At the beginning of each academic year, the Office of Undergraduate Admission hits the road to connect with prospective high school students across the state of Georgia. This year, admission counselors traveled to a record number of Georgia’s 159 counties to share Georgia Tech with more than 8,700 high school students.
Of the 445 programs Georgia Tech attended, 112 took place at rural high schools.
“Our travel throughout this state is essential to building relationships with both students and school staff, and that’s why we’ve continued expanding travel in recent years,” said Mary Tipton Woolley, executive director of Undergraduate Admission. “Helping students choose Georgia Tech starts with establishing a presence in their schools to answer questions about the admission process and showing them what Tech has to offer.”
Georgia Tech Across Georgia
Sean Kilgore, senior admission counselor at Tech, saw the influence of these efforts at each turn of his travel this fall. As Kilgore visited a personal record of 40 high schools and 14 counties in his territory of Northwest Georgia this fall, he noted a renewed excitement in his interactions.
“Walking into schools in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and seeing a Georgia Tech pennant flying or a poster with the Ramblin’ Wreck or Buzz proclaiming our upcoming visit highlights the connection we have across all areas of the state,” he said.
With excitement often comes hectic visits — one highlight of Kilgore’s season included seeing the most student visitors of any college admission counselor at East Paulding High School. At another high school, he met with so many students that he ran out of brochures to hand out. The energy brought to these interactions by school counselors, prospective students, families, and others is why Kilgore lives for the bustle of travel season.
“While recruitment is a year-long process for us, reconnecting with my travel territory through high school visits and college fairs is one of the most rewarding aspects of the admission cycle for me,” he said. “Traversing Northwest Georgia continues to strengthen relationships with high school counselors and prospective students, while also providing a familiar face and name they can now call upon for guidance throughout the cycle.”
Peach State Tour: Four Universities, 13 Stops Across Georgia
In addition to high school visits and Georgia Probe fairs, Tech was also part of the Peach State Tour with Augusta University, Georgia State University, and the University of Georgia.
This annual effort brought the four colleges to communities around the state to meet with approximately 2,577 prospective students through 13 in-person programs and 13 virtual sessions.
Bringing the Buzz to Campus
Beyond student programming, Undergraduate Admission hosted 11 events for high school counselors aimed at professional development and providing resources to assist their students with their applications to Tech.
Back in Atlanta, over 12,000 visitors attended on-campus events hosted by Undergraduate Admission between July and November.
“Recruitment begins with travel and being present in communities,” said Katie Mattli, senior assistant director of Undergraduate Admission. “As our recruitment efforts continue year-round, many staff members are also supporting application review. It’s exciting to see the years of intentional travel efforts and relationship building evidenced through applicants. We look forward to admitting a strong group of Georgia students in December.”
Decisions will be released for Early Action 1 on Friday, Dec. 5, and first-year applications will continue to be received through the Regular Decision deadline of Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. To learn more about Undergraduate Admission, visit the website.