The Georgia Institute of Technology

Tech, as with any college, has good and bad points. I'll attempt to address both.
The Difficulty: No one here is going to sugar coat this and say that the curriculum at Tech is easy. But that's probably what you are looking for if you got good enough grades in high school to come here. I can promise you that they don't give out good grades and it is competitive, but who doesn't like a little competition? You can't go in a class and do nothing and get an A, but when you do get that elusive A, you are damn proud of it. The work load is harder than in high school, but at least in my major, I've never experienced anything worth writing a horror novel in with the possible exception of the CS classes. Most of the people who tell you that they spend 20 hours a week studying actually spend 18 hours a week sitting around procrastinating getting ready to study and 2 hours a week actually studying. If you manage your time between studying and playing, you'll do fine.

The People: A lot of people at this school enjoy bitching and they enjoy blaming their problems on other things. The ratio, faculty, classes, Ga Tech make great scapegoats. Most of these people suffer from a dillusional sense of greatness (they are not used to working for things), poor study and/or time management skills, and poor personal skills. It's much easier to blame a bad test grade on a teacher than to admit to oneself that maybe there is something out there that they do not already know and requires more than 2 hours the night before of cramming to master. There are plenty of people at Tech with positive attitudes who are very successful and do not fail classes and if you associate yourself with these people you will have a great time socially and academically. Meet as many people as possible which brings me to. . .

The Greek Scene: Most importantly, get involved in something, whether it be the Greek scene or not. I choose to go Greek my second year because I was unhappy with the small group of people I had met through dorms and classes and it has definately made my 2nd and 3rd years more enjoyable. It's not the only thing I'm involved in, I've also joined a Professional Fraternity, done community service, and other things outside of my sorority. Yes, many people at Tech are introverts, but many aren't. The more people you meet, the more people you will find that you like. Get involved in something you enjoy, take an Options class (I took salsa dancing) and/or join something for professional reasons. I can't stress enough how much I've enjoyed being in a sorority and before images of Animal House and Legally Blond come to mind, please realize that a sorority or fraternity at Tech is going to be much different from one at the University of Georgia. We were all smart enough to get in here after all and there are a lot of goal-oriented intelligent people in the Greek system here at Tech.

The Way it Looks: True, Tech looked pretty rough my freshman year, but now it's beautiful. Tech Square looks like something out of a movie, complete with an ice cream shop and little restaurants, many of the academic building are brand new as well as the Student Athletic Center which is now huge. The Stadium is also brand new with classic looking gates and cobblestone paving.

The town: Ok, so Atlanta isn't that much fun when you aren't 21, but with a friend's id or when you do turn 21, it's a blast. Every kind of restaurant and night club you can imagine, from ghetto, to yuppie, to gay clubs. Atlanta's got it all.

Sports: Nothing says "college experience" like sitting in the student section with thousands of your closest friends screaming. And you can watch the game, free of charge, without waiting in line overnight to get tickets. Our basketball team was pretty kick ass this year too. :) Don't underestimate the value of having a sports team to cheer on in picking a college.

The Ratio: Ahhh, the ratio. Best peice of advice to guys, ask us out! I can't count how many girls have told me they wish a guy would just ask them out instead of offering them a beer at a party and trying to get in their pants. You'll be miles ahead of guys at tech if you seriously just ask. We don't bite ... hard. :) Overall I'm very glad I came to Tech. Sometimes I wish it was a little more diverse in interests, but I hear about other schools that deal with people being looked down on because they don't have money or drive the right car or because they aren't in the right sorority. I've heard about schools where people look down on other majors and everyone is snobby and acts overly intellectual. You won't find any of that at Tech, because deep down, we are all a little nerdy. :)

3rd Year Female -- Class 2006

Useful Schoolwork: A, Collaboration/Competitive: D-