VA Tech - how to make it seem less imposing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Part of the problem is the set up: pull into the vast suburban mall type parking lot and then follow a sidewalk for a barren 20 minutes to get to a standalone rather boring admin building. My kids kept on their list because everyone they know who goes there loves it. But my kids found other better fit colleges.

Serious question: what on earth are you talking about? Are you just making things up? I've been to VT many times and never experienced the "set up" you describe.

This is how the official tours are done. Just went last week.

You're talking about the parking lot at the Inn? Otherwise, I have no idea what you're referring to. Tours meet in the center of campus at Burruss Hall.

yes, we were directed to the parking lot at the Inn

[Anonymous]

I’ve been to the official prospective student days at all four
a) VT you park in the Perry Street Parking Deck but that fills up and the overflow is at the Inn at Virginia Tech. Then it’s a long walk through construction back to Burruss for the session.
b) JMU you park in the parking garage on East Campus and short walk to the info session at the Festival and Conference Center. But then it’s a long walk over to the old campus.
c) WM: you park in one of the colonial Williamsburg lots and then a 20 minute walk to rhe info session at Sadler
d) UVA you park in Newcomb garage if you can find a spot and it’s 3 minutes to the info session but if you can’t find a spot you have no help and your basically screwed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Part of the problem is the set up: pull into the vast suburban mall type parking lot and then follow a sidewalk for a barren 20 minutes to get to a standalone rather boring admin building. My kids kept on their list because everyone they know who goes there loves it. But my kids found other better fit colleges.

Serious question: what on earth are you talking about? Are you just making things up? I've been to VT many times and never experienced the "set up" you describe.

This is how the official tours are done. Just went last week.

You're talking about the parking lot at the Inn? Otherwise, I have no idea what you're referring to. Tours meet in the center of campus at Burruss Hall.

yes, we were directed to the parking lot at the Inn

Yes, we were there last week and that is how they did it. Maybe because of the construction? I do not know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been to the official prospective student days at all four
a) VT you park in the Perry Street Parking Deck but that fills up and the overflow is at the Inn at Virginia Tech. Then it’s a long walk through construction back to Burruss for the session.
b) JMU you park in the parking garage on East Campus and short walk to the info session at the Festival and Conference Center. But then it’s a long walk over to the old campus.
c) WM: you park in one of the colonial Williamsburg lots and then a 20 minute walk to rhe info session at Sadler
d) UVA you park in Newcomb garage if you can find a spot and it’s 3 minutes to the info session but if you can’t find a spot you have no help and your basically screwed.

Of the 4, which session were you most impressed with overall?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been to the official prospective student days at all four
a) VT you park in the Perry Street Parking Deck but that fills up and the overflow is at the Inn at Virginia Tech. Then it’s a long walk through construction back to Burruss for the session.
b) JMU you park in the parking garage on East Campus and short walk to the info session at the Festival and Conference Center. But then it’s a long walk over to the old campus.
c) WM: you park in one of the colonial Williamsburg lots and then a 20 minute walk to rhe info session at Sadler
d) UVA you park in Newcomb garage if you can find a spot and it’s 3 minutes to the info session but if you can’t find a spot you have no help and your basically screwed.

Of the 4, which session were you most impressed with overall?

That’s a good question! Maybe JMU for overall selling the school spirit and alumni satisfaction. Techs I remember is in their 3,000 person auditorium and it just felt massive. But then you walk to a college-level presentation that is much smaller. UVA and WM were in smaller theatres and felt more intimate. JMU in a multi-purpose ballroom with padded chairs set up in rows. All four had a video and A/V presentation to start followed by a speaker giving facts and figures.

[Anonymous]

Your child should not go to VT if they do not like it. There are hundreds on the waiting list who haves dreamed of going there. Give them the spot.

