owen jones- campus captures

Perennial sunshine and academic rigor, that is what Georgia Tech embodies. 

Georgia Tech is a public university in Atlanta, Georgia, that in 2022 was No. 44 on the US National Universities list. That ranking is a deceptive understatement to the true prestige of Georgia Tech, though.

Founded in 1885, Georgia Tech has its main focus in, you guessed it, tech. They are most well known for their world class College of Computing and College of Engineering. Ranked in the top two for eight different engineering majors, this school is a premier engineering institution, all while nestled in the heart of Atlanta.

This 400 acre campus is a true college campus with its easy walkability and connectedness; despite its location, it doesn’t feel like being in the city. 

Although the majority of undergraduate students are engineers, Georgia Tech still offers majors in the liberal arts and business. Getting into this school requires stellar academics and extracurriculars, creating classrooms filled with students that are above and beyond.

In 2021, Georgia Tech had an out-of-state acceptance rate of 13%. The middle 50% of Georgia Tech admits scored within the 31-35 range on the ACT. It is important to note that while the majority of schools are still test-optional, Georgia Tech is one of the few that require standardized testing.

Many might see such an engineering-heavy university as daunting, but there is still a lot of diversity. Aiming to attract groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the field of engineering, Georgia Tech has a diverse population of every cultural background, socioeconomic status, race, geography and nationality. 

But nevertheless, Georgia Tech is definitely an engineering school— and there is nothing wrong with that. Pleasant Valley class of 2021 alumnus Owen Jones is currently studying mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech and loves being in a community of future engineers. “Everyone is an engineer so just about everyone takes the same classes freshman year. It’s fun to be suffering through it together,” Jones stated.

“There are still so many engineering students that there is still a variety and we definitely do not fall into the generic stereotypes,” Jones said. Even within engineering there is great academic diversity, so Georgia Tech never feels homogeneous.

Though engineering carries a reputation for hosting very difficult majors, students still can easily find time to relax and enjoy the college experience. “There are so many niche clubs and groups that it is almost impossible to not find somebody you share interests with. I personally play a lot of volleyball,” Jones continued. “Like any college, it gets hard here sometimes, but it’s not impossible to find balance.” 

The classes themselves might be rigorous, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t fun. Jones’ favorite class was Computing Techniques, a class that applied numerical methods and coding to solve mechanical engineering problems.

Universities with international academic acclaim like Georgia Tech’s are almost synonymous with prestige and competitiveness. To Jones, Georgia Tech stood out compared to other schools. “I think it partly has to do with the fact that it is a public university but it [Georgia Tech] isn’t cutthroat at all and people truly care about each other and want everybody to succeed,” Jones remarked.

Beyond the culture, Georgia Tech had some other factors that pulled this Iowan away from his home. 

Jones loves living in the year-round sun, stating that he can always come home to get a small taste of the cold on breaks before heading back to the warmth of Atlanta. 

Georgia Tech also has lots of great student traditions. Every semester before finals, students meet outside the dining halls at midnight and run around campus.  

Another thing Jones likes is the independence that comes with living away from home. In Atlanta he has the perfect opportunity to visit a couple times a year instead of coming back home every weekend. “I enjoy the independence; taking care of myself, cooking and feeling like my own person is pretty nice. I get homesick once in a while but I still appreciate it and overcoming it has made me a better person,” Jones concluded.

Georgia Tech has a lot to offer and a great place to get a premier engineering education in an environment designed to produce success.

For more information on Georgia Tech, click here.