<p>Darty if you’re ever in NY and looking for lunch, hit me up.</p>
<p>I like how VA Tech has 3 post for the same thread.</p>
<p>You can not go wrong going to UVA. You can go wrong attending VA Tech and not majoring in engineering.</p>
<p>^^^Blame it on the NBA finals^^^</p>
<p>University Studies
The University Academic Advising Center (UAAC) administers the University Studies program and is Virginia Techs academic home for students who are undecided about their majors, are exploring several different majors, or are preparing to apply to a competitive admission program. These students are designated University Studies majors.</p>
<p>The University Studies program gives students the opportunity to explore and learn about the majors available at Virginia Tech before they choose a particular program of study. As a University Studies student, you will be assigned to a professional academic advisor who will work with you until you have selected and been admitted to a degree program. UAAC advisors are familiar with the requirements for all of the universitys academic programs and can help you explore the programs that interest you. You can remain in the University Studies major until the end of your sophomore year.</p>
<p>Bigshot3008 - I like how VA Tech has 3 post for the same thread.</p>
<p>Va Tech is more laid back than UVA. Or, students are still busy in classes and upcoming freshmen don’t consider themselves qualified to comment on the OP’s question.</p>
<p>ChrisTKD, Thank you for your perspective as someone with experience at both schools. I have to say that after seeing the elitism, pretentiousness level of some of the UVa posters, I am actually glad my second, more laidback son ,was not UVa material. Virginia Tech is the better fit for lots of kids. Every year at our competitive public instate school, there are a couple of kids that choose VT over UVa because of fit-similar to an instate kid picking UVa over Princeton because of fit. Yes, you may be able to go to higher ranked Princeton or Duke but UVa feels like the better fit.We have friends whose son went to JMU ,even though he was accepted to William and Mary (and the dad was an undergrad and law school alumni). The son just didn’t feel like William and Mary was right for him. It really is all about fit. People not from Virginia probably have some trouble understanding how deep some of the loyalties go. I am not from Virginia originally but have lived here for 30 years. I was clueless about the UVa/VT stuff before I got here. The bottom line-we are VERY lucky to have schools like UVa, William and Mary and Virginia Tech as instate options. All great schools .</p>
<p>Sevmom–The only “UVA/VT” stuff is the football game that falls on Thanksgiving weekend. There’s no academic rivalry between both schools. A student picking UVA over Princeton is “surprising”, a student picking UVA over Duke is not. Duke and UVA are, academically speaking, peer institutions and factoring in the price of Duke, most would judge picking Duke over UVA a terrible financial decision. </p>
<p>Chris–My little sister, who’s a Tech student, came home on the 10th (like three weeks ago) so Tech students aren’t busy with classes unless they’re enrolled in summer courses. </p>
<p>PS: About the “university studies” stuff, here’s the link where I got that information: </p>
<p>[Freshman</a> Snapshot | Undergraduate Admissions | Virginia Tech](<a href=“http://www.admiss.vt.edu/apply/snapshot.php]Freshman”>http://www.admiss.vt.edu/apply/snapshot.php)</p>
<p>“University studies” is a listed as one of the most popular majors of incoming freshmen. As an outsider, university studies ostensibly looks like a legitimate major. The engineering geniuses at Tech should write in parentheses “undecided” next to University Studies, just like they did when they listed Business as one of the majors.</p>
<p>wahoomb, since you are over 18 I will respond to you. Many Virginia kids would not even bother to apply to Princeton (especially before their more recent upper middle class initiatives). Older son had some recruiting interest from Princeton. No athlectic scholarships at Ivy League schools. Why would he/we pursue this when we had great instate options? Increased prestige would have been the only reason. We do not/did not buy into that .</p>
<p>“The only “UVA/VT” stuff is the football game that falls on Thanksgiving weekend. There’s no academic rivalry between both schools.”</p>
<p>I ask, why is there a problem with it if there is an academic rivalry? (which in the case of various disciplines, including engineering, there is) The OP wants input bc he/she feels that it isn’t an easy choice between the two schools. For many kids that is the case. These two and others in our great state, are challenged year in and year out to be better academically because they are respected rivals. </p>
<p>History has repeated itself once again with this latest VT vs. UVA post, now a full five pages long on this UVA board. </p>
<p>Makes me think of the quote from Hamlet, Act III, Scene II:
“The lady doth protest too much, methinks”</p>
<p>Va tech is not on the same level of UVA in overall academics. The only other school in VA that a person might argue is academically on UVA’s level is W&M. VA tech is not even an academic rival in the overall academic arena.</p>
<p>This is from another poster in another thread that put it nicely: </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-virginia/182418-you-choose-uva-over-5.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-virginia/182418-you-choose-uva-over-5.html</a></p>
<p>“Virginia Tech is not a rival academically. UVA is a significantly stronger academic institution with a great history and a national profile. Virginia Tech is improving, but it is nowhere near UVA in most academic areas and rarely do in-state or out-of-state students consider both schools…The University of Virginia sees itself as a national institution in both academics and athletics and so considers its rivals in a broader space than the state of Virginia. Academically, it is compared regularly to the top schools in the country and perhaps most frequently to other top publics likes Cal, UCLA, Michigan and UNC-CH.”</p>
<p>Man, what a snob…</p>
<p>Very interesting. Dredging up posts from 2006 is indeed enlightening. I’m sure you would have no trouble also finding posts that assert that UVa is not a rival academically to schools like Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT,etc. If you’re chasing prestige, there is usually going to be someone/something just one step ahead.</p>
