I’ll be a senior in high school this fall, and I drove down to Morgantown today to visit the campus. I fell in love with the town and the campus. I have been doing some research and I have read a lot of mixed feelings about the university. I have heard that it’s a big party school, but I’ve always had my head in the books and always been a good student. I don’t go for the parties or anything like that, just never been interested. I plan on majoring in communications disorders (speech/language pathology). Any information you can give me would be amazing. I’m an only child so I never have gone through or experinced the application/college process.
-I’ve been a rower for one year
-I’ve been volunteering at my local hospital for almost 3 years now
-I had first chair clarinet in concert band freshmen and sophmore year
-I had second chair in honors wind ensamble both junior and this coming year
-I’ve been taking french since 7th grade (I’ll be in AP this year)
- All my classes have been honors/Sem/AP
-1650 on SAT (Studied a lot, but didn’t do as good as I hoped)
-25 on ACT
-3.5 GPA (unweighed)
-Started a charity organization at my school and even was in the daily local
Anyone? Any information or advice you can give me would be much apperciated!
I don’t know a ton of information about West Virginia U or the town, but I’ll just give my opinion. I know that it is a big party school (like you said). However, there are many colleges throughout the nation that are party schools. Personally, I wouldn’t eliminate WVU just because it is a party school. There are other factors that play into a school, not just the party scene. WVU’s website says that there are 475 student organizations. Morgantown is very wet, with a lot of cloudy days. It doesn’t get too hot (temps are usually less than 90 degrees in the summer), but temperatures can go into the 20’s in the winter. That’s pretty much all I know about West Virginia University and the town. I’d suggest checking out the West Virginia University board on College Confidential if you want more opinions/reviews of the school.
I think that you have a good chance. I’d say that WVU is match for you. What is the breakdown of your SAT? The WVU website includes the requirements that a student must have in order to be accepted into the the Pre-Speech Pathology and Audiology major. There are 3 requirements: a 3.0 GPA, 23 ACT, and 1050 SAT (CR + M sections only). You’re all set for 2 of those parts (and possibly the third, depending on what your SAT breakdown is). I think that your ECs show dedication and commitment. I think that there is a high chance of you getting in. The only thing I would suggest is to retake the SAT and/or ACT and see if you’re able to increase your scores at all. Honestly, I don’t think you’ll have a problem getting into West Virginia U. Good luck!!
Here’s the website (with information about requirements for certain majors) I mentioned about earlier: https://admissions.wvu.edu/how-to-apply/first-time-freshmen/additional-admission-standards#anchor-coeahs
Thank you so much for your help!!! 
Hi Lily,
I’d love to know if you decided on WVU. Your stats posted above appear to be good enough to get in. WVU’s admission standards are at a medium level these days, as we are in growth mode. By 2020, WVU will have around 40,000 students. Our peers, Ohio State and Penn State did the exact same things we are doing, to become the huge schools they are today. WVU is a welcoming environment, located on the Pennsylvania border, just outside the Pittsburgh MSA. I loved my time there and grew up in SCarolina. One thing I would suggest to any student who my be comparing WVU to other large FLAGSHIP universities: Compare our starting and mid-career salaries for graduates to ANY of our peers, which include most ACC schools and ALL of the SEC schools, with the exception of Vandy. And like I said, OH State, etc. We beat out half of the SEC. We outrank OH State in most polls. There’s more to a school’s profile folks, than US News and World Report. We are hurt there, because again, we are in growth mode. And also, the WV Higher Education Commission REQUIRES us to admit any minimally qualified WV resident, so that he/she may have a chance at a great college education. That is something to be ADMIRED. Not criticized. Many of Europe’s large Universities operate in this manner. Other schools who have the same admissions policies are Ole Miss, Miss State, (Arkansas and Alabama, to a certain extent as well.) I do believe that Alabama is somehow “doing something” to make their stats look better than they really are. Thus getting themselves ranked higher than they should be in USNWR. My opinion. And then ALL Ole Miss supporters can talk about is their honors college - psssst…Ole Miss folks…EVERY state flagship has one. And they’re ALL " the best." Lol.
I agree with Audirocks. WVU gets hurt in ratings because they give opportunities to instate students. That is a good thing, but it also means that many of the students end up leaving because they just can’t do the work. So, rankings based on GPA, test scores, freshman retention, among others are lower. My daughter is in the Honors College, but other than one honors course a semester, she takes regular courses. She says they are challenging and, from what she tells me, they are no different from the courses her sister took at Penn State. Her classes seem to be smaller and one of the things I like is that they really want students to succeed. My daughter’s calculus class met 5 days a week. That is a weed out class in most schools. Freshman year is a tough adjustment for most kids, especially is STEM majors. We were a little nervous about WVU because of its academic reputation, but that turned out to be an unfounded worry. As far as WVU being a party school - well, parties are part of every college and its up to you if you participate. My daughter is not a partier and has found plenty of things to keep her busy and plenty of friends that are just like her (she is not very outgoing and knew nobody before she started). Good luck!
My son just decided on WVU. He also loved the place the moment he visited. Thanks Audirocks for the explanation. I have been concerned about the low ranking on USNWR, which is what everyone reads.
Kvillemom my son is also not a partier. Maybe a school like this will make him a little more social!