Hi all,
I just had a quick question about Georgia Tech. as I was wondering whether it’s a good fit for me. I would consider myself very “nerdy”. I want to double major in math and physics- by the way, is double majoring possible at Georgia Tech., especially in two related fields like this?
I’m definitely more on the introverted end and am not at all into athletics, parties, fraternities, etc. My ideal Friday night would be ordering pizza, playing strategy games (I love games like Settlers of Catan (with expansion packs :-)), Risk, chess, etc.), and then having late night math/science discussions about the meaning of the universe until 2 or 3 am!!! I’m incredibly passionate about STEM and would love to connect with people as deeply invested as I am. I want people to work on problem sets with and then who even after the problem sets are interested in extending the material further and understanding it on a deeper level.
Georgia tech. sounds like an amazing place; my one concern was just the fraternities/athletics both of which seem like large components of student life. I definitely don’t mind this being on campus but wouldn’t want to participate in it, personally. I was wondering whether athletics/fraternities are dominant on campus or whether they’re just minor components. Also, do you think I would find others who would prefer to skip the parties and play strategy games/talk about the meaning of the universe late into the night? I’m definitely hoping to find that group who would like to do these activities with me.
Thank you very much in advance!
I’ll put it this way: I am in a fraternity and we have some members who will order in piazza and play settlers on catan on a Friday after classes. What I am trying to say is that GT is not your “regular” university. We are super nerdy and we love it. The only thing I ask is don’t come in with preconceived notions about not liking fraternities and athletics. We don’t party all the time and do what you would normally think a fraternity does like at FSU or UGA. Regarding athletics, its great to sometimes kick back after a long week of classes and go watch a football game or basketball game with your friends. If all of that still does not interest you, you will still have no issues getting involved on campus. The amount of clubs there are on campus and the amount of emphasis Tech tries to get students involved is endless. It all comes down to how social you want to be and how much you want to put yourself out there. You will not find trouble finding students like you who have the same interest as long as you try to find those students by attending events here and there that you are interested in.
My D just finished her freshman year at Tech. She is kind of a mix between nerd/athlete. She and her dorm mates play settlers/poker/whatever on a regular basis and also enjoy intramural sports. If you do go to Tech you would likely be most happy living on west campus. (less Greek/partying)
@mak1994 and @Stilltay , thanks for both of your responses; those are very helpful. Have others at Georgia Tech found similar experiences?
I’ve had a similar experience. We’re all nerds, but some of us are still social. I go to parties and talk about my classes. Most of the time when you meet a stranger at a party, he/she will be an engineer too and you’ll discuss things like that.
I personally don’t play strategy games, but a lot of people do. If you don’t like Greek life or football games, I would second the suggestion to live on West Campus. That being said, I would recommend going to the first football game and seeing how you like it and also keeping an open mind about Greek life - there’s a wide variety of people in the fraternities and quite possibly one that you’d enjoy being in.
I also know a math/physics double major, so it’s definitely possible. I think you would probably enjoy meeting people in clubs as well.
@gogeorgiatech - thanks so much for your response; that’s really helpful. Does anybody else have their experience to add?
DS’s GF is in a sorority. DS is not in a fraternity. He plays board games like risk and video games with his guy friends. GT has a wide variety of people with different interests. You should be able to find a group that has the same interests as yours.
I feel like these questions only come up when people assume that “nerd” refers to a single stereotype when like most things it is actually very broad or spectrum in nature. The broad version would be that a person is actually in academics to learn and is into other things to engage their intellect further. How sports and greeklife are necessarily excluded from this, I don’t understand (maybe it is because they are being stereotyped as well. Perhaps we have the media’s portrayal of all of these to thank). It really depends on the culture of those occupying the latter and at an engineering or selective D-3 schools, you’re going to get more academically oriented people that are interested in varsity or intramural athletics and even Greeklife.