Contribution to Community

When you tell us about your involvement in your school, community and/or with family, you exhibit your contribution to your community. Every student’s interests and responsibilities are different, so there is no correct formula for this portion of the application.

Like so much of your high school experience, we understand that the ways you intended to be involved in high school may have been interrupted by Covid-19. Please know that we will evaluate applications with this in mind – knowing that opportunities typically available to students may not have been there. You do not need to tell us what you planned to do, but help us understand how you spent your time outside of your academic work even in a pandemic!

Students often ask what makes a good record or they believe there are certain things they need to list on their record. In reality, we are most interested in learning what you are passionate about, and we value the different interests our students bring to Georgia Tech. Some of the traits we value in this portion of the application include:

  • Commitment

  • Self-motivation

  • Personal Responsibility

  • Compassion for Others

  • Initiative

  • Leadership

  • Entrepreneurism

  • Intellectual Curiosity

Our Advice for this Portion of the Application


  • We understand that many applicants do not have access to anyone providing advice or guidance during the college application process. Therefore, we believe AI tools like ChatGPT and others may help you understand how to format this portion of the application. In our testing with AI, it helped us consider important points to highlight and summarize in the activity section. Remember, AI is a great collaborator and not intended to provide direct text for your application.

  • As you complete your application, we recommend that you start by listing the activities you care about the most. Typically, students are involved in 3-5 activities in a meaningful way, so don’t feel pressure to fill in all the blanks.

  • Research, work, family responsibilities and other personal projects are important contributions you may have made during high school! Don’t neglect to tell us about these!

  • You will need to take advantage of the application to provide us with information about the contributions you have made throughout high school, as we do not accept separate resumes.

  • Don’t leave this portion blank assuming Georgia Tech doesn’t or shouldn’t care about student involvement. We do! Being academically strong does not make up for a lack of contribution outside the classroom.

  • Don’t just list the activity, but take the time (and space provided on the application) to give us more details about your level of involvement in an activity.

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