Harvard-Westlake is a top private prep HS in Los Angeles. Over the last 5 years they have sent 51 students to Harvard; 50 students to Michigan; and just 2 to University of Georgia. At least with this cohort of very accomplished students, they are choosing Michigan 25-1 over Georgia.
For any who care, please see post #46 for an explanation of many of the reasons for the increased selectivity of UGA.
And FWIW, GTās selectivity jumped significantly after they joined the Common App in 2013 (146% increase the following application year).
one thing Iād note on the āMichigan has a better engineering school than UGAā argumentā¦well, I mean, of course they doā¦if youāre a serious engineer or STEM student you simply go to Georgia Tech, 60 miles away. Itās one of best public universities in the country and their tech rankings are as follows (2019):
4 Best Undergraduate Engineering Program in the country (only MIT, Berkley, and Stanford are better).
1 Industrial / Systems Manufacturing Engineering
2 Aerospace / Aeronautical / Astronautical Engineering
2 Civil Engineering
2 Materials Science & Engineering
3 Chemical Engineering
3 Mechanical Engineering
4 Biomedical Engineering
4 Computer Engineering
4 Electrical / Electronic / Communications Engineering
4 Environmental / Environmental Health Engineering
All colleges are getting more selective. Take San Diego State University. It used to be that if you had a 2.5 GPA and a heartbeat, you were accepted. Today, you need 3.97 weighted GPA.
The OP was comparing Michigan to Georgia and itās pretty clear that a vast majority of top students in the US and Internationally prefer UM over UG. Nothing against UG, itās a great college but based on everything written on this thread, is more regionally known as a good bargain for in-state students or OOS looking for a cheaper public school cost with some merit. For OOS full pay students Michigan is 260K for 4 years and Georgia is 188K (70K cheaper) and yet Michigan gets tons of OOS and International applicants. I wonder how many more applicants UM would get and what their acceptance rate would be (e.g. in the teens) if they charged 70K less?
Lastly, for those HW students who want to go to an OOS public college, they are overwhelming choosing Michigan. Iām sure this is similar to most college prep high schools in the Northeast and elsewhere around the country.
Students typically go to UGA for engineering over GT if (a) they want the big āparty schoolā type campus, (b) they canāt/donāt get into GT as a direct admit and Ā© are offered the Conditional Transfer Pathway option and start at UGA. Also if they simply want a smaller engineering program and still benefit from the lower cost (especially instate applicants who get the HOPE or Zell Miller).
āitās pretty clear that a vast majority of top students in the US and Internationally prefer UM over UGā
The MIchigan Kool-aid? LOL! Havard-Westlake H-S? When money is not an issue, nothing is an issue. $70,000 its a lot of money.
If I read it right, the poster just wanted to get a feel for what is the perception of UGA outside of Georgia. He probably thought of Michigan based on similar stats, etc. (Wisconsin could have been the closest match) Plus UGA is not known for engineering and people donāt apply there for the engineering school. Michigan is a much better-rounded University and better known around the country. But UGA is currently ranked in the 16 and a top 50 University and for sure on the upswing. It will probably never get to be perceived the same way as Michigan, but as time goes by, it will probably check the boxes for a top destination
So at least this thread is civil since the moderator got rid of the problem so thx to the moderator.
From the Illinois perspective, I donāt know anyone applying to UG from our top schools. No one from my sons high school which was ranked number 1 in our state.
As I stated somewhere earlier in the thread if looking in Georgia at all for LSA then Emory. If engineering or the like then Georgia Tech.
I am glad that they are stepping up their academics. I grew up in Michigan and you applied to Michigan if you could get in. If you didnāt get accepted you went to Michigan State. If not then you went to Wayne State, Oakland and now Grand Valley. (yes I know people go to Central and Eastern etc).
So if University of Georgia is the main state flag ship and your not going to Emory or Georgia Tech and UGeorgia is getting that much more competitive to get into then where are the students going?
@SouthernHope. Only if it was that easy. Itās an amazing school. But they wait listed my son. He was already accepted at Michigan and now in Industrial engineering (Ranked Number 2 right behind GT). It seems locally both Georgia schools are becoming more challenging for the locals to get in.
In Illinois like 48% of freshman are going OOS to schools like Alabama for their merit. Thenā¦ Really like the school and end up getting good jobsā¦ All in warm weatherā¦ Lol.
We had visions of visiting him in Georgia as an excuse to go to Great BBQ and eating Piesā¦ ??
Since Emory is a private school and costs $$$$, it really doesnāt belong in the conversation with instate kids looking at affordable academic options. Many of the locals in GA will also apply to Alabama especially if they will get the automatic $$$
Many also apply to FL schools or go for the auto $ at south Carolina. For those with less academic chops (apologies donāt mean to offend but it will ) some apply to Auburn, Clemson, Olā Miss, etc.
For smaller schools, the instate public is not really known outside of GA but is a great little LAC - GA college & State. Others will apply to College of Charleston.
The stronger applicants will also look at the southern schools (besides UF) - Vandy, Duke, Tulane, UNC-CH, Ut-Austin, Rice, etc.
If looking for smaller options- Rhodes, maybe Centre, etc.
