UVA Engineering vs. Virginia Tech Engineering

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Virginia
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<p>I highly recommend you do your own independent research on both VT and UVa. To search this forum, you would think VT churns out robots who binge drink. It’s a fact VT has a better engineering program just as UVa has a better business program than VT. I laughed a bit when the one poster said binge drinking is a problem at VT. If you google “top party schools”, click on the Huffington Post link and you’ll see a picture of the Rotunda. </p>

<p>But again, do your own research, visit both schools and make the best decision for you. My daughter is graduating high school this year. I graduated from VT and my oldest son is set to graduate from VT this May. In searching for the best schools for my daughter to apply, we discussed her intended major - Business. As a VT grad, even I know going to UVa would afford her the best opportunities after graduating. She applied to UNC-CH and UVa and was accepted by both schools. In addition she was accepted as an Echols Scholar at UVa. While there’s still a possibility she may attend UNC, being a Virginia resident, she’ll likely end up at UVa. </p>

<p>The bottom line is do what’s best for you, not some guy on a message board named shoebox…no offense to shoebox. If you’re interested in the business side of engineering, you may want to consider getting your engineering degree first, work for a few years then pursue an MBA. This is a great combination and some firms may even pay for all or part of your tuition.</p>

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<p>The student who topped this probably knows where to look for data and is looking for personal stories. Shoebox10 posted extensively during her days at both VT and UVa. You don’t often see posts on CC from people who have experience at both schools.</p>

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Always check the methodology for rankings and think like a magazine editor before you put too much stock in them. Rankings issues are made to sell magazines. :)</p>

<p>That magazine claimed to use 900 data points to establish their ranking. They did not define those data points.</p>

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<p>I had to smile when I saw this old post show up in my email inbox…Just like tax season ads, the UVA or VT threads resurface this time every year! :)</p>

<p>tennisgeek, you can’t go wrong with either school. They are both fabulous universities and offer superb engineering educations; you just need to determine what you want in terms of the type of courses you will take. shoebox went to VT for a year and then transferred to UVA because she valued the type of broadened perspective their program offers. She offers a glimpse of what she saw at VT, but keep in mind she was there for her freshman year only, so you need to keep the brevity of her experience in mind. </p>

<p>I suggest you look at the courseload you will be taking at each school. See what you will be taking and if that approach appeals to you more. A couple of points that haven’t been mentioned, networking and research opportunities. Because VT is a larger program, its alumni base is wider and they have a very strong reputation for “taking care of their own”. Also VT’s engineering program is much stronger in terms of research opportunities and facilities. Engineering and Architecture are looked at as kind of “shining star” programs there, so they get a lot in terms of funding and support. </p>

<p>But again, it is up to you. What is right for one engineer isn’t necessarily right for another…You will find kids at each school who couldn’t imagine themselves anywhere else. Do your research, make an informed decision and be happy with where you go. You have a great problem to figure out! :)</p>

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<p>Haha…my reference to the Huffington Post article was tongue in cheek…it only proves you can find whatever you want on the internet…a guy in this thread says VT students are binge drinkers…an article from HP says UVa is the top party school. Neither one is 100% correct which leads me back to tennisgeek making his/her own choice when it comes to choosing a school (versus seeking out stories from people on the internet they’ve never met). </p>

<p>Nothing beats visiting both schools, talking to students, faculty, advisors…researching the curriculum and making a decision. My daughter is facing the same dilemma regarding UNC and UVa. We plan on visiting both schools again over the next few months to find out as much as we can before she has to decide. Like tennisgeek, whatever my daughter decides, it’s not as if either choice would be disastrous…she’ll get a great education either way.</p>

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<p>Chesva, may I ask what kind of stats your daughter had to get into UNC-CH as an OOS student? Did she attend TJ or a Virginia Governor’s School? Thanks.</p>

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<p>@ volleyva - As this thread is several months old and chesva has only 4 posts, I wondered if they were still around. I did check and their last login on cc was 1/28/13, so I doubt you’ll get a response. Their past posts are readily visible (inc stats). So, you can get part of your answer just by looking.</p>

