD campus is very nice, but she is admitted as Un-declared only. In the end, she almost decided to go with UCSB which is in-state for us. It has a decent and rising CS program. The student faculty ratio is lower too. I think she made the right choice for picking UIUC after many agonizing days.
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@legojedi - Leaving UCSD undeclared is the correct decision - we learnt it is easy to get a lottery than going from undeclared to CS major at UCSD. We got the same, in-state, and left it. We also left UCD, UCSC.
But will take UCSB, UCI, UCLA, CalPoly, GT - all waitlisted. Currently, SIR-ed at UMDCP for CS.
It seems you have a UIUC experience.
So my son is waitlisted in GTech, UMich, Cornell ( waitlist for CMU, NYU I think closed). UIUC was his OOS Safety ,infact I had asked him to fill it which he did as his last application without giving much thought upon major. some of these kids being a sports freak got a wrong notion that CS is not for them even if they qualify (SAT 1560 , GPA 4.7 , 7 APs by Junior Year; 5/5 in 5 4/5 in 2, 3 more APs in Senior year, good extracurriculars) He got accepted in UIUC Electrical Honors with 33% Scholarship, that currently being his best option, he has committed there and now we thinking whether Computer Engineering / Computer Science could have been a better application, should he try to change the major at UIUC or seek a transfer after 1 year if waitlists donât materialize.
Any opinions upon
How hard it is to get OOS UIUC vs OOS Gtech vs OOS UMich Engineering ?
Why so difference if these schools are considered very much at par in education ?
Your son got 33% Scholarship, I am jealous! He must be a very strong candidate.
One of my Dâs classmate who got accepted to both Berkeley and UCLA with Chancellor Scholarship. He is also waitlisted at GT. Go figure!
Other than GT, my D is also waitlisted at UMich and NYU. I wonât consider them even if they come through. Their CS program is not better than UIUC, their tuition is 20K to 35K more than OOS UIUC.
Its my oldest son so my experience is limitedâŠbut he has similar stats as your son and got through Tandon School NYU for Computer Science and EnggâŠthough he declined that in favor of Honors Academy at Rutgers for Electrical and Computer Engg. He was waitlisted at 6 colleges which I think is crazy (of which he has already declined NYU and Purdue Fort Wayne & CMU seems to be closed). I think getting scholarship also depends on the needâŠWe fall in that exact range where we donât expect to get much financial aid from any college (though Rutgers gave him some merit scholarship which is the best case scenario, I think). We went to UIUC but was too far from home for him to apply there - of the colleges you mentioned, GT seems to be the hardest in terms of the % they take OOS though I have not researched much of the other 2.
Also, this year has been crazy so far and I feel for the seniors as its been much harder than any prior years. If WL doesnât move much, it might likely be the worst year on the record for the incoming freshmen.
Yup⊠looks like the worst year⊠This is the 33% merit scholarship from UIUC I was talking about that requires him to maintain 3.5 or above every year. ( we donât qualify for need based either )
So I was looking at stats⊠UIUC Engineering overall say that have 37% acceptance , UIUC overall Demographics say more than 85% spaces are taken by Instate and International Students , I am not sure thatâs the same for Engineering .
Would you consider Tandon School of Engineering over UIUC if money is a non issue ? UIUC has a better Engineering School Ranking I see.
I feel better to go by major and not school, when most of the schools you mentioned are very comparable. One important thing to remember is, that once enrolled in some major, it is extremely difficult, or rather impossible to move into CS from any other major. CS is highly impacted in most schools. Same is not true for Comp Engg or EE.