Virginia Tech vs. NC State CS for OOS. Compare and contrast. Anyone have direct experience or insights? Anyone here applying to both?
Are we thinking February 22nd for decisions? Historically it has been the 21st or 22nd and the 22nd is a Monday this year.
I am intrigued by VTs decision to hold out so long before posting EA decisions. VT was my son’s first choice (OOS) but he now has 6 acceptances, all with great merit aid, and he is already beginning to see himself at one school in particular, which he heard from in early Dec. He is connecting with other students and has a Zoom call with the head of his program, a professor, and a student this week. The more vested he becomes in this other school the less likely he will find his way back to VT I’m afraid. That could change of course, but the decision to wait until late Feb will likely sway strong students away from VT and toward other schools that offer more merit and provide an earlier decision date.
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We are in exactly the same place, @PH
My daughter was so excited about VT. She spend quite a long time on the VT specific essays and talked about it as a top choice. She has also received some fantastic merit packages at other really good schools (all OOS (we’re in MA and she wants to be in VA or NC)). She spend an hour on FT last night with another girl from one of the schools that let her know ages ago and it does seem to be swaying her.
To have EA come out only one week before RD seems odd.
That said, we didn’t get a chance to tour VT (and we did most of the others) so I think if she gets in - we’ll still take a look as I’ve never heard a bad thing about VT. Sounds like a great place with an awesome town right there.
@Rivergirl1313 My S did get a chance to walk the campus and enjoy the town during COVID. Every single person he met was someone he could see himself hanging out with. It is a beautiful campus with great people. That said, having received other acceptances he has made several trips to one school in particular and feels equally as drawn to that school. He is a connections kid, so as he continues to make more and more connections at this other school I wonder how far down the list VT may fall. As parents we are still hoping he chooses VT, but it is looking less likely by the day, and Feb 22 is a long way away!
@tptptp If I’m recalling correctly, VT has been pretty consistent with releasing decisions on Friday’s after 4:00 PM. That was pre-COVID though, so some of the trend towards releasing after school hours and non-school day may have changed. If you’re a betting person, wager on 2/19 or 2/26.
The good news is it’s great for them to have choices. My daughter has a number of friends who have only had deferrals so far and it’s discouraging.
Sounds like your son will find the right place but great to hear his impressions from your visit. That aligns with all we’ve heard about VT from others (which is how it ended up on my daughter’s list). She has only heard of kids (all different kinds of kids, with different majors) being truly happy there.
Waiting another month certainly isn’t easy (although I’m finding it harder than she is!!)
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I called Admissions office last week. She said EA decisions will be released on 2/19.
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@Rivergirl1313 you seem to be active on the NC State and Virginia Tech boards, so maybe you can help, or have thought more about this: Virginia Tech vs. NC State CS for OOS. Compare and contrast. Any direct experience or insights?
Would love to offer any advice but my daughter is business major so can’t lend any insight. I have heard great things about both schools (haven’t gotten to see either one yet).
We did a big tour last Feb but it was focused on smaller schools (Elon, Wake, Richmond, etc) and then she decided she really wanted to consider some larger ones so these two got added.
I have mentioned this before, but VT’s timeline is comparable to UVA and only a couple of weeks past schools like UNC and Michigan. VT and UVA have ED and EA, so I think that pushes back EA decisions. This year more selective schools are getting inundated with more applications than ever (due to test optional), so I think the admissions offices are buried. Less selective schools have not seen quite the increase in apps, and especially those without ED are able to process apps and release earlier. The super selectives (like Ivies) won’t release RD until April 7 this year. So while it’s nice to know earlier, hopefully the kids can be patient to consider all of the wonderful opportunities they might have!
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Thanks, @Rivergirl1313, and good luck with decisions in the coming months!!
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How competitive is the statistics program at Virginia tech to get into?
At least in prior years, only Engineering and Architecture had different admission standards than other majors, so in theory stat shouldn’t be more competitive to get into than any other major. Of course they change things often, so maybe someone else can comment if they know of that changing.
VT has a dashboard where you can look at acceptance rate by school and major: https://udc.vt.edu/irdata/data/students/admission/index
They used to report data on GPA/SAT score by major which was a lot more helpful but better than nothing 
This says acceptance rate for statistics program (all majors) is 74%
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@ProudMommy13 Thanks for sharing the specific announcement date. Last I looked it think it just said “late Feb”
DS is definitely getting anxious to hear. He already has three acceptances but is avoiding engaging with any of the admitted student info until he hears from VT because it is very much his first choice.
My son applied to VA Tech, NC State and GA Tech for aerospace engineering. He was accepted at NC State so we are just waiting to hear on the others.
I’m a parent not a student but my son applied to VA Tech, NC State and GA Tech. He got accepted to NCSU so now we wait for the last two. As far as VA Tech versus NC state I think the Hokie Stone is just beautiful. When we went and toured VA Tech it was like someone had picked up the Duke Campus and put it down in the middle of the Mountains. It’s such a pretty campus and I love the way it’s set up. I also have to admit that we went to a football game (pre Covid-19) as part of our college tour weekend and I will never forget the smile and look on my sons face when they started playing “Enter Sandman” and the students went wild :-0). Depending on your major, I think NC State may have an advantage over VA Tech based on the location and the close proximity to Research Triangle Park and technology companies. Both are great schools and I think anyone would be lucky to have two such great options. You have to go with which you are most comfortable with and where you see yourself being successful! What are some of the factors that you have been weighing and that are important to you? Best of luck to you!
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Same schools different states. Choose the cheaper option.
Thanks, @ChipPMJr for the practical perspective and @4n6inCarolina for the vivid snapshot of a visit to Virginia Tech campus. Have never seen either campus! We’re OOS,so both would be fairly expensive if there are no scholarships available, but NC state more affordable, and already got in, so starting to imagine life there. We’ll see.
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