annual statistics are readily available on the VT website for all prior admissions and will be after this admission cycle is over. You can dive into as much data as you would like.
@hokiemama24 It’s hard to tell if their student was told by the HS guidance office that VT was a safety or if they came to that conclusion another way. Guidance should have a better handle on things, but I’m certain there are many people like myself who’s opinion of my student’s HS guidance dept. isn’t so high. Maybe their in state apps were limited to what they considered a match and to VT. Match didn’t pan out, they applied EA rather than ED to Tech since it wasn’t their 1st choice, then admissions gets the sense (potentially accurately) this is the case so wait-lists figuring it’s a high stats kid who may go somewhere else anyway? That seems to happen with greater frequency each year.
The numbers tell the story.
Total enrollees this class = 6700
Virginia Tech will enroll 30% OOS or 2010
They will enroll over 40% FirstGen/URM or 2700.
50% of VA enrollees not from NOVA or 2350.
That leaves Approx 1400 spots for Non URM/First Gen NOVA applicants accounting for overlap.
Guesses based on previous and released data: Around 45K applications-30K from VA or 15k from NOVA. 33% Avg yield. 4200 NOVA Non-URM First Gen acceptances=1400 enrolled so 28% acceptance rate (72% rejected).
The new influx in application has turned admissions on its head.
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I think a lot remains to be seen once the final admissions stats are available after this cycle is complete.
Why 6700? That seems small for recent years (and the goal of growth).
They announced a class target of 6650.
It’s not only happening in VA. In-state schools in NC are very competitive as well. Lots of high stat students who should normally get in are being deferred/waitlisted/denied. We have very few true “safety” schools left - each year the stats ratchet up. My D is very thankful for the admits she received, based on the shocking stories we’re hearing.
Test optional contributed for sure, but the bigger culprit (IMO) is the dramatic increase in the average number of individual applications submitted. Someone applies to 20, gets into 17 and those 17 spots are reserved by that one person until they decide on the “one”. It makes it difficult for colleges to determine which applicants are serious about attending. The increase in applications has forced many colleges to push decision releases, leaving many in limbo and with only a few weeks to choose before the May 1 deadline.
It will be interesting to see how this trends in the next several application cycles.
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I think those two culprits are correlated, particularly this year (combined with limitations on visiting campuses, general uncertainty, etc.).
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honestly … it’s shocking to me why someone would apply to 20 schools. that’s $1400 (assuming $70 per application). narrow your list down by doing some research and having documented things to measure these schools by. IS/OOS, cost, size/demographics, majors – then pick 5 schools. 1-2 reaches, 1-2 targets and a safety.
most of these kids applying to harvard - is like going to buy a lottery ticket. it’s a waste of your time and money 99% of the time.
my son applied to 2 major reaches and he was denied at UVA. waiting on word from the other but the app was free to first-gen – otherwise i would have told him to do his research and pick one
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Another huge factor in the increase in applications for Virginia Tech is the Common Application. Typically, colleges that introduce the CA see a significant bump in their numbers, and for VT, this might be with out-of-state students. I’m quite certain they knew the CA would bring in more applicants, but the surprise was how everyone reacted to the test optional policy. It’s likely that those attracted by the ease in applying via the Common App might not yield as well. But I guess we’ll know more once the dust settles!
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Many times students who are applying to this many schools say that they are “chasing merit.” It’s a phrase that means they need to go to the most affordable school so they want a pool of schools that will offer them the most money (whether through merit or financial aid packages). They will then use the highest award they receive at one school to negotiate an increased award at another school if they prefer this school (assuming both schools are considered on par or “peers.”). Yes, it’s an investment to pay $1400 for 20 applications. But, that investment seems to pay off. Many have posted about getting a school to kick in an extra $3-5,000 a year using this strategy.
Kids may also apply to a lot of schools because they are in an oversaturated demographic for a particularly competitive major or program. My S21 applied to a few safeties, a handful of matches, and a large number of reaches. He knew he had to cast a wide net in the hopes that one or two of those highly competitive programs might accept him.
I’m actually reading on various college parent-pages that merit has been down overall this year, and there’s been only minimal success seeing a small bump in awards (mostly in situations where the applicant obtained a higher SAT/ACT score or significantly increased their gpa since applying.) Maybe smaller, lesser known colleges are negotiating but the large universities with 50k++ applicants are claiming they’ve had less to work with this year to begin with. People have surprised by the lack of merit.
Even in merit chasing scenarios, it can be done with a reasonable number of colleges. My D applied to 9, assumed she’d get merit from 3, which she did, and got a small surprise award from a 4th. Our intent wasn’t to use the awards as a negotiating tool, but rather to give her some viable out-of-state options - in case that’s the route she wants to take.
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That’s a scenario where I completely understand “casting a wide net” strategy.
Living in NC, it’s definitely been a selective year, but I have a feeling VA has been a lot tougher as a whole. Schools like App State, UNCW, etc have acceptance rates equivalent to the former VTech acceptance rate, and so far this year, most people have still been getting in, unlike VTech.
UVA has also made some odd choices, waitlisting high stat applicants (including our school’s valedictorian). These are kids with a lot of accomplishments, in addition to very high grades/scores/rigor. It’s disconcerting.
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Son gave up his spot. Although he loved VT and received a small merit amount, many other great schools came in 10-20K less per year. Unfortunately with 1 already in, and one right behind him, COA is very important. We were hoping they would come a little closer to EFC. Good luck to everyone!
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I’m wrapping things up with #3, so I hear ya. Good luck to your son!
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Just came off the wait list. Where should we look for the financial aid package?
Hi. Those who have been accepted off the waitlist, how were you informed? Thanks.