College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus

GALarge public institution · Overall rank #49 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

A public research powerhouse with a 99th return on investment.

Who it’s a good fit for

Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus is a public university in Atlanta, Georgia, whose degree mix is led by Engineering and Computer and Information Sciences. Return is among the highest we track.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes part of that gap to the factors it measures, a share that adds to expected earnings, while the remainder it does not explain subtracts.

The model also estimates that most graduates go into work rather than on to further study, so the four-year earnings figure is measured after most have entered the workforce. The net price for the lowest income band sits well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it.

Affordability is well above average. Pell students complete at a rate that is below the overall rate, and mobility is among the highest we track.

The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools, and the degree mix is concentrated in fields where earnings are high. The largest program is also the highest-earning program.

Georgia Tech at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
14.1%
Six-year completion[2]
94.0%
Four-year earnings[3]
$119,180

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$10,818
Median student debt[4]
$21,672
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$32,216

Georgia Tech rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus enrolls 18,785 undergraduates at its campus in Atlanta, Georgia, where it operates as a public university. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, it sits near the top of the composite ranking (at the 97th percentile).

14.1% of applicants are admitted to the university, against a median of 78.1% for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 98.1% return for a second year, compared with a peer median of 83.1%.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time, full-time cohort is 94.0%, against a peer median of 65.0%. An estimated 22.6% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes only that first-time, full-time cohort.

The four span a wide range. Return is the strongest of the four pillars and affordability the weakest, while mobility and access sit between them, closer to each other than to either extreme.

Azimuth ranks Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus #49 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. The return pillar is the strongest, at the 99th percentile, while affordability is the weakest at the 77th percentile.

The access pillar sits at the 88th percentile and mobility at the 91st percentile.

13.9% of undergraduates at Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus #179 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at 78.0%, 16.0 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate (94.0%). For mobility, Azimuth ranks the university #126 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $13,842 more than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Georgia Tech rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#49

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 91
Access & reach
National percentile: 88
Affordability
National percentile: 77
Return on investment
National percentile: 99

Top-ranked majors

  1. Radio, Television, and Digital Communication#1
  2. Industrial Engineering#2
  3. Design and Applied Arts#2

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / Georgia Tech briefing

Georgia Tech cost & financial aid[6][7]

The published cost of attendance at Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus is $28,167. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported in-state tuition of $10,512 and required fees of $1,496 for the 2026-27 academic year, with on-campus food and housing at $13,996.

Out-of-state students face tuition of $33,596. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $12,116, which is $3,518 below the $15,634 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Financial aid reduces the published cost by $16,051 on average. Azimuth ranks the university #333 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus publishes a cost of attendance of $28,167. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $7,666; for the $48,001–$75,000 band it is $10,818; and for families earning over $110,000 it is $17,396.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,730. Azimuth ranks the university #333 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 57% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of roughly $16,051. The across all aid recipients is $12,116, which is below the median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $3,518.

The median federal student debt at completion is $21,672, with about 81.4% of federal aid recipients borrowing. That figure is above the peer median of $20,076 by $1,596.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing stands at $32,216. The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $246 a month if repaid over ten years.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$10,818

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Georgia Tech

Completers who borrowed federally at Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus carry a median balance of $21,672. Against comparable institutions (same type and size), the university's median stands above the $20,076 peer median by $1,596.

81.4% of federal aid recipients draw federal loans. The median Parent PLUS obligation for parent borrowers stands at $32,216.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 27% of graduates borrowed from any source, averaging $25,348 per borrower. Of those graduates, 26% held federal loans averaging $18,587, including 4% with private loans averaging $40,877.

The earnings picture at Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus starts with a median of $119,180 four years after completion, placing the university in the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $13,842 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome that sits in the 90th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Scenarios built from the school's program mix point to a typical earnings figure of $119,180, while the downside scenario lands at $80,745 and the upside scenario reaches $147,525. On the borrowing side, the median federal student debt at completion is $21,672, which runs above the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated monthly payment of $246.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $32,216. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $246.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$21,672
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$32,216

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$246/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$409/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Georgia Tech briefing

Georgia Tech career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Azimuth places the return pillar at Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus in the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $13,842 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 90th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $19,443. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $5,601.

The STEM component inside the measured factors adds $12,020. Four years after completion, federally aided completers working and not enrolled show median earnings of $119,180, a figure in the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That amount sits above the peer median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $53,570.

Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus shows median earnings of $119,180 four years after completion. The figure applies to federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled.

It sits in the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings cohort includes 3,360 completers.

Earnings scenarios are estimates derived from the program mix, not observed outcomes. The downside scenario is $80,745, typical earnings are $119,180, and the upside scenario is $147,525.

An estimated 25.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix. The typical scenario matches the observed median closely.

These scenarios reflect variation across the program mix, not the outcomes of individual students.

Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus posts a median of $119,180 for federally aided graduates four years after completion, placing it in the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure runs $53,570 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #20 for return. Graduates earn about $13,842 more than the model expects for similar students.

The gap lands at the 90th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $19,443.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $5,601. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $12,020.

The earnings picture is shaped by a program mix that is heavily STEM, with 82.6% of degrees awarded in those fields. Earnings scenarios estimated from that mix range from a downside of $80,745 to an upside of $147,525, with the typical scenario at $119,180.

An estimated 25.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The range between the downside and upside scenarios spans from $80,745 to $147,525, reflecting the variation in earnings potential across the university's program clusters. Computer and Information Sciences, the highest-earning program, shows a median of $150,628 four years after completion, alongside 847 degrees awarded.

Graduates of Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus earn about $13,842 more than the model expects for similar students. The median earnings four years after completion, $119,180, run above the peer median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $53,570.

