The Georgia Institute of Technology

Sure, Georgia Tech has a very good engineering program, and a graduate of it will probably know as much as anybody else, but the fact is that nearly everybody at GT is miserable, and the degree you get is not worth it.

I can confidently say that, for 95% of people, going to Georgia Tech is a bad decision. Sure your first potential employer will be impressed with where you graduated, but five years down the road nobody gives a damn where you went to college, and you will be no better with a degree from here then you would be from any other respected engineering program. It is simply not worth going through the hell that is GT.

If you want to do engineering, go to a place like Virginia Tech instead, the people there are friendly, happy, and there is a good social scene that will give you the "college experience" that the majority of Georgia Tech grads missed out on because they were either studying or playing video games in their dorms.

The notion that Georgia Tech is a "trap" is absolutely true - people come here for engineering and make it through a semester or 2 before realizing that they want to be somewhere else. Because of this school's ridiculous grade deflation, however, they have worked their ass off for a 2.4 and can't transfer to any school worth a shit, even if they did more work for that 2.4 than people elsewhere do for a 3.6.

Another thing that comes up is when somebody who came here for engineering discovers that they don't want to do engineering after all, and decides to change their major, but GT's options beyond engineering and computer science are a joke, and they can't transfer anywhere because of their miserable GPA. The fact is, no high school senior really knows what they want to do with their life, and going to Georgia Tech is a surefire way to lock yourself into four years of hell, followed by a career which has nice looking starting salaries but thats about it. Your career looks much less attractive when your salary has plateaued ten years in and you are stuck in a dead end job where your fancy degree from Georgia Tech means nothing.

4th Year Male -- Class 2003

Surrounding City: A+, Useful Schoolwork: F

ECE



For me, Georgia Tech had its fun moments and its really difficult moments. Because it is so difficult, you tend to bond with your fellow students over copious amounts of hard liquor and ...other vices. Its funny, you don't see a lot of smokers at the beginning of Fall, and then by the end of the semester half the campus smokes. I don't know anyone who doesn't have some form of chemical coping mechanism...well over half the student body is on adderall (if you're not willing to take adderall find another school. period.)

Essentially, a GT ECE education is a race against burnout. If you can make it to the end with some of your soul left, you've won! So if you're not a hard worker and a completely insensitive idea person, you're probably not going to make it through alright.

I'm going to hit Georgia Tech kind of hard, because that place damn near killed me. I would consider myself a sensitive type, considerate, easy-going, quiet. I'm somewhat in tune with the vibes, man. And once I got past the "I have to finish here" mentality, I realized I've never been to a shittier place in my entire life. Going to campus is like taking a bath in that feeling you get when you've been sitting in front of a computer for 20 hours straight playing an addicting game or reading an addicting book. You really want to get the hell out of there but you just keep going cause you want to finish...but without the interest keeping it emotionally worthwhile.

GT seems to be a magnet for broken spirits. For the girls, a common motto is "the odds are good, but the goods are odd". For the guys, imagine a campus full of those annoying snooty women you find at sports bars. You know, nice enough but with that air of impatient distance, ready to shoot you down at moment's notice.

One time I saw this girl at a party, who looked nice enough, and said hi...she says nothing, crosses her arms, and just looks at a guy across the room, who came over and told me "hey, this girl doesn't talk to dweebs". No joke. I mean, I'm nice, and a fairly good looking guy. I guess she doesn't speak to anyone who isn't a 10? And she's like a pimply 7/8. Quite frankly that was devastating.

Just a month or so ago, someone committed suicide on campus. Not too uncommon. Here's the interesting part...he was a *senior*. He had a semester to go. He was almost done. Think about that.

Some people here end up totally isolated and lose everything. My old roommate ended up having a breakdown, locked himself in his room and played World of Warcraft for the rest of fall and all of spring, until we had to move out for the summer, and he failed all his classes. We tried to help him but he wouldn't budge. He got kicked out, and since its hard to transfer anywhere with a 0.0 GPA. I hear he's doing well as a fast food assistant manager.

Georgia Tech is one of the few schools left where a hard-curve is common. Not the kind of curve where everyone's grade goes up, its the kind where no matter what, at the end of the semester, for example, 5% get A's, 30% get B's, 50% get C's, etc. It makes things pretty cut-throat. Stealing people's work and throwing it away or deleting it happens sometimes, it sucks.

Cheating is rampant and for some classes it is the only way to get through. Because of the way the curve is set up, the numbers don't matter. If the class average is 80 or 30 (yes 30 don't think it can't happen), you still get the same numbers of A's and B's, etc, so the professors will throw all kinds of ridiculous crap at you and let the curve sort it out. So if the averages are below 50 it makes sense to cheat cause a little will get you a lot. And if you don't and everyone else is, you get to honestly bust your ass for an F.

I'll always have great respect for anyone who can make it through here. I mean I tried to make the best of it but after 3 years I couldn't take it anymore. Don't let Tech turn you into a rambling wreck...life is too short for that. If you're the outgoing, hard-working, non-slacking, well-adjusted, willing-to-go-frat type, and already in a steady relationship, then you'll more than likely do well here. If not, there are other nationally-recognized engineering programs out there at more well-rounded universities. If you're the quiet sensitive type this place might turn you into one of those empty shells that wander around this place with their heads down, who don't even have enough spirit left in them to respond to a friendly hello other than a nervous glance at your shoes.

Don't worry about out-of-state tuition, there are always ways around it, and you pay off student loans at your own pace...I mean, you're gonna be an engineer, right? 50 grand isn't that big of a deal...when I retire I want to at least have a million put away, ya know?

3rd Year Male -- Class 2009

Innovation: B, Collaboration/Competitive: F

If you are planning on going to medical school, do not come here unless you absolutely love engineering. The Dean's list at Tech is 3.0, at other comparable schools it is a 3.5. No one cares where you went to school when you are trying to get into medical school, unless you do exceptionally well. At other schools, there are more women and less depressing people around. I advise people to join a fraternity or sorority if you are personally not the super social kind. Tech is only good if you want to be an engineer for life, otherwise dont go here. There is grade inflation everywhere and at the end of the day a shitty grade at tech is compared to a shitty grade anywhere else.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000