The Georgia Institute of Technology

My only regret is not taking more liberal arts classes - I was so in tune with 'getting out' that I failed to see how great it really was until I left GT for the real world. Slow down, if you can afford it, take an extra semester or two - take some classes for fun!

In terms of preparedness, I had my choice of PhD programs - including MIT! (I actually ended up not pursuing a PhD, leaving it for a much more fun job. ) My first year classes in grad school I just coasted through due to the level of education I received at Georgia Tech.

My biggest complaint about my years there were the dorms (us first tenants of the apartment style dorms had to deal with a lot of problems.... things weren't FINISHED when we moved in!) and SAC. SAC has now been revamped, and the dorm life has stabilized. Parking was also a pain, but I think that's true of any campus.

To me, the best part about tech was the fact that we were all geeks. Granted I was a rather social geek, but you just instantly connected with people. It was 'bad' to be a geek/smart in high school - but at tech, everyone was just like you. We relished our geekdom.

I miss Georgia Tech terribly. To me, socially, it was quite a party school - I drank a lot ;) Much of the social life does revolve around greek organizations, but not all. As you get older, people tend to clump into friend/party groups by their major.I feel that most of the negative reviews (I haven't read them yet, but am about to...) come from those who struggled academically with the level of work required. I partied hard and studied hard - but I found a balance.

Basically, being in a fraternity/sorority gives you a social outlet to counter all your school work. Do that and you'll be just fine here. You'll have to work hard but you'll do fine. Make sure you take Calculus in high school. If not, find a friend who has and get him or her to help you. You won't pass otherwise.