Important information for parents/students applying to UGA - UGA's growth (Atlanta: transferring to, private school)

[dichloromethane]

Originally Posted by Ant131531

UGA is a good school, but Athens is so boring if you're not strictly into just partying all day long. I honestly think GT has a more interesting environment around it...you have the city core literally across the freeway from where you study at.

Athens...you have a 4 block downtown Athens and that's it....1 and half hour drive to Atlanta and I know many students who come down to Atlanta for the weekend to party, club, etc.

Just seems like Athens gets dull after a while....I was there a little more then a month ago and it's little downtown area was cool, but other then that and the campus, Athens is literally nothing...

What you forgot to mention is what you CAN do in Athens...and the fact that UGA students are some of the fittest, athletic and sportiest students around.

Men's Fitness named UGA as one of the most athletic schools in the nation.
The 25 Fittest Colleges in America - Men's Fitness

This article lists UGA as one of the healthiest colleges(guess you didn't pick that up on your tab at Buddha bar?)
The 25 Healthiest Colleges in the U.S. | Greatist

A lot of students are into outdoor activities. Hiking, boating, camping, kayaking, whitewater rafting, snorkeling, diving, fishing, hunting etc. are easily done in Athens. Athens has that nice little southern town feel We have almost 700 student organizations and a good bunch of them consist of intramural sports. The benefit of having nice green spaces and open areas is that any sort of outdoor activity is only a few minutes away.

You also left out Athen's strong music scene. Athens has plenty of concert venues for up-and-coming bands. REM was founded in Athens. Of course, you may have more variety at the Masq or Tabernacle, but I can personally vouche for the more affordable and regular concerts in Athens than in ATL.

And the food? Ever been to Your Pie? Rusans? China Wok? Grit? Athens has plenty of places to eat for cheap.

The art scene is huge in Athens. It attracts a bunch of hipsters which may or may not be your cut of tea..I don't mind them.

Everyone thinks there's so much to do downtown, but there really isn't all that much you couldn't do anywhere else. I'm glad you're very passionate about Georgia Tech, but really, unless you head to Phipps or bleupointe every weekend, I can't imagine there's very much to do that you couldn't do in Athens. I don't know if you went to Tech or ever lived downtown, but actually getting around to participate in "the interesting things to do in Atlanta" is easier said than done. Smog, traffic, the noise, the grime. It's all exhausting after a while. Like UGA, Tech's campus is a safe-haven for students. Once you get out of the campus area, it gets pretty dangerous and sketchy. Driving down Ponce now isn't the same as it was years ago.

Ant, this thread is for parents and students who are in the college application process located in Georgia. Not Georgia Tech fans. You seem to have missed the explicit disclaimer at the beginning of my post. Maybe GT should implement a wider critical reading requirement?

I'm joking of course.

Partying at UGA? Rage it up. You're in the Classic City where the grass is green and the girls are pretty, but please, there's a reason UGA is ranked 16th by STUDENTS for highest student experience.

Best Overall Student Experience - College Rankings - College Prowler


Once again, go dawgs.

[Mattie]

Originally Posted by dichloromethane

What you forgot to mention is what you CAN do in Athens...and the fact that UGA students are some of the fittest, athletic and sportiest students around.

My son is a junior at UGA, and we barely see him. He is always involved in something, and on rare free days he goes with a group to hike in the North GA mountains or around one of the many lakes in the area.

I think the party reputation is a bit overstated. Not that it doesn't happen, but the kids we've met aren't into it. They play sports, do internships, clean rivers, do charity work, etc. UGA also has an eco campus in Costa Rica that is popular for trips over the breaks.

Now, if you want to tell me GA Southern is a big party school (in the middle of nowhere), I believe it. My other son is a junior there.

[dichloromethane]

Originally Posted by Mattie

My son is a junior at UGA, and we barely see him. He is always involved in something, and on rare free days he goes with a group to hike in the North GA mountains or around one of the many lakes in the area.

I think the party reputation is a bit overstated. Not that it doesn't happen, but the kids we've met aren't into it. They play sports, do internships, clean rivers, do charity work, etc. UGA also has an eco campus in Costa Rica that is popular for trips over the breaks.

Now, if you want to tell me GA Southern is a big party school (in the middle of nowhere), I believe it. My other son is a junior there.

Of course. It's actually usually the case - the few who are involved with the party scene represent the whole. Why? Because newspapers sell more with titles "UGA frat boy arrested again!" rather than "University of Georgia researchers find bacterial link to Alzheimer's" It's a misrepresentation, but a misrepresentation that is mostly overlooked by professionals, so don't worry. Yes our Costa Rica campus is a big research hub actually. Many agriculture/environmental science/environmental engineering/ecology/biology/chemistry/animal science/geology majors do work there. I haven't been to the Costa Rica campus, but I've heard great stories! I have, however, been to our Oxford campus. Let me tell you, that Oxford-UGA is one of the greatest assets UGA has. I wish more students were able to participate in study abroad.

