Are Grades and Test Scores all that Matter at Big State Schools
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Anonymous
| DS has drawn up list of colleges to apply to that are mostly medium to large state schools (out of state, not T20) that get tens of thousands of applications. Does anything really matter on these applications besides GPA and test scores? Wondering how much essays and extracurricular accomplishments will make a difference. |
Anonymous
| VT does not focus on grades and test scores. I have no idea what they do care about though. |
Anonymous
Of course, nothing else matters at big state schools. Just have your kid recite the lyrics to a Halsey song in their essay and tell them their EC was playing video games and eating Doritos while monitoring their heart rate and as long as they had "good grades and test scores" all will be well! 
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Anonymous
| Course rigor |
Anonymous
They most certainly do. Sorry your kid didn't get in. |
Anonymous
| The process has to be pretty bpack and white due to the numbers of applicants OP. There is always a special admit door for legacies, URMs, and recruited athletes though. |
Anonymous
| At most big state schools it’s a numbers cutoff game. |
Anonymous
| From experience, Wisconsin and Michigan are more than grades and scores. They read the essays for fit and program. |
Anonymous
^ Agree with this. And agree that Michigan and Wisconsin exceptions. There are exceptions - and there are other exceptions. |
Anonymous
+1 Grades, scores, and the answers to the VT specific essays are all very important. |
Anonymous
+1 After hearing about some of my kid’s friends not getting in to Engineering, I agree completely |
Anonymous
Maybe because they have thousands of highly qualified students applying so the competition is fierce? 
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Anonymous
Grades seemed the most important based on Naviance. It was one of the schools that had an easy to see line - almost everyone got in with a GPA over x and few got in below that number. The Test scores were not as easy to assess. |
Anonymous
Yup. Coming from a state with a less exceptional state flagship (Oregon) the process in the DMV blows my mind. In Oregon a kid basically knows if they’re going to get in or not with their grades and scores. And if they did moderately well, they’re getting in. |
Anonymous
It's grades/rigor mainly plus the short answer questions. People don't believe such a big U actually reads the essays but they are clear that those plus grades/rigor are the only application items that are "very important". The other "very important" items are personal factors -- race, first gen, residency. Nothing else is even rated as "important" just "considered" or "not considered" https://aie.vt.edu/content/dam/aie_vt_edu/common-data-set/21-22/first_time_first_year_freshman_admission_21-22.xlsx |