VA Tech - how to make it seem less imposing

[Anonymous]

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.

Thank you! This was exactly
what it was like. Add in Army Corp marching around. Admission Rep only talked about football.

[Anonymous]

I have a kid there. It's a fantastic university. Your kid would figure it out. It's a big school. Large university. Maybe your kid needs a tiny liberal arts college? Fine. But VT is a great school and students there find their tribe. What I love about the school is that the students are incredibly smart, but are down to earth. It also has the corps of cadets, which lends an air of discipline to the campus. When you have students in uniform in your 9 a.m. class, it tends to raise things a notch.

[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.

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!

+1
The PP is describing the parking around the admissions building which is near the Inn at Virginia Tech and it's generally used only for busy tour days, overflow, etc. They don't actually start the tours there. Burruss Hall is in the middle of campus and where all the tours actually meet up.

[Anonymous]

Okay enough about parking. Back to OP - it really is about finding a group. When I look back at my VT experience, the two groups that I keep up with 30 years later are my small engineering major and a religious group that I was involved in.

I really didn’t hit my stride until halfway through my spring semester freshman year. It takes a while to discover who you are and find others who you mesh with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay enough about parking. Back to OP - it really is about finding a group. When I look back at my VT experience, the two groups that I keep up with 30 years later are my small engineering major and a religious group that I was involved in.

I really didn’t hit my stride until halfway through my spring semester freshman year. It takes a while to discover who you are and find others who you mesh with.

+1 my son's places are a rec sports team and a small major, including being a TA for one of his math professors.

You have to take the initiative to find the place and people where you fit. It can definitely be intimidating in such a big place and they don't do any handholding. But I don't think that's really different than other huge public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid there. It's a fantastic university. Your kid would figure it out. It's a big school. Large university. Maybe your kid needs a tiny liberal arts college? Fine. But VT is a great school and students there find their tribe. What I love about the school is that the students are incredibly smart, but are down to earth. It also has the corps of cadets, which lends an air of discipline to the campus. When you have students in uniform in your 9 a.m. class, it tends to raise things a notch.

Bahahaha. It’s a huge football school with a large tailgate vibe mixed with stoner mentality. Same shenanigans as every other school.

[Anonymous]

OP, I think you've gotten a lot of good advice here.

It's like driving up to a house you want to buy, or a new neighborhood in a new town, etc etc. If it doesn't strike you, move on.

There is a college out there for your child. If the initial instinct wasn't warm and fuzzy, move on and don't fight it. It's ok. Really, it is.

[Anonymous]

OP, there are lots of other schools out there.

FWIW, my HS junior and I both loved VT from the first moment we saw it. My DH hated it. We were with another family. The Mom loved VT. The HS jr hated it. None had seen the campus before.

So it does not strike me as odd that it was not for you. Seems that many others feel the same way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid there. It's a fantastic university. Your kid would figure it out. It's a big school. Large university. Maybe your kid needs a tiny liberal arts college? Fine. But VT is a great school and students there find their tribe. What I love about the school is that the students are incredibly smart, but are down to earth. It also has the corps of cadets, which lends an air of discipline to the campus. When you have students in uniform in your 9 a.m. class, it tends to raise things a notch.

Bahahaha. It’s a huge football school with a large tailgate vibe mixed with stoner mentality. Same shenanigans as every other school.

You are a sad small person.

[Anonymous]

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.

Thank you! This was exactly
what it was like. Add in Army Corp marching around. Admission Rep only talked about football.

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My son graduated from Virginia Tech engineering. When we first went to the admissions session for the overall university, the old guy speaking talked about football and not liking math which turned me off as the Dad of a student that liked math but had no interest in football. My advice is ... don't let initial impressions or the people in the Admissions Office turn you off on Virginia Tech. My son had a great experience at Virginia Tech, found his people, went to only 1 football game. There is something for everyone there. The engineering school is impressive. The campus is beautiful. My son liked the small town, the nature, the mountains and the relatively low cost of living. He now has a great job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid there. It's a fantastic university. Your kid would figure it out. It's a big school. Large university. Maybe your kid needs a tiny liberal arts college? Fine. But VT is a great school and students there find their tribe. What I love about the school is that the students are incredibly smart, but are down to earth. It also has the corps of cadets, which lends an air of discipline to the campus. When you have students in uniform in your 9 a.m. class, it tends to raise things a notch.

Bahahaha. It’s a huge football school with a large tailgate vibe mixed with stoner mentality. Same shenanigans as every other school.

I’m sure you are trolling but there are 7 home games one of which is usually when students are on leave. There are 17,000 student tickets which means that on any game Saturday about 1/2 of the students are *not* at the football game.

[Anonymous]

People, just report the troll who always shows up on these threads.

[Anonymous]

We took our kids (twins) for a tour last fall and they fell in love with VT. They felt it was the quintessential college campus, especially with all the fall foliage and stone buildings. Both have it as their first choice (rising seniors). Just wish VT had ED!!

[Anonymous]

OP, we had the same impression. The campus seemed large, sterile and devoid of charm.

[Anonymous]

We loved it! Very walkable and fairly compact campus. The architecture reminded us of Hogwarts. Everyone we spoke to was so welcoming and happy to be there too.