This portion of the application helps us get to know you better. We are excited to learn more about you and what is important to you. You will be asked to complete one of the Common App First-Year Essay prompts and an additional short-answer question. The Georgia Tech short-answer question is called the Georgia Tech Essay, and you will see it in the Georgia Tech-specific questions on the Common App. More details are below.
Below are the Georgia Tech essay questions for 2026 applications. Both prompts are required of all applicants.
We take care in reading your essay and we hope you will do the same when creating it. Before submitting your application, you should take the time to reflect on the prompts and review your essays thoroughly. Strong essays often:
What if you have more information to share but you are not sure where the information should go? The Common App provides two additional, optional sections that may help. The Challenges and Circumstances section and the Additional Information section both provide spaces for students to share impacts or important contextual information. Just answer “yes” to the questions about challenges and circumstances or additional information to open up a text box. Again, these are optional so use them if you need them and do not stress if you do not need them.
We want you to know: Per Georgia state law and Georgia Tech policy, all admission staff are mandatory reporters who are required by law to report suspected abuse or neglect of minors to appropriate authorities. Any statements in written materials, including anywhere in a student’s application or supporting materials, that give admission staff reasonable cause to believe abuse or neglect of someone under the age of 18 may have occurred must be reported to the Georgia Tech Police Department. Learn more about reporting requirements.
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