So, you're thinking about attending a college or university in Georgia?

One of the original thirteen colonies of America, Georgia is the largest state east of the Mississippi River in land area. It was also one of the original seven Confederate states. Georgia is bordered in the north by Tennessee and North Carolina, the east by South Carolina and the Atlantic Ocean, the south by Florida, and the west by Alabama.

The northern portion of Georgia is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a mountain range that is part of the Appalachians. The southern part of the state, however, is fairly flat. It lies in the continental coastal plain.

The north and south areas of Georgia have very different weather patterns. While the entire state receives heavy precipitation, ranging from 45 inches to 75 inches, the northern section is generally colder and more likely to receive snow then the southern portion of the state. The mountainous areas are especially vulnerable to ice storms while the southern areas receive frequent summer thunderstorms.

Though Georgia typically has moderate weather compared to many other states, it does sometimes experience extreme conditions. It is one of the leading states in incidents of tornadoes, although it is rare from them to become severe.

Being along the Atlantic coast, Georgia is susceptible to hurricanes, but it is uncommon for it to experience a direct hurricane strike. Most of the time, hurricanes that strike Florida will weaken over land and bring strong winds and heavy rain into Georgia.

The state of Georgia had an estimated population of 9,363,941 in 2006. This data shows that, since 1990, the population of Georgia has grown by 44.5%, making Georgia one of the fastest-growing states in the country. Approximately 7.7% of the population was reported as being under 5 years old while 26.4% were under 18 and 9.6% were 65 or older.

Until 2003, Georgia's state government had the longest unbroken record of single-party dominance of any state in the nation. For over 130 years, only Democratic governors were elected and Democrats held the majority of seats in the General Assembly. Even then, the Democrats that gained the most support were very conservative in their philosophies. Today, Republicans control all three partisan elements of the state government.

Like the majority of Southern states, Georgia is mostly composed of Protestant Christians. 85% of residents claim Christianity as their belief system, 76% are Protestant. Around 13% of Georgians consider themselves non-religious.

The personal income tax of Georgia is divided into six tax brackets, ranging from 1-6%. The state has a 4% sales tax, but this is not applied to prescription drugs, certain medical devices, and groceries. Counties can add up to an additional 3% to this rate. The only city to impose a local tax is Atlanta. It levies a 1.25% tax, making the total tax rate in the city 8.25%. While local taxes are almost always charged on groceries, they are never applied to prescriptions.

Georgia boasts a large number of colleges and universities, both private and public. The educational institutions found here include:

• Albany State University

• The Georgia College & State University

To find more information about universities and colleges in this area, visit the Online College Degree page on this website.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Georgia".

Free College Planning Resources