Frequently Asked Questions on the Application Process

• Q: Can I apply to both GT-Atlanta and GT-Shanghai?
  A: No. You can apply to only one GT campus. The admission requirements for the two campuses are identical. However, many qualified students are denied by GT-Atlanta each year because of space limitations.

• Q: I have previously applied to GT-Atlanta, and have just learned about the GT-Shanghai program. Can I transfer my application from GT-Atlanta to GT-Shanghai?
  A: Yes. Please with your first name, last name, date of birth, and your planned enrollment term for GT-Shanghai (Summer or Fall). We will then coordinate the transfer of your application and let you know.

• Q: Can I apply to both the ECE Dual-MS degree program and the ISyE Dual-MS degree program at GT-Shanghai?
  A: Yes, you can apply to two different degree programs, if you want to maximize your chance of getting into GT-Shanghai. You must complete two online applications, pay two sets of application fees, and have your references enter two sets of online recommendation letters. You will have one GTID. You will only need to provide one set of supporting documentation (transcripts, degree documents, TOEFL and GRE scores) to Graduate Admissions.

• Q: The minimum TOEFL, GRE thresholds are posted at http://www.ece.gatech.edu/academics/graduate/apply.html What about TWE or TSE?
  A: We do not look at the TWE score or the TSE score at this point.

• Q: You require a minimum GPA of 3.25 for admission to the MS degree program in ECE. How should I estimate my GPA since my university does not report course performance using the letter grade basis?
  A: Unless your university specifies a different conversation table on your transcript, you can use the following rule of thumb. On a 100-point scale, Score of 85-100: grade=A (4.0 point); Score of 75-84: grade=B (3.0 point); Score of 60-74: grade=C (2.0 point); Score of 0-59: grade=F (0 point). Note: There is not a D grade in the above conversion. Here is an explanation on how to average the grade points to arrive at the GPA (grade point average).

• Q: The GPA entered for me in the OSCAR system is lower than what my university said my GPA is. Could you please use the GPA as determined by my university?
  A: Georgia Tech evaluates all international transcripts in-house. We use a 4.0 scale whereas your university may use a different scale. If using the conversion method as described above, you arrive at a very different GPA, you can let us know.

• Q: My undergraduate university has a reputation for grading harshly. Do you use different grade conversion tables for different universities?
  A: Unless your university specifies a different conversion table on the transcript, Georgia Tech uses the grade conversion method described above for Chinese university transcripts.

• Q: Do you include elective courses in the GPA calculation?
  A: Except for courses that are graded on the pass/fail basis, all other courses (including elective courses) shown on your transcript are included in the GPA calculation.

• Q: My university reports some of our grades on the letter grade basis. Do you convert those letter grades?
  A: If your university uses the A, B, C, D, F letter grade system, we will use those grades “as is” in calculating the GPA. If your university uses the A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-,D+, D, D-, F letter grade system, we will convert (A+, A-) to A, (B+, B-) to B, (C+, C-) to C, and (D+, D-) to D, before calculating the GPA.

• Q: My university is not willing to release my transcripts. What should I do?
  A: Our GT-Shanghai Coordinator, Ms. Rui Shi, can request for your transcripts to be sent to her, for the purpose of applying to the GT-SJTU Dual-MS degree program. Please contact Ms. Rui Shi directly and allow sufficient time for her to request and receive the transcripts.

• Q: Am I supposed to mail the transcripts / degree documents directly to GT or will SJTU do that for me?
  A: After you have applied online, you should mail the transcripts or degree documents directly to GT according to the mailing instructions. If you are sending the package by express mail and need a contact phone number, you can use +1 (404) 894-1610 for the Graduate Admissions Office.

• Q: I am a first semester graduate student at SJTU. Our first semester score report will not be available before February 1. Should I still request my graduate transcript?
  A: Current SJTU graduate students must submit their graduate transcripts (to include the Fall semester results) by April 15. Failure to do so may result in a registration hold being placed on your account to prevent you from registering for GT courses.

