Virginia Tech chances please?!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Virginia Tech
1

<p>So I really want to go to Virginia Tech. I am a rising in-state senior and plan on applying early decision. I know my gpa is not very high so this is kind of a reach. Anyways, here is some info.
GPA: 3.4 through junior year weighted.. ehh i know. but Ive never had anything less than a b printed on my transcript.
SAT: Reading: 550 Writing: 550 Math: 630 total: 1730 I will be retaking these this october.
AP classes: US History (2)
Lang/Comp (5)
Psychology (4)
Calculus AB
Spanish
Government
I will also be including a personal statement explaining that i was emotionally dealing with my dads freak accident death starting high school and then was forced to deal with my mom recovering from her drug and alcohol addiction which has effected my grades.
Most of my extra curriculars come from band, which I've been a member of all four years.
Marching band 10th-12th
Marching band section leader- 12th
Jazz band- 10th
Winter Drumline- 11th-12th
I also did Swim team 9th- 10th and was a member of the Ice hockey team 10th grade.</p>

<p>I cant think of any more info to include, so does any one have any input?? pleasee and thank you!</p>

2

<p>Your ecs are good dude. The only things you have to do are bump your gpa up and improve your SAT scores. I’m trying to get into there too. GL dude. My school uses a naviance/family connection and it says that the average gpa to get into Vtech is 3.69 I think.</p>

3

<p>Keep in mind that although the GPA from one school may be 3.69, that may not be the benchmark for another. You can make generalizations, however every school is different.
If one school does not offer many many AP classes there is not a great deal of grade inflation. There are often cases where you see students with an 3.7uw and a 4.3w+. This indicates a great number of AP classes. From our school students are rarely admitted with less than a 3.9w. You are expected to take challenging courses based on what was available to you.</p>

<p>My sincere condolences on the loss of your father. This is certainly something you should mention on your application. If your GC is familiar with your situation it may help for them to make a statement as well regarding your potential.</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

4

<p>I agree with blueiguana. It is a whole picture situation and that is why you can see your gpa change according to admissions. </p>

<p>Not only is it the amt of AP’s, but it is the weighting scale. In NC AP’s are 5.0, in No VA it is 4.5. Does your school do a 7 pt scale or a 10 pt scale? </p>

<p>What is your class ranking? You could have the lower gpa, but if your school is very competitive in VA (i.e. TJ) it isn’t going to hurt. Avg school and will hurt. You can also have the lower gpa, but if your ranking is very high, it will help. </p>

<p>The admissions dept will also look at your course rigor compared to the school rigor. If you take the hardest classes offered you will fare better than taking an easy load, even if the gpa is equivalent.</p>

<p>They will look at the school profile…how many go to 4 yr colleges…how many go private…how many go IS…how many go OOS. </p>

<p>A lot goes into the equation,</p>

<p>I will also say, that your SAT is low…very low. I believe the avg is @1250, that means with a low wgpa and a low SAT, you need to highlight other things within your application to alleviate their fears. </p>

<p>I am with blueiguana…talk to your GC. Also, Tech does send admission officers to the schools in the fall for general recruiting. Talk to them.</p>

<p>I do not want you to think it isn’t plausible, because it def. is, BUT you need to give more info for anyone to give a true guess on chances. I.E. rank, course load for next yr.
and intended major.</p>

<p>I also agree with blue, that you can show to them a rational reason why your gpa is at the level it is.</p>

<p>To this day our DD believes it was her essay that got her over the edge. She never experienced the depth of your issues, but she was able to explain why some of her grades were all over the board since she was a military child. She attended 9 different schools, in 5 states in her 12 yrs of public education. </p>

<p>As a proud parent of her essay, I will say she touched my own heart. I never understood why she carried a jar of dirt around, until I read her essay. The dirt was her keepsake to remember where she lived and how it changed her personally.</p>

<p>She moved in on Wed. to Tech, and I noticed she didn’t take it with her. I didn’t ask her why, but I guessed the reason was for the first time she knew that Tech was home to her and she knew she would never leave there. It was a full circle moment, she had finally found her home, the entire premise of her essay and why she wanted to attend.</p>

5

<p>I would like to touch on a very good point BnP made. Connecting with your area representative prior to admissions may prove to be very important. Check with your GC to see if the rep will be visiting your school personally. If so, make sure you can attend. If your VT rep is not scheduled to visit your school this fall, ask if your GC is wiling to give you the name of your HSs rep and if your GC thinks it may be helpful/appropriate to contact them directly. </p>

