Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to Penn State. And paid OOS tuition, which was a whopping $8k at the time. No way would I pay OOS there now, and it has nothing to do with the scandal. I wouldn't pay OOS anywhere for undergrad.

Not even for Cal?

no not even for cal due to the size.

if i'm paying oos rates, i don't want to go to a school where i feel like i'm a 'number'.

public schools feel more like walmart than private schools.

Anonymous wrote:My relatives are also looking at OOS tuition at Penn State. Is the school really that overrated and not worth it?????

We were all thrilled with the name recognition, but I think it will be a HUGE stretch for them.

PP PSU alum here (and recent enough alum where my experiences are still pretty relevant).

OOS is not worth it at PSU.

Not at all.

Not if you get into Tech and want to stay in the DMV area.

And for the savings you do by staying instate, you can use that towards a masters at a private school if you need a bigger brand as a signal on your resume for exit opps.

Anonymous wrote:The reason they are shown the door out of engineering is because VT can't accommodate more students in the upper level classes - it's a numbers thing

You are an idiot. Virginia Tech just finished construction on a BRAND NEW signature engineering building. If anything, they are EXPANDING the numbers they can accommodate, especially in engineering and agriculture (also has new buildings opening soon) because as another PP mentioned, VT is the only land-grant university in Virginia and is known for these specialties.

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Engineering Hokie Mom here and Hokie wife -- VT becomes a way of life. I don't know anyone who's had a negative experience. There's something there for everyone and once the students join clubs, the large university shrinks in size. Even students raised in this DC cosmopolitan area love Blacksburg.[/quote]

W&M grad here, with no connection to Va Tech. I have to agree that everyone I know who went to VT loved it.[/quote]

Hokie here - it's definitely true! I don't know anyone who doesn't relish the time we had there. I'm obviously biased but I can't see paying so much more for one large, decent state school over another.

Anonymous wrote:I had no idea Tech took so many kids who fail to finish. That is a problem.

Have we established that this happens more frequently at Tech than at other schools? So far I've seen a lot of anonymous people posting opinion/rumor, but no link to any source for this info.

Anonymous wrote:Remember VA Tech is the (I think only?) land grant school in VA. It is reasonably easy to get into tech if you are a VA student since that is the point of the school. That doesn't mean that it has to make the curriculum easy. I think it is a tough balance. I was CS and students that had issues just switched to IT. I'd be interested in whether GA Tech is similar; Caltech and MIT would not be since they can elect to pull from a very elite pool (even though Cal Tech is a state school).

Virginia State is also a land grant school.

Remember VA Tech is the (I think only?) land grant school in VA. It is reasonably easy to get into tech if you are a VA student since that is the point of the school. That doesn't mean that it has to make the curriculum easy. I think it is a tough balance. I was CS and students that had issues just switched to IT. I'd be interested in whether GA Tech is similar; Caltech and MIT would not be since they can elect to pull from a very elite pool (even though Cal Tech is a state school).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reason they are shown the door out of engineering is because VT can't accommodate more students in the upper level classes - it's a numbers thing

Link?

This makes sense. The washout rate is probably higher the less prestigious the school is. I can't imagine MIT, Cal Tech, Ga Tech or penn state is washing out engineering students in these numbers.

Anonymous wrote:The reason they are shown the door out of engineering is because VT can't accommodate more students in the upper level classes - it's a numbers thing

Maybe. But if they graduated a greater number of highly qualified grads, they would likely find the funding somehow. Industry would be extremely interested in teaming up with the university to make it happen with money to help fund expensive lab courses and by lending their experts as guest lecturers. And they would create more co-op programs for the students to get valuable hands on experience. All this helps the school up their rankings which then helps them attract better and brighter students who go on to support the programs with opportunities and more money as alumni.

Anonymous wrote:The reason they are shown the door out of engineering is because VT can't accommodate more students in the upper level classes - it's a numbers thing

Link?

The reason they are shown the door out of engineering is because VT can't accommodate more students in the upper level classes - it's a numbers thing

<<
Roughly 50% of the entering class is weeded out this way. >>

They don't drop out of school; they change majors and graduate once they realize Engineering isn't for them.

Anonymous wrote:I had no idea Tech took so many kids who fail to finish. That is a problem.

Actually, it is pretty common for engineering schools to decide early on who has what it takes to make it through the rigors of their programs. Not only do they require minimum test scores to be admitted into a program up front but you have to be able to pass a type of qualifying exam or set of exams to remain in the program. Roughly 50% of the entering class is weeded out this way.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Engineering Hokie Mom here and Hokie wife -- VT becomes a way of life. I don't know anyone who's had a negative experience. There's something there for everyone and once the students join clubs, the large university shrinks in size. Even students raised in this DC cosmopolitan area love Blacksburg.

W&M grad here, with no connection to Va Tech. I have to agree that everyone I know who went to VT loved it.

And every W&M grad I know loves it, too!

I had no idea Tech took so many kids who fail to finish. That is a problem.