And he can stick with his chosen major when he declares his major on campus. No problem. But for kids who get started and realize their chosen major isn’t a good fit, GT allows one “no questions asked” major change. If a student wants to change again, they must go through a process to get approval.
There’s really no such thing as “direct admit” at Georgia Tech. He can certainly do that major, but he will need to fill out a major confirmation form to select it (in his portal). He can also decide to do a different major on the major confirmation form. My son was admitted as a mechanical engineer but he was toying with changing to industrial engineering. Decided to start as mechanical and submitted the confirmation form but it’s not some thing you are locked into as you can easily change in the fall if he thinks he wants to (unlikely).
And we know a kid who applied as one engineering major, filled out the major confirmation form for a different engineering major, and ended up switching fall of their freshman year to a third engineering major . They are very happy with the third one so likely no more changes but Georgia Tech is flexible with major changes at the beginning. It is more difficult to change down the road depending on the number of hours you have.
Much better explanation than mine!
Do you mean that you can switch to other major when you commit to the school. Like one can change to CS?
How do you do double major. Is it hard to do engineering + CS?
I’m pretty sure you cannot double major in engineering and CS. You can however switch to CS. There may be a few more hoops to jump through if you wait until until fall. For some reason I think you have to take a specified class so they can evaluate your capabilities in the major prior to transfer? There are capacity issues with CS at Georgia Tech like most places so that makes sense.
Stamps President’s & Gold Scholars Status notifications are out in the Admissions Portal
My OOS Daughter was also offered the Art and Science pathway. Still trying to weigh the options. She is more interested to do Comp Sci with another major or minor. Can she do Comp Sci thro this program? Does anyone have insight to this?
On the web page, it says that the Arts and Science Pathway does not allow admission into the schools of engineering, business or computing.
Deleted. Answered better above🤪
We are looking into a campus visit to help our son decide. Looking at the visits portal, there is only a single Gold Carpet day, but many other dates for campus and department visits. Does anyone have thoughts on what the Gold Carpet day will offer that a combination of campus visit and department visit wouldn’t offer? Unfortunately the Feb 24th date conflicts with sports related travel (in the opposite direction of Georgia for us) and we’re trying to figure out what to do.
Just saw that Georgia Tech admission on Instagram has posted an excellent new story with admissions counselors answering a lot of the questions posted on this thread. Things such as is a pathway offer guaranteed, can I send another letter of recommendation, how many students were deferred in EA2, Do I have to pay the commitment deposit before I register for housing, etc.
Definitely worth your while in viewing. Also I recommend following Georgia Tech admission on Instagram. They do a lot of these sorts of question and answer sessions, and if you catch them in a live session you can ask your own question and they will answer it in real time.
I believe the Gold Carpet Day is already full (according to my son who checked on Sunday night). So I’m hoping one of the other Admitted Student days will provide similar info.
Georgia Tech Transfer Pathway Information:
I know the transfer pathway offer can be confusing so based on my research I have put together some information to help clarify things for everyone that has questions.
Are you guaranteed admission if you meet the requirements. In short, yes. Georgia Tech says it is a “secure offer” but doesn’t use the word guaranteed because they don’t do advising and it is up to you ensure your application meets the requirements. But they clearly state if you meet the requirements will be offered admission. That means you must meet the credit requirements, GPA requirements, including the Math/Sci GPA if applicable, and fulfill your major requirements by the deadline, and submit the application by the deadline, with the requirement documents.
Let’s look at those in further detail:
Credit Requirements: You must complete 30 credits at a regionally accredited institution. AP and DE classes cannot be used to fulfill the 30-credit requirement.
That means you actually have to take the 30 credits at the institution. AP and Dual Enrollment courses will however be used for other reasons, such as meeting the major requirements, or in the case of Dual Enrollment classes meeting GPA requirements.
These 30 credits DO NOT NEED to have transfer equivalencies at Georgia Tech. However, you will need to make sure between AP, DE and credits from the institution that you fulfill core requirements and requirements for the major. While it is ideal to take classes that have equivalencies, so you aren’t wasting time and money taking unnecessary courses, it is not necessary for the purposes of meeting the 30-credit transfer requirement. If they do not transfer, Georgia Tech will likely give you elective credits for those classes, or in some cases no credits at all, but the evaluation of transferability of the credits will take place through the Registrar which happens AFTER admissions reviews you transfer application and gives you an acceptance. Also, there are AP courses which GT does not except directly, such as Stats, which your college may accept, and in these cases, GT will give you credit for those courses.
