Tell me your Va Tech horror stories (or even mildly annoying ones)

[Anonymous]

OP here - thought I'd update in case you're curious. She chose VT. We appreciated your comments and enjoyed reading (most of) them. Luckily she's a 'fall' so bring on the maroon and orange!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the other school?

Purdue, Engineering

Purdue is the better school but... Indiana. Such a backwards state.

My kid went to IU and I hated that drive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is a freshman at VT and has had a good year, no complaints. I'm on the VT parent group on Facebook and I'd say the main issues I've seen fall into three buckets -- math instruction (or lack thereof), how they handle accusations of honor code violations, quiet/introverted students having a hard time finding their group.

The last one is likely no more or less an issue than it would be at any college.

The honor code stuff seems like it's an issue of guilty until proven innocent and a really bad management process where kids are left hanging for over a year waiting for even a hearing, with graduations held up because they are informed at the last minute that they have to retake a class. Important to be really, really careful. Issues like if you are in a big texting group for a class and one student shares something they shouldn't, every person in the group is assumed to be guilty of cheating. You have to report even the smallest thing ASAP.

Math seems to be the most pervasive problem. Not so much an issue for engineering students, however, since they get actual in-person classes with teachers. But, non-engineering/math students have to take their math classes in online/self-taught classes and go to the "Math Emporium" to take tests and get tutoring. Their own data says this approach has improved pass rates but it does not work well for a significant chunk of students and many are advised to actually take their math classes at a CC.

The last bit there is important.

Op go through the list of faculty in your dc's area of interest and try to get a feel for how impressive the professors are. Read some reviews on rate my professor type sites. Most everyone around us went to VT and we heard horror stories about how crowded everything was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What state do you live in?

I-81 can be dangerous driving, and if you are allowing you teen to do the drive, I'd emphasize not speeding. I had a classmate killed in a car accident on 81 one August on his way back to school. It was a wrenching way to start the year.

It's in the mountains and the fall is absolutely gorgeous. Oh wait, bad things only. Hmm.

I went to VT and loved it.

+2. A colleague's DC was killed when they hit a deer, deer went through windshield crushing the child OTW back to school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t go and don’t have a kid there. The kids I who have gone seem very happy. The alums are loyal and loved their time there. All that said— I might pause before sending an OOS kid. UVA and W& M are small schools and getting in, even in state is brutal. VT is not the flagship, of course. But in some ways, it’s the de facto flagship.

Here’s what I mean. The top 10% or so of the class— very high achieving in NOVA— gets into W&M/UVA/VT Engineering. A very sizable piece of the next quarter of the class— which is still very high achieving— goes to VT for everything from Business info systems to elementary education. VT is so much bigger than UVA/WM that it take a lot of kids from each HS. So while it’s not the flagship, the do take the majority of the higher performing VA kids.

When I look at my DD’s friends, here’s what I see. She’s headed to WM. One friend is headed to UVA, 2 are going to JUM, 1 to GMU and at least 10 to VT, for everything from engineering to history. All of them smart, accomplished, multiple AP, etc. kids. Many have been together since K-6 and they are already making plans to put down deposits on apartments in fall 2022 to live together sophomore year.

I think it would be hard for an OOS kid to make friends in a large environment where 2/3 of the kids came with not one, but a group of high school besties unless they are very extroverted.

My opinion will be unpopular among UVA alums. But, Purdue is hot in this area, and I also know kids who are attending and very happy. And the do we’ll be women with learning living communities for engineering students and such. If your kid has started down that road and feels good about it and is making plans, I stick with what is working. I’d also get some opinions from other OOS parents. The instate kids will have had a different social experience than the OOS ones.

I disagree with a lot of this. In my experience, the kids who attend VT (or UVA, JMU, etc) who happen to have gone to the same HS are *not* planning on living together in college. I have three older kids who have all gone through this. While some of their good friends may also be attending the same college, they’re all of the mindset that they should live with new people to enlarge their circle of friends. All of them currently live with kids who came from OOS. Several have gone home with their OOS friends for holidays, etc. OOS kids are not at some kind of social disadvantage here! That’s just silly.

My roommate Freshmen year was OOS and so were many of the girls I became close with in the dorm. I didn't hang out with anyone from my HS or really even see any of them at Tech. When I did run into someone, it was nice. But, nobody in my college friend group was from my HS about 40% were also from NoVA, 40% VA Beach/Newport area, and 20% OOS. What was nice, was that the NoVA kids did not go to the same high school --some not even close to mine--different counties, but close enough to see each other on breaks and to get rides to and from home. My parents never once had to drive to pick me up, etc. Post-college, with all of us living all around the country---my NoVa friends come back to visit their families on holidays and just regular visits so we are able to see each other and their families a lot when they come back. They can even leave kids with the grandparents and we can all go out.

I do not know a single person that did not love Tech or their time there. It is a very friendly place. If a kid doesn't like 'big schools', it wouldn't be for them, but I absolutely loved the anonymity and opportunity big schools provide. I had zero desire to go to a small school.

[Anonymous]

NP: My DD also just got off the WL at VT (instate) and is seriously considering it. She has other great options but she is sort of in love with VT, while I am concerned that it is too big. I mean: it's enormous! And she has ADHD. Can anyone comment on how easy/hard it would for a humanities/social sciences kid with ADHD to make friends and manage the various logistical challenges associated with being at a huge school?

[Anonymous]

Congrats to your daughter OP! She is going to love it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thought I'd update in case you're curious. She chose VT. We appreciated your comments and enjoyed reading (most of) them. Luckily she's a 'fall' so bring on the maroon and orange!

Yay! Congratulations to your daughter, OP (and to you)! My daughter chose VT as well and is SO excited. Gokies!

[Anonymous]

I don't have one personally but my dh went there and I have had to listen to "Go Hokies!" and watch Hokies football for the last 20 years. Plus, he named our dog Hokie! It is pretty horrid.
But...it goes to show how much he loved his experience.

[Anonymous]

Congrats OP and to your DD for following her gut. It’s a special place!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thought I'd update in case you're curious. She chose VT. We appreciated your comments and enjoyed reading (most of) them. Luckily she's a 'fall' so bring on the maroon and orange!

Maroon and Orange will soon be her favorite color combination!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thought I'd update in case you're curious. She chose VT. We appreciated your comments and enjoyed reading (most of) them. Luckily she's a 'fall' so bring on the maroon and orange!

Congratulations! Our DC is also going in the fall.

And we have another kid with much worse colors.

And at admitted student day, Va Tech faculty told a pretty great story about the color pick. Their old uniform colors were I think black and white stripes. When Tech played against VMI, VMI would taunt them calling Tech "the inmates." So Tech decided to pick new colors that at the time no other team had.

[Anonymous]

It seems so odd to me that some people are excited about attending Vtech. Crazy...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It seems so odd to me that some people are excited about attending Vtech. Crazy...

If you don't attend, you don't get it.

[Anonymous]

My DS chose an LLC (non-engineering) so he was able to meet nice people right away. Recommend for someone who is worried about making friends at VT.