• Q: Can I arrange to have supporting documentation (transcripts, degree documents, TOEFL and GRE scores) sent to you before I fill out the online application?
  A: The only items that can be sent to GT before you apply online are the official TOEFL and GRE score reports from ETS – most likely, you will take TOEFL and GRE tests before you apply online to GT. It is best to wait until you have applied online, so an application number (GTID) is established, before mailing transcripts or degree documents.

• Q: For my ECE / ISyE application, should I mail any supporting documentation to ECE / ISyE?
  A: No, the individual departments do not expect any direct mailing from you. All necessary supporting documentation (official transcripts, degree documents, official TOEFL and GRE score reports) should be sent to GT Graduate Admissions. ETS sends your GRE score report electronically to Graduate Admissions and via paper to the individual department(s) that you designate on your GRE score report request form.
• Q: The GRE General Test is only administered twice a year (in October and June) in China. I will not have the opportunity to take the GRE test before the February 1 (ECE) or February 15 (ISyE) application deadline. What should I do?
  A: We do not offer admission without the TOEFL and GRE scores.
  

  If you will not have TOEFL / GRE scores ready in order for summer admission (May start), you are encouraged to apply for fall admission (August start). You are expected to apply online by February 1 (ECE) or February 15 (ISyE) for either summer or fall semester start. For matriculation in the summer, you must take the TOEFL and GRE tests by February 1 (ECE) or February 15 (ISyE). For fall semester start, you must take the TOEFL test by April 15 and the GRE test by June 7 (2008 application dates). Please check the GRE website http://www.ets.org for information about Split-Test Administration of the General Test in countries including China and Korea.

• Q: I want to apply for summer enrollment. I will take the TOEFL at the end of January but my score report will arrive after February. Is that okay?

  A: On the Application page, we ask that you TAKE the TOEFL and GRE tests by certain dates. As long as you abide by those dates, you are okay. We have taken into account the time it takes for ETS to send the score reports.
• Q: I took the TOEFL / GRE test in October and asked ETS to send my official score reports to GT. Now it is already January and it seems you still have not received my official score report. Do you know what might have happened?
  A: ETS sends TOEFL score reports to GT approximately twice a month on a tape. GRE score reports are sent via tape and paper copies. When GT receives the tapes, the scores are electronically written to the GT database. When you fill out the online application, the system searches for your TOEFL and GRE score reports and updates your record. If there is any mismatch between the information you provided to GT and the information you provided to ETS (for example, the spelling of your name), the TOEFL or GRE scores will not be written to your record. If it has been at least 4 weeks since you have received ETS’ confirmation that they have sent your TOEFL or GRE score reports but those scores have not shown up on your GT record, please email GT-Shanghai your first name, last name, along with a scanned copy of your TOEFL/GRE score report. We will conduct a manual search based on the information shown on the scanned copy. We cannot however grant admission based on photocopy or scanned copy of TOEFL/GRE score reports.

• Q: My TOEFL / GRE score will expire after 1 year. Can I apply now for the next year (not this year)'s program?
  A: For Summer (mid May) or Fall (mid August) start, you can apply online during the October – February time frame. If you have already taken the TOEFL / GRE test, make sure that you request for ETS to send your score reports to GT before they expire (ETS will not send expired scores). Once the scores are received by GT and written into our database, we can then evaluate your application and make admission decisions.

• Q: On the online application form, I have to choose between I-20 for F-1 Student Visa or DS-2019 for J-1 exchange visa in order to proceed. Since Chinese students do not need visa to study at GT-Shanghai, how should we answer this visa question?
  A: The online application form is used mostly by applicants to GT-Atlanta so some of the questions may not apply to GT-Shanghai. You do not need to answer those questions that do not apply. However, if you must choose between I-20 (for F-1 visa) or DS-2019 (for J-1 visa) in order to complete your online application, you can choose I-20, but knowing that you are a GT-Shanghai applicant, we will not actually send you the I-20 form.

