Program FAQ / Details

Focus is an immersive four days held the weekend before the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Accepted participants should plan to dedicate the entire time to taking advantage of the many activities provided during the program, including department and lab tours; academic, research, business, and government workshops; admissions and financial information sessions; networking opportunities; one-on-one faculty meetings; engaging dinners and socials with graduate faculty, alumni, students, and staff; and much more. A detailed schedule will be provided to accepted confirmed participants closer to the program date.

Applicants will receive application status notifications no later than the end of November 2024. After careful review of your application by the respective department, you will receive a notice of accepted, denied, or waitlisted. Your application may be reviewed at an earlier date and notifications may be received any time in November based on the application submission date.

Georgia Tech covers hotel accommodations, workshop fees, meals, and materials. Georgia Tech will reimburse transportation based on the travel guidelines provided below (see “how much will I be reimbursed” ). You will be provided with accommodations at the GT Hotel. All meals during the FOCUS 2025 weekend will be provided at the GT Hotel or on the Georgia Tech campus for Focus scholars. Georgia Tech will not reimburse any meals purchased outside of those provided, including meals purchased during travel to and from the event. All necessary materials for the workshops and events will be covered. Please note that Georgia Tech does not cover ground transportation such as MARTA, Uber, etc. However, if you drive from your home to the GT Hotel, we will reimburse your mileage based on Georgia Tech mileage policy and not to exceed reimbursement max allocations by state. The only cost that you will need to cover initially is the flight, bus, or train, which Georgia Tech will reimburse after the FOCUS 2025 weekend upon submission of receipts with form of payment and amount paid clearly noted on the receipt.

Each student is responsible for making their own travel arrangements using their own account. The Focus program does not make travel arrangements. However, we will reimburse you for travel based on the guidelines provided below. We cannot reimburse you if a parent or anyone other than yourself pays for your flight. If someone else is purchasing your flight, they should send the money to you directly so that you can purchase it with your own credit or debit card. The Focus program team will handle hotel arrangements for confirmed participants.

If you are currently a Georgia Tech student living on campus, your meals will be provided. However, you will not be reimbursed for transportation, and hotel will not be provided.

If you are a participant living within the state of Georgia, your meals and hotel will be provided. In addition, you will be reimbursed up to $200 depending on your mode of transportation.

If you are a participant living outside of the state of Georgia, your meals and hotel will be provided. In addition, you will be reimbursed for airline travel according to the following list of states based on the state of your current institution:

$500 for AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MN, ME, MT, ND, NH, NM, NV, OR, WI, UT, VT, WA, WY, and Puerto Rico
$350 for AR, CT, DE, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, OK, OH, LA, MA, MD, MI, MO, NE, NJ, NY, PA, RI, SD, TX, WV, VA, Washington, D.C.
$275 for AL, FL, MS, NC, SC, TN
You must provide one of the following:

Airline receipt for fare & mandatory taxes/fees (original only)
Bus ticket (original only)
Gas receipts and car registration
Rental car receipt.
Note: All receipts must show “paid” or completed credit card transactions when a credit card is used. All receipts must have the form of payment (i.e. the last four digits of the card used) on the receipt permitted). Travel insurance is NOT a permissible reimbursement; however scholars may purchase travel insurance for their trip at their own expense.

You will have at least three opportunities to submit your travel reimbursement statement:

• When you complete your travel confirmation form, you will have an opportunity to upload travel receipts directly
• During Focus check-in and registration on Thursday
• During late check-in on Friday morning

Reimbursement checks are mailed to students roughly 45-60 days after Focus ends.

Can I use e-credits to purchase my flight?

Yes, you can use e-credits to purchase your flight. You must provide detailed documentation showing the original amount of the e-credit and a receipt or confirmation of the flight purchase. Please note that we cannot reimburse reward points or any other non-monetary forms of payment. Only flights purchased with actual funds, including e-credits, will be eligible for reimbursement. (have to have proof that it was paid by e-credits, taxes and fees can be reimbursed)

What if I pay with PayPal?

Southwest Airlines offers the option to pay with credit, debit, and PayPal. If you paid for your flight with PayPal, we will allow reimbursement as long as the documentation provided matches the name on the PayPal account and the airfare receipt. Please ensure that your PayPal account is in your name and that the flight purchase receipt clearly shows this information. Additionally, you must provide a redacted bank statement that shows the purchase with your bank. Without matching documentation and the bank statement, we will not be able to process your reimbursement.

Reimbursements must be completed within 45-60 days of FOCUS 2025. All documents for reimbursement need to be submitted in a timely fashion. An attestation has been added stating that Georgia Tech is not obligated to reimburse past the 60-day window if the adequate documentation needed to process the reimbursement is not provided. The deadline date and the promise of a check will also be included in the FAQs.

You may take a taxi, van, shuttle, or Atlanta’s public transportation system called MARTA. We can reimburse those expenses up to your maximum amount of total trip expenses mentioned above. MARTA costs $2.50 per trip and is the most efficient way of getting from the airport to Midtown. The MARTA rail station is located inside the Atlanta airport past baggage claim. Pay $2.50 (cash or credit card) at the kiosk machines.

Take the train north to the Midtown train station, which is about a 20-minute ride and does not require any transfers or exits until you get to the Midtown station.

Walking: Exit the North Avenue (exit at north exit to Ponce de Leon Ave.) or Midtown (exit south to Peachtree Place) stations. The Georgia Tech Hotel is positioned exactly between the two stations, 5 blocks south of the Midtown station or 5 blocks north of the North Avenue station. 

Shuttle Bus Connection: Exit the Midtown station facing south at the Peachtree Place exit. The Tech Trolley is a free shuttle that picks up passengers at the Midtown station outside the Peachtree Place exit and travels down 5th Street to the Georgia Tech Hotel. Be sure to tell the driver to let you know when you are at the Georgia Tech Hotel.

Plan to arrive between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on the first day of the program. Please be sure to forward us your travel itinerary once it is finalized.

Plan to depart Atlanta the afternoon of the final day of the program. Hotel check-out is 11 a.m. If you plan a return flight on Sunday morning before 9 a.m., you may have to establish and pay for your own transportation to the MARTA train station or the airport if the Georgia Tech shuttle is not operating that early.

Your lodging is paid for three nights in the designated hotel—Thursday, Friday, and Saturday ­– with check out on Sunday morning before 11 a.m. You are responsible for any lodging prior to and beyond these days. You are also responsible for any incidentals charged to your room upon checkout.

Direct correspondence to applicants will be distributed through email. It is important that you provide an email account, which you access regularly, on your application. Once accepted, applicants should check their emails (including spam) frequently between November 22, 2024, and January 11, 2025, for Focus correspondence from focus.gatech.edu or Focus graduate admissions or S. Gordon Moore Jr.