The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $21,672, which is above the peer median of $20,076 for comparable institutions by $1,596. If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment on that debt is $246.

Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $32,216. The average net price for aid recipients is $12,116, below the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions.

For aid recipients from families earning under $30,000, the average net price drops to $7,666, and the spread between the lowest and highest income bands for aid recipients is $9,730.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$19,443
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$5,601
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$13,842

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Georgia Tech briefing

Georgia Tech acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus admitted 14.1% of applicants, a rate far below the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 66,881 applicants, 8,921 admitted, and 4,071 enrolled.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
14.1%
25th percentile
1370
Median
1460
75th percentile
1530

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Georgia Tech briefing

What are the largest majors at Georgia Tech?[12]

Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus awards the bulk of its degrees in engineering and computing, and the earnings figures four years after completion show that concentration. Computer and Information Sciences is the largest program, with 847 degrees awarded and median earnings of $150,628.

Azimuth ranks it #9 nationally within its field. Industrial Engineering is smaller at 382 degrees awarded, but its median earnings of $128,003 place it #2 nationally within its field.

Mechanical Engineering awards 421 degrees and posts median earnings of $99,955, with a national rank of #26 within its field. Business Administration and Management is the only program among the five largest outside of engineering and computing.

It awards 359 degrees and its graduates earn a median of $106,155, which Azimuth ranks #16 nationally within its field. The business degree still lands well above the national median for its field.

The university has 18 ranked bachelor's programs. The largest is Computer and Information Sciences, with 847 degrees awarded and median earnings of $150,628 four years after completion, ranking #9 nationally.

Mechanical Engineering awarded 421 degrees and earns a median of $99,955 (ranked #26). Industrial Engineering follows with 382 degrees awarded and median earnings of $128,003, ranking #2 in its field.

Business Administration and Management and Biomedical Engineering round out the largest programs, with median earnings of $106,155 and $102,755 respectively.

Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus is an engineering school at its core. Engineering accounts for 50.9% of bachelor's degrees awarded, with Computer & Information Sciences next at 21.5% and Business at 8.9%.

82.6% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields. The university has 18 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 22 with published four-year earnings data.

The largest single program is Computer and Information Sciences, at 847 degrees awarded a year. Mechanical Engineering is next at 421, followed by Industrial Engineering at 382.

Azimuth ranks it #1 nationally and #1 in Georgia within its field. The largest program, Computer and Information Sciences, is also the highest-earning, at $150,628.

The largest program, Computer and Information Sciences, carries a benchmark ratio of 1.63x against the national median for its field. Computer Engineering is a smaller program at 157 degrees a year, with earnings of $128,497 and a state rank of #1 in Georgia.

Strength here is concentrated rather than spread. The largest program is also the highest-earning.

Engineering and Computer & Information Sciences together account for more than seven in ten bachelor's degrees.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Computer and Information Sciences, General 847 degrees awarded
$150,628
Mechanical Engineering 421 degrees awarded
$99,955
Industrial Engineering 382 degrees awarded
$128,003
Business Administration, Management and Operations 359 degrees awarded
$106,155
Biomedical/Medical Engineering 278 degrees awarded
$102,755
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering 215 degrees awarded
$102,415

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Georgia Tech briefing

How does Georgia Tech serve students from different backgrounds?

Azimuth places Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus in the 91st percentile for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 94.0%, while Pell recipients complete at 78.0% — below the overall rate by 16.0 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $13,842 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that lands in the 90th percentile nationally.

Azimuth places the access pillar of Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The public university admits 14.1% of applicants, a rate far below the peer median of 78.1%.

Pell Grant recipients make up 13.9% of the 18,785 undergraduates, and an estimated 22.6% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

06 / Georgia Tech briefing

What colleges are similar to Georgia Tech?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Georgia Tech.

Admissions peerEmory University10.7% admitted
Comparison with Georgia Tech
MeasureGeorgia TechEmory University
Peer earnings · 4 years$119,180$90,139-$29,041 vs Georgia Tech
Average annual net price$12,116$22,585+$10,469 vs Georgia Tech · higher cost
Admission rate14.1%10.7%
Explore Emory University →
Higher-admission alternativeMaine Maritime Academy54.1% admitted
Comparison with Georgia Tech
MeasureGeorgia TechMaine Maritime Academy
Peer earnings · 4 years$119,180$113,298-$5,882 vs Georgia Tech
Average annual net price$12,116$23,414+$11,298 vs Georgia Tech · higher cost
Admission rate14.1%54.1%
Explore Maine Maritime Academy →
Nearby alternativeJohns Hopkins UniversityNearby option · MD
Comparison with Georgia Tech
MeasureGeorgia TechJohns Hopkins University
Peer earnings · 4 years$119,180$117,419-$1,761 vs Georgia Tech
Average annual net price$12,116$18,809+$6,693 vs Georgia Tech · higher cost
Admission rate14.1%6.4%
Explore Johns Hopkins University →
Lower-cost alternativePrinceton University$6,128 average net price
Comparison with Georgia Tech
MeasureGeorgia TechPrinceton University
Peer earnings · 4 years$119,180$108,590-$10,590 vs Georgia Tech
Average annual net price$12,116$6,128-$5,988 vs Georgia Tech · lower cost
Admission rate14.1%4.6%
Explore Princeton University →
Similar profileUniversity of Virginia-Main CampusMatched across several measures
Comparison with Georgia Tech
MeasureGeorgia TechUniversity of Virginia-Main Campus
Peer earnings · 4 years$119,180$91,448-$27,732 vs Georgia Tech
Average annual net price$12,116$21,565+$9,449 vs Georgia Tech · higher cost
Admission rate14.1%16.8%
Explore University of Virginia-Main Campus →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings