<p>Hey everybody! I am a current freshmen here at Virginia Tech majoring in Biology. I just wanted to extend a hand and say that if anybody has any questions pertaining to Virginia Tech I can try my best to answer them for you!</p>
<p>Nice to see someone willing taking over for Chuy who has been a real help over the years.</p>
<p>Sorry for the type. I meant " willing to take over"</p>
<p>Yup, I’m across the country now so all of my advice is increasingly inaccurate. On my deathbed I’ll still be yelling to take Chang for physics though.</p>
<p>Thanks so much,chuy, for all your input. My kid did take Chang for physics and it was great. He also took an entymology class (bug in a cup) which you may have recommended but not sure. Hope you are enjoying California but I’ll bet you miss Blacksburg. Keep in touch!</p>
<p>Chang isn’t teaching physics this semester because of an overhaul of the grading system for Physics 2305, and I seriously doubt he will ever teach 2305 again (though it’s still a possibility). I still find the class extremely easy, though I took a difficult physics course back in high school.</p>
<p>Along with the OP, I am available to help as well. I’m a 2nd year engineering student in EE. If I don’t know the answer, I can most definitely find it.</p>
<p>I’m around still, but no recent threads seemed like they’ve needed my input.</p>
<p>3rd-ish year Computer + Electrical Engineer…but I should really probably be a CS major :-)</p>
<p>Yeah ask all them for academic stuff. My local bar knowledge should hold true for a couple years with the exception of abellas/the oc/whatever it is.</p>
<p>As far as general advice when you go to the career fairs (which you will, right?) talk to a couple companies that seem like they’re kind of out of place there. You’ll have less competition and you never know, you may end up working for a bakery in California with a degree in engineering.</p>
<p>2nd year math/economics/premed here LOL willing to help answer questions too</p>
<p>I was told, but cannot confirm and have a difficult time believing that ALL math classes at VT are taught in a computer lab off campus. My daughter was also led to believe that there are no traditional lectures for math classes. Is this true?</p>
<p>No this is not true, there is a total of about five or six math classes that are taught at the computer lab, where you have to teach your self, but usually you only going to have to do around one to three of these classes based on your major. There is traditional math classes like you would see in high school (some of them exactly like high school).</p>
<p>Yeah, I only had one math class that was completely taught in the math empo (Linear Algebra) and one where we took quizzes/tests there (Vector Geo.) I think there’s a lower level calc class for non-majors that is taught there too but I’m not sure.</p>
<p>I’ll go ahead and put this issue to rest completely:</p>
<p>For engineering majors, there is only one math course that is completely online and that is Linear Algebra. The only exception is if you get into Linear Algebra Honors; It meets like once a week for an hour. </p>
<p>Jerri England is usually the teacher for Linear Algebra. She communicates well and responds very quickly to e-mails, but you will see her once. You have to schedule an orientation that provides an introduction to online Emporium courses. After that, unless you go to office hours, you will never see her again.</p>
<p>The part where people get confused about VT math is when people start talking about their quizzes and tests. There are many courses on VT campus that do require the use of the Math Emporium; mainly the proctored testing area.</p>
<p>Proctored Testing Area (Def) - A section in the back of the math emporium dedicated to people taking tests/exams for their courses. These tests cannot be taken anywhere except the emporium since the test requires a proctor key. The proctor key is not on the computer; otherwise people would bring a flash drive and copy the contents. The proctor key is a USB flash drive that Proctor area assistants keep with them to allow students to access exams.</p>
<p>I know of two courses in the Engineering major that require the proctor area at the math emporium: Calculus II (Math 1206) and Vector Geometry (Math 1224.) I haven’t taken any courses past those yet so I am unsure if Multi-variable or Diff EQ have proctored exams.</p>
<p>There are other courses that use the Empo for quizzes only; One example is Calculus I (Math 1205.) All of the quizzes are online and the instructor can access an online database of your scores. The online quizzes are not big deal since you have access to unlimited practice quizzes which model the actual quizzes; the questions actually come from the same question bank, so the more practice quizzes you do, the better score you will receive.</p>
<p>The courses that do not use proctored exams use what are called “Common time exams.” Math 1205 (Calc I) does this. Your instructor is assigned a classroom (usually other than your meeting classroom) to give the test. When I took Math 1205, the exam was always in a different building and started at 7 p.m. You have one hour to finish a 7-10 question exam. The instructor does not know what is on the exam until an hour before you do. This is a “fairness” procedure that VT Math Dept. has put into effect so that one class does not have an advantage over another.</p>
