help me decide on Virginia Tech

[Anonymous]

Have visited both. My kid had to be dragged to Blacksburg. They were very set on uva or bust. Did a 180 after visiting Tech. The school spirit was the strongest of any campus we visited. (And we have no connection to either.). Also, it’s gorgeous. If your kid likes VT, go to VT!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have visited both. My kid had to be dragged to Blacksburg. They were very set on uva or bust. Did a 180 after visiting Tech. The school spirit was the strongest of any campus we visited. (And we have no connection to either.). Also, it’s gorgeous. If your kid likes VT, go to VT!!

Similar story here. DS wasn't thrilled about UVA, but considering it - accepted to both, no desire to apply to W&M. The accepted students' day at VT sealed the deal - absolutely loved the school. Not a STEM major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the plan is business school this is a no brainer. Business decisions are almost always risk vs reward value based decisions. Direct admit to business school vs a chance you might not get into business school. What is the correct business decision. There is your answer.

+1

"direct admit" is the only answer here that is important OP.

Never ever go to a college and not be a direct admit in Business or Engineering.

VT doesn’t offer direct admit to CS major, only College of Engineering.

[Anonymous]

It is not a gorgeous school. It is very bland with similar gray buildings everywhere in an area with a lot of clouds and windy cold weather

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does the vibe at VT compare to UMD if youve been to both.

TIA

VT is much better. A true college town and much more school spirit. It's sad how few people go to UMD football games.

Clarify how “VT is much better”. If football is your only criteria for a college experience, ok.

DC is considering both of these options right now and we’ve recently visited both. VT is a beautiful campus, but it’s sprawling. Lots more buses around campus, more walking, more green space, etc. Corps of cadets was a difference we noticed. We were excited to try the food at VT since it was supposed to be top ranked. It was good, but didn’t knock my socks off. UMD food just as good at their new dining hall. Residence halls looked much nicer at VT. DC did not enjoy the drive to VT or its remoteness. DC noted less diversity at VT as well.

DC liked curriculum at UMD better. VT has students start off in foundational level intro classes, not necessarily in their major field - eg foundations of engineering. UMD would let DC hop right into classes in major field. Perhaps the difference of being directly admitted to CS at UMD? At VT you are admitted to College of Engineering and then apply at end of freshmen year to CS. Have to have 3.0 GPA to guarantee CS major but they will take everyone with 3.0 and adjust class offerings accordingly.

VT speaker for major area - speaker seemed like a great teacher but he was a teacher. - two masters (sp ed and subject area). He did not have a PhD or do research. He wasn’t even sure what one of the areas the department was getting into was. And literally said it. At least look up the definition for the information session. Employers VT touted at info session were large DC area Govt contractors. DCs reaction to VT was that it was “mid”.

We were at VT for their “admitted” student day this week. After doing these now for two kids, I can say VTs was the worst I went to. There really wasn’t much to the “admitted” student day. Just a one hour session…I believe they have a more formal session this weekend, but our schedule didn’t accommodate for that and we thought the one day session would be sufficient. We didn’t know it would only be for 1 hour when we signed up because there was no planned schedule ever published.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does the vibe at VT compare to UMD if youve been to both.

TIA

VT is much better. A true college town and much more school spirit. It's sad how few people go to UMD football games.

Clarify how “VT is much better”. If football is your only criteria for a college experience, ok.

DC is considering both of these options right now and we’ve recently visited both. VT is a beautiful campus, but it’s sprawling. Lots more buses around campus, more walking, more green space, etc. Corps of cadets was a difference we noticed. We were excited to try the food at VT since it was supposed to be top ranked. It was good, but didn’t knock my socks off. UMD food just as good at their new dining hall. Residence halls looked much nicer at VT. DC did not enjoy the drive to VT or its remoteness. DC noted less diversity at VT as well.

DC liked curriculum at UMD better. VT has students start off in foundational level intro classes, not necessarily in their major field - eg foundations of engineering. UMD would let DC hop right into classes in major field. Perhaps the difference of being directly admitted to CS at UMD? At VT you are admitted to College of Engineering and then apply at end of freshmen year to CS. Have to have 3.0 GPA to guarantee CS major but they will take everyone with 3.0 and adjust class offerings accordingly.

VT speaker for major area - speaker seemed like a great teacher but he was a teacher. - two masters (sp ed and subject area). He did not have a PhD or do research. He wasn’t even sure what one of the areas the department was getting into was. And literally said it. At least look up the definition for the information session. Employers VT touted at info session were large DC area Govt contractors. DCs reaction to VT was that it was “mid”.

We were at VT for their “admitted” student day this week. After doing these now for two kids, I can say VTs was the worst I went to. There really wasn’t much to the “admitted” student day. Just a one hour session…I believe they have a more formal session this weekend, but our schedule didn’t accommodate for that and we thought the one day session would be sufficient. We didn’t know it would only be for 1 hour when we signed up because there was no planned schedule ever published.

You definitely sound like you had a strong preference for UMD from the get go so your experience doesn’t sound or feel objective. Both are good schools but also have extremely different campus vibes. One is.not better than the other but their campus life is not an apples to apples comparison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a kid at VT, and they LOVE it.