** the “bus stop” is a new transit hub that makes it so much easier for large amounts of students to get on buses centrally at the same time. My cadet DS no longer has to walk from upper quad to Lane to get a bus home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We visited VA Tech last weekend for the spring open house. We are trying to sort through our feelings because our reactions kind of took us by surprise and we all still want you to keep it in the running for our dd. But we all came away feeling like it seemed a little cold and off-putting. The drill field was so vast , the limestone buildings were all the same, there were few trees or natural landmarks to differentiate and help us find our way, it just seemed a little severe. There were no meandering paths or benches or trees to make everything come down to a human scale. Everybody love love loves their experience there so did we not get the right experience? What parts of the campus and the experience make it warmer and friendlier and more relatable? We will be keeping it on our list but want to make our visit next time more inclusive of places that give us a better sense of the community. Thanks!

Sounds like we were at the same open house. It's funny that we (my wife and I, and our kid) had the exact opposite reaction - we were all pleasantly surprised by how much we liked the campus.

I had lower expectations, expecting a big, somewhat ugly, sprawling campus that would feel impersonal. By contrast, we found the campus to be attractive even in the dead of winter -- the buildings and architecture were much nicer than I was expecting, the campus is big but it somehow felt compact, and there seemed to be a real sense of community there. My kid was super excited about it and we've just made the final decision for my kid to attend VT (he's a high school senior and had already been accepted). We really liked how clean the town is and how it just felt like a "nice" place.

I definitely think having a bicycle on campus will be a good idea; I had one back when I was in college and it was great to be able to get around campus and around town more quickly.

I was surprised that housing is so limited -- from what I understand, only freshman are guaranteed on-campus housing placement, from then on it's hit-or-miss. But literally everyone I have ever spoken with who went to VT had only positive things to say about it, and they tell me that it's not a big deal due to the number of informal "student housing" apartments around the campus (and there's not much more to Blacksburg than VT, so I can see how that would be true). All the students and people we interacted with, both on campus and in our little tour of the town itself, were very friendly. So we really liked the vibe.

In short, my kid loved it and is very excited to be going there next year; I liked it a lot more than I thought I would and I'm sold on the school.

Every kid is different, of course. My kid definitely did not want to attend school in an "urban" environment and he's outgoing and looking forward to joining a "big pond" type of school versus a smaller one.

I'd say keep visiting schools (especially if your kid is a junior) and see which ones "feel" right to you. Of course, ultimately the academics are a major factor, too, so it's not all about vibe. But I suspect you'll find a school that has both the right academics and a vibe that fits your kid.

[Anonymous]

The applicant's subjective reaction to the campus is important, because DC is going to (hopefully) spend 4 years of their life there! Perhaps trusting the judgment of a teenager is questionable, but it's their life!

This is particularly the case for the Virginia schools. The top ones (UVA, VT, W&M, JMU, VCU and GMU) are all quite different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We visited VA Tech last weekend for the spring open house. We are trying to sort through our feelings because our reactions kind of took us by surprise and we all still want you to keep it in the running for our dd. But we all came away feeling like it seemed a little cold and off-putting. The drill field was so vast , the limestone buildings were all the same, there were few trees or natural landmarks to differentiate and help us find our way, it just seemed a little severe. There were no meandering paths or benches or trees to make everything come down to a human scale. Everybody love love loves their experience there so did we not get the right experience? What parts of the campus and the experience make it warmer and friendlier and more relatable? We will be keeping it on our list but want to make our visit next time more inclusive of places that give us a better sense of the community. Thanks!

Sounds like we were at the same open house. It's funny that we (my wife and I, and our kid) had the exact opposite reaction - we were all pleasantly surprised by how much we liked the campus.

I had lower expectations, expecting a big, somewhat ugly, sprawling campus that would feel impersonal. By contrast, we found the campus to be attractive even in the dead of winter -- the buildings and architecture were much nicer than I was expecting, the campus is big but it somehow felt compact, and there seemed to be a real sense of community there. My kid was super excited about it and we've just made the final decision for my kid to attend VT (he's a high school senior and had already been accepted). We really liked how clean the town is and how it just felt like a "nice" place.

