I’d be interested to know if more in-state students were offered cash offers than full pay out of state ones.
@GKUnion It appears to be an offer for in state students only.
This happens when more people find the public school is a good deal and the privates have costs rise more or scholarships are less than they have been in the past.
It happened at my law school a few years after I graduated. We got a letter saying that they’d offered the same number of spots but waaaay more accepted than had on the old formula. The school added a section of first years, but that made the same physical facilities being used by 25% more first years. Lockers, bathrooms, library space all had to accommodate that many more students. Staff had to work 25% harder for 3 years. They blamed it on the cost of the state school being relatively low while the costs at privates had exploded so people chose to pay $1k in tuition rather than $12. They drastically changed their acceptance numbers and went to more of a waitlist/rolling admissions system.
I don’t really understand the benefit of option 3, starting in the summer and then skipping a semester. That doesn’t get you any more money and may cost you more having to pay for 2 summers and a semester rather than just 2 semesters. The $1k per year is a good option for someone who was thinking of a gap year anyway
1400 over enrolled!!! That is not good.
I kind of like option 3, but maybe it works best for those bringing in AP credits so they could do this summer and fall, then take Jan-August off or go abroad.
@twoinanddone Option 3 provides courses summer 2019 tuition free. The net of summer 2019 (free) + 1 of either fall 2019 or spring 2020 + summer 2020 cost compared to the total credit hours earned should be pretty comparable to consecutive semesters credit hours earned. Average 1st year total credit hours are 30-32 depending on major. In two summers plus 1 semester a student could exceed that total # of credit hours. I don’t know this for sure, but I think summer on campus housing is less than a full semester as well so there would be potential savings there as well. Option 2 is definitely the most bang for the buck.
In state students within particular majors make up the pool who were offered those options.
I can see how the summer option #3 could be attractive since Va Tech is offering free tuition for the first summer. Then kids can attend the fall semester with the rest of their class and bond with their new classmates while already knowing their way around campus and Blacksburg. They then can take the spring semester off for jobs/internships/travel (if they have the means).
I know if our household was a candidate and we were considering option 3, my first call would be to admissions and registrar to request that the credit hour $ rate for summer 2020 be reduced to the normal semester credit hour rate. (For all I know they may be structuring it that way anyway). But I’m sure they are hoping that those who choose this option decide to go summer 2019, spring 2020, summer 2020 since there are students each year who don’t return for the spring semester.
@ShenVal18 The article states that the university budgeted $3.3MM for the program.
It makes sense to offer the proposed deferment programs to in-state students both financially and logistically.
The out-of-state COA for 2019/2020 is $42,290 (tuition/room/board/fees).
The gross revenue generated by 78 freshman full pay OOS students is $3,298,620.
How many full pay OOS students did they over-enroll, I wonder?
This isn’t a single year issue, it’s all four years for the class of 2023. It changes the student/teacher ratios for some highly sought after majors. It makes registering for Gen Ed classes more challenging. There are ripple effects across the entire university.
I didn’t see that the tuition was free for the summer, just thought that room and board for 2 summers and 1 semester would be higher than 2 semesters.
$4 for the gap year wouldn’t be enough for me unless I was otherwise wanting a gap year.
If you take the $4,000 in scholarship money as the most lucrative of the offers. That would equate to 825 students taking the offer to cost the budgeted amount. I’m sure you have some admin costs in that budget so lets say this initiative is looking to reduce the class size 750-800 kids max.
As far as all 4 years - this overage doesn’t really effect all 4 years. They will have reductions in the class size each year through natural attrition. What seems to me it is going to mean long term is that it will be much more difficult to transfer into Virginia Tech from other schools over the next few years. Normally transfers make up the differences with attrition - if they want some natural attrition of this class they won’t allow in the transfers.
** update - actually checked local community college in Richmond, VA (John Tyler) and the tuition is $4800 per year. And NOVA is $5400 - so the offer to pay year of tuition at community college is the most lucrative. If everyone took that option they have budgeted for close to 600 kids.
So thinking a mix of options take - they may be hoping to get about 700 kids to take an alternative this year.
I wonder how many took the offer to live off campus (I imagine probably less than 100).
It will also limit acceptances for the class of 2024.
In terms of value, the GRANT2020 option will probably hold substantial appeal to those families who are struggling with how to afford things. NVCC tuition for example is $5,724 annually. Add to that housing and dining expenses that aren’t needed and you’re close to a $15,000 net savings (assuming student lives at home and eats there most often). Get a degree and only pay for 3 years.
I don’t mean to dismiss the dining hall, res hall, class size concerns that are being raised here and on other forums, but some of them are a little overdramatic. VT (like many other schools) has had to put kids in triples before, convert lounges before, etc. and it’s worked out ok. (Kids end up in “unintended triples” more often then you might think during the school year). They don’t all go to eat at the same time or the same place, and as an incoming freshman all of their Gen Ed courses are already scheduled for them in 1st and 2nd semester. These kids are a lot more resilient and adaptable than they are given credit for. Have faith.
Probably, unless progress on the res hall that’s currently under construction finishes early. If they bump admissions stat requirements to a little above 2018 average that will probably do the trick.
I would be concerned under about a 3.9 weighted gpa wanting to get in tech next year in even easier majors.
Tech is known for a 93% freshman retention rate…one of the highest in the nation.
If they anticipate 7,585 will actually enroll and they exceed their historical attrition rate with 10% departing that would still leave them with 6,827 students as sophomores, after attrition. By the way, the former over-enrollment record was 6,836 freshman back in 2017. Now there are two historically over-enrolled, record setting classes matriculating concurrently.
Maybe I’m missing something? 2017 had 6,800+ students matriculate. 2018 had under 6,300. This fall may have 7,500+. None of these took place at the same time. Concurrently?