Educate me on Virginia Tech's Early Decision

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VT alum here. You can pick a second-choice major. I would advise applying under university studies ("undecided") and transferring into engineering (looking up the required eng'g curriculum and drop/adding appropriate courses during freshman year) if your DC is not admitted into the Engineering school right off the bat. Science majors such as chemistry and physics like you proposed are also highly competitive at VT and the College of Science is not a cake walk to get admitted into either.

If you apply Early Decision, yes, you must fork over the deposit, but if DC decides not to go to VT, you forfeit that deposit. However, I caution you from doing this. Every Early Decision admit takes away a spot from a Regular Decision applicant because VT assumes ED admits will enroll. It's not like VT is going to come after you if you forgo the deposit and DC enrolls elsewhere, but that will absolutely be a factor if DC tries to transfer into VT.

A little insight - it's not just undergraduate admissions that keeps applicants' records, but the entire university. Each applicant is assigned a 9-digit ID number when they apply, and that number carries over if they enroll as their student ID number. Even if they don't enroll, that 9-digit identifier is linked with that applicant in a university database. If DC applies ED (i.e. makes a commitment to attend VT) and does not enroll, this will absolutely be taken into account in future graduate admissions as well. The university will look up that applicant, find their existing ID number, and read up in the details of their profile.

-worked in a university administration office during all 4 years of undergrad

Can you provide me a link to the policy for this? I looked and could not find one. I say this especially because the Va Tech spokesperson at the on campus presentation only mentioned the forfeiture of the deposit and kind of shrugged when he said it- indicating to me that he didn't take it very seriously. I would think they would want all the ramifications out in the open and transparent.

PP here. There is no policy on this. This is knowledge that I gained in the 4 years I worked in a university administration office. They are not going to tell the public this, sorry. The spokesperson who gave you the presentation likely doesn't know about this. The campus tours are done by students and likely won't know either.

I guess I am cooling to Va Tech if they will not be transparent about their policies.

PP for the last time. Great! More space for kids who actually want to go to Tech.

Also, I would appreciate it if you would stop referring to the university as "Va Tech." Appropriate abbreviations are VT, VPI, VPI&SU, Tech, or Virginia Tech.

Good luck at that crusade! - not sure if DCUM is place to start enforcing this naming orthodoxy - VPI&SU is my personal favorite

[Anonymous]

Truly^^. But OP posits a great question. We toured two weeks ago. VT (whatever), engineering, is DC's first choice. Engineering is the most difficult school to get into, and yes, you must list one of the other colleges as your second choice and it CANNOT now be one of the top four: Engineering, Architechture, Interior Design and something else which I can't remember. You have to make your selection from the other four or five. 10:22s advice to mark "Undecided" is correct, if you are set on engineering, but I don't know how difficult it is later to transfer from Undecided into Engineering - that's something we have yet to explore. Yes, it is binding and therefore extremely attractive to us because we did EA for first child for a VA university and it saved us thousands of visitation hours, December and January hours in doing multiple applications and the fees. But DC only wants engineering, so, I, too, am somewhat baffled. The presenter did discourage ED because he said that only 1/8 of the ED engineering apps. are accepted - the rest are set aside as deferred because VT wants to see "more" from the applicant such as fall grades, better test scores. And the others outright rejected. Also he made the point that the FAFSA doesn't go in until later. However, as a stressed-out parent, the attractiveness of the EA and ED options outweigh what this presenter said. I really want to be done with the whole mess! So I have the same question - your kid only wants VA Tech Engineering. He gets into the second option. Let's say it is undecided. DC is unhappy and wants now to go to GA Tech. What do you do?