While Georgia Southern is a big party school, there are still plenty of pluses about GA Southern too. I think Georgia Southern fits it's niche perfectly. I know plenty of students who use Southern as a "jumper" school to transfer into UGA or Georgia Tech(with their engineering agreement, this is a biggie) or even stay there for all four years and go off to medical school.

Southern isn't a research university. They aren't meant to compete with UGA, Emory or Georgia Tech. Georgia State(although GSU is also a research university), Georgia Southern, KSU all serve their respective purpose in the USG. Plenty of respectable students attend Georgia Southern. I'm sure your son loves it there.

I think a lot of schools get a bad rapport for little reason. Next, I'll tackle Georgia State. GSU's reputation as a post-bacc fodder is quickly changing. They've made some impressive changes in the past few years alone. GSU is also a big feeder school for UGA/Tech transfer students.

[Mattie]

True, my son was able to spend three months this summer doing research in Costa Rica. UGA has a wealth of opportunities for motivated students to take advantage of.

[Ant131531]

I'm hardly a GT fan. I'm speaking on a level of neutrality here. I'm not a fan of any school in this politically backward state. UCLA for me. Sadly, my highschool achievements weren't enough to get into that school. Even a 3.78 gpa student can be declined.

But let's be real...there is obviously a lot more you can do in Atlanta then you can in Athens. It's a city roughly 20x larger then Athens.

Anything you can do in Athens, you can do in Atlanta and that's why GT is more interesting the UGA. The environment around it? And crime? Really....every big city has it's crime...I guess you must be afraid to go to the big city if you're scared of crime that could happen to you, but chances are very slim.

[LovelySummer]

To the original poster, thanks for posting. I really never knew anything about UGA, even having gone to GT.
I think the "to hell to Georgia" thing is because that is a line in the school fight song, I believe. So, I think it's a reference to that line in the song (as opposed to an actual active brainwashing). I always thought GT and UGA were rivals. Similar to Cal and Stanford. You get the same ribbing on both sides of Cal and Stanford. Never thought it was anymore than old school rivalry.

[dichloromethane]

Originally Posted by Ant131531

I'm hardly a GT fan. I'm speaking on a level of neutrality here. I'm not a fan of any school in this politically backward state. UCLA for me. Sadly, my highschool achievements weren't enough to get into that school. Even a 3.78 gpa student can be declined.

But let's be real...there is obviously a lot more you can do in Atlanta then you can in Athens. It's a city roughly 20x larger then Athens.

Anything you can do in Athens, you can do in Atlanta and that's why GT is more interesting the UGA. The environment around it? And crime? Really....every big city has it's crime...I guess you must be afraid to go to the big city if you're scared of crime that could happen to you, but chances are very slim.

There's plenty to do in both cities. It depends what type of person you are. You're not reading my posts. If you're outdoorsy or enjoy nature, then you would want an environment like that-Athens. If you're a city-dweller and just enjoy that feel then you would want an environment like that.

Like I said, most college students don't have the extra money to go to Atlantic Station every weekend and even that can get old. GT students don't even have TIME to do that. You would be surprised. Most Tech students who even go out usually hit clubs or frat parties. Although, the majority of GT students tend to be introverts, but that's just because of the environment and most students are STEM majors who are INTP.

There is plenty to do in Athens for students who aren't into partying.

[dichloromethane]

Originally Posted by LovelySummer

To the original poster, thanks for posting. I really never knew anything about UGA, even having gone to GT.
I think the "to hell to Georgia" thing is because that is a line in the school fight song, I believe. So, I think it's a reference to that line in the song (as opposed to an actual active brainwashing). I always thought GT and UGA were rivals. Similar to Cal and Stanford. You get the same ribbing on both sides of Cal and Stanford. Never thought it was anymore than old school rivalry.

There's still a rivalry, it's just that UGA is indifferent about it. UGA's main rivalry is UGA v Florida much like Ohio State v Michigan

[dichloromethane]

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[Saintmarks]

Both schools' fight songs tell the other to go to hell. Doesn't anyone know the last line to "Glory, Glory to Ol' Georgia?"

I understand the fun that a rivalry brings sports wise but I don't understand it carrying over into the academic life or student life of these two schools. They are both products of the state's university system, so knocking one is knocking your own reputation, IMO.

I grew up in GA but went to a private school in AL (Samford). While there I became a sports fan of both the division I schools in Georgia because the Alabama and Auburn fans were so obnoxious (this was in the years Samford did not have football). I was for my home state schools beating either of them any time possible. This was in the era of Herschel Walker and UGA's national championship.

My father and brother went to Tech, my sister and cousin went to UGA so I have connections both places. They all think it odd that I equally root for both.

It is OK on the sports field to taunt the other and have a good old fashioned rivalry. It lost its panache whenever Tech left the SEC, but it is still for bragging rights in the state. But Tech people should be applauding Georgia's academic rise and UGA folks should acknowledge the world class institution that GT is. The standing of bothraises the state as a whole and makes both institutions better.