<p>I’m not sure why you think acceptance to UVa Echols and OOS UNC points to TJ or Gov School (BOTH excellent schools, btw). I’m sure there are HSs across the state that produce students offered an Echols admit as well as admits to UNC (or other equally competitive programs). Ours has.</p>

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<p>Hi Blueiguana. I am sure there are lots of great high schools that send students to those colleges. My daughter attends a Math and Science Gov. School and I was just hoping that might help! Her base school has sent students to several Ivies and many to UVA but none to UNC-CH. I hope I didn’t offend anyone, I always enjoy your posts. :)</p>

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<p>VT grad here, and while I might be somewhat biased, I have to say that a lot of the things shoebox10 has said about VT is not true.</p>

<p>While shoebox10 claims to have compared both (EE?) curricula, from what I’ve read (haven’t read all of the posts), a lot of shoebox10’s posts have been incorrect. I remember seeing a post saying that UVA requires 137 credits compared to VT’s 120. Wrong. UVA’s current EE curriculum requires 128 credits or “units”. VT requires 132. Credit hour numbers aren’t a good way to compare curricula anyways. What should be compared are the courses and their corresponding syllabuses. </p>

<p>Being from VT, I do believe we have the stronger engineering program. While it may seem that we put out “cookie cutter” engineers, its not like our engineers all are the same. VT spends the most on research out of any university in the commonwealth. There are a lot of research opportunities for undergrads. In addition, WSJ ranks our engineers as among the most desirable for companies. In my experience, I’ve been to some career fairs on campus where I had to skip class because I had close to 10 interviews in a week. Some of these companies even paid for an on site interview out of state. I’m not trying to take a shot at UVA here, but some of the companies I interviewed at didn’t have any employees from UVA or they didn’t recruit at UVA. VT engineers may be large in number, but we are still well respected.</p>

<p>I’m not saying that UVA engineers are not good. I’ve worked with some that were brilliant. But these students were going to be brilliant no matter what school they went to. I personally think that UVA has a strong engineering program. UVA does have things that VT does not, such as the presence of smaller, more unique disciplines, like their biomedical program. I don’t believe VT has one. VT typically offers traditional disciplines; more specialized areas of focus are typically seen in the graduate program. </p>

<p>Another thing I would like to address are salaries. Yes, UVA’s reported salaries among new graduates on average are higher. VT’s isn’t that far behind. However, as mentioned previously, VT engineers are in high demand. I only knew about 2 or 3 people (in my classes, not engineering as a whole) that didn’t have a job lined up before graduating. I don’t know how many of UVA’s engineers had jobs lined up before graduating, but those numbers MIGHT be higher because those salaries were those of their top students. </p>

<p>As for the party scene, shoebox10 probably did see a lot of drinking, but I know for a fact that there is a lot of drinking at UVA. Blacksburg is a small town, but that doesn’t mean that there is only drinking. There are a lot of outdoor activities that can be done and numerous extracurricular clubs to join. I don’t know why shoebox10 said that VT students binge drink. There are people who choose to workout, make apps, have LAN parties, or research instead of drink. It’s not fair to classify VT as a drinking college because students are depressed when shoebox10 probably didn’t even spend time to really explore everything the school has to offer. In fact, recently, USNews ranked VT students as #5 on happiest students.</p>

<p>While VT is not for everyone, the same can be said about ANY university. While there were numerous rough times I went through as an engineering undergraduate, I am proud to have graduated from VT and I think it was one of the best decisions I have made. </p>

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<p>

Obviously, in the UVa forum, you’ll find people that are quite fond of the school and some will see topping a very old thread with this screed as taking a shot at UVa.</p>

<p>Since you acknowledge not reading her posts, I’ll let you know that shoebox has been a working engineer for several years now and her posts have considered insightful and helpful to many. Just because you had a different experience (and because credit requirements may have changed over the years) doesn’t mean she her experiences aren’t valid. Different people can have vastly different experiences at the same school or organization. </p>

<p>It’s wonderful that you found a match at Tech. Clearly, we have many fabulous options in the Commonwealth! :)</p>