I definitely think having a bicycle on campus will be a good idea; I had one back when I was in college and it was great to be able to get around campus and around town more quickly.

I was surprised that housing is so limited -- from what I understand, only freshman are guaranteed on-campus housing placement, from then on it's hit-or-miss. But literally everyone I have ever spoken with who went to VT had only positive things to say about it, and they tell me that it's not a big deal due to the number of informal "student housing" apartments around the campus (and there's not much more to Blacksburg than VT, so I can see how that would be true). All the students and people we interacted with, both on campus and in our little tour of the town itself, were very friendly. So we really liked the vibe.

In short, my kid loved it and is very excited to be going there next year; I liked it a lot more than I thought I would and I'm sold on the school.

Every kid is different, of course. My kid definitely did not want to attend school in an "urban" environment and he's outgoing and looking forward to joining a "big pond" type of school versus a smaller one.

I'd say keep visiting schools (especially if your kid is a junior) and see which ones "feel" right to you. Of course, ultimately the academics are a major factor, too, so it's not all about vibe. But I suspect you'll find a school that has both the right academics and a vibe that fits your kid.

+100
We also had the same experience and impressions as you! Loved it.

[Anonymous]

One of our kids chose not to attend VT because it was just too big for her. She ultimately went to a SLAC. But she absolutely loved visiting her HS friends at VT and had a great time each time she visited. She thought it was a gorgeous campus and had the perfect big school vibe for people who wanted that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Part of the problem is the set up: pull into the vast suburban mall type parking lot and then follow a sidewalk for a barren 20 minutes to get to a standalone rather boring admin building. My kids kept on their list because everyone they know who goes there loves it. But my kids found other better fit colleges.

Serious question: what on earth are you talking about? Are you just making things up? I've been to VT many times and never experienced the "set up" you describe.

NP here. I know what they’re describing and I agree. The center where they give tours is far from everything and surrounded by a massive parking lot. It takes quite awhile to walk to campus. So first impressions aren’t great for some, that’s all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Part of the problem is the set up: pull into the vast suburban mall type parking lot and then follow a sidewalk for a barren 20 minutes to get to a standalone rather boring admin building. My kids kept on their list because everyone they know who goes there loves it. But my kids found other better fit colleges.

Serious question: what on earth are you talking about? Are you just making things up? I've been to VT many times and never experienced the "set up" you describe.

NP here. I know what they’re describing and I agree. The center where they give tours is far from everything and surrounded by a massive parking lot. It takes quite awhile to walk to campus. So first impressions aren’t great for some, that’s all.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Part of the problem is the set up: pull into the vast suburban mall type parking lot and then follow a sidewalk for a barren 20 minutes to get to a standalone rather boring admin building. My kids kept on their list because everyone they know who goes there loves it. But my kids found other better fit colleges.

Serious question: what on earth are you talking about? Are you just making things up? I've been to VT many times and never experienced the "set up" you describe.

NP here. I know what they’re describing and I agree. The center where they give tours is far from everything and surrounded by a massive parking lot. It takes quite awhile to walk to campus. So first impressions aren’t great for some, that’s all.

That must have been the overflow parking lot. We parked in the Perry Street parking garage and it was a couple minutes walk from there to the Burruss Hall building where the open house started; along the way we encountered several groups of students welcoming us and pointing us in the right direction -- they were all enthusiastic and energetic, even on a chilly early March morning!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks, 10:09 and 10:19. This is kind of the advice I was searching for. (Though I do appreciate the fact that it may not ultimately be the school for her, just felt certain there had to be more we had missed). True, we were seeing things in the dead of February grayness. Would love to hear from others about ways it felt more doable to their student or about places/positive aspects we did not see on that one, busy day.

I felt that way about umich when I visited back in the day— it was a cold, wet, gray February! Didnt end ip going.

[Anonymous]

I remember it feeling like a long walk with our tour group before we finally started the tour. But it was a nice center in which to start off!