Gtclubdefrance
From BluWiki
Dear GTL Alumni,
As a former student at GTL, you always searched for information about the courses you had to choose, how to pay the housing, how to open a bank account in the US, how to get your social security number and lot of other questions.
In order to help new students to have an enjoyable program, GT Club de France decided to create this wiki project to allow all Alumni to contribute with their valuable feedback. So feel free to write about anything you deem important about your experience!
GT Club de France
Extensive information:
I am going to try to recount all of the things I want to tell you about Atlanta�
On Georgia Tech:
Which courses to choose?
Mechanical Engineering ME6769 Linear Elasticity This is definitely the easiest class you could have at GT. It is very close from Contiuum Mechanics class with Chercaoui. Make sure you register for this one well in advance because there are limited spots. You are sure to get an A if you just turn in your homework and quizz. You will have around 10 easy homeworks, two midterms and one final. Hanagud, the professor, is an easy grader, so don't worry if you have less than 90 on homework or quizz, you will still have an A!
Mechanical Engineering ME6758 Numerical Methods in ME A lot of work and long hours of Matlab are waiting for you if you decide to take this course. Very challenging, very demanding but not that much rewarding because good grades are hard to get. You can have an A but you will spend a lot of time for that.
Aerospace Engineering AE6070 Rotary Wing Aerodynamics DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS UNLESS YOU ARE CRAZY! This is an AE class! So you need a lot of AE backgrond to be able to follow. Also, the professor is not organised, and he uses powerpoint to explain very difficult concept. He is not very helpful for the quizz. All the quizz and final exam are take home for a good reason: It takes you ages to do something, you are never sure of your results, and the grades you get are based only on your final results and not on the time and energy you spend doing it...Take my advice!
Mechanical Engineering ME6753 Principles of Management Not very easy but not very hard class. It is very intersting. Spots are limited, so register for this course as early as possible. You will learn a lot. Study the material every weekend, and not only before midterms, and you will be in a good shape and get an A. There are two midterms and a group project.
� Fee payments: Deadlines are carved in stone. Meaning that you should take great care that all of your fees are paid ahead of time, and go online to verify it. Late fees are 75 dollars, and after the first week you will be removed from school. It happens.
� Registration: It�s good to register as early as possible to secure a spot in the classes you like. I usually sign up for 1 more class than I plan to take, then drop one during the first week of school (because after the first week if you drop a class you get a W on your transcript, which isn�t terrible but it doesn�t look good when you present it to a potential employer).
� Stinger Bus/ Tech Trolley / Stingerette Van: All are for time. Most students walk to class, and a few bike. In bad weather I would ride the bus home, but it is almost always faster to walk. For the stingerette van (which is for late hours when the buses aren�t running) you have to call in advance, and sometimes it can be an hour before they show up.
� Safety & Buzzcard: It is dangerous at night in Atlanta. There have been murders just outside of campus to the south and west of campus. However, I have never had any trouble. But it is a good idea to pay attention and be alert after dark. For the beggars that come up to you and tell you their stories, tell them that you are a student and that you don�t have any money either. Additionally, I usually did not carry my wallet or money around school, since with the buzzcard you can pay for food on campus and your laundry and whatever else. If you lose your card it�s 20 dollars to replace it. Also, some professors require you to present it when you take a test or exam. You will also need it for access to the computer labs, and building access at night. And to get tickets to any of the sporting events, and for access to the athletic complex. Basically you have it with you all the time because you need it all the time. (it can also get you discounts to things like the movies or places off campus)
� CRC: CRC is Campus Recreational Center, formerly known as SAC or Student Athletic Complex. There is a great pool there with a large Jacuzzi and water slide, as well as tennis courts, basketball courts, and plenty of exercise machines. It�s free, so go use it! For girls: be aware that when you use the running machines that even if the place is empty guys will come to use the machine behind you so they can stare at you. For this reason most of the girls choose the machines on the back row. Also all the machines have outlets for headphones so you can listen to music.
