Academic Intimidation

[GTJason]

Once again, Tech has 36 majors versus 118 at Stanford

Not only this, but my favorite case study is Andrew Luck. He was an ENGINEER, gotta be some sort of Renaissance man to be an engineer and succeed at a school like Stanford then be the #1 draft pick right? After looking at the degree requirements, um not an engineer. Architectural Engineering is a watered down Civil Engineering degree for architects who don't want to do studio and enjoy trig based physics. So among engineers he's not an engineer, BUT to the rest of the world he's an engineer who graduated from one of the best schools in the world. It's sad but true. I work with a girl who got her BS and masters in BME from Catholic U. They have a 4-1 auto admit program with an average GPA of over 3.5. She describes the classes she had to take as "fun" and talks about how she had classes where they worked with LEGOs and how her professors didn't really care about grades. She doesn't know jack-$h*t about engineering or even human biology, but she still gets to say she has a masters degree and is an engineer.

GT is a whole different world. Other engineers get it's a hard school, the rest of the world understands we're smart, but only a GT grad (or dropout) knows to what level it really is.

 

[Minawreck]

OK.......Tech offers fewer majors compared to everyone else. Those comparisons were the same when we won championships. We can get talent at Tech and win big on occasion.

Apart from the miracle in 1990, we won championships at a time when NFL life wasn't a lucrative career path. Hence getting an engineering degree from a well-respected school was very enticing.

 

[biggtfan]

Great post, question though. Have you checked the majors here at Tech vs the ones at Stanford who has been a Top 10 program for a little bit now?

I'm curious how are difficulties with academics stack up vs them..

They don't stack up. For example, Richard Sherman of the Seahawks was a Communications major at Stanford. The only required math class is Statistics 60, an intro level class. There is no science requirement. My daughter was an HST major at Tech. She had more difficult classes than Richard Sherman.

 

[MWBATL]

OK.......Tech offers fewer majors compared to everyone else. Those comparisons were the same when we won championships. We can get talent at Tech and win big on occasion.

If by "on occasion" you mean once in a blue moon like when Ross did it, then we agree.

Comparisons to Dodd's days are meaningless. In those days, kids who were eager to succeed in life and rake tons of money felt the best educational degree was the way to go because NFL salaries were ridiculously low. In the 1950's, most NFL players had to have part time jobs on top of their NFL jobs to make ends meet. Nowadays, with the fabulous $$ in the NFL, kids feel the best way to success and tons of dough is to go pro, and forget the education. That one huge change has changed forever the abilities of the Vandy's Northwestern's, Georgia Tech, even the Notre Dames to really consistently compete with the semi-pro programs of the SEC and Big XII.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Here's a list of the top 10 STEM colleges in the US. This is our peer group academically. How many compete in Division 1A FBS football?


1


Guess who?



California Institute of Technology 98%10
Colorado School of Mines 98%77
Missouri University of Science & Technology 91%125
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (MA) 88%65
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 86%6
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY) 84%41
Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ) 82%75
Michigan Technological University 77%120
Clarkson University (NY) 76%115
Georgia Institute of Technology 76%36

 

[dressedcheeseside]

If by "on occasion" you mean once in a blue moon like when Ross did it, then we agree.

Comparisons to Dodd's days are meaningless. In those days, kids who were eager to succeed in life and rake tons of money felt the best educational degree was the way to go because NFL salaries were ridiculously low. In the 1950's, most NFL players had to have part time jobs on top of their NFL jobs to make ends meet. Nowadays, with the fabulous $$ in the NFL, kids feel the best way to success and tons of dough is to go pro, and forget the education. That one huge change has changed forever the abilities of the Vandy's Northwestern's, Georgia Tech, even the Notre Dames to really consistently compete with the semi-pro programs of the SEC and Big XII.

Not only that, but the profile of the typical college football player has drastically, drastically changed since then. Back in the 50's, most, if not all, players actually belonged in college with or without football.

 

[Animal02]

Ross didn't have the stars align, he aligned them. He did it by having one of the best coaching staffs you could ask for: O'Leary as DC, The Fridge as OC etc. It's been proven time and again that you can win championships at Tech, we just need a few more big time athletes. I think the pendulum is swinging in the right direction. Roof was a good hire along with Pelton. Vad transferring was a blessing for us. We've got a very favorable schedule this year. Heck, we even got a JUCO transfer. 2014 is looking up!

