Georgia Institute of Technology
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Business Administration with a concentration in I.T. Management
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: South Asian Heterosexual Female
Summary
I’m really involved with an Indian dance team at Georgia Tech. We’re competitive and practice every day. I also work at the rec center.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: South Asian
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
High School Experience: Public school in East Cobb, GA with a graduating class of about 700 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Business Administration with a concentration in I.T. Management
Minor: None
Extracurricular Activities: I’m really involved with an Indian dance team at Georgia Tech. We’re competitive and practice every day. I also work at the rec center.
What impact has the dance team had on your experience?
Being part of the team is really helpful because there are a lot of older students you can get advice from both academically and socially.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
Most of my work is technology-based with Excel and R programming. I’m also taking an organizational behavior class which is different from the rest of the classes because we talk about behavior within an organization. Except for the organizational behavior class, all of my classes have heavily weighted exams where if we don’t do well we will fail the class. My organizational behavior class is more project-based.
Is there anything you feel that your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
The business school has academic advisors that are fully involved and help you get internships. I’ve found them really, really helpful.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
I thought it would be more competitive than what it is right now. It’s definitely more collaborative because there are a lot of networking events where you interact with other people and we often work together in classes. There is a stress culture, and I’ve felt that a lot before exams. All the exams for every student are during one week, which we call “Hell Week,” and that’s been really challenging.
How accessible are your professors?
Our professors are not as accessible as our teaching assistants. They have office hours, but they’re usually one or two hours before or after class, so they’re not as available. The TA’s are very accessible though. If I have a problem, I’ll go to the professor first and then the TA.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
What made me choose my major is the different opportunities available with my major. Every business needs IT analysts or data analysts, so I’m definitely very happy because there are a lot of opportunities for internships.
Reasons to Attend
1) There are a lot of job opportunities available from being at Tech.
2) The campus life feels much more like a college even though we’re in a city.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) There is a lot of stress and pressure from each course that you take, so you have to have time management skills and the patience to work on your goals. If you get stressed easily, maybe it’s not for you.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on and around campus?
Sophomore: I live in an off-campus apartment building that’s right next campus. I live with three other people.
How was transitioning from East Cobb to Atlanta, Georgia?
I actually really like it. I like Georgia Tech’s location because there are a lot of businesses nearby and also more things that are accessible from the campus.
Can you describe the level of safety you have experienced on and around campus?
It’s pretty safe because Georgia Tech’s police department is always circling the borders of campus. If there’s somebody who’s not supposed to be there, they’re escorted off-campus immediately. I feel that I can walk alone at night on campus.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
Since my dance team is competitive, we go to competitions on the weekends and if we don’t do that we have practice on the weekends. I also volunteer at homeless shelters and kitchens that serve the homeless at night. I don’t participate in partying and nightlife activities because I don’t have time.
What are some of your favorite events that happen during the year?
There are a lot of events that Georgia Tech puts on. For example, last week we had the Georgia Tech Six Flags Night Out and there are other events that are discounted for students. They also have movies on the green.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Georgia Tech? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
I’m very happy with them. I like what the school brings to the table in that they offer different options that aren’t partying.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
I met my closest friends from my dance team.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Georgia Tech?
It’s really good. There are activities every day and there are a lot of things for people to do. Like, there are home games on the weekend, Greek life events, and other things that engage students. Tech also has a lot of student-organized clubs that you can get involved in and go to their events. As somebody who isn’t involved in Greek life and is mostly focused on one club, I still find myself meeting people in a lot of different ways.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
In classrooms when you’re sitting with somebody it doesn’t matter what race somebody is. In classrooms there are different types of people, so that’s where you can engage the diversity n campus. You begin talking with them in the classroom and become friends with them. [The undergraduate population in 2019-20 is about 48% White, 29% Asian, 9% Hispanic, and 7% Black.]
How would you describe the South Asian community on campus? How strong is it?
The South Asian community is one of the strongest I’ve seen in my entire life. The population is high, so there are a lot of different opportunities to get involved. For example, there is a huge Indian community at Georgia Tech so there are a lot of opportunities for holiday events, dance performances, and singing performances.
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
I don’t think there’s much mixture of those groups. The most mixture I see is when you’re assigned to be in a group with somebody in Greek life in class. Other than that, I don’t see them interact with people outside of Greek life very much.
How would you describe the student body?
There is a huge group of Greek life-oriented students. You wouldn’t expect this, but there is a large group of musical students who are part of the different acapella groups and dance teams for each different culture. I hang out with those types of people, so I interact with a lot of them. There are also the nerdy students who have events geared towards them that are hackathons and programming clubs. There are all types of students.
How do you like the size of Georgia Tech in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has it impacted your experience? [There are about 15,500 undergraduates.]
The size is bigger than what I expected. I work at the rec center so I see how many students come every day and go to the gym. I like it because I get to interact with different students and network with more people.
How did being a transfer student impact your social transition?
It was definitely hard at first because you have to get used to the different social networks and social groups at Tech. But, my job at the rec center helped me because I found a lot of friends there.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
There are a lot of alumni from my dance team who have helped connect me with all these different people for summer internships, so they helped. I’ve just reached out to them and they helped out.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful are they?
The career office is really busy, so I emailed them a few weeks ago and they still haven’t gotten back to me. I don’t find them as helpful as the students and alumni.
Have you learned any computer languages or software that will be helpful to you professionally?
We’ve learned Excel, R, Sequel, Python, and Gephi.