jacketup
Helluva Engineer
- Messages
- 1,533
You may have seen this article in the ajc:
https://www.ajc.com/news/local/georgia-tech-too-elite/FU5cY79ag9U7R16dV9ilUI/
I have been through college admissions with two sons in the last 3 years. The point of this post is that Tech Admissions does not value legacies. Not at all. That is not just my opinion, it is the experience of many who have been through the process. It is also the opinion of a member of the Alumni Board who I know.
If you are parent or grandparent, or may become one, you may be impacted.
My younger son was denied admission to Tech. He has a 790 math SAT, 13 AP courses (4 or 5's on all but one--got a 3 on AP US History--he's a math and science guy) and he graduated from the number one HS in the US according to US News. He is an Eagle Scout, and has numerous outside activities-- including his robotics team winning 1st place in engineering in a national competition. He will attend an out of state university whose computer science program is on par with Georgia Tech's by every measure. Tech will miss out on a good student who is a legacy, while alienating this alum. I am not the only alum who has been alienated by Admissions.
Rick Clark is eloquent, and prolific in his writing, which seems to give him credibility to the outside world. However, Alumni should be up in arms over his administration of Admissions.
Clark talks about a "holistic process." I assume that means a subjective process that takes into account many factors. One of those factors should be legacy. In fact it should be weighted heavily--like it is at Ivy League schools like Penn. It hasn't hurt their reputation. But being a legacy doesn't seem to matter to Tech's admissions.
I believe I understand how Tech makes its admissions decisions, and it is seemingly a very lazy approach that is not "holistic" at all. That seems to be a word they hide behind to justify their actions.
And yes, I am familiar with the Conditional Transfer Pathways. My older son is at Tech by a Pathway, and yes, it worked well for him since he was a slow starter in HS (why does Admissions take into account HS freshman grades but not HS senior grades? I digress).
However, while the pathway will help get you a Tech degree,the transfer experience is a different experience. My closest friends from Tech 49 years later are people I met in Smith dorm as a freshman. My biggest worry about my older son's acclimation to Tech is social one--it's different as a transfer. He will never have the freshman RAT experience.
My younger son will have no reason to transfer to Tech. He is admitted to a top tier computer science program and odds are he will stay there. The Transfer Pathway doesn't work for top students who are denied by Tech but are admitted to schools that are equally good.
My opinion-and again I am not the only one-is that the transfer pathway for legacies actually hurts an applicant's chances of admission out of HS. This shows that Admissions has no understanding of the freshman experience at Tech and places no value on it for legacies, who would probably appreciate it the most.
I was contemplating a significant donation to Tech--at least as much as what they call the Family donation of $25,000. My wife made the comment that Admissions cost Tech a significant donation, and it's true. I'll donate a nominal amount to keep my consecutive years of Roll Call going. But that's all. The silver lining is that I will increase my donation to the AT Fund. Go Jackets and to Hell with the Hill (ever notice there is only one letter difference?).
The bottom line is that loyalty is a two way street. If Tech wants loyalty from its alumni, it needs to reciprocate. Until then, my checkbook is closed and they will know why. I'm doing it for your children and grandchildren since it's too late for my children.
https://www.ajc.com/news/local/georgia-tech-too-elite/FU5cY79ag9U7R16dV9ilUI/
I have been through college admissions with two sons in the last 3 years. The point of this post is that Tech Admissions does not value legacies. Not at all. That is not just my opinion, it is the experience of many who have been through the process. It is also the opinion of a member of the Alumni Board who I know.
If you are parent or grandparent, or may become one, you may be impacted.
My younger son was denied admission to Tech. He has a 790 math SAT, 13 AP courses (4 or 5's on all but one--got a 3 on AP US History--he's a math and science guy) and he graduated from the number one HS in the US according to US News. He is an Eagle Scout, and has numerous outside activities-- including his robotics team winning 1st place in engineering in a national competition. He will attend an out of state university whose computer science program is on par with Georgia Tech's by every measure. Tech will miss out on a good student who is a legacy, while alienating this alum. I am not the only alum who has been alienated by Admissions.
Rick Clark is eloquent, and prolific in his writing, which seems to give him credibility to the outside world. However, Alumni should be up in arms over his administration of Admissions.
Clark talks about a "holistic process." I assume that means a subjective process that takes into account many factors. One of those factors should be legacy. In fact it should be weighted heavily--like it is at Ivy League schools like Penn. It hasn't hurt their reputation. But being a legacy doesn't seem to matter to Tech's admissions.
I believe I understand how Tech makes its admissions decisions, and it is seemingly a very lazy approach that is not "holistic" at all. That seems to be a word they hide behind to justify their actions.
And yes, I am familiar with the Conditional Transfer Pathways. My older son is at Tech by a Pathway, and yes, it worked well for him since he was a slow starter in HS (why does Admissions take into account HS freshman grades but not HS senior grades? I digress).
However, while the pathway will help get you a Tech degree,the transfer experience is a different experience. My closest friends from Tech 49 years later are people I met in Smith dorm as a freshman. My biggest worry about my older son's acclimation to Tech is social one--it's different as a transfer. He will never have the freshman RAT experience.
My younger son will have no reason to transfer to Tech. He is admitted to a top tier computer science program and odds are he will stay there. The Transfer Pathway doesn't work for top students who are denied by Tech but are admitted to schools that are equally good.
My opinion-and again I am not the only one-is that the transfer pathway for legacies actually hurts an applicant's chances of admission out of HS. This shows that Admissions has no understanding of the freshman experience at Tech and places no value on it for legacies, who would probably appreciate it the most.
I was contemplating a significant donation to Tech--at least as much as what they call the Family donation of $25,000. My wife made the comment that Admissions cost Tech a significant donation, and it's true. I'll donate a nominal amount to keep my consecutive years of Roll Call going. But that's all. The silver lining is that I will increase my donation to the AT Fund. Go Jackets and to Hell with the Hill (ever notice there is only one letter difference?).
The bottom line is that loyalty is a two way street. If Tech wants loyalty from its alumni, it needs to reciprocate. Until then, my checkbook is closed and they will know why. I'm doing it for your children and grandchildren since it's too late for my children.
