Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 2020, 2021 and 2023 grad. Honestly, each year seems a bit worse than the last. Lots of deferrals, lots of WL that don’t move and it becomes harder and harder to predict results because the application numbers rise so much each year. 2023 feels the worst to me, but 2021 was hard because my DC couldn’t visit and tour schools.

And that's what keeps the application numbers climbing. My DC is in at 3 "safeties" so we know he's going to college (albeit out of state (thanks VT) which we're less jazzed about because of cost). Not a tippy top student or an engineering/CS major who has to worry about yield protection, just a run of the mill hardworking student.

Surely he doesn't have to go OOS, with all the great options available in VA...
DP

We made the mistake of thinking he was a perfect fit for VT. Like really perfect based on their motto and admitted student stats and what he brought to the table. Ultimately it's fine, we can affort OOS, but that's where I was hopeful he'd end up.

Right, but I guess I'm curious why he couldn't go to any of the other great schools in VA, since you mentioned in your earlier post that you weren't thrilled with OOS cost.

Sorry I wasn’t explicitly clear, he didn’t apply anywhere else in VA. UVA and W&M are both reaches based on his school, stats, and acceptance rates. VT was the only other one he wanted to consider.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The VT thread is exactly what got me down his rabbit hole.

This! And please don't say DC can just go OOS somewhere else. Some of the most equivalent/appealing options are pretty far away because NC, FL, GA prioritize in state apps. And... now my family gets to pay OOS tuition plus the additional costs associated with those logistics because my very solid student is being shut out of VT for OOS apps.

Your kid doesn't have to go OOS as there are a number of other in-state options in Virginia. Maybe not as "appealing" as VT, but good schools nonetheless, including schools with engineering programs.

+1

2021: VT acceptance: OOS 15,471. IS 18,953. The acceptance rate was 44% and 66.7% respectively. This is not the expected profile of a state flagship school. As other have repeated, VT has programs that are not offered by other VA state schools.

VT is not the flagship school. Not even close.

Ah, the sour grapes poster is back. Do you understand how ridiculous you look?
DP

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The VT thread is exactly what got me down his rabbit hole.

This! And please don't say DC can just go OOS somewhere else. Some of the most equivalent/appealing options are pretty far away because NC, FL, GA prioritize in state apps. And... now my family gets to pay OOS tuition plus the additional costs associated with those logistics because my very solid student is being shut out of VT for OOS apps.

DP. What does this mean? Are you saying an OOS student was accepted over your kid? If so, how could you possibly know this? Competition is fierce in-state for VT. I'm not sure why people can't understand that they can't possibly accept everyone who applies.

Tech accepted more than half its applicants. Let’s not get carried away.

Their acceptance rate for 2022 was 56% - so barely over half. I'm not sure what your point is?

That more than half of applicants get into Tech.

And half are rejected.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The VT thread is exactly what got me down his rabbit hole.

This! And please don't say DC can just go OOS somewhere else. Some of the most equivalent/appealing options are pretty far away because NC, FL, GA prioritize in state apps. And... now my family gets to pay OOS tuition plus the additional costs associated with those logistics because my very solid student is being shut out of VT for OOS apps.

Your kid doesn't have to go OOS as there are a number of other in-state options in Virginia. Maybe not as "appealing" as VT, but good schools nonetheless, including schools with engineering programs.

+1

2021: VT acceptance: OOS 15,471. IS 18,953. The acceptance rate was 44% and 66.7% respectively. This is not the expected profile of a state flagship school. As other have repeated, VT has programs that are not offered by other VA state schools.

VT is not the flagship school. Not even close.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The VT thread is exactly what got me down his rabbit hole.

This! And please don't say DC can just go OOS somewhere else. Some of the most equivalent/appealing options are pretty far away because NC, FL, GA prioritize in state apps. And... now my family gets to pay OOS tuition plus the additional costs associated with those logistics because my very solid student is being shut out of VT for OOS apps.

