So I know Georgia Tech is pretty bad in terms of stress levels, but I was wondering if any Tech student/parent of Tech student could post a typical day so I could get a feel for the amount of studying and free time they have.
I’m ranked high in my class and am very diligent about taking notes and going to class. I wouldn’t say I don’t like working hard, it’s just I’m not sure if I would like four more years of stress when I could go to UGA and relax. (I know that sounds really bad, but after AP World History my sophomore year, I found I don’t like being burdened with huge amounts of stress).
If it were that simple I would go to UGA in a heartbeat, but I feel like I would like the people/environment better at Tech, and I’m predominantly interested in STEM subjects; however, I am really indecisive (as indicated by my username (when you accidentally press “u” instead of “i” :|)) so what if I end up wanting to switch majors but Tech doesn’t offer it? :-/
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Where I worked at GT, we had a lot of student assistants working with us, so while I didn’t attend, I had a large exposure to their schedules and work loads. Additionally, I have loads of various interactions with students, and am familiar with GT’s academics. Yes, GT is stressful, and the work is hard. And yes, there will be times that you will be burdened with a lot of studying. But I’ll tell you one thing, at GT, there is an attitude that “GT is hard, and its impossible to get a B, so I just need to aim to pass the class, and besides, I’ll get a job anyways”…I see this A LOT! And to some extent, its true. Industry hires GT grads with even 2.7 GPA’s. Additionally, a lot of students slack off tremendously, and the propaganda, if you will, that GT is hard, really affects a whole lot of students. Now, that is the bad side, but I have seen a lot of students with over a 3.6-3.7 as well. Why? Because they do their work, and they aim for getting an A. Yes it is work, but it is doable. Why do I say this? Because I work with a whole lot of GT students. Its very easy to make these distinctions.
Additionally, UGA is not any less stressful in certain classes, as well as its own engineering programs. For example, certain programs at UGA can be as, if not more challenging that GT. I understand about not wanting to be stressed, but that is just part of life in any good field. The rewards of getting a good and high ROI degree are immense, but if there was no stress involved, everybody would be doing it. Make your intention that you work hard for these 6-8 years of life (as really, the value of a mere B.S. degree is deteriorating, one must go higher now), and you’ll reap the benifts for the rest of your life. Take it easy now and stress later, or stress now and take it easy later. Those are your choices. Take it from me. If there is anything you got from this thread, let that be it.
Honestly, Georgia Tech is not hard. I’m about to graduate and all of these things that you heard about this school are a bunch of lies. The material difficulty is the same across all top engineering schools. If you have a strong work ethic, you shouldn’t be struggling to get a 3.5-3.8. It all depends on the professors you get for certain courses. I’ve been involved heavily in research and TA’ing for the past 3-4 semesters or so and I realized it’s all about time management. Most of the people that are doing bad is because they don’t do anything. All classes that I have taken here have not been impossible to get an A on. In fact, the hardest class I have taken here is Honors Physics 2 and I made an A without putting much effort. I’m an ECE major, so don’t think I’m doing one of those easy majors people talk about. I suggest find a strong group of friends and take all courses together. Without anyone, you are pretty much doomed. If you have a good group you can work on homework/projects together and study efficiently for exams. As a TA, I realized that those who are doing bad either don’t do their homework, copy off the solution manual or skip lecture. Attend office hours, even if you get the material. Most of the people never showed up for my office hours, but when I did a review session everyone was there because the exam was the next day. PM me if you have any questions. I can guide you and give you more advice so you can succeed at GT.
@integral
That’s a great answer, and it mirrors my experience at GT. You can tell that the people who are doing bad have a bad work ethic (obviously there are some exceptions to this). I wish you a successful career ahead of you.
@undecisive101 I saw your first post and I am totally with you! I am a GA HS junior and as you can tell my by username I am stressed a lot by my AP classes. I have two really good options UGA and Tech but idk which one I would really be happy at. I could do a lot more ECs in UGA due to a normal work load vs tech where I might not be able to ever relax and actually enjoy things like football games on Saturdays. Totally with you though
@integral I would love to know your experience so far at GT. Have you done any extra carriculars? And also what is your major? I am really worried about possibly getting in and then losing my HOPE scholarship because I’m struggling with the hard workload.
@stressedHSgirl I TA two courses (Circuits and Math). I also conduct research (15+ Hrs a week). I’m EE and I usually take 4-5 courses per semester (not so bad if you pick good professors). You can definitely do other extracurriculars, but I want to go to grad school, which is one of the reasons I TA and do research. Like I said, I have a semester left until I graduate and I’m doing fine. If you want more tips, PM me and I can help you out.
@undecisive101 On topic of changing majors at Tech: Take a look at public policy at GT and media majors and foreign language majors and ask yourself if any of these appeal to you, in case your engineering /science major turns out to not be a good fit for you. If you want to study English literature, that would be one area that GT might be weak in, but business, and public policy look strong to me. Communications and Media look very strong at GT. Architecture and urban planning are strong. There are some interesting cross disciplinary majors like industrial engineering, where you learn stats, business and engineering. GT’s Chinese program is apparently strong and lots of programs in China for students who want to study Chinese. GT is broader than some smaller techy schools out there. Music technology is another less technical major, perhaps, but that could have a lot of acoustics and EE in the curriculum. The music department is in the School of Architecture, a little odd, but does have some interesting majors.
I know an English/Asian studies PhD from Princeton who teaches English at U of Minnesota, who did a humanities undergrad major at MIT. So I think GT would be similar and could lead you anywhere, but if you might want to major in History or English literature, U of Georgia may be better.
You should be able to transfer to U of Georgia later if you do not like GT as well.