Waitlisted at Georgia Tech?

Applying to College
1

So I just got a surprise waitlist from GTech. I am an International Asian male with the following stats: 2340 on the SATs with a 39-40/42 Predicted grade in the IB diploma
programme. I know stats aren’t everything and I have some stellar essays and EC’s too. Also, I think I came across as quite loyal to the GTech family in my essay. Could anyone come up with a reason for my wai
tlist. I was told that GTech was almost a backup school for me and I’m kinda surprised and sad because I loved GTech. I have applied to a few Ivies and Carnegie Mellon, Michigan and the UCs and I’m wondering whether I’ll get rejected from
most of them. I also got something of a likely
letter from UCLA yesterday…

2

Georgia Tech is not a back-up school. Unless you have won IMO gold medals, or published original research, or cured cancer, don’t assume that because “someone told you.”

3

@MITer94‌ I understand that calling GTech a back up would be foolish, but do you think that a waitlisted decision here would imply a rejection from more selective schools? CMU and Berkeley perhaps?

4

As a public university I think they have to limit the number of international and OOS students they can take. Maybe they took too many international and OOS in the Early Action round? Honestly can’t think of any other reason

5

Hey, fellow International Asian with similar stats here.

I believe that those who told you GaTech was a safety were right.

I have seen people with much lower score get in GaTech and with mediocre profiles. They didn’t win any medals of anything; heck, they didn’t even win the Intra-School tournament :stuck_out_tongue:

But, there was one thing different. They ALL applied EA. I know of several average/below average who got in EA, but only the above average ones got in RD.

I’m not saying EA is easier. I think that this year, GeorgiaTech filled in most of its class in EA and thus was left with very few seats in RD.

Also, your decision from GeorgiaTech is in no manner a reflection of your future decisions. Sometimes, university miss out on good students. There are countless stories of people getting in ivies and getting rejected from safeties (someone for into Caltech but waitlisted by UC Davis I hear).

I can almost assuredly say that you’ll get in Michigan and UCLA.

UCB and CMU are too difficult even for the best of the best.

6

Whoever told you GeorgiaTech was a safety is wrong, but for a couple of reasons.

  1. Georgia Tech doesn’t want to be known as a safety
    Many people use Georgia Tech as a backup in case they end up not getting into CalTech, MIT, or Harvey Mudd. In order to keep yield up, Georgia Tech needs to differentiate between people that want to go, and people that are using it as Plan D.

  2. GT lacks Early Decision
    Because Tech lacks early decision they cannot simply know who REALLY wants to go, and who is just using the program as a last resort. This requires the school to make inferences that are sometimes incorrect.

  3. Georgia Tech is a state school
    Georgia Tech demands (slightly) less of its in-state students, meaning that much of their class is simply filled with the best of what Georgia has to offer, even if those stats are lower than those that apply from OOS. With Zell Miller and the Hope Scholarship, GT is near assured that in-staters that get in will attend.

  4. Georgia Tech is in flux.
    Georgia Tech is essentially a crapshoot for OOSers just like the ivies, except it accepts lower stats. GT is forced to balance creating the strongest class possible, while accounting for in-state students while making sure the kids they admit will actually attend, without having Early Decision. There’s no clear cut way to get into tech.

Tech is more sporadic than anything, and just because you didn’t get in at Tech doesn’t mean that thre are problems with you getting admitted into other schools. I’d compare the situation at Tech to that at UMichigan.

7

Are you applying to CoE at UMich? If you are, it is not any easier than GA Tech particularly for OOS and international simply due to the low admission rate. It is likely to admit less students this year before the April 15 deadline and make use of the waitlist this year.

8

I would say regardless of your stats a school with around a 30% acceptance rate like GT is NOT a safety for anyone! Schools only have so many slots and many totally qualified people will get rejected or wait listed.

9

Thank you so much for the insight guys! Yes @billcsho I have applied to CoE at UMich. Hope I get in though