Can someone please explain the experiences of people who have participated in these programs? I am considering going to Tech next year, I’m currently a BME major pre med, but if I like engineering I’ll stick to engineering and abandon pre med. Thanks!
I’ll take a stab at it, but i am a parent. The Honors program is largely just housing, freshman live in Hefner and Armstrong dorms on the quieter west side of campus, as freshman and have the option of living in Cresine Hall together as a sophomore, junior and senior. But anyone can live in Cresine, on other floors, so there is little to no actual programming or criteria to live in Cresine Hall as an upper classman, except be able to afford the price tag ! Most students cook together in Cresine, as there are kitchens there, but it costs a lot more than the double room you will have as a freshman at GATech. The meal plan can be dropped if you cook, saving some money though. . My son did not get in from high school, as many straight A students go not make it into this Honors cohort, if they are boys especially, but if you want to live in Cresine Hall as a sophomore, you can apply as a freshman at GaTech and then you can live there.
Any student at GaTech can take honors math classes, you do not need to be part of the honors program. Likewise, any student can socialize with honors students, in freshman year, so its not really necessary to make it into the honors dorm as a freshman.
I think there are a few smaller humanities classes for Honors students, but thats just not needed, as all class sizes
are small at GaTech and all students are smart, so there are no advantages that I can see to the honors program, even though my son got into it, to be sure he could live in Cresine Hall, which is newer, quiet, with kitchens and near the swimming pool and recreation center.
There might be a slight advantage for class registration if you do get into honors, but its minimal, I think, but ask
when you are at GaTech.
Grand Challenges is a more organized program, that asks groups of students to work on a SOCIAL SCIENCE or world problem together, in teams of about 6-8 students. I think Grand Challenges seems more social than Honors, they also live together in a standard freshman dorm (Two beds two desks, two closets, every dorm at GaTech is identical, )
I think if you are a Stamps Scholar, there is special housing so I don’t see a reason to apply for this other housing if you are in a scholarship program, check if there is housing associated with your scholarships, chances are there is housing. But again, ALL FRESHMAN HOUSING AT GATECH is identical, so I don’t really understand the obsession
with special housing at Gatech.
GaTech offers a lot of “gimmick programs” to satisfy students and make them feel special. You will get over that special feeling quickly
as your realize the regular GaTech students who never got into honors are besting you in math class
and actually are better than you in Japanese, math, and maybe in chemistry class as well. Not that its competitive actually, but you are unlikely to be the smartest in every class at GaTech.
You get my drift. All students are smart at GaTech, whether they make it into honors really does not matter.
@colorado_mom Glad to hear this perspective. It is in line with what my son read. He didn’t see any reason to apply to honors plus he wants to live on east campus.
I agree with most of the above. I am also a parent, but my child is in the honors program at GT currently. The program has had some benefits in my opinion. Early registration for classes freshman year, extra advising, some unique classes and programs, as well as a way to meet people before school began(honors retreat).
Since I’m most familiar with honors, In my opinion these programs are what you make of them as a student. They offer leadership roles and opportunities to take part in activities that are special to their program. My child has enjoyed the Honors Program, done extremely well so far in classes, and is having fun. Our student(3rd year) has really thrived at GT. We can’t say enough good things about the school.
I participated in the honors program shortly after it was established and before Tech offered the Explore or the Grand Challenges programs. These types of programs generally attract very driven and interesting people, at least from an academic perspective. As others have noted, pretty much all students at Tech are very smart, but I did feel that students in the honors program were, on average, notably more curious and willing to explore ideas and experiences both inside and outside of the classroom. It was a great group of people to live and study with freshman year and a lot of the people in the program will go on to do some pretty special things, even when compared to the already exceptional student body at Tech as a whole. The facilities themselves are not going to be fancy, so don’t expect more luxurious accommodations like some schools might offer to students in their honors programs.
I really enjoyed the honors classes, especially the special topics courses that were offered. All my honors courses were taught by professors who were passionate about teaching and were conducted in a much more intimate setting than the standard lecture hall format. This allowed for students to more fully explore the material and to develop stronger relationships with the professors, which can come in handy if you want to get involved in research or if you will eventually need recommendations for graduate and/or professional schools. That said, most of your classes will not be through the program and you can obviously get involved with research and meet professors in other ways.
I would recommend the honors program and I assume the other programs have similar merits, but I also don’t think you would necessarily have a markedly different overall experience at Tech if you decided not to participate. Like most things, you can get a lot out of it if you want, but you’re not going to have an exceptional experience at Tech simply because you were in one of these programs.
Thanks for responding everyone this really helped! Also, do you know if it is allowed to apply to both the grand challenges and honors programs? @InPursuit @ticktock
In the past, you could apply to both. You might not get in either program or perhaps you’ll be accepted into both 
Then you will need to pick the program that interests you the most.
Best of luck to you!
You can apply to both programs, but you can only accept a spot in one program as a Freshman. I know you are also a finalist for the PSP and, unless it has recently changed, admissions to the honors program should be automatic for President’s Scholars who choose to participate. You may also be able to do something like Grand Challenges as a Freshman and then apply to be part of the honors program later, since the honors program does offer a mid-term applications process for those willing to live in the honors block of housing during their second year. That said, I would recommend just choosing one program.