General Information and FAQ
Below is some information that new PSs have found useful throughout the years.
FASET Visit
GT1000
Registering for Classes
Summer Reading
Fall Retreat and Moving-In
Scholarship Payments
Banks
Randy's Three Things to Bring to College
Computers
FASET Visit
Please plan to come by the PS office after you register with the FASET team--actually, you can come by any time on the second day, but we need you to come by after you register. We have some paperwork for you to complete, including:s
• Waiver for the fall retreat
• Model release form
• Personality survey (We'll go over the results in GT1000.)
• Locus of Control test
Also, when you finish registering, we'd like for you to print a copy of your schedule for yourself, and one for us.
Please bring your parents with you. We'd like to say ‘hello’ to them and make sure they have all of their questions answered about the start of school, the PS fall retreat, etc.
Our office is located in the Bill Moore Student Success Center, on the second floor, toward the left as you exit the elevator. The Success Center is between the Tech Tower and the football stadium.
A few tips--
• Go on-line now to check your transfer credit and make sure it's right. If it looks like your AP/IB/college credits aren't showing up, call us ASAP so that we can sort it out. If you come to FASET without having your credits showing, you will be very disappointed by not being able to register for the appropriate classes. Also, it would be wise of you to log on to the registration system before you come to Tech for FASET to verify that you have no holds on your account. One student at FASET last year had a hold on her schedule regarding a medical form. She had sent in the form, but the hold was not removed until she called the Health Center. Better not to have these things to worry about during FASET. If you don't have thing like this cleared, you will not be able to register, and you will likely feel very frustrated for not checking on this ahead of time.
• Aim for 15-17 hours of classes. This is the time to shop, not necessarily to buy. You need to take 12+ hours for your scholarships to pay automatically. Generally, PSs who take less than 15 hours tend to be bored and are at risk of losing medical/car insurance if they end up dropping a class. Also, you are being billed for 15 hours, so you might as well get your money’s worth! Besides, you can always adjust your schedule during the first week of class, but this is the time to try things on, in a manner of speaking.
GT1000
The PS Program offers three sections of the GT1000 freshman seminar (an orientation to college life) just for you. These tailor-made sections cover the basic material from the regular sections AND add special components. The class meets for one hour each Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday from 4-5pm. Older PSs facilitate the sections and lead small discussion groups. Because we strive for small, equal sections to ensure personalized attention, each has a capacity of 23 students and is ‘permit only;’ the Registrar’s office has this information and will grant you access to any of these special sections. Please sign-up for one of the three during FASET, even if the section isn’t a perfect fit; we can work with you in August (during Phase 2 registration) to make a change. The course registration numbers (CRNs) you’ll need to look for when you register are 83821, 83822, and 83787.
REGISTERING FOR CLASSES
Before Registering - Advising at FASET is typically done with everyone in your major at that FASET session, so it won't necessarily be one-on-one, perfectly customized, etc. So, do the following before registering: (1) Research beforehand what the requirements are for your major. (2) Check out what credit you can take from AP/IB/SAT-II and transfer, etc. (3) If in doubt for any reason, bring transcripts from high school and any college courses you may have had.
Health Forms -To enroll at GT, you must complete a health form and submit it to the Student Health Services Center via fax. If you do not do this by the time you come to FASET, you will not be able to register. You will receive a confirmation postcard after you submit your form. Bring the postcard and a photocopy of your form with you to FASET. Is this absolutely essential? No. Will it ensure that a misplaced or slow-to-be-received health form does not keep you from registering? Yes!
Registering Using OSCAR
• Log on to the registration system. Your User ID is your GTID number, and your PIN is your 6-digit birthday (MMDDYY).
• Click Student Services & Financial Aid
• Click Registration
• Click Add or Drop Classes
• Select Fall 2009
• Check your time ticket. When your time ticket is active, you can register for classes.
