Serious waste of time and money. Students have no control over which courses they are assigned. The attitude of those in charge is simply, “we don’t care and you don’t matter.” Each student is easily replaced. This applies to those in charge of housing as well as registering. You can attempt to find someone who cares, but you won’t.
It continues to get worse. There is NOT ONE COMPETENT PERSON here. Save your money.
It’s obvious you are not happy with UGA, I explained on another thread that summer sessions typically do not have the full selection of classes or are fully staffed in all dorms. In another thread, you mentioned that you gave up an Ivy for a scholarship at UGA. That has to be understandingly hard to do and it would be natural to be a bit sad. However, many students have made the same decision- to accept a merit scholarship at another school, and can be happy about that, even if it was not an easy choice.
There are students who like to party, but there are plenty of students at UGA who are there to get an education, and you can choose to find them.
According to the website, the honors college freshman profile is this:
Average First-Year High School GPA 4.09
Average First-Year SAT 1465 ( CR and Math)
Average First-Year ACT *33 ( English and Math)
Surely, some of these students would be serious about academics.
I hope you have discussed your options with your parents. If I was your parent, I would either tell you to go and make the best of it, or if you have made up your mind that you are going to be truly miserable at UGA for the next four years, then do not enroll in the fall at all- take a gap year, work and reapply to somewhere that you do like.
I see what UGA employees are spending time doing. I have not “made up my mind to be miserable”. I wrote to help others make an informed decision, not for your advice.
I didn’t think you wanted any advice. I posted as another opinion about UGA so that others can make an informed decision as well. This is a public forum and so perhaps other students will benefit from this thread even if you do not.
I see that you are an incoming freshman at a summer program. School has not started yet, so you have not experienced one semester at UGA during the regular session. However, from your posts, it seems that you are miserable at UGA.
To clarify, I did not assume that you “made up your mind to be miserable”- that statement is an interpretation of what I posted. What I meant is that: you are miserable now and have made up your mind that UGA is not somewhere that you wish to be- and so are likely to continue to be miserable there.
I made that assumption according to your posts. Some of your posts do not clarify that you are only unhappy about the summer session and imply that you are unhappy about UGA in general. Statements such as “serious waste of money” do not clarify if you are discussing the summer program or the university in general. A statement such as “there is not one competent person here” is an opinion implies that you have made up your mind.
Once a student has concluded this, it may or may not be a fixable situation.
If your posts were only about the summer freshman program, it would have been clearer about whether or not you were unhappy about that, or the university as a whole.
To clarify, I see this is titled UGA summer program, but on your other threads, you discuss the university in general. It is from those threads that it is not clear if you are unhappy with UGA in general, or the college as a whole.
I understand that you desire to help students make an informed decision. It would be helpful to clarify whether you are not happy about the summer program or the college.
This is a quote from you,
“…go and make the best of it, or if you have made up your mind that you are going to be truly miserable at UGA for the next four years, then do not enroll in the fall at all- take a gap year, work and reapply to somewhere that you do like.”
Re read your post prior to denying that you gave advice or said those exact words.
High school students need to hear from someone in the midst of the UGA experience… A defensive elder may have an opinion, but it must be read with the understanding that she is paid for full time on the spot damage control.
" it is not clear whether you are unhappy with UGA in general or the college as a whole." I would like to clarify this for you, but I need to understand what the difference is in your mind.
Also, you inferred that I am unhappy, but I am more surprised and disappointed. I really expected the UGA experience to be a positive one.
My son is in Freshman College and he is having an absolutely great time. We knew upfront that the class selection is is limited, but he’s enjoying the two classes that he’s taking. The real purpose of Freshman college as I see it is to help students bridge from High School to College in a less overwhelming manner (as opposed to when 30,000 more students show up in mid-August). I am so glad he did it as he’s already made a lot of friends and by the time Fall Semester rolls around, he will already be adjusted to life at UGA.
OP Thank you for clarifying that you are disappointed. I agree that students deserve to see first hand opinions. This being a public forum- there will be all kinds of opinions and advice posted.
It is assumed that any advice and opinions found on this forum can be from anyone and is not considered professional advice. I think it is assumed that readers are free to accept or discard any advice and are responsible for their own decisions.
I am not certain what you mean by “being paid for damage control” . I am not employed by UGA nor am I paid to post here.
That said, I hope your posts will be helpful to others.
SECdad, you are absolutely correct in your understanding of one real purpose of UGA freshman college. The main unofficial purpose is to get a jump start on pledging. The majority of students knew this going in and are enjoying that aspect very much.
@surprisingUGA - I am so sorry to hear about your experience at UGA to date. My D is an incoming freshman in the honors program and also wanted a summer experience. After reviewing the options, it did seem like the purpose of Freshman College was mostly social/academic readiness for the college experience rather than the rigor of a normal semester. So, my D decided instead to go on the Interdisciplinary Field Program (check it out ifp.gly.uga.edu) - she is taking 18 credit hours, spending the summer visiting 20 National Parks… and working her tail off! Not many rising freshman go, but I would strongly recommend it to others who are looking for a more rigorous intro to college. She is getting a lot of credits, tons of cool experiences and making some life-long friends. I think that you ended up in a program that was not the right match for you… but remember, it is a big school with lots of opportunities that could be right! Hope your fall turns around (I’m sure it will :->)!