From the admissions perspective, they will be looking at your transcript and determining the semesters during which you complete the courses. They will determine that the classes were took in the period specified. Your dual enrollment classes will have been take prior, during high school, and will be excluded from being counted toward the 30-credit requirement. Your AP classes will show up as a transfer with no grade and will be excluded from being counted toward the 30-credit requirement.
For the First-Generation Pathway, the applicable period for the 30-credit requirement will be courses taken during the summer session after high school, and the following Fall and Spring semesters. However, the summer session after freshman year cannot be used. In fact, you will need to submit your transcript with application before that second summer session begins anyway, so there will be no way those classes can be included on your transcript. But is important to point this out in case your plan was to fulfill major/ or credit requirements in the second summer. They will not count.
GPA requirement: Admissions will simply be looking at the cumulative GPA on the transcript you submit with your application. Simply put, your official cumulative GPA on that transcript is what is used to determine if you meet the requirement. Note that different institutions have different means of calculating GPA. Georgia Tech will be using that institutions published GPA and does not recalculate when determining admissions requirements. Again, they will use the official GPA on the transcript no matter how it was calculated.
The GPA requirement is a strict, hard requirement and they do no round up. If the requirement is a 3.3 and the transcript says 3.29999999999 you do not meet the requirement and will be rejected.
AP Classes: AP courses will be on the transcript a transfer that gives you credit for one or more courses, but with no grade. Therefore, they are not used in determining your GPA. However, AP can be used to fulfill major requirements.
Additionally, since admissions is using the transcript of the institution you transferred from, it is the institution you transferred from that determines if the AP course satisfies the requirement. What matters is how that AP class is given credit on the institution you attended.
For example, GTA requires a 5 on AP Physics C: Magnetism for credit for Physics 1 and a 5 on AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism for credit for Physics II. If you only scored a 3 on both and the institution you are transferring from gave credit for the courses for a 3, then those courses will both be on your official transcript and Georgia Tech will accept those credits as fulfilling your major requirements.
Similarly, different schools have different requirements for all other AP exams. Another one that will come up regarding Georgia Tech is AP: Calculus BC since all majors require Calc I and most require Calc II. Again, fulfillment for these classes is dependent upon how you are given credit on your transcript. Some colleges give credit Calc 1 and Calc 2 for a score of a 3. Others will give credit for both classes with a Score of 3 and an AB sub-score of 4, while other colleges may credit one or both classes with a score of 4, and others require a score of 5. GT will give you credit for whatever credits your college gives you.
Dual Enrollment: The most likely scenario is Dual Enrollment will be on your transcript with a grade and will be used to calculate the cumulative GPA, and if applicable the Math/Lab Sci GPA. Dual Enrollment classes will also count toward fulfilling major requirements. Again, they do not count toward the 30-credit requirement.
I say most likely for a few reasons. First, as previously stated, Georgia Tech will be using the GPA from the transcript. That means if for some reason the institution did not use the Dual Enrollment course in determining your GPA, Georgia Tech will not either. This can happen for a few reasons. For example, if you dual enrolled in multiple institutions in high school and then decided to take courses at one of them. The institution you attend might count the Dual enrollment classes from the other institution as a transfer with no grade. In that case, the transcript you submit to GT will not have a grade for that course and hence not be used in the GPA calculation.
If you had a bad dual-enrollment grade institutions have different policies about retaking classes, having classes marked not applicable for GPA calculation, and some even have amnesty policies. For example, some may allow you to retake the course and only include the highest grade in GPA calculation. A not-applicable policy can allow you selective chose courses not be included in your GPA. An amnesty policy will reset your GPA to zero. In the case of Amnesty and non-applicable declaration that means those classes will count as zero credits and not count as fulfilling requirements.
Treatment of Duplicate AP and Dual Enrollment Classes
If you took AP and Dual Enrollment for the same class, whether that class is used toward your GPA will again be up to how the institution you attend reports on your transcript. Suppose you took AP Stats and Dual Enrolled in Stats. Most institutions will show the dual enrollment and the grade on your transcript, so the class would be used to calculate your cumulative transfer GPA and your math/sci GPA. However, to be certain you need to verify the policy with the institution you will be transferring from.