There is more to the South than BBQ and pies. Just Sayinā
@jym626. The OP wanted to know the perception of University of Georgia to those out of state. I gave a correct view of those who apply to Georgia schools from my area. Regardless of public /private schools.
I would think most would know my comments about visiting and eating in Georgia was tongue in cheek. I used emojies to display that.
Yes I understood the question and the sarcasm.
You asked where else students were going.it sounded like you were asking where else GA students (not northerners) were going, as you compared it to the list of instate schools Michigan residents attended. I answered.
The issue in Georgia is that Georgia Tech has always been extremely competitive to get in. UGA has been getting just as competitive. Emory is private which is not an option. Once you get past, UGA and GT, many of the denied high stat kids, might not want to go to the secondary State schools such as Georgia Southern, Kennesaw State, and Georgia State. This is where Alabama, Auburn, and USC come into play. Due to the excellent scholarships, they sort of become the secondary default Universities for these kids, assuming they want a similar Flagship college experience.
Of course, This is not unique to Georgia, Prospective students from say Illinois or the upper midwest, have IOWA and Mizzou as affordable options. California has both of the Arizona schools.
Based on some of the posters who have answered the OP, it seems like UGA has a long way to go in order to be perceived as a destination for those coming from OOS. One thing for sure, the national rankings and the selectivity support itās status as one of the āeliteā public universities in the Southeast
@boomer1964 - actually, until GT joined the CA in 2013, it was comparatively easy to get into, with overall admission rates of 57-59% in the early 2000ās (I donāt know the in/OOS breakdown from that time but itās easy to find on their Factbook page). When my DS#1 applied to college, GT was his safe school.
Applications jumped by 146% the year they joined the CA.
@jym626 Interesting. U South Carolina joined Common App this year, and they are slower to release EA decisions. Iām assuming theyāve had a large increase in applications as well. I wonder what this will do to their selectivity over the next few years?
@Boomer1964. Great post. So the question I ask is how does Georgia change perception?
In Illinois as you pointed out high stat kids are flocking to Alabama for merit as just one example. This trend has been in about the last 5 years. Families that would never, ever consider Alabama are now using it as a target. Why? One thing that I see daily in the Suburbs of Chicago (western) is that the students that bit the apple 4-5 years ago actually enjoyed their education /experience and are ready for thisā¦ Getting good jobs! This has trickled down to the underclassmen. Last yearās studentās are telling this yearās students that they have to come. Plus itās warm!
Not that Alabama was ever a bad school. But now I hear of how good a school it is currently and yeah, BTW, I am only paying 2/3 - full ride.
5 years ago someone applying to Alabama would be a severe outlier. Today itās common place. Perception has changed in a relatively short time.
Not sure if Georgia wants or needs to go this route.
But as someone posted early on, it could very well be a diamond in the rough. Thereās nothing wrong with that either.
@knowsstuff It is going to take time AND probably more scholarship money to those high stats OOS kids. As of right now, UGA does not offer āautomaticā scholarships. The process seems to be āholisticā and random. Take a kid with a 33 ACT and over a 4.0. There is a chance they will be accepted, but not a guarantee for merit. Perhaps more similar to how Pitt goes about awarding these scholarships Everyone gets very frustrated with Pitt because of this. I am just not sure, UGA will ever do this due to the competitive nature of their own instate pool of applicants. If they were to do that, it makes UGA more attractive to those from OOS who would look at it in the way Wisconsin, OSU, Michigan, MD get the OOS buzz.
Alabama went about it much differently. They do not have a pool of instate students such as Georgia. Different population.
On the other hand, I will not be surprised is South Carolina actually becomes just as competitive as UGA one day. Just two years ago, it seemed as if the requirements to qualify for their automatic scholarships were lower than what they are today. What were they offering for a 27 ACT, it has now become a 29ACT. As the pool of applicants gets larger due to both the common and the coalition apps, they can pick the best possible students from a much larger pool. This is probably the reason all of these schools will continue to get even more competitive.
Whether anyone agrees with rankings or not, everyone looks at them and forms an opinion. The perception of branding is everything.
Last night, while waiting for my kid to arrive at the airport gate security, a mom also waiting for her UMich kid to get off the plane and I struck up a conversation. Her D is a freshman recruited athlete for womenās water polo. Water polo at Michigan?
According to this mom, 8 freshman girls were recruited out of CA to MIchigan. Michigan won the B1G conference title and lost to UCLA in the round of the final 8 teams. Six teams were from CA. One from HI and Michigan.
Admittedly, Iām biased, but how do you recruit 8 CA kids to play water polo at Michigan and the season starts in January? I know weāre stressing academics here in this thread, and we should, but Iām amazed at the breath and depth of high level athletic opportunities at UMich for both men and women.
@sushiritto Since you are bringing up sports. Big Game this weekend. GO BUCKS!!!
UGA vs OSU to the College Football final!!! Then we have a problem in this house.
Well, Iām going to the Stanford-Notre Dame game. So, GO IRISH! 
Pssst! BTW, MIchigan plays WFU in the final 8 of menās soccer on Sunday. 
Donāt get me started on sports. :lol: