Georgia Institute of Technology

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Math
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: Half Asian and Half White Heterosexual Male

Summary

I’m in the Boxing club and I work as a teaching assistant.

Background

Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Biracial: Half Asian and Half White
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual

High School Experience: Public school in Warner Robins, GA with a graduating class of about 500 students. There was a culture of going to college but the colleges that people went to usually weren’t of Georgia Tech’s caliber.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Math
Minor: None

Extracurricular Activities: I’m in the Boxing club and I work as a teaching assistant.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience? In what ways?
This is my first semester working as a TA, but it’s already had such a huge impact on my experience here. Every time I finish teaching I’m glowing and it has helped me realize that I want to become a professor. Having the opportunity to teach before making career decisions has really helped me along the way. Boxing is something I did just for exercise but has given me insight into a whole different culture that I didn’t know about.

Academic Experience

Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
There are a whole lot of problem sets and they are usually pretty stressful and strenuous. Exams are then the biggest factor when it comes to your final grade.
Is there anything you feel that your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
In terms of poorly, I feel like there is a lot of inconsistency when it comes to the quality of teaching. There are a lot of brilliant professors here, but I think, even though they are amazing researchers, they don’t know how to teach undergraduate-level courses to undergraduates. They’re not made for that. There are some professors who are really good at teaching, but some make the material very vague and hard to understand. In terms of strengths, there is a lot of rigor in all of the courses here and all of that hard work really builds character. They also help build mathematical maturity because they give a lot of really hard problems that you cannot figure out on your own, so you learn how to approach a new problem and apply concepts you’ve learned before in a new and completely different way. There are opportunities to do that on every single homework, which I think is good.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
I think it’s a mixture. There are people who are very competitive and don’t want to cooperate when it comes to helping out other students and that kind of thing. But, there are also other people who are very collaborative and can be very generous. There’s some camaraderie, but it’s not like everyone is like that. A lot of Math classes are graded on a curve, so that probably does play a big factor in it and it makes it so people want to be above the class average. Also, most people were near or at the top of their high school, so they want to be better than everyone.
How accessible are your professors?
Most of them are fairly accessible. Most are really easy to find on a weekly basis. If I have a problem, aside from going to another classmate, I can easily access my professor or my TA.
What has been your favorite class you’ve taken for your major so far?
Multivariable Calculus. The professor was a Ph.D. student here and he was a great teacher. He made lectures entertaining and insightful. The material itself was also incredibly interesting to me.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I came in undecided and was thinking about doing Physics or Electrical Engineering. Then, I went ahead and did Electrical Engineering because I thought it was the most practical thing to do. I took a couple of engineering courses and I decided it was boring and I didn’t want to do that. I proceeded to switch to Physics but then I decided to just do Math.
What has been your favorite part of Georgia Tech academically?
When you do get the diamond in the rough and get a stellar professor. I really love those lectures. I’ve been lucky enough to have three stand out professors who made really difficult subjects really interesting and fun to the point where I would look forward to going to lecture. It makes a big difference when someone can present the material in such a cinematic way. It also makes homework interesting because it makes you want to understand it.

Reasons to Attend

1) If you don’t mind staying up late to finish homework.
2) If you want a lot of opportunities upon graduation.
3) If you’re interested in experiencing different cultures and being in a diverse community.
4) If you’re interested in STEM, definitely come here.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) If you can’t handle academic rigor.
2) If you can’t handle the heat and humidity of Atlanta.
3) If you want to party every weekend because most people can’t do that with the workload.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Smith Residence Hall in East Campus with one roommate.
Sophomore: Graduate Living Center on North Campus with three roommates.
Junior: Nelson-Shell Apartments with six roommates on West Campus.
What has been your favorite living situation?
Probably this semester because it’s in close proximity to a lot of my close friends. Whereas before, my best friend and I were away from the people we were close to. The first two years, the places where I lived I wasn’t at a lot.
How was transitioning from your hometown to Atlanta, GA?
My hometown is a fairly small town. When I came here, I felt like I fit right in and I was ready to live in a more urban setting.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I personally have never had an issue when it comes to safety. I’ve never felt unsafe and have never been super suspicious of somebody around me. Especially on campus, it is super safe.

Social Opportunities

What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
I’m not a huge nightlife person. On occasion, I like to go see movies with my friends or play soccer or volleyball. Sometimes we’ll have a small dorm party and people who we are close to will come over and play some games or something.
What are some of your favorite events to go to at Georgia Tech?
Anything where there’s free food [laughs].
What have been some of your favorite times at Georgia Tech?
Some of my favorite times are when I’m not hating work and can enjoy my time and have fun with my friends. I also like when I’m struggling to finish homework and am working really hard on a problem with a group of people. There’s something satisfying about working hard and getting it done. In a weird way, some of my favorite memories are really long nights in the library because when you’re in that situation where everyone’s tired and wants to stop working and we get it done.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Georgia Tech? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
I’m pretty happy with everything that is available to do around here.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
My closest friends are all from high school. We didn’t decide to come here together, but we all ended up here and have stayed connected throughout the years. I’ve met my other friends through one of those friends who lives with different people.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Georgia Tech?
It’s not quite as vibrant as other schools I think. Things around here can get a bit stressful. I don’t think the social scene is terrible or nonexistent. It’s there, it’s just not what you’d get at the University of Georgia or a big state school.
To what extent do you think people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I think they mix really well here. At least from what I’ve noticed, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of judgmental people here. After a certain tragedy that happened here, they have expanded the LGBTQ resources and have put effort into fostering that community. In terms of race, the school is pretty diverse. You see people from all over the world and all over the country, but one group I think is underrepresented are African-Americans. [The undergraduate population in 2019-20 is about 48% White, 29% Asian, 9% Hispanic, and 7% Black.]
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
I have one friend in Greek life and I feel like Greek life is not a huge distinction at all. No one cares. I only know one person, so maybe my experience is isolated.
Do you ever feel like you are a resident of Atlanta more so than you are a student of Georgia Tech?
No, I definitely feel like I’m a student. I definitely feel like an Atlantan now that I’ve been here for three years, but our campus is separate from the city in a way that makes it feel like we have our own community.
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.]
I don’t even know if it has had an impact. I don’t think it’s too big and I don’t think it’s too small. It’s just right.
Do you think people are generally happy with their choice of Georgia Tech by senior year? Do you think people leave loving Georgia Tech?
I think people are overall happy with their choice of coming here. It is difficult at times, but most people – at least most people I know – are happy to be here. At the end, they’re happy with the results after graduation.

Careers

What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
I have not used them at all.
Have you learned any computer languages or software that will be helpful to you professionally?
I’ve learned MATLAB and Python. I think Python especially could be very helpful for my career.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, how easy is the office to work with?
I have used financial aid and, as far as my experience goes, they’re pretty quick. They usually respond to emails within a couple of days and if you go up there usually they can see you within five or ten minutes.