DP. What does this mean? Are you saying an OOS student was accepted over your kid? If so, how could you possibly know this? Competition is fierce in-state for VT. I'm not sure why people can't understand that they can't possibly accept everyone who applies.

Tech accepted more than half its applicants. Let’s not get carried away.

Their acceptance rate for 2022 was 56% - so barely over half. I'm not sure what your point is?

That more than half of applicants get into Tech.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The VT thread is exactly what got me down his rabbit hole.

This! And please don't say DC can just go OOS somewhere else. Some of the most equivalent/appealing options are pretty far away because NC, FL, GA prioritize in state apps. And... now my family gets to pay OOS tuition plus the additional costs associated with those logistics because my very solid student is being shut out of VT for OOS apps.

Your kid doesn't have to go OOS as there are a number of other in-state options in Virginia. Maybe not as "appealing" as VT, but good schools nonetheless, including schools with engineering programs.

But VT is the only polytechnic university in the state. It has majors no other university in the Commonwealth has. It’s also too late to apply to other VA Universities even if another had a similar program.

DP. Maybe the applying to other VA schools should have happened at the same time as applying to VT?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The VT thread is exactly what got me down his rabbit hole.

This! And please don't say DC can just go OOS somewhere else. Some of the most equivalent/appealing options are pretty far away because NC, FL, GA prioritize in state apps. And... now my family gets to pay OOS tuition plus the additional costs associated with those logistics because my very solid student is being shut out of VT for OOS apps.

Your kid doesn't have to go OOS as there are a number of other in-state options in Virginia. Maybe not as "appealing" as VT, but good schools nonetheless, including schools with engineering programs.

+1

2021: VT acceptance: OOS 15,471. IS 18,953. The acceptance rate was 44% and 66.7% respectively. This is not the expected profile of a state flagship school. As other have repeated, VT has programs that are not offered by other VA state schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The VT thread is exactly what got me down his rabbit hole.

This! And please don't say DC can just go OOS somewhere else. Some of the most equivalent/appealing options are pretty far away because NC, FL, GA prioritize in state apps. And... now my family gets to pay OOS tuition plus the additional costs associated with those logistics because my very solid student is being shut out of VT for OOS apps.

DP. What does this mean? Are you saying an OOS student was accepted over your kid? If so, how could you possibly know this? Competition is fierce in-state for VT. I'm not sure why people can't understand that they can't possibly accept everyone who applies.

Tech accepted more than half its applicants. Let’s not get carried away.

Their acceptance rate for 2022 was 56% - so barely over half. I'm not sure what your point is?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 2020, 2021 and 2023 grad. Honestly, each year seems a bit worse than the last. Lots of deferrals, lots of WL that don’t move and it becomes harder and harder to predict results because the application numbers rise so much each year. 2023 feels the worst to me, but 2021 was hard because my DC couldn’t visit and tour schools.

And that's what keeps the application numbers climbing. My DC is in at 3 "safeties" so we know he's going to college (albeit out of state (thanks VT) which we're less jazzed about because of cost). Not a tippy top student or an engineering/CS major who has to worry about yield protection, just a run of the mill hardworking student.

Surely he doesn't have to go OOS, with all the great options available in VA...
DP

We made the mistake of thinking he was a perfect fit for VT. Like really perfect based on their motto and admitted student stats and what he brought to the table. Ultimately it's fine, we can affort OOS, but that's where I was hopeful he'd end up.

Right, but I guess I'm curious why he couldn't go to any of the other great schools in VA, since you mentioned in your earlier post that you weren't thrilled with OOS cost.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great point about many schools going TO. That said, I'm also seeing an incredible number of students with 1400+ SAT scores. I get that I need to not draw from my experience in the 90s when it was rare to hear of someone getting such high or near perfect scores but what is up with so many high scores these days? Has the scoring changed since I remember it? Or has the test itself gotten easier? Or maybe those are the only ones we hear about on here?

The SAT was recentered in 1994 or 1995. Then the writing portion was added, then taken away. The general consensus is that scores are higher now than in the 1990s.