Yes, Ross did have the stars align. It is not just a matter of Tech going undefeated, it was a matter of several other teams losing. Even then, 5th down Colorado shared the title. The stars will have to align again for Tech to win the NC.....not only going undefeated, but enough other teams to lose along the way. To put it another way.....in a 4 team "playoff" year........Alabama, Stanford, Oklahoma, and Michigan State and GT all finish undefeated as conference champions.......GT would be on the outside looking in more times than not.

 

[Old School]

Winning the ACC should be the primary goal due to the simple fact that it takes a little luck to win a national title. If we win the ACC, there is the possibility of playing for the NC. We have proven in RECENT years that this goal is attainable at Tech....even with the big money allure of the NFL. Moaning about academic restrictions is pointless. I think those restrictions make it all the more satisfying when we are successful. Something I'll always remember is what Bobby Ross said during a celebration of the 90 championship during halftime of the Miami game a few years ago. He said he was most proud they won it by "doing it the Tech way!"

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Winning the ACC should be the primary goal due to the simple fact that it takes a little luck to win a national title. If we win the ACC, there is the possibility of playing for the NC. We have proven in RECENT years that this goal is attainable at Tech....even with the big money allure of the NFL. Moaning about academic restrictions is pointless. I think those restrictions make it all the more satisfying when we are successful. Something I'll always remember is what Bobby Ross said during a celebration of the 90 championship during halftime of the Miami game a few years ago. He said he was most proud they won it by "doing it the Tech way!"

I disagree with the "pointless" part and I don't think anybody is "moaning." Understanding our position relative to other teams/programs gives us perspective. Without perspective, one cannot adequately judge success or failure. Sure, one can point to the bottom line: wins and losses, but others have already pointed out the flaw in that narrow thinking when looking at other schools with weaker schedules. (We'd have won the Coastal, I'm sure of it, even with Vad Lee at the helm, with Duke's schedule.)

Perspective allows a more objective view on where we are and where were heading and for our leaders in the AA, whether or not we need to move in a different direction. I sure hope our AD has the proper perspective when evaluating our coach and the future of GT football.

 

[Old School]

OK

 

[OldJacketFan]

I disagree with the "pointless" part and I don't think anybody is "moaning." Understanding our position relative to other teams/programs gives us perspective. Without perspective, one cannot adequately judge success or failure. Sure, one can point to the bottom line: wins and losses, but others have already pointed out the flaw in that narrow thinking when looking at other schools with weaker schedules. (We'd have won the Coastal, I'm sure of it, even with Vad Lee at the helm, with Duke's schedule.)

Perspective allows a more objective view on where we are and where were heading and for our leaders in the AA, whether or not we need to move in a different direction. I sure hope our AD has the proper perspective when evaluating our coach and the future of GT football.

Very nice post and perspective

 

[Arkfbplayer52]

OK

 

[IEEEWreck]

Here's how I think we sell Georgia Tech. GT Engineers (and Architects, by the bye) face some incredibly tough classes the likes of which even MIT and Stanford seldom present. But, intending no offense, let's face it: our football team is, with exceptions, gonna be ridin' the M train (I guess B train now?)

I'd make my pitch to the NFL bound start with a montage of famous big name NFL stars from SEC schools in the following order: College ball, NFL ball, bankruptcy court. Straight up say that the NFL isn't a magic ticket even for those that actually make it. Compare expected earnings for a GT business grad over a career vs an NFL player for a career. I bet they're not all that different, given the 20 more years or so the B grad gets to work. Is it going to be hard? **** yes it will be hard- because being a man is hard. But men have the power to take care of their family because they make it for themselves. That's the difference- GT can get you to the NFL [insert supporting reel here] but GT men turn the NFL into a lifetime of opportunity. The factory schools can offer all the bright lights and attention that little boys crave. But if you stay a little boy 15 years from now your broke *** will spend every day wondering what might have been. What we offer is the self respect to disdain the flash and circus. Because the big show is bull****. And if you're smart enough to figure that out then maybe you have what it takes to be a Tech man.

What we need is the conviction to speak the truth and the credibility to say it. We need alumni in the high schools and middle schools helping coach football and robotics clubs. We need these kids to have concrete examples of how Georgia Tech changes lives. Every day these highschool kids hear that they're brilliant athletes. And they are. When we talk to a prospect, we can offer something almost unique- we think they're intelligent, and we actually give a ****. Not everyone is smart enough to see that for what it is. But I think that with the right networks, enough will.