Hi! I’m kind of confused as to why I wouldn’t be accepted in early action at Georgia Tech and wanted some advice on how to improve myself for the deferred form. I have a 34 ACT, 4.0 unweighted GPA, 4.63 weighted GPA, have held many leadership positions in my school, and have had several long-term volunteering jobs. Any ideas? Thank you!
Tech is a state school, meaning their first priority is Georgia students. These students have more range in their GPA and test scores than students that are out of state. Therefore, the pool of OOS applicants is already extremely strong
GaTech is also commonly used as a MIT/CalTech or whatever back-up school. So not only do they have to make sure they’re attracting high scoring students, but they also have to make sure these students want to attend.
Tech published an infographic today showing that your stats are basically slightly above the average for accepted students, so considering the way tech operates (a highly ranked public school with no ED), this isn’t anything against you, but more them not having space for everyone. I’d liken the situation to what happens at Michigan all the time.
Wow, Senior, I too am surprised that they didn’t accept you in early action. How many AP/IBs did you take and what scores did you get in them? Are you OOS? Are your ECs STEM-oriented? Do you feel that you had strong essays and LORs? Sounds like the competition must’ve been really tough for Early Action.
Some issues could have been: if you are OOS, HS course rigor, essays, LORs, etc. Other than that, none of us sat in on the admissions officer’s conversations so your guess is as good as anyone here.
There are two major possibilities I would guess took place here:
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Some aspect of your application may have been lacking. Essays, teacher recommendations, course rigor? This doesn’t seem like you based on your description, but I did not complete your application, so I wouldn’t know
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You may have been a little too good for Georgia Tech. I know this sounds ridiculous, but considering you have pretty great stats, and if the other aspects of your application were truly outstanding, it is possible they deferred you because they had a good feeling YOU would reject them, especially if you’re not in-state. Universities try to accept people who they know are going to come to their school, and for this reason they will occasionally defer/reject some amazing students who they feel will go to higher-tier college. They don’t want to lose a spot for someone who’s dream school may by Gtech, for example.
Honestly, though, this whole admissions thing is just a huge gamble. If you were really looking forward to Georgia Tech, I hope you get admitted, and if not, I’m sure you’re end up somewhere amazing 
Good luck in college!