Sources for this information: comes form Admissions counselors (High School, Institution will be transferring from, GT admissions), Past Transfer Students and GT website.
Transfer Course Requirements | Undergraduate Admission (gatech.edu)
Grade Point Average Requirements | Undergraduate Admission (gatech.edu)
Transfer Pathway Frequently Asked Questions | Undergraduate Admission (gatech.edu)
First-Generation Transfer Pathway Program | Undergraduate Admission (gatech.edu)
(25) My 5 Year Journey as a Georgia Tech Transfer Student | LinkedIn
Reddit - Deep Dive - Conditional Transfer Pathway Program
TLDR; Are the GT pathway programs for real, achievable and worth it? Yes, yes, and yes!
If you meet the requirements you are in. While it seems complex, meeting the requirements really is straightforward and doable.
Here is why it is worth it:
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There is a good chance the score you will be transferring from accepts AP scores of 3, which will then transfer to GT for the same classes GT would require a 4 or 5 on the AP. My son will now be able to get 29 credits for AP and DE from his local community college that GT wouldn’t directly accept. For example, he will get credit for Calc 1 and Calc 2 for his AP Calc BC score of 3. A 3 on the AP Physics C exams which will give him credit for Physics 1 and Physics 2. GT would give no credit.
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Acceptance of these AP scores through transfer means all of the major requirements for acceptance are now satisfied.
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The only math/lab science class my son will have to take to get an AS in Comp Sci is Discrete Math. His entire math science GPA for admission into the program will be based on this one class which is easier than the Calc 1 and Calc 2 classes he already completed. He will now have an AS in Comp Sci after just one year when he applies to transfers to GT. If he isn’t granted transfer, he will be able to transfer the AS to state public universities, including 2 which have transfer agreements that will accept all credits toward their BCSC degrees.
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Acceptance of the AP scores comes with the added benefit of not having to take Calc 1, Calc 2, Physics 1, and 2 Calc 2 at GT which are known to be hard weeder classes (classes to weed out weaker students). Even top students report struggling in these courses at GT, often scoring just Cs or Bs, which also has an impact on their GPA.
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The $200k+ total cost of a CS degree from GT will be cut in half.
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For 2024 summer semester, after the application and transcript are submitted, he will be able to take Linear Algebra, Multivariable Calculus and Differential Equations at local college during the summer session. These remaining weeder classes required for GT’s CS will be much easier at our local college and will transfer to GT to meet the requirements but will not impact his GT GPA.
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As @DramaMama2021 points out many transfer students enroll at Georgia State which also has a lower AP score threshold than GT.
Georgia State is located near Georgia Tech so kids can start developing a cross campus social network, which helps when transferring to Tech. Georgia State counselors are used to this situation and are well versed in the course requirements.
Could you link it? I can’t find it.
However there are a lot of programs within the AS, it encompasses much more than one would think. I think college of design is different. Comp sci - computing dept may be in arts and sciences.
Computer science is in the college of computing.
The Instagram story I mentioned actually addresses this. For the arts and sciences pathway, you have to apply to a major within the college of sciences, the College of Liberal arts, or the college of design. You cannot apply to the other colleges.
I couldn’t figure out how to link a story but just go to Instagram, click on GT admissions and then click the circle with the picture for the most current story. It should still be there. If not it will be in the circles under the bio.
Ok thanks- it’s very hard to find actual majors listed under arts and sciences when I tried to look on their website.
DS has been offered the Arts and Science Pathway. We looked at the major requirements and he has most of them completed already through dual enrollment courses at a community college and AP credit. He emailed admissions since most of the requirements are met through dual enrollment courses in a community college taken while in high school and AP credit. Will those be counted toward the 30 credits required for the transfer or does he have to complete 30 semester credit hours after high school graduation?
The admissions office responded that these courses would count towards the transfer credit requirement.
We were pleasantly surprised since the FAQ on GA Tech webpage said something else. He has only 1-2 courses that he needs to meet the requirements so we are hoping we can transfer in Spring instead of FA24 if they allow it.
I wish we could talk to someone who has taken the pathway before to understand their experience. Is there a separate thread for transfer pathways?