� Health Center: also something that is free so go there if you are feeling sick. The doctors are good and you get free medicine as well. During flu season they will give out free vaccination shots.
� Bookstores: the campus bookstore (barnes and nobles) is located on 5th street and West Peachtree. It is typically more expensive to buy textbooks there than at Engineers Bookstore, which is located next to west campus on Marietta street. I recommend buying your books immediately when you arrive so that you have a chance to get used books, as these are much cheaper (50 dollars instead of 120). Also, be sure to note the return date. For the first two weeks or so of the semester you can return your books (if you have the receipt) and get all of your money back. This is good in case you decide to drop a class early on. Usually, at the end of the semester, they might buy it back from you for less than 10% of its value. Don�t buy any book unless you really need it!
� TBS: Tech Bitch Syndrome � girls are labeled with this when a guy asks them out and they say no. The guy gets mad and makes up this reason. Guys who do this are typically very shallow and do not realize that they have nothing to offer the girl, as she is just as smart as they are and are getting the same degree and doing the same things. They also tend to not be good looking and have no idea what fashion or personal hygiene is.
� Free movie nights at the student center or burger bowl: these are typically pretty fun, and since they are free, that�s nice!
� Six Flags Night: usually in early September. Definitely go to this, especially if you like roller coasters. Tech rents out the whole park so the lines are much shorter than if you go on a regular day, and you pay a reduced price, and they offer free shuttle buses to and from campus. They started doing this a few years ago and it�s one of my favorite activities.
� Room stuff: there is an IKEA nearby tech, and a home depot (bricolage) on ponce de leon avenue. You can walk to IKEA but home depot is too far to walk. You probably don�t want to have to walk home from IKEA with all your stuff though, so find someone with a car if you can.
� Post Office: there�s one located inside the student center with all of the mailboxes. You can pick up packages sent to you here as long as you have your buzzcard. You can also buy stamps and mail packages and letters from here, which is really nice in December when the regular post offices around town have long lines of people waiting to mail their Christmas presents.
Food & Restaurants:
� Meal plans: I recommend not getting one, unless you really really really hate to cook. The main student center in the middle of campus doesn�t charge you a �meal� just the cash. As in you only use a �meal� at the dining halls, which are located very inconveniently by the dorms on opposite sides of campus and away from the classrooms. The food is not very great at the dining halls in my opinion.
� The closest big grocery store (there is Westside market on west campus by the parking deck) is Kroger. It is located off of Howell Mill and Bellmeade, next to the I-75 interstate. It is really too far to walk there so it is best to make friends with someone who has a car. There is a Publix which has a smaller selection but typically better produce (fruits and veggies) which is located on Piedmont and North Avenue. There is a Walgreens pharmacy there as well. (but note that all grocery stores have pharmacy sections where you can buy medicines).
� General restaurant note: Restaurants open around 11am and stay open until about 12am, some until 2 am and some are open all night. You can call to find out hours and make reservations. Note that you can eat when you are hungry. If you want to go at 3 or 4pm you can. Google �atlanta restaurants� and you can find whatever you like. Yahoo.com also has yellow pages with addresses and phones of restaurants.
� Coffee: coffee shops are numerous in Atlanta. Main chains are Starbucks and Caribou (which in general is preferred). If you want the caf� like you get in France, order a shot of espresso. If you just ask for a coffee you�ll get the American coffee in a large cup. Most restaurants serve coffee, but it is typically not very good, so most people go to a coffee shop after dinner. Coffee shops are open until about 10pm during the week and 11 or 12 on weekends.
� Park Tavern: see note below about Piedmont Park. They serve great barbeque (BBQ)
� Nuevo Laredo: good Mexican food. Closed on Sundays. You can�t reserve ahead of time and wait times can be up to two hours on Friday and Saturdays around 7pm. Located off catahoochee road near the Kroger. Look up address online.
� Figo: decent Italian food off of Howell Mill near Kroger.
� Einstein�s (not the bagel place), is located on Juniper and 14th street. It is a trendy contemporary Atlanta restaurant with a great atmosphere, good food, and decent prices. I highly recommend it.
