@vadad2019 I’ve heard applying ED actually hurts more than helps with Tech… they’re looking for extremely well off candidates that are positive of their decision. When I visited the campus, both times they pushed for us to apply for Early Action and admitted that they can only fill the incoming class with a certain number of slots from ED making it even more competitive and your chances even lower even if you are an overall strong candidate.
I’m a parent of a current freshman and I seem to recall a lot of discussion last year where people (including me!) were trying to glean something from subtle changes in the application portal and I don’t think they were indicative of anything. I know how tough these last few days are, but hang in there and good luck!
yes, I remember the honors invited showed up a few days early on the weekend and then disappeared. In my DD case she was offered honors so it was correct but not sure if they all were.
how do you login to the portal??? I don’t know how to find the weblink
thanks! @Pumpkinlily
Mine says “If you are invited to participate in the Honors College, the word “invited” will be reflected in the box above.” . . . . . . but it does not say “invited” anywhere.
I just called the office of admission and they are saying that all early action portals will update with decisions at 5pm tomorrow.
Some information gathered from the VT website.
Draw your own conclusions about Virginia Tech switching to the Coalition app and it’s effect on admissions.
Class of 2022 (last year) Freshman Snapshot
Number of freshman applicants: 32,103
Number offered admission: 19,963
Number accepting the offers of admission: 6,428
Class of 2023 (this year from the Waitlist FAQ)
This year Virginia Tech received over 31,000 applications and we expect 6,600 to accept our offer and enroll. If we have fewer than 6,600 students accept our offer, we will offer admission to some of the students who chose to remain on our wait list.
Intersting data @timell
I guess the expected rise in apps due to joining Coalition was precisely offset by two things; 1) VT’s multiple personal short answer essays, and 2) only allowing a single choice major.
Maybe these things turned off some kids.
Is that the waitlist FAQ from early decision? The freshman snapshot was total applicants but if you were told 31,000 after ED decisions then they had not added EA or RD numbers to that list. I wonder what the total applicants were this year?
I would find it hard to believe that VT received 31,000 ED applicants. If they did, then the total number of apps will be huge.
Here’s where I got the info:
https://vt.edu/admissions/undergraduate/apply/wait-list-frequently-asked-questions.html
I think they switched to coalition app to get more applicants and become more selective but if their numbers went down then it didn’t work.
It’s my understanding this is the first year they’ve done a common application process. So, in the past, you had to specifically be wanting to apply to Tech. So the pool of applicants was more likely to be qualified, explaining why more were excepted. It will probably go down this year because it’s easier to apply, even if you know you don’t have the grades to get in–it’s easier to try a Hail Mary shot on the off chance you get in.
@kbstokes - Even though students could use the Coalition app, they still had to write the Tech essays which were not easy.
My opinion is that Coalition App + 4 essays + one choice of major = a more difficult app process, resulting in decreased apps.
The Coalition App is NOT the same as the Common App. Much fewer schools use it and it’s more cumbersome than Common App.
@STEM2017 Did VT require SRAR in past years? My son’s experience with applying to colleges via both Coalition and Common was that Coalition was more cumbersome but specifically VT because of the additional SRAR.
The increase in applications over the last few years is interesting. Between 2009 and 2014 the applications were consistently around 20,000 and then things started taking off
2014-2015: 20,744
2015-2016: 22,280
2016-2017: 25,000
2017-2018: 27,423
2018-2019: 31,936
Excellent point @sportingclaymom To the best of my knowledge, VT has not required SRAR in the past, but I’m not 100% certain.
Another reason for the ‘non-increase’ in apps.