• Once you are in your time ticket, select major and enter the course number. Hint: If you want to see all the 1000 level courses, enter 1%.>
• Check information about the professor with Course Critique, see below. Then, check a course that has open spots and register. **Remember: you have August 12-21 to make any final changes to your schedule.**
Lab Courses - Labs and lecture are often listed separately. The main lecture will have a large number of people who can be in it, and labs will have thirty or so individuals. You must register matching courses and labs. Therefore, if you have a lecture that is section ‘A,’ you will need to register for a lab that has and ‘A’ in its section number. Check the lecture and a lab, and then click register.
Classes at the same time with the same professor? - Many freshman-level courses have numerous sections of the same course. This means you are all in the same lecture, but you have different labs/TAs.
Permits and Overloads - You will hear the words "permit" and "overload" at FASET, and they are fairly inter-changeable. You get the professor (or a departmental representative) of the class to make a special exception for you to register for a class that would otherwise be full on the computer system. It usually involves going in person to talk to whoever is in charge. You might do this if you really want to be in a class that's full. It's one thing to overload into the only French IV class, and something else to do it for one of 40 freshman Calc I sections simply because you want a schedule that allows you to sleep until noon every day. :-) There's no set formula on how to get a permit, but diplomacy can't hurt.
Honors Classes - Some of you may be considering Calc II Honors instead of Calc II. There will be information on the math website in late June regarding the process: http://www.math.gatech.edu/. Students with AP scores of 5 on the BC Calculus exam will get an e-mail invitation from the Math Department in July. Any questions/requests should be sent to: math.faset@math.gatech.edu.
Course Critique - SGA’s Course Critique displays ratings of professors and the grades they give out. Click the little people next to a course to see the ratings for that period. http://sga.gatech.edu/critique/
Quick Tip: Remember, the first week is for you to shop and 'try on' classes. After Friday 8/21, you can no longer add, just drop. Take advantage of this time to see what will work best, meet a few professors, etc. If you have questions or concerns about your classes or schedule, let's talk! :-) Just so you know, the PSs have averaged 3.7 to 3.8 their first term at Tech for the last six years. They worked pretty hard to get those grades, but we know you all are capable of at least that!
SUMMER READING
We have an assignment for you. One of the greatest benefits about the Fall Retreat, the PS Program, and college in general is the opportunity to meet so many new and awesome people. To help you make the most of this time of bonding and relationship building, we ask you to read Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. We think you'll be quite suprised at just how much you'll learn! Only $7.99 at http://www.amazon.com.
From an '05 grad: I depart this Thursday bright and early for my teaching stint in Shenzhen, China, and I feel like I am going on the fall retreat all over again. I am about to spend a month in Beijing with the 90 or so other recent college grads that are on my program where we will be taking Chinese & TEFL classes. I am VERY excited and looking forward to making lots of new friends, but, Randy, what is the best way to meet these new people?? That's right - I pulled out the old copy of How to Win Friends & Influence People, and I’ve been studying up! Just thought that you would be interested to hear that, and I want you to know that I thought it was a helpful suggestion four years ago and continues to be a good suggestion today, so thanks for that piece of advice 4 years ago...hope that the new guys are still reading it!
From an '08 grad after his sophomore year: On a regular basis I think to myself, "Hey, this is something I read in Dale Carnegie's book!" or "Randy mentioned this to me one day" or "I remember talking about this with Billiee."
And this from a rising junior: Reading "How to Win Friends and Influence People" was a great idea!! At first, I was skeptical, but the more I read, the more it made sense. Now, it's amazing how much I think of these concepts before working with people or whatever, and I am seeing better results often!
FALL RETREAT and MOVING-IN
A few notes on the retreat. We hope you are excited about the chance to get to know the other President's Scholars!
• http://www.psp.gatech.edu/current/ps09/retreat/
The PS fall retreat website lists the itinerary, from Monday 8/10 through Friday 8/14, showing an overview of what we're doing and what to bring and wear to be ready for each day. If you have questions about anything, please check there first, and then call or email us.
• If you're moving in on Monday, proceed to the East or West Housing Office (as appropriate) with ID (driver's license, BuzzCard, etc.) to pick up your key. Your family cannot do this for you. Look for the people with the yellow bandanas; they are PS fall retreat leaders here to help you! Then proceed to your dorm to unpack and meet your roommate.
