Admissions says it will take 2-3 weeks from when the student was accepted.
Hi everyone, Iām new to CC even though weāve been engaged in the college decision process for almost two years! I have found the input on this page invaluable and really appreciate the sharing of information. My daughter was accepted to VT early action for engineering. She got the email as we were driving away from admitted students day at Ohio State. Crazy timing, but VTās early action is more like āRegular Decision Express.ā Unfortunately, she was only offered a $500 non-renewable scholarship and some loan options. As we are OOS, thatās really not going to move the needle for us. We already have one in college and another going in a few years, plus weād like to be able to help them with graduate school. Itās sad because she really likes the school and is a shining example of Ut Prosim. Sheās been killing it academically since preschool and is extremely well rounded with sports, clubs and so much community service. Ohio State recognized all of that and came through with generous scholarships (making COA $80-$100K less) as well as acceptance into their honors program. I highly doubt sheāll be getting an honors invite from VT. Sheāll also have the opportunity to participate in a learning community for women engineers, and our local alumni group has contacted her about scholarship assistance. While sheās excited to attend OSU, she is struggling to understand why VT didnāt recognize her potential and try to āwooā her a little more. These were her top two and she wanted to make the final decision, but VTās financial aid offer ended up making it for her. VT is a great school, but itās not an Ivy, and sheās worked too hard to just ābe grafeful to have been accepted.ā If anyone has insight to share from their VT admissions experiences I would love to hear it, especially if it might make her feel better about the situation. Thanks!
@kmnmom OSU is a great school and highly ranked in Engineering. I was a grad student there 20 years ago, and it only got better since then. Campus is beautiful and is a perfect blend of old and modern, as you probably saw yourself. Columbus is a good size city with more stuff to do than Blacksburg. Donāt overthink it - she will be very happy there.
@kmnmom There is no rhyme or reason. There are lots of other parents and students scratching their heads. I donāt want this to sound negativeāIām just stating facts. The people I know that were offered honors had scores and grades lower than my ds. The letter even stated that they took a "holistic approach and looked beyond grades and test scoresā for their admission to the honors program. I have no clue what they were looking for with honors. Iām very happy for the ones I know that were accepted. My son has excellent grades and test scores, but he also has athletics and lots of volunteering. And not just volunteering, but working with groups for over 5 years that he really loves supporting. As genesmasher said, donāt overthink it. OSU is an excellent program and Iād follow the money trail. She will excel at OSU and itās Virginia Techās loss. Just my two cents.
Late report, but my son was accepted for Engineering in state.
GPA: 4.6w/3.98 uw (1 B one semester in AP English 11)
Rank: 1/344
SAT: 1410 (780M, 630 V)
SAT Math 2: 760
9 AP Credits including BC Calculus (5) in 10th grade. 10 honors credits
Selected to attend the regional Governorās School for Science and Technology for his 11th and 12th grade science and math classes where all classes are dual enrolled and weighted the same as AP.
Will graduate with +32 college credits including; Advanced Chemical analysis, Calculus based Physics 1/2, Multivariable Calculus, Linear Algebra, and Differential Equations.
Research Mentorship at NASA Langley
EC: Show Choir 4 years (Captain and lead soloist 11th and 12th), Cast in every school theater production since 9th grade including many Lead roles, Community Theater, NHS, Tri-M Music Honor Society, International Thespian Society (VP 12th), +200 hrs community service (working on Aids benefit show, Animal shelter, and various others)
Honors/Awards: District Choir, All State Choir alternate, Multiple Show Choir Grand Championships, Best Soloists award at national competition, AP Honors w/ Distinction, multiple academic awards for class rank and such
VT is kind of a safety school especially since he is in state. He did make it to the second round of the Davenport Scholarship but was not awarded one. No other merit scholarships offered from VT yet. VT is high on his list, but Chemical Engineering is his focus and that seems to be one of the weaker ranked engineerings at VT.
@kmnmom The top Virginia publics (like UVA, William & Mary, and Virginia Tech) , arenāt known for throwing out tons of money, even to high stats instate kids. UVA offers primarily need based aid, for instance. There are tons of high stats kids in Virginia. Many high stats Virginia kids do not get into Virginia Tech engineering. Those that do donāt necessarily get much in the way of scholarships (although of course some will). They just donāt need to āwooā kids all that much. Ohio State has a very nice campus and Columbus has a lot to offer. Good luck to your daughter!
Maybe thatās why the acceptance rate at VT is 70%. Since no money is being given, they can cast a wider net of acceptance in the hopes the student that do accept to enroll will pay the full ride. It sounds like a numbers game.
I hate to break it to you, but college admissions at any university is a numbers game.
And the engineering acceptance rate is below 70%. There is some self selection, particularly with instate students. An instate kid with a 3.4 GPA and 1100 SAT, for example, is unlikely to bother to apply. Guidance counselors have an idea of which instate schools a kid is most competitive for. Virginia Tech has a lot of spaces to fill, and is less competitive than UVA and William & Mary. Virginia has good public schools, which attract lots of out of state applicants.
@Avesalius The acceptance rate is not 70%. It was 62% last year.
Thank you for clarifying. Iād say 62% is competitive for sure, with engineering being less than that.
For anyone wondering, this is the source: https://vt.edu/admissions/undergraduate/snapshot.html
Number of freshman applicants: 32,103
Number offered admission: 19,963
@STEM2017 LOL
@ShenVal18 Yep. My son got into Clemson, OOS with no merit aid. Total cost over 4 years ~$220K. āRevenue admitā 
Many popular schools use this tactic, I am sure. For students with less than stratospheric stats lower-ranked schools typically offer a far better value, with negligible effect on post-graduation outcome (major-dependent of course).
Personally, while not a millionaire, I am willing to pay more for reputation. But I only have one child to put through college. Multiple kids - would be a different story. Even with one - cost/value is pretty important. If son doesnāt get into VT (waitlisted currently), he will most likely go to Colorado State over Clemson ($35K vs $55K year).
@genesmasher hopefully it works out for your son at VT! If not, and he does go to CSU, I live an hour south of there and am happy to answer any questions you have about the area. My son got into CSU for business and itās still on his list of options - especially if he doesnāt get into VT - heāll find out in about an hour 8-|
2018 overall admissions was 64.8%. Engineering was 67.5%. College of Business was 58.8%.
https://irweb.ir.vt.edu/webtest/admission_data.aspx
There are both public and private universities around the country that go to great lengths to protect their yield and ācompetitiveā admissions statistics.
@hokieinCO Thanks! Good luck to your son too! Donāt mean to trash this thread, but I have been doing a lot of research lately on CSU, and I like what I see for the most part. I like it more than Clemson for the nature and weather (less humid) and social atmosphere. But ultimately, we will let son decide. Plan on flying there and checking it out during spring break.
Engineering had higher GPA and SAT scores than the average business applicant and admit. The typical engineering applicant is probably a qualified applicant. Many of The OOS applicants, in particular, are probably applying to multiple engineering schools, hoping for the best need based or merit aid. That certainly would effect yield.
Received the following e-mail today.
Getting your physical offer letter and admission information is one of the most exciting parts of the process. This year, weāre packaging both financial aid and admissions information together. This adds a little extra time to the packaging process, but donāt worry - packets will be mailed within the next few days!
Who is going to the Offered Students Day on either April 6 or 7?
We areā¦VATECH is high on Dās listā¦we will have heard from W&M and UVA by then (hoping).