� Joe�s on Juniper: located just down the street (juniper) from Einstein�s. Go there at least once and oogle at the size of the cups and have some college-style atmosphere. The food is good and the prices are reasonable.
� Wafflehouse: something you have to do at least once, as part of the �American� experience. They are open 24 hours a day everyday, as in they don�t have locks on the doors because they never close. The food here is typical southern food, and it is great after a night of drinking when you are hungry and don�t care if the food is greasy. It is really cheap to eat there as well.
� Restaurants on Tech Square: most are pretty good and you can pay with your buzzcard. They�re convenient for meeting people and that you can easily walk there.
� Other Atlanta restaurants: Atlanta has great restaurants, serving all types of food. I remember finding a listing of 4 Lebanese restaurants before. If you find someone with a car you can try all sorts of great food. Most websites have a ranking system of the restaurants with customer comments available. I always really enjoyed checking out a new restaurant. msn.com usually has rankings of restaurants, but you can search on google as well. Typically the restaurant rankings have the address of the restaurants and a link to a map, but you can just enter the address into yahoo maps or mapquest as well.
� TIPPING: In the US it is customary to tip 10 percent when the service is bad, and 20 percent of the total of the bill when the service is good. (by the way, restaurants almost always serve free refills of whatever you have ordered, so don�t worry when they come by to fill up your glass constantly, even if you don�t want more. An empty glass is a sign of a bad waiter.) Thus, waiters tend to be more attentive than in Europe in hopes of getting a better tip, and is also the reason why they don�t want you to stay very long, because that means that they will lose the chance to get an extra tip. Waiters have a small salary that is below minimum wage, and the rest is expected to come from tipping. Thus not leaving a tip is seen as being incredibly rude, unless the waiter was so awful that he/she deserved it (as in they cursed at you or were particularly mean).
� PRICES: be aware that all prices in the grocery stores, restaurants, etc DO NOT include taxes. Taxes can be federal, state, and city, and thus vary depending on where you are at. Typical is about 7 percent. Also the state of Georgia has the lowest gas tax, so if you are going on a road trip it is best to top off the tank before you leave the state.
� Alcohol is never permitted out on the streets, only inside the property of a bar or club.
Recreation & Travel:
� Buy a map of Atlanta. It�s worth it. You can get a free map of the Tech campus at the student center and there is also one available online. For online maps you can use yahoo.com or mapquest.com which are useful in planning trips (can tell you routes and driving times).
� Running: Many people run around the campus, and also at Piedmont Park nearby.
� Six Flags: See note under GT section.
� Stone Mountain Park: Definitely a �must see� as it has a lot of interesting things to do. Plan a whole day on a Saturday, and at night after dark they have a laser show which is a lot of fun. We usually brought food with us and a blanket and had a picnic. I�m not sure if you can bring alcohol with you. There should be a website for it with directions and more details.
� Piedmont Park: Large park close to campus, designed by the guy who designed central park in new york city. Large as in I have never managed to see all of it. There are off-leash areas for dogs to run around and play, and on nice days there are a lot of people on roller blades or running or with their dogs or just laying on the grass. I loved to take my books and study on sunny afternoons in September and October before it�s too cold. To get there from Tech you follow 10th street (go east) across the interstate, then keep walking for about 15-20 minutes and you will see grass on your left. That�s it. The restaurant on piedmont and 10th street is Park Tavern and is quite good. They brew their own beer and when it is raining beers cost only 1 dollar each.
� Atlanta botanical gardens: nice for a Sunday afternoon when the weather is nice. Student rate is about 5 dollars, and it has a great view of Piedmont park and the buildings (skyline) of Atlanta. I would sometimes take a book and read on the grass. The orchid exhibit is quite good.
� Turner Field & Braves Games: The Atlanta Braves team is the major league baseball team of Atlanta. They frequently run specials during the season where if you go on a weeknight you can get tickets for 5 to 10 dollars with your student ID. Be aware that the food is very expensive there, and you cannot bring alcohol (or food I think too) into the stadium. It�s definitely best to take the marta metro to the stadium as traffic is always very congested for games.