<h2>That is all the information I have on the freshman engineering math.</h2>
<p>On another math note that is not related to engineering… I have some friends from high school that went to VT who are BIT majors. They had to take Calculus with Matrices (Math 1525.) Apparently that class is completely online as well. I know they constantly complained that they could not learn math on their own. I ended up actually writing a few lessons for them on my tablet. I have heard that Math 1015 and 1016 are also online. They are pre-calc courses and honestly I think it would just take up a classroom to teach them in class because the material can be learned online.</p>
<p>Just another note on the empo tests and quizzes; that may sound like a bad thing, but it is actually a very, very good thing. Every class I took with empo tests and quizzes would allow you to do practice tests from home, using the same question bank (which was far too large to memorize, but you would at least know exactly what type of questions you were going to see) to practice with.</p>
<p>Also, my calc II class (and someone correct me if this has changed) would give you a week to take your tests. During that week you could take it up to 5 times, your last attempt counting. So if you felt pretty good about the test you could go in Monday without studying, and if you’re happy with your score just stop there. If you aren’t then you know how much you’ll have to study, and exactly what you’ll have to study.</p>
<p>I would like to hear what the engineering majors (and, especially, EE majors) think of the engineering faculty. Specifically:</p>
<p>1) How committed are they to undergraduate student success vs. research or other interests? I know it varies by individual, of course, but departments tend to have a general character as well. My eldest son is sophomore ECE at UMass Amherst and, so far, I’ve been impressed by the effort the faculty puts forth toward undergraduates.</p>
<p>2) What is the quality of the instruction? This is different from 1, since simply being committed to undergraduate ed. doesn’t mean you will necessarily end up with a strong program. You’ve got to be competent at it.</p>
<p>3) VT has a strong engineering reputation. Some schools have a strong reputation because they attract top students who more or less teach themselves. Wondering how this relates to VT.</p>
<p>Thanks for your responses in advance.</p>
<p>Hi i was just wondering what nightlife is like at VT? Are there big parties or just small parties at apartments? And are there tailgates that the students hold (like the huge tailgates at Indiana)? And is Oak Lane walking distance from the campus?</p>
<p>how important is senior year? will getting good grades first quarter increase chances of getting in?</p>
<p>cvvassallo: The nightlife at Virginia Tech is great in my opinion. You can go out, or you can stay in. I have experienced both. Some of the frats throw parties, but supposedly those get busted or sometimes run out of alcohol very fast. However, AGR is known to throw great parties. AGR is a frat made up of men from the CALS. My suitemate is actually a pledge of AGR right now and he is getting us into a Halloween party there. I have been to a few off campus parties as well and those can be even more fun because they are very chill. Guys have to pay for alcohol at some of the parties. Girls are free all the time. You can also go out and go Downtown to one of the many local restaurants or the Lyric theater. There is always something going on. For those that want to stay on campus you can go to Deets or DX, your friends’ dorms, or campus organized events such as Flapjack Friday or movies in Squires. There are a lot of options. Tailgating is very big here at Tech. There are numerous lots full of many people tailgating. I know that they throw tailgates for certain colleges, majors, and organizations, but I am not entirely sure about specifics. I have tailgated with my friends and their families. If you have anymore questions, let me know. </p>
<p>jjc522: I believe that senior year is very important, no matter what school you want to go to. I think that if you keep your grades up then you will definitely have an advantage over somebody that doesn’t do as well.</p>
<p>Nightlife: I could write a book.</p>
<p>The party scene is fantastic. No, it isn’t as good as the professional party schools, (JMU) but VT still has a great party atmosphere. The unbalanced gender ratio is offset by the fact that a lot of Radford girls party at VT, so don’t worry about that. The buses run late on the weekends (till 130 or 230) am service campus, downtown, and the big apartment complexes so you don’t have to worry about driving anywhere. A few notes:</p>
<p>Frat parties are pretty cool, especially at the beginning of the year. If you’re a girl keep an eye on your drink. After a couple weeks they start going into hardcore pledge mode and that’s when they get a little less fun if you aren’t pledging (I never did,) but still, good times.</p>
