Miami, Many kids don’t get accepted to engineering. My kids are both engineers, oldest ED to UVa (when they still had ED), youngest to VT. He was not accepted off the VT waitlist to engineering, despite SAT’s that were in line , 5 on AP Physics,etc. They just don’t seem to like the profile where the SAT’s are not in line with the GPA. He had to start in University Studies and transfer to engineering after he did very well in his first semester. He ended up graduating Magna Cum Laude, despite lackluster high school grades. You have to get accepted into engineering before you can prove yourself. Engineering and Computer Science are tough acceptances at many schools these days, from what I understand.
The average GPA for the Engineering school at Tech is 4.12.
He found his CS class to be very easy and is taking AP CS next year. Hopefully, this will help him decide if Engineering or CS is the way to go. At Va Tech, CS is part of the Engineering Dept so he will still have that hurdle to overcome.
As a data point, I know a young woman who just graduated from one of the top high schools in Northern VA. Her SAT’s were over 2100 though I don’t know the exact score, very high GPA with lots of AP classes, high honors, awards, etc. She did not get into VT engineering. She was admitted to the college of science. Northern VA is very competitive so maybe that had something to do with it. She did get into University of VA engineering and other excellent schools. I don’t want you to be misled by MiamiDAP’s comments which are, at best, outdated.
Everyone knows engineering is a difficult major that requires hard work and focus. Your son will figure that out. Not everyone walks into engineering as a straight A student. I didn’t.
@VMT We are from NVa and have heard many of these stories. Unbelievable that she was accepted at UVA Engineering, but not Tech!
My son has also looked at the BIT program at Tech. There are so many options and choices. It sure is hard for students.
“Miami, Many kids don’t get accepted to engineering. My kids are both engineers, oldest ED to UVa (when they still had ED), youngest to VT. He was not accepted off the VT waitlist to engineering, despite SAT’s that were in line , 5 on AP Physics,etc”
- I did not mention any specific college. I said, I never heard that a kid is not accepted at some place, ANY place into engineering major. I never heard that. However, I have numerous examples of kids not surviving in this majors (and not at any selective college, but rather our local, no name, low ranked UG). you can call my comments outdated as much as you want. My H’s engineering company hire only locally as well as all companies like this. They do not hire from some elite engineering programs, they hire from our local college.
I agree it’s not necessary to hammer the point that engineering and some CS can be difficult. The fact some kids don’t make it through just means you go in with your eyes open. I think OP is aware of that. Plus, though college courses can be more focused and harder than high school, sometimes that’s just what gets a kid rolling.
That does seem interesting that a kid would get into UVa engineering and not VT engineering (although as you say she did get into VT in general, just not engineering). UVa’s average engineering SAT is about 1420 these days, VT’s average engineering SAT is in the 1300’s. But it does happen and can happen with holistic admissions.
One of my kid’s roommates at VT was a BIT major. He is well employed as far as I know. Hopefully, your son can bring his GPA up his first semester (getting lots of A’s hopefully)., taking AP’s as he is going to do-anything he can do to raise his GPA.
I am not surprised that someone got into UVA engineering, but not Tech engineering. VT engineering is very competitive, and in some circles, more highly regarded than UVA in that discipline.
I think VT’s high overall acceptance rates are misleading and do skew the figures and possible perception of the competitiveness of instate admissions. . There is a self selection process in applying and most instate GC’s and families have a good idea of who is competitive or not… But UVa engineering is also well regarded by most instate families and in general , hard to get into. They are both great programs that Virginia is lucky to have. We got some questions when oldest did ED for engineering to UVa but it was the right fit for him… No regrets. VT was best for younger kid… Both highly regarded programs, so I don’t see any reason to worry about that.
“4-ODU-it has all of the majors he could ever need, but he just didn’t like the school or the area. He will still apply.”
OP, if this is his true feeling then needs to ask himself can he live there for 4 years or more. I think a CC would be a better option that a school and area he does not like.
@justice66 ODU might be off the table. He has other options besides a CC.
Tech (might be a stretch) is his first choice followed by VCU, JMU and GMU.
If he doesn’t get into Tech, I think VCU will be a good match for him based on his grades, test scores and VCU’s areas of study.
Who knows if he’ll change his mind in the next few months. Thank you for your input! 
Agree that he will have other options besides CC. There is nothing wrong with CC and can be a good path to VT, UVa, etc. with articulation agreements. But if he wants to go away and you are willing/able to let him do that, there is no downside to letting him go to a 4 year college. He hopefully will enjoy the school he ends up with, or could pursue transfer if it doesn’t work out.
There is also nothing wrong with taking a school “off the table” if it just doesn’t feel right. I would have loved , as a Virginia resident, for my kids to keep Wm & Mary in the mix but oldest took a tour and wouldn’t apply and youngest didn’t even want to take a tour so we didn’t push it. Wonderful school , just not for them.
^^^
I think William and Mary is one of the most underrated schools out there. Gorgeous campus, serious committed students and some really well qualified professors. Students do really well with grad school placement. Stronger in social sciences though and both of my children are STEM oriented so did not apply.
William & Mary is a very good school and selective. Mary Washington is a school I would say is underratedas well but not as selective.
Two of the top 3 feeder schools to Microsoft and Amazon are Washington State (82% acceptance rate) and Western Washington (84% acceptance rate). University of CO in Boulder has a good CS dept. and an 87% acceptance rate. The top feeder school to Apple Computers is San Jose State with a 64% acceptance rate.
My point is tech is one of the most leveled playing fields. The overwhelming majority of people in IT went to state schools, many aren’t even flagships. Napster founder Sean Parker never went to college. The founders of Twitter include college dropouts. In fact, dropping out is now considered a badge of honor in Silicon Valley.
Read about this kid who landed an internship at Facebook at 17 (still wearing braces) and parlayed into a full time job at 18, never even bothered with college.
http://kwhs.wharton.upenn.edu/2015/03/hes-18-and-works-for-facebook/
LinkedIn, Airbnb and many other tech firms are now recruiting high school kids as young as 16 to intern.
The only thing anyone cares about in tech is your ability to code. It matters not one iota where you got your degree, or if you got one at all.
@cmsjmt Very interesting information! Thank you!
Note, however, that the college dropouts and those who never went to college are not uneducated; they are self educated. Self education requires a high level of ability and motivation.
It is true that computers is a field where self education is not as difficult as in some other fields, and is a field where uncredentialed self educated people can more easily prove their proficiency than in some other fields. The 17 year old kid in the article linked above self educated himself enough to write a software application that became popular, thus proving his proficiency to a well known employer.
“We are from NVa and have heard many of these stories. Unbelievable that she was accepted at UVA Engineering, but not Tech!”
It’s the longstanding view of many Virginians that for engineering, VaTech is much superior to UVA. There have even been threads here on CC with opinions which state that engineering admissions at UVA is the easiest admit at the university. Not that it is easy, but easier than at the other undergraduate divisions of UVA.
@LakeWashington I stand corrected. I really had no idea.
LakeWashington, That really is false about UVa engineering. The average engineering admit to UVa has a 1420 SAT, many above that, including my son. An engineering admit to UVa is not easy at all and never has been. Not easier at all than an Arts and Science admit (average probably in the 1300’s). My VT engineering kid had SAT’s in the 1300’s, which is more typical of a VT engineering admit (although of course there are also kids with 1400 and 1500+ SAT’s at VT). It’s a long standing joke- what do UVa and VT engineers have In common-they both got into Tech . Virginia Tech is the right school for most aspiring engineers in Virginia, but UVa also has plenty of good opportunities. I think they are both great choices for engineering, depending on the particular kid.