based on what i’m reading - all freshman are required to live on campus as well. there will definitely be a drop in cost (should be) when and if they decide to move off – but this probably won’t be an option freshman year – unless there’s a repeat of 2019 haha
I will say this, my daughter did not even see the merit award originally. It was a bit buried and we had to look for it, she found it a few days after the acceptance letter.
Am I the only one who feels a bit sad that many aspects of the college admissions process are so readily compared to the lottery?
Honors programs, merit money, and admissions themselves - So many high stats kids are left wondering “Why?”
“Holistic” has obscured “transparency” at many colleges.
This is the wording from The VT website: “The Honors College does not have minimum test scores. Instead, we look holistically at an applicant’s experiences and consider the quality of engagement, self-awareness and reflection on involvement, and authenticity.”
If you notice, there is no mention of academic achievement in the description above. Honors programs used to be for the highest achieving kids- usually defined by academic achievement.
The above description is way too broad and way too open for interpretation IMO. No wonder kids are confused when the decisions come in, and no wonder so many people compare getting in to winning the lottery - a game of chance.
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I’d like to add one more thing to my post above. Since not being selected for Honors seems to affect selection for other scholarships (specifically Stamps) it’s not surprising that very high stats kids want more clarity around acceptance to the honors program.
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lol what i was talking about the acceptance packets in the mail
I know RD is space-available, but does anyone know an average acceptance rate for RD? Also when is RD coming out?
Their honors college description is pretty clear to me.
Lots of schools claim to do a “holistic review”, but then admit primarily based on high test scores/gpa. Nice to see that in their admissions process, merit & honors college review, VT actually does what it says it’s going to do. How great is it that a wide range of students can achieve merit awards and honors college admittance, and not just those the highest scores!
I understand where it would be frustrating to those who counted on getting these things, based on high academic achievement, but as we’re told ad nauseam, test scores don’t predict future success - so why shouldn’t someone with a 1200 or 1300 also have a chance to be on the honors college?
Outside of additional scholarship opportunities, I never understood the honors college hoopla and the level of upset over not getting it. Some perks, yes, but not the make-it-or-break-it of one’s entire educational process. Most colleges let you apply (or reapply) as a freshman, and achieving honor designations such as Deans List, Magna & Summa Cum Laude are available to EVERY student and much more impactful than honors college (IMO).
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2021-22 COA for room and board ranges from $10,110 (on) to $11,580 (off). When you carve off the room portion and divide by 12 (once off campus you will have a 12 month lease), the housing portion puts you in the range of the mid-tier housing options (with all things being dependent on number of bedrooms). Expect to be another 30% above that COA housing portion monthly average if the student lives at The Retreat, The Edge, or one of the 2 or 3 other higher-end options that have and are coming online within the upcoming academic year. My student’s lease including utilities puts them pretty much at the total COA amount (which is important to be aware of if you are using a 529 style savings plan to pay for off campus housing).
A report in the Roanoke Times from December referenced a 14.6% admissions rate for RD from last year’s pool. It’s unclear if they mean “offered” admission at that % or if it references enrolled from the RD offered pool. ED and EA applications combined make up the lion’s share of apps based on previous reports. RD decisions were posted March 5th (interestingly a Thursday) last year.
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The word honors when used in academia has historically corresponded with academic achievement. Honor roll in high school is based on academic achievement. If you hear that someone “graduated with honors” it’s an implication of a high level of academic standing. Maybe the solution is to change the name of the honors program because defining the word honors using completely holistic measures (not focused on GPA and stats) creates confusion within an academic setting.
Again, I think the reason for this is that honors implies “the best of the best - academically speaking.” Honors designations often help with job placement and look great on “first job” resumes. You’ve also got additional perks like housing and priority course selection - a big deal for kids who want particular classes or professors.
Many high stats kids end up deciding between higher ranked schools and lower ranked schools with an honors invite. When honors is granted at the time of admission, the lower ranked school becomes more appealing.
If a student applicant is looking for validation based solely on academic achievement, there are many colleges and/or honors colleges which will feed that inclination. VT’s honors college description that you posted above, however, specifically says that there is no minimum test score requirement, so I’m not sure where the confusion or lack of clarity is with their explanation. They can define their version of “honors” any way they want.
If getting into an honors college is the #1 driving factor of an applicant’s college search then I would assume that they would have thoroughly vetted each school’s honors college requirements, and maybe passed on schools who don’t base admittance solely on academic achievement.
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I hope VA Tech RD decisions will be released this week.
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Even if the predictability of test scores is up for debate, doesn’t everyone agree that high school GPA predicts college GPA (or graduation, or whatever metric you want to use)? When people say ‘high stats’ they are not just talking about test scores, it also includes GPA. But I agree, in the end VT can choose people on whatever they want (academic achievement, other variables, or whatever) and call it Honors.
Actually, I don’t agree that high school GPA always predicts college GPA. My VT grad kid had below average GPA in high school for VT and was lucky to get off the wait-list. He ended up graduating Magna Cum Laude in engineering , despite having to start off in University Studies (I think it is unfortunate that that option does not seem available anymore but that’s another subject). Some kids , particularly males, are late bloomers . He was an all state athlete in high school and an Eagle Scout and 1st chair in his orchestra section but didn’t always like to do homework! Luckily, Virginia Tech took a chance on him!
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Research has shown that high school GPA predicts college GPA/graduation/success/etc. It doesn’t mean that there aren’t outliers, and I’m glad to hear your son is an outlier, that’s awesome! I also miss the university studies option. There have been a lot of significant changes in the last 3-4 years to admissions, and that’s one I really don’t like. I know a student who was waitlisted for engineering but admitted for university studies, then admitted to engineering in the 11th hour. He graduated aerospace with honors and is now finishing his masters!
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I’m not so sure that it’s that cut and dried, but trends in data collection do seem to lean towards a combination of rigor and GPA having a greater influence on college success vs. standardized test scores.
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FWIW, for all the unknowns and inconsistencies that show up each admissions year, I would say it’s pretty certain that VT admissions as well as the departments from other universities have established some decent data on grade inflation and rigor within school systems. No disrespect intended to anyone who’s kid has opportunities at VT or comparable schools - but academic achievement isn’t a static/linear thing and hasn’t been for a good while.
Graduating with honors and entering school in the honors program are very different things. Many students may likely tell you that they value the former well over the latter.
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Yes, GPA, rigor, etc. I’m not trying to prove or disprove points here, I was responding to someone who said stats don’t predict college success. I personally think GPA + rigor + test scores would be more predictive than just GPA/rigor, but I haven’t seen studies combining those (everyone wants to argue either/or). At any rate, I’m not trying to go off topic with that, I was responding to a specific comment. VT clearly doesn’t just go by the numbers anyway.
That’s one of the reasons schools have always liked scores-- to validate the GPA. But a lot of people want to move away from that for a variety of reasons.
And as to the understanding of what college success means in the long term, that’s probably not a bad thing. To be continued for sure.