Record Number of Georgia Students Apply in Early Action 1

On Dec. 6 at 7 p.m., undergraduate admission decisions were delivered to over 8,100 students who applied to Georgia Tech during Early Action 1, the Institute’s application phase designated for consideration of only Georgia students. This number marks a 16% rise in applications from last year.

A total of 2,650 students were admitted in this Georgia-specific admission round, for an overall admit rate of 33%. These accepted students hail from 114 Georgia counties and 404 high schools across the state.

“The Early Action 1 applicant pool is stronger than ever and is full of students who have completed years of service to their schools and communities,” said Mary Tipton Woolley, interim executive director of the Office of Undergraduate Admission. “We are thrilled to offer admission to students from across Georgia and hope they will decide to join the Yellow Jacket family. I’m also grateful to our admission counselors for completing all the training and work to successfully review more applications than ever before in this applicant pool.”

Undergraduate Admission counselors and partners across Tech’s campus were able to surprise several students with in-person deliveries of their acceptance notices early on Friday, allowing some students preliminary celebrations with family, friends, and school staff.

The surprise visits took place at eight high schools across the state, including schools in Chattahoochee, DeKalb, Dodge, Fulton, Floyd, Jones, and Walton counties.

Leri Argueta, Undergraduate Admission’s senior assistant director for access and inclusion, delivered the good news to three students at Monroe Area High School in Walton County.

Surrounded by family, friends, school faculty and staff, and Tech representatives, the selected students opened their acceptance letters and read aloud the first sentence announcing they had been accepted.

Jazlyn Atkinson, one of the admitted students, has been working toward Tech since she was a young girl.

“She’s wanted this since she was 6,” said her mother, Shatorya Atkinson. “So much hard work and perseverance went into this.”

Another student, Brody Bell, was still shaking from surprise minutes after opening his acceptance letter. He had recently attended the football game at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium where Tech defeated the University of Miami, and he’d been excitedly anticipating his admission decision.

“I’m shocked right now,” he said.

The final student, Cooper Torbush, left his dual enrollment institution to return to Monroe Area High School to fix what he thought was an error with one of his college applications. Upon arrival, the true reason became clear.

“What a day,” said Torbush. “I’m working tonight, and I told my coworkers that I’d need to step out to check if I got accepted. I guess now I can just show them this letter.”

For Argueta, hand deliveries have an undeniable magic to them.

“The feeling of putting a face to an amazing application I’ve read is unmatched,” said Argueta. “And getting to see them celebrate and experience that joy with their community that helped them get there, all in real time, it just can’t be beat.”

The hand deliveries capped off two years of expanded travel throughout Georgia for Tech’s Undergraduate Admission staff. This fall saw visits to nearly 400 schools, and admission counselors connected with over 9,000 students.

A record number of more than 11,400 degree-seeking Georgia students are enrolled at Tech for Fall 2024 as undergraduate students. As enrollment from Georgia students grows, Tech remains committed to serving these students and the state.

“Our top priority is serving Georgia students,” said Katie Mattli, senior assistant director of Undergraduate Admission. “As we continue to deepen our connections across the state, we are thrilled to see more Georgians than ever submitting applications this year.”

Early Action 2 decisions for non-Georgia students will be announced in late January, while Regular Decisions will be announced in March.

High school seniors interested in attending Tech still have time to apply, with the final application deadline being Jan. 6, 2025.

Follow @gtadmission on social media to keep up to date on undergraduate admission at Georgia Tech or visit the Office of Undergraduate Admission website for more information.