It's a campus full of smart, but down-to-earth kids.

Our kid could have done the work at UVA just fine and earned a degree, but the social aspect would have had kid tearing their hair out, because our kid is down-to-earth and wouldn't have dealt well the snobbish UVA social culture. It's all about your kid's personality, and the right fit for them. They have to spend four years (or more) at this place. Do they like it?

At VT, your kid can be themselves, and everyone works hard. Everyone is very smart. The cadet corps on campus also instill a quite sense of responsibility and work ethic in the other students, I think.

Great school, and it's on the rise!

Totally agree with this. VT is a special place and my DC feels completely at home there.

Have you been to UVA lately? We were there for Days on the Lawn recently and this could not be further from the vibe of the school now. Interesting.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP!

Just wondering, since you started this thread back on 3/30,

- have you made a decision where to send DD for college ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does the vibe at VT compare to UMD if youve been to both.

TIA

VT is much better. A true college town and much more school spirit. It's sad how few people go to UMD football games.

UMD beat the crap out of VT, football and the reason that not more go to UMD games is because there are other things to do around UMD. Schools that have nothing else around it usually have better football game attendance because that's all there is to do for entertainment.

It also shows that UMD students are not one dimensional in terms of interests. It's one of the most diverse campuses in the country.

So, if football attendance to a school that sucks at football is your thing, then yea, VT is for you.

[Anonymous]

I went to visit VT w my kid even though I’m a UVA alum. I was blown away. The campus is beautiful and pristinely maintained, and we can actually call it a campus! Students are friendly. It’s a mix of cadets, athletes, very Christian kids, partiers, eng nerds, people from rural areas, and so many more, yet somehow they all get along pretty well and learn from each other. So many majors. My freshman came in w AP credit, which helped him to not have the huge weed out classes. He studies, but just the right amount. He joined a bunch of clubs and they were all welcoming and had very generous budgets. The parents page is really helpful and friendly. Personally I feel the school excels at what matters- great professors, great food, mental health services, safety, community service, etc, and all of this helps kids grow in mature adults ready for work or grad school. It’s not a place focused on status or competition, my son is relaxed and thriving there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a kid at VT, and they LOVE it.

It's a campus full of smart, but down-to-earth kids.

Our kid could have done the work at UVA just fine and earned a degree, but the social aspect would have had kid tearing their hair out, because our kid is down-to-earth and wouldn't have dealt well the snobbish UVA social culture. It's all about your kid's personality, and the right fit for them. They have to spend four years (or more) at this place. Do they like it?

At VT, your kid can be themselves, and everyone works hard. Everyone is very smart. The cadet corps on campus also instill a quite sense of responsibility and work ethic in the other students, I think.

Great school, and it's on the rise!

Totally agree with this. VT is a special place and my DC feels completely at home there.

Have you been to UVA lately? We were there for Days on the Lawn recently and this could not be further from the vibe of the school now. Interesting.

of course they haven't. If you walk around UVA today, you will see incredible diversity in every way. its not the least bit snobby. Yes there are pockets of that, especially within PARTS of the greek system, but 70% of the school does not participate in the greek system so there's plenty of ways to avoid that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not deciding between UVA and VT but just recently went to visit VT because on paper, it checked all of our boxes:

- Big university
- Nice campus
- Strong sports program/culture

But when we went on campus, the vibe was odd. It was surprisingly quiet and low energy. My son was turned all the way off. So if you haven't, I'd say make it a priority to get on campus with your DD to see if she likes the vibe or not.

This school has TONS going on. Low energy? No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is not a gorgeous school. It is very bland with similar gray buildings everywhere in an area with a lot of clouds and windy cold weather

I totally disagree - it’s a beautiful campus and is certainly surrounded by a gorgeous area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a kid at VT, and they LOVE it.

It's a campus full of smart, but down-to-earth kids.

Our kid could have done the work at UVA just fine and earned a degree, but the social aspect would have had kid tearing their hair out, because our kid is down-to-earth and wouldn't have dealt well the snobbish UVA social culture. It's all about your kid's personality, and the right fit for them. They have to spend four years (or more) at this place. Do they like it?

At VT, your kid can be themselves, and everyone works hard. Everyone is very smart. The cadet corps on campus also instill a quite sense of responsibility and work ethic in the other students, I think.

Great school, and it's on the rise!

Totally agree with this. VT is a special place and my DC feels completely at home there.

Have you been to UVA lately? We were there for Days on the Lawn recently and this could not be further from the vibe of the school now. Interesting.

Yes. Not our kid’s vibe at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not deciding between UVA and VT but just recently went to visit VT because on paper, it checked all of our boxes:

- Big university
- Nice campus
- Strong sports program/culture

But when we went on campus, the vibe was odd. It was surprisingly quiet and low energy. My son was turned all the way off. So if you haven't, I'd say make it a priority to get on campus with your DD to see if she likes the vibe or not.

This school has TONS going on. Low energy? No.

+1
My DC has so many opportunities to be involved - the campus is full of energy.