Jump to content

Menu
Giving You and Your Child a Road Map to the Best Possible Education
The Well-Trained Mind Community

Michelle in GA

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    260

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Michelle in GA

    College Visits

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Of course we're a little biased in our house as it's my husband's alma matter. However' date=' I was very impressed. 68% of the students are from Georgia, 38% are out-of-state and international. There are ~19K students total.

     

    They have six colleges including Engineering, Management, Archiecture, Computing, Liberal Arts & Sciences, and Sciences. They do not admit students based on chosen major. They only consider two parts of the SAT, leaving out the writing section and only the English and Math sections of the ACT. They also do what's called "Super Scoring" which is taking the best sub-scores from a student's portfolio and combining it. So, for example, if your English score is higher from the spring test, but your math score is higher from the fall test, they'll combine those two scores as your final score. The admissions person also said they do not recognize high school honors courses (which I already knew), but they do recognize AP's (but not SAT-II's). When they get a transcript, they automatically take out any weighted GPA's and give everything a "true" value (A=4.0, B=3.0, etc.) They will add .5 point for an AP course, but that's it. The average SAT and ACT scores are 1280-1410 and 28-32, respectively.

     

    As far as costs goes, out of state cost is ~$35K a year, which includes tution, housing, meal plan, etc. In-state is ~$16, but will drop by $5K for HOPE recipients (which everyone in state will get if they're at Tech because minimum GPA for HOPE is 3.0 and the minimum GPA for admittance is 3.6).

     

    When asked about an Honors program, the admissions person said all of their courses are honors level courses, which, of course, explains why Tech is considered one of the tougher schools academically. However, they do have an honors program for those students who wish to have dual majors. There's even a special dorm for those students.

     

    Speaking of dorms, the rooms are nothing to write home about. They have the normal dorm rooms, suites (where four people share a bathroom between two dorm rooms) and dorm apartments, which I didn't get to see so I'm not sure about them. Ga Tech has a 95% retention rate (which means 95% of their freshmen return for their sophomore year). They attribute this to dorm life. Each dorm has a tutor and each student is given an amount of time in which to utilize that tutor; additional time can be purchased. There's also this math tutoring service where you can call a number and a person will try to answer your question over the phone. If graphics are needed (e.g. a white board), they ask the student to tune their television to channel ## and that person will work the problem out live. There are also what they call "recitation" classes. If, for example, the student has Calculus on MWF, the recitation class meets on T/T. It is not required, but it meets in a smaller classroom environment, usually with a TA who will answer questions and explain material to those who need the extra help. I really like all the ways they try to help the students acclimate.

     

    Of course, GT is known for their sports, but what I didn't know is what they did with the Olympic swimming venue from 1996. They still have a high dive (10 m), but they've also added a water slide, a lazy river, and a rock climbing wall. The recreation facilities were amazing!

     

    I forgot to mention GT's other campus sites. They have a Savannah, Georgia campus (which is xfer only), a campus in France and they're opening a campus in India soon. They encourage students to take advantage of these international opportunities and have an "international plan" which would have a special designation on the diploma and entail a special senior project.

     

    If I've left something out, please let me know and I'll add it if I can.

     

    Cheers,

    Bev[/quote']

     

     

    My son is in his 2nd year at GA TEch! He is a computer science major. You are right about the dorms! His freshamn dorm(Woodruff) was AWFUL( small, dank, poorly lit)...This year, he is in the North Avenue apartments and likes it SO much better! He has his own room, that opens up to a common area that he shares with three other boys. All in all he is really enjoying his Tech experience.

    Georgia Homeschoolers

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I haven't read all of the other replies, so I may repeating someone...

    My suggestion is to look at the Georgia Accrediting Comission website. Look under NonTraditional Schools. You will find a list of schools that will evaluate school work and issue accredited diplomas and transcripts. GAC is a statewide accrediting agency, not a national one. My ds had a GAC approved transcript, and he was accepted into both UGA and GA Tech.

    Help! Stumped for an essay thesis...

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    How about some denominations not allowing female pastors (no tomato throwing please).

     

    No education for females in some third world countries (but I'm not sure how you could make a case to defend that).

     

    How about fetuses being exposed to drug usage inutero (this would be a crime if the someone gave a child drugs, but isn't if a mom takes drugs while pregnant).

     

    Those are great ideas. However, I am not sure whether she can pick a specific injustice or whether she has to keep it broad. She'll have to ask her teacher. If she can pick a particular injustice, than that would be A LOT easier. Thanks for the ideas:)

    Help! Stumped for an essay thesis...

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    My dd, 8th grade, is taking a writng class for our local co-op. She has been assigned to write a persuasive eassy. The topic is injustice. She came to me stumped for ideas. The more I thought, the more stumped I became too! We can't think of a statement about injustic that is controversial, and could be argued from both sides. Before we call the teacher, I thought I'd see if you all could help!

     

    Thank you so much!!!

    Do you homeschool your children?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I outsource some subjects at a local co-op. Specifically, my dd takes earth science and composition and my ds takes biology. However, just because they take those courses one day a week, I still feel as though I am homeschooling those subjects. I still read evrything they read, I still check their work and read any papers that they have to turn in. What the Co-op classes do for me, is provide structure. They also allow my dc to get out of the house for a few hours a week so I can get to the grocery store :)

    Chalkdust - how much review in program?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Ckalkdust Algebra I has cumulative tests at the end of every third chapter. The Geometry text (the old one, which I hated), had very little review. They had an Integrated Review section, but it was not nearly enough to refresh old concepts from previous chapters IMO. There is a new text for Geometry however, so I can't speak to that text, except to say, that I hope it is a huge improvment over the old text.

    If I had known how fantastic the Chalkdust teacher was

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Seriously, I bought Chalkdust Geometry basically because I had tried other math programs thru the years but everyone raved about Dana Mosely and Chalkdust. There were few unhappy Chalkdust users.

     

    Granted, we are not exactly Geometry-lovers, but my dtr actually seems to be struggling more then ever with Chalkdust Geometry - and the lessons are sooo short. I can't imagine anyone teaching Geometry concepts and lessons (with a Larson text I think) in 8 to 15-minute lessons.

     

    We are watching the videos twice, doing the vocab, reading/studying the chapter, but we still are getting 70-75% grades on the tests and daily assignments. At the rate we are going (Ch 2), this is going to be one long, tough, frustrating and expensive math year.

     

    Lisaj, wanting to like Chalkdust, believing the good reports, but....

    ???? Is it going to get better?

     

     

    I have to say that I did not like the Chalkdust Geometry nearly as well as I am enjoying the Algebra 1 course this year. My ds used the geometry last year. My younger dd was using Chalkdust Pre-Algebra at the same time, and while he explained concepts, "to death" in her course, the lectures in the geometry course were very short and IMO, rushed. I don't understand this because both the Pre-Algebra and the Algebra 1, are VERY detailed.Also, the textbook was horrible! They do offer a new one now, so that is a good thing:) Because of our experience, my younger dd will be doing Chalkdust Alg 1, then Teaching Textbooks geometry, and then back to Chakdust for Alg 2.

×
×
  • Create New...