<p>During a ‘College Night’ or ‘College Fair’ sponsored by your school or county where many schools are represented is not going to allow you the time you need to address your needs with your admissions rep. VT is a very popular school as you are aware. At these types of events you rarely get more than a passing ‘Hello’ and a brochure from their reps. You will be sure to get lots of time an attention from OOS schools represented because they are not being overwhelmed by prospective students.</p>

<p>BnPs story their DDs essay is a very good example of how a very meaningful essay that conveys information relevant to the students education can be invaluable. VT essays are optional and is widely known for looking at stats…just the numbers please. The essay, done properly, can really make a difference. I am touched at your daughters story. It is amazing what children will do to cope. Who would ever think that a simple jar of dirt left behind could have so much meaning. Cheers to you as a parent for letting her carry it all those years…not many would.</p>

6

<p>Thanks a lot for the input. It’s weird you say tj because that’s really close to my school… But anyways my school doesn’t rank so I’m not sure on that. My course load next year includes ap Spanish, government, and calculus. And intended major is psychology. Maybe that can give you a better idea…<br>
I will definitely try to come in contact with our representative Because out school has a college night and fair. Again thanks for the help!</p>

7

<p>Psychology is very competitive. I will say our DD had a much higher gpa…she graduated Magna, with an AICE degree (Cambridge program), and the top 10% of her school. Her SAT and ACT were above the median avg. </p>

<p>When the VTech person came to the school, they told her that she was on the cusp for Psychology. Knowing that, she opted to apply for sociology with the intention that she would have psych as her minor, and eventually dual major in both. She went this route to get in VT.</p>

<p>She applied ED with all of her friends Not one student at her HS got ED. HOWEVER, the HS down the road by 10 miles, that ranks lower in PW, doesn’t offer AICE or IB, had almost all of their students get ED.</p>

<p>This is why I say, admissions is not only about you, but it is about your school, and the diversity that Tech wants.</p>

<p>NO VA is known to be very competitive within the state university system, but parents felt their children were being penalized for coming from strong school systems. Fairfax decided to address this issue, and thus, they went from a 7 pt scale and a 4.5 wgpa to a 10 pt scale. PW followed suit shortly thereafter. </p>

<p>The decision process for admittance really is multi-faceted, so you need to view it from every angle.</p>

8

<p>Colleges not only look for superior academic students with extracurricular, but also students with community involvement. If you volunteer anywhere, even if it is just a few hours a week, it automatically pulls you up above many other applicants. I think Virginia Tech wants students to be able to help with the problems in the community locally and globally, therefore being involved is a great way to improve your chances on getting in.</p>

<p>Psychology is very competitive at Virginia Tech that is true, but Virginia Tech specializes in engineering so psychology shouldn’t be extremely hard to get into. If you can get good grades in your senior year to improve your gpa, you can improve your chances of getting in. Remember if you can’t get in with early decision, your senior grades could definitely get you in with the regular decision.</p>

9

<p>According to the rep that was at our DS’s hs last yr., the most competitive programs at Tech for admissions was Engineering, Architecture and Psych. The rep said that Psych was becoming more difficult because this is a program that they would like to get up to the Engineering and Architecture standpoint for admissions, which is a long term strategic plan. Thus, one way to do so is by increasing the stds. </p>

<p>IMHO a 3.4 weighted gpa and not breaking the 1200 marker on M & CR places them on the low side of match. </p>

<p>That being said, the only way to answer this question is to apply. If you want Tech, then APPLY, if you are iffy, take the time, visit the campus, and investigate if it is a good fit for you.</p>

10

<p>So if it is a harder major to get in with, would it be a good idea to select undecided initially and then later chose psych?</p>

11

<p>I would suggest sociology, because that is in the same field. Our DD at orientation found out that this is the most common path taken when in doubt. Many of the sociology majors dual major in sociology and psychology.</p>

<p>Sociology is the study of society. Psychology is the study of people. Both are intertwined.</p>

<p>To be honest, your problem is not the major it is your academic record. You need to take that SAT over and try the ACT because if you look at the admittance scores you will see that your scores are an issue.</p>

<p>Please look at this link from their own site
<a href=“http://www.admiss.vt.edu/apply/snapshot.php[/url]”>http://www.admiss.vt.edu/apply/snapshot.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>If you look at people with your stats or lower and added them up, they make up about 15% of the class for 2010 admittance.</p>

<p>Now, that hurts to see, but the plus side is you can be one of those 15%. None of us are in admissions, so you just need to realistic, but still go for it.</p>