Is it worth it to go to VA Tech for this price?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Virginia Tech
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<p>I got into college of Engineering, which is my interested field. However, I also got into Gustavus Adolphus College which is a private liberal arts college in Minnesota. In GAC, the average class size is 15. With scholarships from GAC, It is the same price as VA Tech (I am an international student so I don't have any financial aid or scholarship). They are both about $32,000 a year.</p>

<p>I have heard a lot of good things about Engineering in VA Tech, but is it worth it to go there instead of a private college if they are the same price?</p>

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<p>Price isn’t really a factor since they’re the same price. </p>

<p>Don’t get wrapped up in private versus public. Most of the most prestigious engineering schools in the US are public. GAC is a liberal arts college and those tend not to have great engineering programs (although there are exceptions!) and I can’t find any information on GAC’s which isn’t a great sign.</p>

<p>If class size is extremely important to you then GAC might be a good decision, but you’ll be giving up a lot to get that.</p>

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<p>Virginia Tech has one of the best engineering programs in the nation according to US NEWS & RANKING. If you are looking to get a degree from one of the top engineering schools in America and make a lot of money in engineering then I would choose Virginia Tech over GAC. Additionally, Virginia Tech is known nationally for its academics and in engineering. Although, GAC might be an “okay” liberal arts college however, I have never once heard of that school. Anyways, good luck to your decision. :)</p>

<p>That’s my .02.</p>

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<p>Chuy-</p>

<p>Well, I don’t really care a lot about class size. But is it easy to find a job after graduate from VT? Will I always get the class i want since there are so many people ?</p>

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<p>Are there a lot of Asian in VT?</p>

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<p>Virginia Tech is pretty diverse. African Americans 4%,Asian American 8%,Hispanic 3%, International 2%, Native American 0%, White 73%, Unknown 10%.</p>

<p>So basically there is a good mixture of every race and you will fit perfectly. :)</p>

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<p>If you want to work in engineering you’ll have an easier time getting a job from VT.</p>

<p>I never wanted a class and didn’t get it. Sometimes I had to take a weird class time though. Most of the technical electives (the classes that you get to choose) tend to be smaller anyway.</p>

<p>Yeah there are a lot of Asians.</p>

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<p>Would you talk more about campus life? because in small liberal arts colleges, libraries, gyms, and stuff are available all the time. I am worried that I will not have access to a lot of stuff since there are so many people. … i don’t know…</p>

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<p>MajaSpain-</p>

<p>Anything that small liberal arts colleges have, Virginia Tech has as well and more. I believe you should have access to basically everything from libraries, gyms, swimming pool, basketball court, golf course, food ( ranked 1st or 3rd on Princeton Review for best food in the nation), Blacksburg transit, transportation and etc. just to name a few. </p>

<p>If you have never visited Virginia Tech, then I suggest you do because it is an enormous university filled with numerous brilliant/smart kids from all over the world. Don’t feel discouraged due to the massive size and better yet embrace is because of the resources available at Virginia Tech. </p>

<p>Also, just because there are thousands and thousands of people doesn’t mean you won’t have access, which is why Virginia Tech is the biggest university in VA… it is an incredibly huge school that allows any student to have access to basically everything. Virginia Tech has literally over hundreds of buildings… I am sure you will have access to them.</p>

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<p>Are classes difficult ? I am definitely going to grad school so I hope to keep a decent gpa during college. Also, I got into general engineering, but degree is undeclared. What does that mean? Will I be able to choose the specific field of engineering as I want?</p>

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<p>All freshmen in engineering start in general engineering. During your freshman year you’ll be exposed to the different majors in engineering and get to pick one before sophomore year.</p>

<p>There are multiple student groups and mentor type groups that you can join to get a bit more of a personal touch if you’d like.</p>

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<p>And yes classes are difficult, but if you’re looking for grad school VT will offer FAR more research opportunities and connections than a LAC.</p>

