Decoding Georgia Tech’s advice: they want thoughtful students who take their work seriously  

Let’s start with what we’ve learned at Prompt about how selective colleges assess essays — because it’s often at odds with what they say about how they assess essays. Which is even the case at Georgia Tech (though their advice is better than most).

Essays can make a huge difference in your chances of getting admitted — by as much as 10x, as shown in data that came out in litigation. 

GT puts it nicely when they say “Don’t blow off the essay! We wouldn’t ask you to write it if we didn’t find it to be … important.” (Emphasis added.)

What colleges look for in essays are the personal characteristics that indicate that you’ll succeed in college and beyond. 

At Prompt, we’ve boiled those characteristics down to the 5 Traits colleges look for in applicants:

• Drive (grit)
• Initiative
• Contribution
• Intellectual Curiosity
• Diversity of experience

People with these traits do exciting, meaningful things. As Georgia Tech puts it: “The purpose of the essays is to … better understand what you could contribute to Georgia Tech.”

The best way to demonstrate these traits in your essays is also the simplest: carefully choose the experiences you’ve had that best demonstrate 1 or more of the 5 Traits. Then talk about them straightforwardly.

‍Georgia Tech says something similar, in discussing the characteristics they’re looking for. 

• “Authenticity & self-awareness”
• “Thoughtfulness”
• “Attention to topic, style, and grammar.”

⚠️These are all related to a person who’ll succeed academically — not surprising as Georgia Tech is a demanding tech school. A thoughtful person who pays attention to their work will do well academically. ⚠️

In terms of authenticity and self-awareness, these are attributes of a person who is applying to Georgia Tech for the right reasons: they want to go there (not they think they should go there or it seems prestigious). These characteristics relate to the Why Us answer specifically, which we’ll get to next.

In our minds, these are the main traits Georgia Tech is looking for: 

1. ability to succeed academically and 
2. an authentic desire to go to Georgia Tech. 

Just note that when GT says: “The purpose of the essays is … more importantly, to learn more about you as an individual” and to “get to know you” they don’t mean “get to know you generally.” They specifically mean: what type of intellectually curious, academically inclined student are you? 

(Colleges are always saying they want to get to know you, but they mean something a lot more specific.)

Begin by brainstorming your experiences - especially academic ones

With that as background, our main advice for both the personal essay and supplements is to begin not with the prompts, but by brainstorming your own experiences —

• Academic work
• Extracurricular experiences
• Work experiences and domestic obligations
• Personal learnings, projects, hobbies.

Find the 2-3 experiences that are most compelling, and make sure you put those in your personal essay (full directions for the personal statement are here). 

This exercise is also good background for the Why US essay, although our process is more specific for that. Let’s take a look. 

Why Us — A little web research will show GT you’ll be a great fit 

Here’s where GT’s advice really shines. In the video, a GT officer says, “Do the research and see who we are as an institution.”

This is exactly what a great Why Us essay is all about. Why Us prompts seek to ensure that students are a good fit at that school. (As GT says earlier, to “assess mutual fit.”) By the way, schools that ask Why Us also like to see Demonstrated Interest, which is slightly different. 

At any rate, the best way to show “mutual fit” is to talk about your own interests (you already brainstormed those above), research what’s available at the school — particularly the academics, news and events, and internships, but also campus life, and a campus visit is great if you can swing it — and finally show how you and the school fit together. 

To quote from the video again:

• “What is it about Georgia Tech that makes you excited?”
• “What can you come and contribute to the Georgia Tech culture?” 
• “What are your goals that you have for yourself - whether its academic research, internships, getting involved with certain organizations?”
• “Who you are and what you bring to the table”

Each of these questions is a great prompt for some brainstorming. If you can jot down some thoughts for each of these, you’ll have all the fodder you need for a killer Why GT essay. 

Finally, this essay is extremely short at 300 words. That doesn’t leave room for much more than “I like studying this thing and you teach it and have a program about it.” Which should sound good 😮‍💨

Why Us — Example

Disclaimer: Please note that Prompt strongly believes that influencers shouldn’t influence your college essays and that, for essays that get published in flashy places, you don’t know if the essay got that student in or if they got in despite what was maybe a bad essay. 

