Lost in all the coronavirus coverage was the happy news that went to 3,415 Georgia Tech applicants who learned over the weekend they were admitted.

About 20% of nearly 18,800 regular decision applicants found out Saturday they were admitted. Among that number were Georgia students from 391 high schools and 107 counties.

Combining this crop of applicants with those admitted early action in January, 7,984 students were admitted to Georgia Tech this year for an overall acceptance rate of 20%, about the same rate as last year.

The school hopes to enroll about 3,250 freshmen in the class of 2024, said Tech admissions director Rick Clark Tuesday.

It remains more challenging to gain admission into Tech from out-of-state. The acceptance rate is 16% outside of Georgia, compared to 38% in-state.

(Despite the edge already given to Georgians, a bill in the Legislature would require that at least 90% of Tech's early action admissions go to Georgia residents.)

Tech also offers side entrances to Tech for Georgia students. This year, 67% of Georgia students were admitted to the summer or fall term or provided the opportunity to earn a Tech degree through a transfer pathway after attending another school.

Transfer pathways give students the chance to transfer to Tech after a year in college elsewhere. Nearly 1,500 students were offered the Georgia First Transfer Pathway for first-generation students from Georgia or the new Talent Initiative Transfer Pathway for Pell Grant-eligible students.

Overall, Tech received just under 41,000 applications, a 10% increase over 2019 when it garnered 36,936 applicants.

That includes jumps in several target categories — a 14% increase in female applicants, 22% in first-generation students, and 14% in underrepresented minority students.

Here is a quick glance at admission stats for the Class of 2024:

Overall #GT24 Admitted Profile:

Admitted: 20% (38% in Georgia, 16% outside of Georgia)
3,310 Total High Schools
391 Georgia High Schools 
50 States (and D.C., Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands)
102 Nations of Citizenship

Applications rose in each of Georgia Tech’s six colleges, with marked increases in liberal arts (29%), design (23%), and sciences (22%). Students have until May 1 to decide whether to attend Tech.