Georgia Institute of Technology

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Industrial Engineering
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: South Asian Heterosexual Female

Summary

I’m involved in the Student Alumni Association and I work for the football team.

Background

Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: South Asian
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual

High School Experience: Public school in a small town in southern Georgia with a graduating class of about 500 students. It wasn’t expected that you go to college, and if you did, you would go to a local college and live at home. It was in a very conservative area.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Industrial Engineering
Minor: None

Extracurricular Activities: I’m involved in the Student Alumni Association and I work for the football team.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience? In what ways?
My football job has had an impact because it’s a big time commitment. I work around 30-hours a week. It’s also a lot of fun because I get to see a whole different side of Georgia Tech.

Academic Experience

Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
I had to take Physics 1 and 2 and then, other than that, I just have to take science classes, math classes, and statistics classes. Later on, my courses will be more project-based but now the major grades are just exams.
Is there anything you feel that your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
My major’s department works really closely with the Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers club on campus to help us become the best job applicants we can be.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s very collaborative, but a lot of the students who come here come from pretty competitive environments, and that’s a step they have to get over once they get here. Overall, I think it’s a really collaborative environment here because in a lot of assignments and labs we’re encouraged to work together.
How accessible are your professors?
In the smaller classrooms, the professors are really easy to talk to. In the big lecture hall classes, they say their office hours and they’re usually available, but it’s usually just easier to talk with the TA’s.
Why did you pick your majors? Are you happy with your choice?
I came in as a Biomedical Engineering major. I changed my major because I’m a big math girl and I love data and the business aspect of things, so I think Industrial Engineering is a good balance of those things.

Reasons to Attend

1) It’s a lot of hard work and probably the hardest thing you’ll do. One of my professors who went here told me that while you’re here you’re going to think that everyone else is having more fun than you and that everywhere else is looking much cooler, but if you stick through it, it will prepare you for real life. That’s a big thing that I’ve kept with because no matter how hard it gets, it’s worth it.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) If you can’t handle hard work and failure, that’s a big reason why you shouldn’t come here. I’ve failed so many times and it’s something that you have to get used to and accept that it’ll help you in the long run.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Glenn Hall with one roommate
Sophomore: North Avenue North with three roommates in an apartment-style room.
How was transitioning from your hometown in Southern Georgia to Atlanta?
I really like the atmosphere of the city. It’s also nice because I live about three hours south of here so it’s close enough that I can go home when I want to go home but, at the same time, I can get space form them.

Social Opportunities

What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
Right now, my schedule’s pretty busy with my job working for the football team. But, there are a lot of frat parties and things like that for people who want to do that. My friends and I like to go to Piedmont Park, walk around Atlanta, or go ice skating or something.
What have been some of your favorite times at Georgia Tech?
Freshman year my friends and I would stay up really late at night doing work in the [Clough Undergraduate Learning Center] (CULC) but actually we were just goofing off the whole time.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Georgia Tech? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
I’m happy with them. We have a variety of things to do being in the city. You can also go to frat parties or the bars in Buckhead, so there are lots of options for everyone.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
I came here with a lot of friends from high school and in college we had a transition from being really good friends to being family now. At the beginning of freshman year, I mostly hung out with people from my high school and I spent a lot of time with them. But this year that shifted and I hang out with people who I studied abroad with this summer, so it’s really nice having both groups. Also, growing up in South Georgia, I’ve always been friends with a lot of White people but now I’m also hanging out with a lot of Brown people. That’s been really nice.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Georgia Tech?
I think it’s a lot better than everyone expects it to be. Whenever people think about Georgia Tech, they think it’s just nerds who don’t party but it’s really fun. There’s something for everyone.
To what extent do you think people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
People mix pretty easily because the school’s very diverse. I don’t think I have ever thought that I was the only person like me in a room, usually there’s someone else. That helps when you’re going into any big social setting. Georgia Tech’s really diverse and there’s diversity in every kind of organization, which I think makes it a lot easier to get involved socially. [The undergraduate population in 2019-20 is about 48% White, 29% Asian, 9% Hispanic, and 7% Black.]
How would you describe the student body?
I think the one thing we all have in common is we’re here because we want to do well in school. It doesn’t matter if you’re extroverted, introverted, in Greek life, or something completely different, we all have that common goal between everyone. We want to do well in school, we want to work hard, and we’re really interested in what we’re doing and that brings everyone together.
I think the majority of the population is pretty introverted and that’s partially because we have a lot of international students and a lot of students whose parents were international students, so our priorities are different and what we want to focus on is different. Even the people who are not international students or recent immigrants have the same mindset of school before everything. But, that mindset pushes people away from other organizations and makes them introverted because they focus on what they’re here to do. That’s not the whole population of the school, but it’s a significant population.
How would you describe the South Asian community on campus? How strong is it?
I think it’s really strong. Last year, I didn’t know anything about it but this year my friends are really involved in dance and things like that. There are also parties for Brown people and culture clubs. There’s a good community and everyone’s involved in some way or another.
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.]
Well, lately it’s been annoying because there’s never any place to study, sit, or eat. But, I think I like going to a big school anyway. It is pretty crowded, but that depends on the time. Right now, it’s midterms so everything is really crowded. [Georgia Tech has experienced a 12% increase in undergraduate enrollment between 2011-2017. See Technique article “Fixing Tech’s crowded study spaces.”]
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
In my opinion, there is a stigma around the people who are in Greek life about not being in Greek life. Like, if you tell somebody in Greek life that you’re not in Greek life, they’re like, “Oh, okay” and the way they see you changes. But, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal that affects your experience because maybe about 10% of people who are like that. I don’t think it’s any kind of barrier to not be in Greek life. I personally have friends who are involved in Greek life because they’re the type of people who don’t care.

Careers

What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
I have just applied for campus jobs and also used Career Buzz to find internships and apply for them. I find it pretty helpful.
Have you learned any computer languages or software that will be helpful to you professionally?
Yes, I took my first Computer Science class the second semester of my freshman year and I learned Python, which was really cool. Later on, I’ll take classes that work with SQL and R.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, how easy is the office to work with?
They’re pretty good. Right now, they’re being a little slow because it’s a busy season. I’m waiting for them to get back to me and they’re taking a little longer than expected, but they’re usually pretty good.