Life as an in-state Tech student has many benefits. The admissions process for an in-state student is a no-brainer. Affordable, local public school? Great!
Not to mention that Tech happens to be one of the best schools in the country in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), but there are also other majors that are worth coming to Tech for, like IAML.
Besides, by having a group of old high school friends to brave freshman waters together, you can help alleviate the anxiety from this next chapter of your life. Moreover, with 78% of 2013 undergraduates coming from Georgia, there is already a sense of community that pervades campus life.
A 3.7 high school GPA is a fairly steep requirement to be awarded the HOPE Scholarship. Even more elusive, Zell Miller, HOPE’s older brother, is a godsend for families struggling to pay the last bit of in-state tuition. Even after losing eligibility due to a rough semester of Calc II or CS 1371, in-state students are given a second chance to earn it back.
Thankfully, summer semesters are another cheap affordance in order to make up for dropping classes. Even with an internship across the country, in-state students can take online summer learning classes for an in-state value, three times cheaper than out-of-state’s would be.
It’s a bit unfair that 40 out-of-state students with the Provost Scholarship are getting over double what Zell Miller offers, but life in general is a bit unfair too.
Living 30 minutes from campus is great for laundry days since the prices of doing laundry on campus increased recently. Besides, laundry includes many uncertainties: water temperature, bleach, colors. Who even knows if grey is a light or dark color?
Dining hall food isn’t the best, so thank goodness parents bring groceries straight to the mini-fridge. Eggs would crack and bread would get smashed riding the Trolley. That is if it even bothered to show up. Although having groceries delivered is nice, home-cooked meals every other weekend are the best way to de-stress after a grueling time studying and catching up with shows on Netflix. There is nothing like sleeping in a memory foam queen-sized bed when back home.
On the other weekends, meeting up with friends who did not attend Tech to spend a day playing frisbee or lacrosse is just what the doctor ordered. The price of gas makes traveling to and from home pricey, and MARTA is too confusing for anyone to really use.
The freezing cold October weather is brutal to deal with, and the city has to shut down after two inches of snow. Conversely, the summer months are sweltering like none other. Georgia can experience all four seasons in one week, and each is the worst it could possibly be.
To be fair, there are out-of-state horror stories, too. For instance, when out-of-state students who stored their stuff over the summer came back to campus, there was mold everywhere, and some things had to be thrown out.
Luckily an in-state student would never have to deal with that thanks to soccer mom vans. There are no luggage fees or up charges for oversized bags! Ceramic plates, pots and pans, gaming systems, television sets: those would probably break or not fit in an actual suitcase. Imagine not having any of those…
Out-of-state students are always complaining about “in-state privilege” at Tech, but they just are not trying as hard to succeed. Although the in-state experience can be nice, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be by out-of-state students.