<p>^^Thank you, I have said that all along. There are certain truths that can’t be argued with. Though MIT students do acknowledge the fact that its founder was a UVA professor for decades.</p>
<p>You’re very welcome,wahoomb. And the truth shall set you free.</p>
<p>2006 post “Virginia Tech is improving, but it is nowhere near UVA in most academic areas and rarely do in-state or out-of-state students consider both schools…”</p>
<p>UVA definitely has an advantage in prestige over VT in business and many of the liberal arts. But, no one should be surprised if a student chose VT over UVA in any of the following fields: all engineering, computer science, architecture, veterinary school, animal husbandry, or agricultural science. I’m not saying that VT’s programs are better or more prestigious I’m only saying that no one would be at all surprised at the decision.</p>
<p>Agree 100% ChrisTKD. And I don’t want to get into an agruement with everyone, but in the NE, when I tell people I’m going to UVA, their mouths drop. However, this is only for a certain type of person. I was admited to Notre Dame and Boston College, as well as UVA. Most of the kids at my school (which is of the lower income bracket) thought I was out of my mind to pick UVA. However, the kids from Rye, Greenwich, and other wealthy areas knew I made the obvious choice…</p>
<p>Just yesterday, my mom was speaking to another lady who asked her where I was going to college. My mom responded UVA and they lady said “ohh what sport does he play”? For the upper class people of the NE, UVA is easily on par with they Ivies…</p>
<p>" UVA definitely has an advantage in prestige over VT in business and many of the liberal arts. But, no one should be surprised if a student chose VT over UVA in any of the following fields: all engineering, computer science, architecture, veterinary school, animal husbandry, or agricultural science. I’m not saying that VT’s programs are better or more prestigious I’m only saying that no one would be at all surprised at the decision."</p>
<p>A student wanting to study in the vet school, animal husbandry or agricultural sciences wouldn’t even look at UVA since UVA does not offer those majors. What is most interesting though is that most people who go to Virginia Tech apparently DON’T major in engineering. </p>
<p>[Virginia</a> Tech to honor more than 5,000 graduates at spring commencement May 14 | Virginia Tech News | Virginia Tech](<a href=“Virginia Tech to honor more than 5,000 graduates at spring commencement May 14 | Virginia Tech News | Virginia Tech”>http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2010/05/2010-381.html)</p>
<p>“This year, the most popular major among graduating seniors is biology, followed by mechanical engineering, finance, and human nutrition, foods, and exercise. Physics and marketing tied for the fifth most popular major.”</p>
<p>Biology? According to the U.S. News, UVA is actually higher ranked than Virginia Tech in biology. </p>
<p>[Best</a> Biological Science Programs | Top Science Schools | US News Best Graduate Schools](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/biological-sciences-rankings]Best”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/biological-sciences-rankings)</p>
<p>Mechanical Engineering–Ok, Virginia Tech wins hands down (according to the rankings)</p>
<p>Finance–McIntire vs. Pamplin, enough said. </p>
<p>Human nutrition, food and exercise–UVA does not offer an equivalent major</p>
<p>Physics–UVA is actually higher ranked in physics than Virginia Tech. </p>
<p>[Best</a> Physics Programs | Top Physics Schools | US News Best Graduate Schools](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/physics-rankings]Best”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/physics-rankings)</p>
<p>Marketing–again, McIntire vs. Pamplin</p>
<p>There’s a misconception out there that most students who “choose” Virginia Tech over UVA major in engineering and this, according to their own sources, is not true. Perhaps most had the intention of doing so and did not follow through. For all the other majors (including the sciences, which is surprising after constantly hearing Tech students boast about their science programs), UVA outranks Virginia Tech. The “UVA is better than Virginia Tech just in the liberal arts and business” line is also another misconception. For all intents and purposes, unless a student is 100% sure he wants to major in engineering (and not even in all types of engineering since UVA’s biomedical engineering is higher ranked and chemical engineering is about the same) or wants to study something not offered at UVA, he should choose UVA if given both options.</p>
<p>PS: I used graduate school rankings because there aren’t any undergraduate equivalents. If Tech’s bio and physics departments at the undergraduate level were better, this would be reflected in their graduate rankings. TAs, after all, play a significant role in the education of undergrads at both schools for these two departments.</p>
<p>If you have not had the privilege to study at Virginia Tech, you have no authority to state whether or not UVA is better—academically—than Virginia Tech.</p>
<p>And quite honestly, I am disgusted by the level of snobbiness in this thread. Students should choose schools based on whether those schools are the “right fit” for them.</p>
<p>I find it humorous and sad how there are so many posts regarding rankings. Wow. It’s a sad world we live in when we must give everything a number to make comparisons. This type of behavior is the cause for societal divisions. </p>
<p>Just my two cents.</p>
<p>It is sad but it also is reality. You can not ignore something that is there ( rankings). The op knows where he fits best however he is asking for other peoples input and opinion.</p>
<p>And yes it is safe to guess that if a school is ranked by multiple sources significantly higher than another school then the original school offers better academics.</p>
<p>I would also like to add that I am very aware of how important “prestige” can be when applying to jobs. However, the “prestige” factor should be considered a necessary evil rather than something to be praised.</p>
<p>SN: Martin Luther King Jr. and Martha Nussbaum are my sources of inspiration.</p>