1)    Their warning at FASET Orientation means YOUR student! Make realistic alternate plans for being there without the HOPE [Scholarship]. Also be prepared for the 5-year plan.

2)    The teachers at Georgia Tech are not there because they are experts in the art of teaching. They are there because they are experts in their fields.

3)    Academic help is available in many forms, but it may not look like the academic help that your student is used to. Your student will need to learn where help can be found and the many forms it can take. They will learn to help others and that will help him as well. They also will need to learn that sometimes there is no help. You just have to do your best and learn from your mistakes.

4)    It’s all about the curve!

5)    Your student will eventually learn the art of selecting their teachers. This skill comes with time and becomes easier to acquire as they progress.

6)    Freshman forgiveness gives your student one year to get their act together. Your student will probably need more than one year to do this.

7)    Understanding freshman forgiveness rules and deadlines is important, as well as the fact that these two things will not be bent.

8)    There is a culling process. As painful as this is, it serves a purpose. If your student cannot cut it in the program of his choice it is because they don't belong there. It is not their passion. They will have to find their passion. When they do find their passion, though the way doesn’t become easier, the work becomes more interesting and exciting so it will seem easier.

9)    Your student will be afraid of failing. They will fail….many times. They will learn to persist in spite of his failures and that bit of knowledge is important!

10) They will have to live with the consequences of their failures. But they will learn the value of his education and its importance in their goals.

11) You can’t help your student! You can and probably will try. You will be frustrated. You will have to come to the realization that this educational experience is nothing like the educational experience that he has received in previous years.

12) The teachers at Georgia Tech are not there to do everything in their power to see that your student learns and succeeds. They are there to help teach your student the possibilities. How to question everything. How to research. How to think logically. As a result, your student will learn to enjoy the pursuit of knowledge. This type of education will be difficult…..for everyone involved, but it is invaluable.

13) You will search for ways to help your student and finally come to the conclusion that you can only be there to offer encouragement and love …oh, and money. You can offer advice but it probably won’t be taken because he will have to learn for himself.

14) You may get recognition and appreciation for these things you have offered throughout his college experience. You may even get acknowledgment of the validity of your advice, but you will all recognize that it had to be learned the hard way because the experience was necessary.

15) Your student will learn time management skills. When they do learn these skills, life will become easier. Unfortunately, they may not learn to be neater, but perhaps with the salary they earn it will be OK.

16) Your student will learn to work and create on their own and with others. They will learn how to delegate, how to lead others and how to ensure that a project gets done on time, no matter what, making them a valuable asset.

17) Your student, who may have been used to the constant validation throughout their earlier educational experiences, will question their intelligence. You will remind them that they are bright or they would not be at Georgia Tech. But they will have difficulty seeing it because they are surrounded by brilliance, and it isn’t acknowledged. It is a given. The professors at Georgia Tech take it for granted that their students are bright, so they rarely feel the need to recognize it. If your student is lucky, at some point in their time there, someone they admire may take the time to acknowledge their intelligence and abilities. This experience will mean more than all the trophies, awards, certificates, and scholarships received to this point put together.

18) If you are lucky enough to live near Georgia Tech, go to shows, to hear speakers and to exhibitions. You will be amazed at the exciting and innovative things that are happening at Georgia Tech and proud that you met these students realizing that their contributions will one day, probably soon, be out in the real world.

19) The Georgia Tech sports experience, especially football, is just right. Game days are full of fun and the tailgaters neat and respectful. More importantly, it is not a religion here, it is a sport. It is a source of pride and excitement and entertainment. The ticket prices allow everyone to enjoy it. The stadium is comfortable. Parking is easy. Traffic in and out is simple. Plus the band rocks! Just perfect!

20) Your student won’t just learn how to think outside the box. They will learn

1. to make the box
2. to see they don't need the box
3. to question whether it should be a box
4. to understand the significance of the cat in the box

Finally, I need to say though my student's time at Georgia Tech often felt like a very long roller coaster ride. My husband and I were frustrated, happy, sad, and worried a lot of the time. Now that we are off this particular ride, I can honestly say I never expected to feel so much pride as I do to be called the parent of a Georgia Tech graduate!