Prompt reminder:

(max 300 words): Why do you want to study your chosen major specifically at Georgia Tech?

Example — 

As a senior, I’m lucky to have been able to design my own independent study on an architectural style that I noticed in my city — box-like homes that have arisen, I argue, because they conform with stringent zoning requirements while producing the highest resale value. It’s been exciting to talk with local architects about the design of these structures, as well as with a city planner and a city councilor on some of the laws and unintended consequences that are incentivizing these structures. 

At GT, I want to continue this exploration by majoring in architecture. I was able to audit a few architecture classes when I visited (Architecture Design Studio + Introduction to Design and the Built Environment), and am excited to have a major that crosses disciplines I love: from physics and calculus to history. 

I was also intrigued by GT’s many government internships. My independent project has shown me how tightly related government choices are to the built environment and thus to the experiences of those living there. I would love to pursue an internship in the Georgia Legislature or even DC that allows me to better understand housing policy, zoning and the result in terms of people’s lives.

But I’m also excited for the opportunities for learning right on GT’s campus. I’m particularly intrigued by the work of Professor Yang’s Tokyo Smart City Studio, which is examining how social media can influence urban design. I made a point of meeting with Professor Yang briefly during his office hours. We talked about my senior project, and how “smart city” tactics could be piloted here in my city. 

I left my GT visit inspired and excited to be on campus, learning the basics of architecture while aspiring to be at  cutting edge. 

Notes:

• Word count: 293
• The student comes off as highly intellectually curious (the independent study), as well as driven and good at taking initiative (doing an independent study, meeting with the people they’ve interviewed for the study, and meeting with Professor Yang). 
• The student has clearly explored GT’s academic offerings — they’ve visited, audited classes they were interested in, and looked up a professor whose work inspired them. This is an invented example, so don’t feel you ned to do this much. But do cite specific classes and maybe examples of professors’ work that got you excited.
• The student comes off as being a great fit for the school — there’s a sense they’ll do well there. 
• Note: there’s nothing on clubs or extracurriculars. That’s fine — it is a short word count. However, this is something you could fill in if it works better for your background and interests.

Style note — Don’t worry about “writing ability”

GT starts its advice saying the essays help them evaluate “writing ability.” 

We say: don’t worry about this too much. Worry about clarity a lot, not fanciness. (This is important and you can read this article on influencers for more on why clarity is really tops, not metaphors and that literary panoply.)

GT also says, “Essays are evaluated for both content and writing/grammatical skills. So, before submitting your application, you should take the time to edit and review your essay thoroughly.”

Some colleges don’t care about grammar. This one does. 

Our biggest piece of advice here is simply to get 1-2 trusted grownups to review your work for grammar and clarity only. We’ve walked you through the content piece — we’ve also noticed that parents aren’t great on content. They want you to talk about some underwhelming accolade you earned, not the 5 Traits experiences you’ve developed. 

So train them to edit you — ask them (or any other teacher/grownup) to circle parts that are unclear or have grammatical errors only. Say you’re working with skilled advisors on the content, which, if you’ve read this, you are. 😉 

Helpful info on all the “other” stuff you’ll consider as you apply to Georgia Tech (and other schools)

A few helpful resources for the non-supplement parts of your application:

• Common App: Since GT requires the Common App, read our guide to acing everything to do with writing your Common App application. 
• Test scores: GT requires test scores. 
• Early options: GT offers Early Action 1 and 2 as well as Regular Decision. Read our Early Admissions article so you know how to approach this decision. 

BTW, here’s our guidance for approaching any college supplement + here’s where you can find our guides for almost every college’s supplements. 

Feeling inspired? A great place to start is at our College Essay Help Center. 

More articles on Prompt.com’s admissions-boosting methods:

• Work with a college essay coach
• Strong essays increase your chance of admission by up to 10x
• Don’t let influencers influence your college essays
• Should I apply test-optional?
• Early admissions: Everything you need to know
• College Essay Help Center