Parking may be limited. To help with the flow of traffic, please be ready to unload your vehicle onto the sidewalk and then move your car to the parking lot to make room for others who need to unload.
• On Monday, August 10, Billiee and Randy will be hosting a thirty-minute Parent’s Only Q&A session to answer any questions about your scholarship, the fall retreat, family weekend, etc. We will be in the Clary Theater of the Bill Moore Student Success Center from 11:15am to 11:45am. Please encourage your parents to stop by if they have any questions or concerns.
• If you are NOT moving in early, but do have a bag of stuff that you want available to you after the retreat, you can leave that in the PS office, but please bring it by well before the start of the fall retreat (5 p.m.) so that we can get it situated.
• Shipping- The safest, most secure way to get your belongings to Georgia Tech is to bring them yourself on move-in day. But if you have to mail things ahead of time, you can send them to the PS office, using the address below. Disclaimer: We do not have a super-secure, retina-scanned locker area to leave your belongings. However, over the years, several PSs have mailed things here without incident, including computers and refrigerators.
Your Name
c/o President's Scholarship Program
Georgia Tech; Bill Moore Student Success Center
219 Uncle Heinie Way, Room 286
Atlanta, GA 30332-0288
SCHOLARSHIP PAYMENTS
So how do you actually get your scholarship money (the President's Scholarship, other scholarships paid through your student account, loans, grants, etc.)?
Your aid will transfer to your student account a few days before classes start. If your aid is equal to or less than your billed charges (tuition, room, board, fees), then your aid is applied toward your charges, and you are responsible for paying the rest.
If your aid is greater than your billed charges, then you will get a refund to be applied toward your unbilled charges (books, personal expenses, meals outside your board plan, computer, etc.) The check will be mailed to your local address (GT Post Office Box), or you can sign up for direct deposit. We strongly encourage you to log on and link your GT student account to a bank account so that any money given to you will be directly deposited. If you choose not to do this, whenever GT sends you money, they will cut and mail you a check. Most students find it much easier and quicker to set up the direct deposit; otherwise, it will take you about an extra week to access your money
So, you can't have more scholarship money (PS, HOPE, National Merit, etc.) than the cost of attendance (COA). However, you can increase your cost of attendance by purchasing a computer. For one and only one time during your undergraduate career, you can get an increase (currently up to $1,500) for a computer that you have purchased to use at school. The cost of attendance info is located here: http://finaid.gatech.edu/costs/budgets/index0910.php
This pamphlet tells how to get your Cost of Attendance adjusted (as well as the requirements for you, the new freshmen): http://sco.gatech.edu/ If your COA is adjusted and you do have enough scholarship money to cover the new addition, then you'll get that money when your other scholarship money pays, likely the Thursday right before the start of the semester.
BANKS
Several banks have ATMs on campus and branches very close by, including Bank of America, SunTrust, and Wachovia.
RANDY’S THREE THINGS TO BRING TO COLLEGE
• Stationery: You'll be writing more notes than you might think. There will be lots of people you'll want/need to send thank you notes to during your first term at Tech.
• A passport. You'll likely study abroad during college, and it's a handy piece of ID if you need to get hired on campus. Knock this out before the start of college, when things really get busy!
• A business suit. With internships, co-op jobs, and student organization interviews, you'll get more use out of a suit than you might expect.
COMPUTERS
Desktop or Laptop? Well, Georgia Tech now requires that all incoming freshmen own a laptop, and there are various hardware requirements outlined on its website (http://www.sco.gatech.edu). We recommend against getting the newest, fastest computer as an entering freshman. You pay *such* a premium to get the latest and greatest (dropping down one or two processor speed bumps can save you up to a thousand dollars sometimes). We also recommend putting off the purchase until just before school starts so that you benefit from any falling prices. Also, if you get a laptop, please budget for and use a backup system (DVD, external hard drive, etc.). We've never seen students more frustrated than when they lose a few weeks' worth of papers, labs, and homework!