I heard from a friend at VT that for the 2017 admissions they will not look to admit a prospective engineering major to their second choice major if they are denied from the school of engineering. Has anyone heard anything similar to this or is it just a rumor?
Wait what…? There’s no way they have always in the past admitted you to general studies if you are qualified enough for the school but not engineering. Anyone have any insight on this?
I highly doubt that. I talked to an admissions officer a couple weeks ago and it is true that you won’t get considered for your second choice during ED. However if a student is qualified for their second major during RD then they can get in…
Heard that as well but no confirmation from a trusted source. Do be aware though that transferring into VT engineering from another major there is now very difficult and not a sure thing at.all. They’ve tightened up / changed the rules and upped the GPA requirement. Supposedly they put in a hard cap on the number of transfers into ENG. These changes are very recent so too early to know the impact.
Son is now a sophomore at VT - he did not get in VT Engineering two years ago (did get in to VT with Math major RD). Spent Freshman year at another university in VA - applied to transfer into VT Engineering and got in! Was told two most important criteria in transferring are grades and applicable classes in major. He was wait-listed at UVA. Hope this helps!
I’m a sophomore engineering student at Tech. I’ve heard the same thing - that admissions counselors have been telling students that they will no longer be able to put down a 2nd choice if they apply to the engineering school. I don’t think this has been confirmed anywhere official, but it’s readily believable and completely in line with the way things have been trending.
VT is in a process of growth - the last 2 classes have each set school records for the largest admitted classes, and we were told that by the time we are seniors we’ll be the smallest undergrad class. In other words, they’re admitting more and more people each year, both overall and within the engineering school. They also have a lot more applications than ever before, so admissions rates are also going down, especially within engineering.
In an effort not to flood the college of engineering, they’ve made it harder to get in and also a lot harder to switch in from within VT. The days of getting into University Studies, or Chem, or Physics, and then switching into Engineering after your freshman are effectively over. As of the last year or two, they’ve cap transfers into the engineering school at 250, and the minimum GPA to even apply to get in is 3.2. It’s still possible to do, but it’s far from a sure thing and not something you should be banking on. This new policy about 2nd choices hasn’t been confirmed but I expect it will be at some point soon. If not for Fall 2017, then Fall 2018, which is the date that I’ve heard.