@Thomas_Kelly What major did you apply for?
I think we will loose our minds trying to find out who gets in and why! It definitely seems so wrong for students who have worked so hard and then get this outcome.
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Engineering
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I’ve been debating the advice to give my son on this. I’ve read that it can backfire if a school specifically says not to, like VT does. We’ve had contact in the past with the local VT admissions rep, so we might just send a thank you email to him and throw in our continued hope to get off waitlist. 
not sure there’s a right or wrong answer.
Seems crazy but she may want to apply to some rolling admissions school to make sure she has something affordable.
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She got into Several others and is waiting to hear from two others.
Ok, that is good. Best of luck to her!
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I applied to the school of engineering
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Thank you so much! Yeah, so frustrating. No merit money from Penn State:-(. To answer your question, I think we’d hear via email that there’s a change in the portal. My advice to my son is sit tight and relax, nothing’s going to happen in the near future and he’s still waiting to hear from other schools. Just put it aside and enjoy your senior year and we’ll figure it out soon! I really do believe it all works out. Good luck to your son!
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Yes, so crazy. I’m sorry for you guys. I hope he liked UMASS Amherst! And yes, very frustrating that we’re looking out of state. Although he did love Penn State!
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I just got it off the VA Tech Common Data set for 2022-2023. They show:
| WAITING LIST | TOTAL | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of qualified applicants offered a place on waiting list: | 2458 | ||
| Number accepting a place on the waiting list: | 592 | ||
| Number of wait-listed students admitted: | 592 |
Wondering if there is an error with that middle number. I will ask…
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Waitlists aren’t ranked and when they pull students off, it’s not random.
They look at the class that is assembled so far, and see where it is lacking, and pull students off the waitlist to fill the holes.
For example, they might notice that not enough students for a particular major have committed, so they pull in more of those. They might notice that they need more students interested in a certain club, or with a certain demographic. They might realize that they are in desperate need of a baton twirler, and that person gets pulled.
They use the waitlist to balance out the class and to make sure they meet their enrollment targets.
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Penn State doesn’t usually give any aid to out of state students.
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Always listen to what the admissions offices tells you to do and ignore “everywhere else.”
If they tell you NOT to send a letter, do NOT send a letter. You would just be annoying them by disregarding their instructions.
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For those trying to figure out what VA Tech finds important when they are considering an application, this is what they say:
Very important: Rigor of curriculum, GPA, Essay, whether you are first generation college student, geographic residence, state residence, race/ethnicity.
Important: nothing
Considered: standardized test scores, extracurriculars, talents, character, alumni relation, volunteer work, work experience.
Not considered: class rank, recommendation, interview, religion, level of interest
So, sadly, some of the high stat students we are reading about here, with good rigor and GPA, may have been waitlisted due to having college graduate parents, potentially being in an area with a lot of other applicants (interesting Tech has this in their criteria, because UVA specifically says they do NOT have geographic quotas), and/or being part of an overrepresented race or ethnicity. 
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For those of you wondering where the admission review criteria came from…google Common Data Set and any college’s name and you can find this info. The CDS is a form all colleges complete with this data and more.
I suspect there’s an issue with both the top and middle numbers.
I know they’re not through RD yet but they stipulated the had just under 50K applications. If last couple of years are any indication they’ll offer acceptance letters to ~28K of them. That leaves 22K in the Deny/Waitlist category. Based on the CC threads - which may definitely be skewed! - it seems like MANY MORE were offered waitlist than denied.
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This is directly from the Waitlist FAQ on VT website. See Q4 which has the numbers.
We appreciate the time and effort you put into your application. Virginia Tech received more than 47,000 applications this year. Because of the strength of your application and supporting documentation, we felt that you deserved to be considered again should space become available.
- What does being on the waitlist mean?
Since we have classroom capacity for only a set number of new students, many applicants do not receive offers of admission. An unranked waitlist is kept so that some applicants can be offered admission if spaces become available in the first-year class. - How will I be notified of a final decision?
If you choose to remain on the waitlist, you will be notified by email to check your final admission status no later than July 1, 2023. We encourage you to check your email regularly, including Spam/Junk folders, as well as include admissions@vt.edu as an approved sender. - What are my chances for selection from the waitlist?
You are understandably eager to have a final decision on your application. We cannot make a final decision until all the responses from applicants offered admission are returned. Therefore, we cannot answer questions about your chances of being selected for admission at this time. This year Virginia Tech received more than 47,000 applications and we expect 7,085 students to accept our offer and enroll. If we have fewer than 7,085 students accept our offer, we will offer admission to some of the students who chose to remain on our waitlist. - What is Virginia Tech’s history of selecting students from the waitlist?
Last year, we were able to offer 2,458 applicants from the waitlist. In 2021, we were able to offer 3,286 applicants from the waitlist. In 2020, we were able to offer 3,961 applicants from the waitlist. In 2019, we were unable to make any offers. In 2018, we were able to offer 1,896 applicants from our waitlist. In 2017, we were unable to make any offers. As you can see, the number of students ultimately receiving offers from the waitlist is highly unpredictable and variable. - Can I do anything to increase my chances of being offered admission from the waitlist?
To relay your continued interest in attending Virginia Tech, please access your Applicant Portal and select to remain on the waitlist through the Response to Waitlist form. Since decisions are based upon space availability, the following will not be considered or affect our decision: letters of continued interest, letters of recommendation, or personal visits will not affect our decision. If space becomes available, we will use the information you have already submitted to re-review your application.
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Supports what I was saying. The common data set suggests 2,458 were “applicants offered a place on waiting list”. Q4 highlights 2,458 kids on the waiting list were offered a slot - of which apparently 592 accepted. Nowhere does it say how many kids were offered a slot onto the waitlist and how many of those accepted it.
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Penn State has notoriously poor aid of any kind (merit or need-based) for instate or OOS students.
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