• Q: My referee is having trouble accessing the online letter of recommendation.
  A: As soon as you submit your online application, an email will be sent to your referees. At the bottom of that email, there should be a link that says http://www.applyweb.com/lor?token=.... (encrypted code). If there is no token (encrypted code), the referee should contact CollegeNet (ApplyWeb) or call them at +1 503-973-5213.
  If the referee does not have or does not remember his/her password, he/she should follow the link with the encrypted code and then click "request a new password". The system will then generate a password and email to the referee. He/she should save that password for future recommendation letter input for other students applying using the same online system. If the problem persists, the referee should contact CollegeNet (ApplyWeb) or call them at +1 503-973-5213.
  The applicant (student) can also re-send the recommendation letter request message to the referee from his/her Activity Log. The applicant can login to the system, go to "user activity page" -> "names list" -> "take action" -> "send reminder"
  Make sure that the professor's email address works and is accepting emails. If the professor does not find the email in the Inbox, have him/her check the spam folder, bulk email folder etc as well.

• Q: Can my referee send you the recommendation letter by email or air mail?
  A: No. All referees must complete the online “Letter of Reference” as instructed. For the referee’s information, here is a preview of the Letter of Reference; however, the form must be completed online. We do not accept recommendation letters by email or as hardcopy.

• Q: I am an applicant to the ECE program. I find two ways for checking the status of my online application: at the GT graduate admissions status check page, and at the ECE graduate admissions status check page. They do not show exactly the same information. Which page should I rely on?
  A: If either system shows that we have received a particular item, then there is no need to inquire or re-send. Eventually all student data will be deposited into one BANNER information system.

• Q: On the GT graduate admissions status check page, a 5-digit zip code is needed, but the zip code of my city has 6 digits. What should I do?
  A: Try using the first 5 digits of your zip code. For example, if your zip code is 200240, just enter 20024.

• Q: I am an applicant to the GT-Shanghai program. I made a mistake on my application (applied for the wrong term / selected the PhD program instead of the MS program / swapped my first name and last name / …)  Who should I contact to get the problem resolved?
  A: To make a correction to an online application that has already been submitted, please write an email
  To: GT-Shanghai
  Subject: GT-Shanghai Application

• Q: I have sent several email inquiries but have not received any response.
  A: Our computer system gives every email a SPAM score. If the score exceeds a certain threshold, the email is labeled as SPAM. Most SPAM emails are not reviewed since there are just too many of them. Here are a few simple things you can do to lower the SPAM score of your email: (i) Include a few words about your question in the Subject line; do not leave the subject line empty; (ii) provide your full name in the email setting; (iii) avoid sending emails from certain web-based mail services (163.com, 263.com etc).

• Q: What is the likely process after I have applied?
  A: After we have received all required information on your application, we will be able to proceed with admission decisions. For those applicants that we have complete information on, we will strive to make admission decisions within a month or by mid March, whichever is sooner. You will have until mid April to make enrollment decisions. The summer semester typically starts around mid May. For those that apply for fall semester start, if you will not have the TOEFL/GRE scores ready until some time later (specified on the Application page), we will make admission decisions as soon as we receive all score reports from ETS.

• Q: If I get accepted by GT-Shanghai, can I turn down the application if my plans change?
  A: Once we review your application materials and issue you an acceptance, you will have a deadline (indicated on your acceptance letter) before which you must make the binding accept/reject decision.
• Q: I have encountered some application trouble that is not covered by this FAQ. What should I do?
  A: Send an email to GT-Shanghai with your first name, last name, last three digits of your application/GT ID (xxxxxx000), telephone number(s) where you may be reached, and a detailed description of the problem that you have encountered, attaching a screen-shot if possible. We will then respond with an email or phone call.

Last revised on July 7, 2008.