Lol, this is why I pettily told my sister I scored better than her even though her number (in 1996) was higher than mine (in 1993).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The VT thread is exactly what got me down his rabbit hole.

This! And please don't say DC can just go OOS somewhere else. Some of the most equivalent/appealing options are pretty far away because NC, FL, GA prioritize in state apps. And... now my family gets to pay OOS tuition plus the additional costs associated with those logistics because my very solid student is being shut out of VT for OOS apps.

Your kid doesn't have to go OOS as there are a number of other in-state options in Virginia. Maybe not as "appealing" as VT, but good schools nonetheless, including schools with engineering programs.

Nothing particularly special about Tech that GMU doesn’t have

Maybe if you're comparing academics only, but the campus and sports are totally different.

Actually, the academics are quite different except for standard liberal arts majors. VT is a polytechnic school-it has majors (equestrian studies, vet school, cosmetology, nutrition, architecture, nursing) that most other VA schools do not. It also has a wind tunnel for aerospace engineering students. GMU has an excellent core engineering school but doesn’t offer the subspecialties that Virginia Tech can.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The VT thread is exactly what got me down his rabbit hole.

This! And please don't say DC can just go OOS somewhere else. Some of the most equivalent/appealing options are pretty far away because NC, FL, GA prioritize in state apps. And... now my family gets to pay OOS tuition plus the additional costs associated with those logistics because my very solid student is being shut out of VT for OOS apps.

Your kid doesn't have to go OOS as there are a number of other in-state options in Virginia. Maybe not as "appealing" as VT, but good schools nonetheless, including schools with engineering programs.

Nothing particularly special about Tech that GMU doesn’t have

Maybe if you're comparing academics only, but the campus and sports are totally different.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The VT thread is exactly what got me down his rabbit hole.

This! And please don't say DC can just go OOS somewhere else. Some of the most equivalent/appealing options are pretty far away because NC, FL, GA prioritize in state apps. And... now my family gets to pay OOS tuition plus the additional costs associated with those logistics because my very solid student is being shut out of VT for OOS apps.

Your kid doesn't have to go OOS as there are a number of other in-state options in Virginia. Maybe not as "appealing" as VT, but good schools nonetheless, including schools with engineering programs.

But VT is the only polytechnic university in the state. It has majors no other university in the Commonwealth has. It’s also too late to apply to other VA Universities even if another had a similar program.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My average student has done quite well. I could be wrong but maybe it’s effecting the high stat kids more. Just look outside the same 50 schools everyone is applying to and apply broadly and your student will get into some. It’s a numbers game. But don’t despair it’s not as bad as people on DCUM/CC make it out to be.

Same with my kid with a GPA of 3.3. Or maybe I’m just more realistic about which schools he should apply to.

No need to take a jab. What is a target school for a 3.85UW gpa/1400 SAT student? My DC was rejected from JMU.

How many students from their school applied to JMU?

I don't know. By all accounts (school counselor, Naviance, JMU stats, etc.), JMU was a target. Kid was at a competitive FCPS school, so the T20 (30?) schools were off the table (they applied to one reach and the rest were safeties or targets, although they got into none of the targets. If you have some inside knowledge about how a student should know what is a target school for those stats, please advise. I have another child (straight A student) who is also having a tough time with admissions this year -- they have gotten into schools with 60-80% acceptance rates, but that's it so far. I find it hard to believe that kids with a decently strong academic record can't get into a good, large in-state school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The VT thread is exactly what got me down his rabbit hole.

This! And please don't say DC can just go OOS somewhere else. Some of the most equivalent/appealing options are pretty far away because NC, FL, GA prioritize in state apps. And... now my family gets to pay OOS tuition plus the additional costs associated with those logistics because my very solid student is being shut out of VT for OOS apps.

DP. What does this mean? Are you saying an OOS student was accepted over your kid? If so, how could you possibly know this? Competition is fierce in-state for VT. I'm not sure why people can't understand that they can't possibly accept everyone who applies.

Tech accepted more than half its applicants. Let’s not get carried away.