<p>There are some bars where you can pull off drinking underage sometimes, but in my experience Blacksburg is one of the hardest places to do it. I didnt really get into the bar scene until I was 21 but it is very nice. There aren’t any dance clubs though. My favorite places were The Cellar (hammertime!) Champs (like Big Al’s but you have more than 20 square inches to yourself) and Rivermill. Also legally before they will give you a diploma you have to go to TOTs and get a rail. It actually isn’t that unpleasant (going down anyway) but… Don’t have anything to do the next day. And for gods sake don’t get 2.</p>
<p>Also anyone that claims that downtown isn’t walking distance from The Village is a liar.</p>
<p>Once you’re 21 if you’ve got some money and a DD check out Roanoke one Saturday night. The Market Square District is where all the good places are (punch Cornerstone into your gps and you’ll be in the right place.) They have some dance clubs (Metro is great if its packed, Cornerstone is good sometimes, 202 is alright but consistently packed. These three places are about 2 minutes walking distance from eachother.) Just stay away from the Roanoke College area. It’s boring and terrible and if you tell anyone you’re from VT they’ll wonder why you drove an hour to get somewhere boring and terrible.</p>
<p>Now, the party scene is a different animal. It IS a little bit cyclical in my experience, in that on average the bigger parties happen toward the beginning of the year, then it dies down a bit in the winter (finals + it’s cold), then comes back with a vengeance in the spring. Also mos parties cost a couple bucks to get a cup at. Don’t complain because the alternative is, well, obviously worse than being at a party since that’s what you decided to do tonight. Bring singles or fives; nobody wants to break your 20. Let me elaborate.</p>
<p>Everyone wants to throw parties at the beginning of the year. Most people just moved into their new place, they’ve been working some crappy job the last few months, classes don’t matter that much yet, it’s really the perfect storm. You can, if you are a reasonably socially literate person, go to a big apartment complex and just walk into a party. This is about 10x as effective if you bring your own booze, and 1000x as effective if you are a girl. If/when you’re invited to a party (people are generally friendly and the more you talk to them the more stuff you’ll find out about) and you plan on bringing your pack of lovable freshman compadres make sure you ask if you should invite more people. Don’t ask if you CAN, ask if you SHOULD. Also don’t bring a ton of guys unless you know the people throwing the party pretty well and you know it won’t be an issue, because nothing will get you put in the “don’t tell him about it” column faster than being That Guy that threw off the gender ratio with a bunch of freshman. But yeah, fall has the big parties then the football games (tailgating everywhere.)</p>
<p>Then winter hits. Winter in blacksburg is cold and windy, doubly so at night. Now is when all those people you made friends with earlier (you remembered to talk to someone other than the keg, right?) come in handy. There are still house parties, they’re just smaller on average since its cold and people are starting to realize that maybe studying sometimes is a good idea. There are still occasionally big parties, though, you just have to make sure you stay in the loop a bit. Downtown is actually nice in the winter because it’s less packed, and personal space at Big Al’s increases to a roomy 22 square inches per person. Don’t let what I’m saying scare you though, if you know people that threw a lot of parties earlier they still will now, and the cold weather keeps the less hardy roving packs of freshmen away, do I actually had a better time partying during the winter in some ways. And then Christmas break starts.</p>
<p>And then Christmas break ends. It’s still cold but the finals depression is over, it’s a solid month until you have to see grades that really matter and everyone is ready to do it all over again. Theres a flurry of activity at the very beginning, then it dies a bit, and then spring hits. It doesn’t get quite as wild as fall since people are more concerned with grades, but you start seeing some of the bigger parties again and downtown gets PACKED (why this is is pretty simple but I’ll leave as an exercise to the reader.) Its a pretty glorious couple months until finals hit and everything comes to a screeching halt, especially the weekend before finals when everyone wants to throw/go to one last party. </p>
<p>There is one exception to everything I just said, and that is Tuba Parties. Tuba Parties are… well… Tuba Parties. I can’t compare them to anything else. Like the ancient roman gods they exist in a world that is like ours, but on a different plane. If you happen to meet a Tuba player make sure to keep in touch. And no, I wasn’t a tuba player (or in band at all,) but I went to several of their parties and well… I don’t know if I’d say it’s better but my life certainly is different for it.</p>
<p>I just typed that all on my phone so if there are typos oh well.</p>