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<p>What about the safety on campus? I know usually if i stay on campus it won’t be many problems but did they promote it in any ways after the tragedy?</p>

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<p>Yeah, they stepped up on campus serurity in a lot of ways after the shooting. It’s extremely safe and even though I walked across campus (and off campus in Blacksburg) many times late at night I never felt unsafe at all.</p>

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<p>so what do you not like about VT? there’s gotta be something that you are not 100% satisfied with even though u love VT</p>

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<p>Oh yeah, there’s tons. Here’s a good thread of that: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/virginia-tech/878214-what-dont-you-like-about-virginia-tech.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/virginia-tech/878214-what-dont-you-like-about-virginia-tech.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The number one thing for me is the tablet-pc requirement for engineers. It is useless.</p>

<p>Here’s my post from the linked thread:</p>

<p>"Fantastic question. Let me preface what I’m about to say by saying that I do love VT and recommend it to most people. It’s not perfect, but it’s very, very good, and most of what I’m going to say could apply to anywhere. Here are the negatives I’ve experienced though:</p>

<p>Academically:</p>

<p>Most of the advisers aren’t very good and you need to double check everything they say.</p>

<p>Intro classes bog you down, often needlessly. You have to jump through hoops (using the right kind of paper for assignments, labeling everything exactly, etc.) freshman year that you never have to jump through again. </p>

<p>It’s hard to plan your classes if you’re in a small major. Classes are offered once every two or three years sometime and sometimes they skip a year or add in the class unexpectidly. It’s not a MAJOR issue since the classes I’m talking about are electives and replaceable, but it gets annoying.</p>

<p>Around Blacksburg/Campus:</p>

<p>CONSTRUCTION. It might be starting to wrap up but they’ve been building new stuff the entire time I’ve been here. It’s great for whoever gets to use the cool stuff like new dorms and a parking garage, but it sucks for the people that are there now. It’s annoying.</p>

<p>You’ll get ticketed if you park your car in the wrong place for any amount of time. They will find you. If you can park there starting 7 and you park there at 6:45, even if the lot is completely empty they will ticket you and it’s $30-40 down the drain. </p>

<p>I don’t really consider the next one to be a negative, but if you’re under 21 you might have trouble finding things to do downtown. There are things to do like bands playing or movies at the lyric and I can’t stress that enough, but you’ll have to really try and find them sometimes. The vibrant off campus party scene largely makes up for this, but if you’re wanting to go bar hopping it’ll be tough before you’re 21. I know where I grew up they didn’t care once you turned 18, but here they’re strict.</p>

<p>On campus/dorms:</p>

<p>RAs are extremely inconsistent. My RA freshman year would give you a high five if he saw you walk into the dorms at 3am drunk with a girl, while my RA sophomore year would set his alarm so that he could check the bathroom on our floor and make sure there weren’t any girls trying to use it. </p>

<p>Dining halls can get really crowded at peak times, and sometimes you can’t find a seat. Especially at the quicker places for lunch since everybody is going to the same place at the same time. They make up for it in quality though.</p>

<p>Shiffert. Sucks. That’s the on campus health center. They’re at best useless. They misdiagnosed my friend’s dislocated rib as a strained muscle twice and one time tried to prescribe me something I was allergic to, and had specifically mentioned being allergic to. If you need anything more than cough medicine and have the means go elsewhere.
"</p>

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<p>Worth noting is that most of the construction we complain about in that thread is over with and the things they were building made things better.</p>

<p>But now there’s new construction.</p>

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<p>MajaSpain “What about the safety”? </p>

<p>VT/Blacksburg is about as safe as it gets in the U.S.</p>

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<p>So would you recommend going to VT instead of Gustavus Adolphus college if it’s the same price?</p>

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<p>For engineering absolutely, unless you think that you’ll thrive much much better at a very small school as opposed to a larger school. And even then it’d be a tough decision.</p>

<p>What field of engineering are you looking at getting in to? Many of them are pretty small and will give you a good ‘small school’ feel as well.</p>