� Other sports: The Atlanta Falcons are the football team of the area, and the Atlanta Hawks are basketball and play at Phillips Arena at the CNN Center.
� The underground: located in downtown Atlanta (tech is in Midtown). Very touristy and has a bunch of shops. Good for an afternoon of wandering around.
� Centennial Park and CNN Center and Tabernacle: South of Tech off of centennial street. The first few weekends you are there the park will have free Friday night concerts with good bands. The park itself is not very large but is still a nice visit, and the cnn center with Philips arena is nice, as it has a bunch of little places to eat lunch and Philips arena usually hosts large concerts. The tabernacle nearby is an old church that has been turned into a small concert hall and is the best venue (in my opinion) in Atlanta to see a band.
� Aquarium: The brand new aquarium is the largest in the world, and my friends who have been say that it�s really nice. But I think that ticket prices are pretty expensive (25$)� you should be able to find hours and prices on the internet.
� Fox Theatre: on peachtree street and ponce de leon avenue. You can walk there from campus. Definitely go at least once to see a broadway play or musical, and you can buy cheap tickets for the back of the theater for about 18 dollars.
� Buckhead: the club (dance) district. Near Lenox, main drag (steet) is Peachtree. North of Tech.
� Movies: there are many many movie theaters in Atlanta. The problem is that you need a car to get to most of them. But you should be able to find all times and prices online.
� Metro � MARTA (metro Atlanta rapid transit authority). Costs 1.50 or 2 dollars one way. Trains come about every 20 minutes or so but not at particular times. Plan extra time into your trip if you need to take marta. It is useful for going to the airport, Lenox, Phipps and Target (malls/shopping), and Perimeter Mall (more shopping). Trains stop running around 2am I think. Double check the times if you will be returning late. The stop for Tech is north avenue/10th street.
� Car rentals: there are a bunch at the airport. I think you pay more for insurance if you are under 25, but I�m not sure. I�m also not sure if you need an International drivers license or not, but you should be able to find this on the websites of the companies (big chains are Hertz, National, Avis, Enterprise)
� Cheap airfares: www.mobissimo.com checks multiple websites. Also for the low cost airlines such as Airtran and Southwest and Independence Air you have to go directly to the airline�s website. (e.g. look them up on google)
� Cheap hotels: check websites such as hotels.com but note that hostels are not as common as in Europe. It�s good then to travel with friends as you can find a hotel room with two double beds in most cities for about 40 dollars. Note that this will not be in the center of town and may not be in the nicest area of town either.
Weather:
� It rains a lot in Atlanta, and not the misting rain like in Metz. You will see the streets partially flood often� thunderstorms can be severe at times. So, bring an umbrella. There were times that I would get home and even with using my umbrella I would be soaked up to my waist.
� The summer is hotter than Metz, so be sure to drink plenty of water. All restaurants serve water for free and don�t try to pull the bottled water trick that the European restaurants do. (by the way, restaurants almost always serve free refills of whatever you have ordered, so don�t worry when they come by to fill up your glass constantly, even if you don�t want more. An empty glass is a sign of a bad waiter.)
Pour les trucs � Faire:
Rush des frats la 1�re semaine ( voir la phi kappa theta) Coffe hour tous les lundi soir vers 19h pour les internationnaux (gateaux et caff� gratos) Halloween dans les rues ou quartiers �tudiant, d�guisement de rigeur, tt le monde le fait (nous on a fait hampton st, 10 min du GLC, toutes les maisons de la rue faisait une fete porte ouverte, c'est tr�s gros !!!)
- Rocky mountains: loin de la ville - Five points (metro Five points) quartier black plein de rappeurs et trucs typiques et Underground Atlanta au m�me endroit, commerces sous-terrains bisarres. au m�me endroit ou proche: World of coke, CNN, jardin olympique, aquarium - Little Five points (30 min en metro) petit mais super sympa. Parade annim�e pour Halloween. grd nbre de boutiques de d�guisements. restos pas cher. petit parc � cot�. - Piedmont parc. Super, beau et grand, pour picnic ou promenades. (20/30 min � pieds du GLC) - Maison de Martin Luther King junior - Messe dans son quartier, population 99% noire et c'est en or, long : 2h , mais c'est � voir. (Nous avons fait Eibeneizener Church )
Pour endroits cools ...