[Anonymous]

Isn't the question: DC applies binding ED to VT for Engineering (with Basket Weaving as a second choice). DC is deferred/rejected to Eng'g school but is accepted in Basket Weaving. Has DC really applied ED (binding) for Basket Weaving?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Truly^^. But OP posits a great question. We toured two weeks ago. VT (whatever), engineering, is DC's first choice. Engineering is the most difficult school to get into, and yes, you must list one of the other colleges as your second choice and it CANNOT now be one of the top four: Engineering, Architechture, Interior Design and something else which I can't remember. You have to make your selection from the other four or five. 10:22s advice to mark "Undecided" is correct, if you are set on engineering, but I don't know how difficult it is later to transfer from Undecided into Engineering - that's something we have yet to explore. Yes, it is binding and therefore extremely attractive to us because we did EA for first child for a VA university and it saved us thousands of visitation hours, December and January hours in doing multiple applications and the fees. But DC only wants engineering, so, I, too, am somewhat baffled. The presenter did discourage ED because he said that only 1/8 of the ED engineering apps. are accepted - the rest are set aside as deferred because VT wants to see "more" from the applicant such as fall grades, better test scores. And the others outright rejected. Also he made the point that the FAFSA doesn't go in until later. However, as a stressed-out parent, the attractiveness of the EA and ED options outweigh what this presenter said. I really want to be done with the whole mess! So I have the same question - your kid only wants VA Tech Engineering. He gets into the second option. Let's say it is undecided. DC is unhappy and wants now to go to GA Tech. What do you do?

Go to Georgia Tech for engineering unless DC does research into the process of transferring into engineering at VT and is comfortable with doing that and knowing there is a possibility of being rejected.

Anonymous wrote:Isn't the question: DC applies binding ED to VT for Engineering (with Basket Weaving as a second choice). DC is deferred/rejected to Eng'g school but is accepted in Basket Weaving. Has DC really applied ED (binding) for Basket Weaving?

Yes. You commit to go to the university, not commit to a specific major. You can always change your major. It REALLY does not matter what major you enter into the university with. I don't know why people harp on this so much. Most kids change their minds quite a few times anyway.

[Anonymous]

18:35. So to confirm. One cannot apply ED Engineering and not fill in the second slot. So DC gets accepted to "undecided", can any grad or someone at VT tell me how difficult it is to get from "undecided" over to "Engineering". And do you need certain courses and grades, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Truly^^. But OP posits a great question. We toured two weeks ago. VT (whatever), engineering, is DC's first choice. Engineering is the most difficult school to get into, and yes, you must list one of the other colleges as your second choice and it CANNOT now be one of the top four: Engineering, Architechture, Interior Design and something else which I can't remember. You have to make your selection from the other four or five. 10:22s advice to mark "Undecided" is correct, if you are set on engineering, but I don't know how difficult it is later to transfer from Undecided into Engineering - that's something we have yet to explore. Yes, it is binding and therefore extremely attractive to us because we did EA for first child for a VA university and it saved us thousands of visitation hours, December and January hours in doing multiple applications and the fees. But DC only wants engineering, so, I, too, am somewhat baffled. The presenter did discourage ED because he said that only 1/8 of the ED engineering apps. are accepted - the rest are set aside as deferred because VT wants to see "more" from the applicant such as fall grades, better test scores. And the others outright rejected. Also he made the point that the FAFSA doesn't go in until later. However, as a stressed-out parent, the attractiveness of the EA and ED options outweigh what this presenter said. I really want to be done with the whole mess! So I have the same question - your kid only wants VA Tech Engineering. He gets into the second option. Let's say it is undecided. DC is unhappy and wants now to go to GA Tech. What do you do?

Go to Georgia Tech for engineering unless DC does research into the process of transferring into engineering at VT and is comfortable with doing that and knowing there is a possibility of being rejected.

Anonymous wrote:Isn't the question: DC applies binding ED to VT for Engineering (with Basket Weaving as a second choice). DC is deferred/rejected to Eng'g school but is accepted in Basket Weaving. Has DC really applied ED (binding) for Basket Weaving?

Yes. You commit to go to the university, not commit to a specific major. You can always change your major. It REALLY does not matter what major you enter into the university with. I don't know why people harp on this so much. Most kids change their minds quite a few times anyway.

It does matter for engineering as you cannot take the Freshman engineering course your freshman year and then you have trouble getting a co-op position Sophomore year. It more frequently than not ads another year you your college costs.

[Anonymous]

Thanks 21:13. That was the answer I needed (and the type the admin. officer won't tell you). Do you happen to know what happens if you apply ED for engineering (as DS wants to do) and leave the second college selection blank? He doesn't want basketweaving or undecided. He wants engineering.