-Rocky moutain sur la 10�me vers le dining hall (5/10 � pieds min du GLC), bar/resto (Hamburger et pizza) anim� avec tous les undergrads du campus. C'est sympa et pas trop cher.
-ABC: Atlanta Brewing Company, le top de la bi�re pas ch�re et pr�s du GLC (15 min � pieds du GLC) C'est en face du Office d�pot, de l'autre cot� de l'interstaite et pr�s de la sation service sur la 14�me C'est extra et on peut y faire beaucoup de rencontres avec des jeunes
Correction: ABC has closed and moved to another place, near Collier. Difficult to join the party without a car :( but still possible with a short cab drive. (2323 Defoor Hills Rd. NW, Atlanta) Have fun!
- New York's Pizza : � cot� du Barnes&Nobles sur Tech square, resto m�dit�ran�en, bon, pas gras, vraiment sympa et �a change des hamburgers.Surtout, le buffet � 9$ � midi et � volont� est int�ressant. La semaine des finals, les �l�ves ont droit � un shot gratuit.
-Kountry Kitchen: resto sur la 14�me juste au nord du GLC, � gauche d'une station service. (15 min). Exellente cuisine du sud des �tats unis, sp�cialit�s locales (poulet frit, ribs bbq, black eyed peas) et surtout ambiance kitch sortie d'un film am�ricain. Pas cher (moins de 10$ pour le repas). Ne sert des repas qu'� midi.
-Sandwichs Cubains: en face du Kountry Kitchen, pas cher du tout et introuvable car il n'y a aucune enseigne, c'est une porte qui semble donner sur une boutique ferm�e. Rien de sp�cial, mais dwichs tr�s bons et pas cher.
-Baronda : Pizzeria sur peachtree st, juste avant le Fox Theater. Tr�s tr�s bonne pizzeria, vraiment italienne, et pas tr�s ch�re en plus. Ce n'est pas loin (10 min de marche)
-Loca Luna: Bar Tapas g�nial et surtout � 15 min du GLC. on peut y aller � partir de 18 ans, ce qui est rare. Concert de musique latine toutes les semaines le vendredi et ambiance g�niale le samedi pour ceux qui ne dansent pas la salsa le vendredi. Entr� gratuite sauf 5$ pour les <21 car ils ne peuvent pas consomer.
- MJQ: Boite TRES sympa, un salle ambiance ann�e 80/90 et l'autre HipHop avec des rappeurs qui font des concours de danse. Il faut une voiture pour y aller. Super soiree ROCK tous les mercredi soir et en plus c est gratuit.Biere a 3 dollars! Sinon le MJQ se transforme en Drunken Unicorn certains soirs pour des concerts plutot rock.Concerts sympas et encore une fois pas chers.
- Compound : boite chic et immense avec plein de jeunes. Vraiment bien, mais assez ch�re pour les consos. Entr�e gratuite si on s'inscrit sur la mail list sur internet au moins 3 jours � l'avance et qu'on arrive t�t. Des stars viennent souvent.
- Masquerade : Boite de d�glingu�s immense sur 2 �tages. entr�e gratuite si on a le mot de passe hebdomadaire. conos vraiment pas cher. RDC avec deux salles, avec serveuces pleinnes de tatoos et piercings, jeunes gothiques un peu, une salle ann�es 80 et l'autre hip hop. La boites est tr�s loin (1h � pieds) mais en voiture c'est pas grand chose. Ca vaut le coup d'oeil et c'est vraiment pas cher. Une salle � l'�tage avec des concerts parfois.
- Tuyaux qui datent un peu mais peuvent etre interessants: http://www.geocities.com/bruno_khan/infos_GTL.html
