Virginia Tech or Virginia Commonwealth University?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I was wondering which school, VCU or VA tech should I pick? I got into both of them. Which school would be the best for premed students? Tech has more prestige and a better reputation, but VCU has MCV which I believe will allow me to get a lot of internships and connections..</p>

<p>Here are some of the pros and cons i see for each school:</p>

<p>VCU
pros- it will be easier to make friends (my best friend is going there and we were planning to room together in college if i end up going to vcu), MCV is right up the street, it's diverse (im african american so I worry about VT's lack of diversity), i'm pretty familiar with the school, it has a student organization i know i want to join (ESU)</p>

<p>cons-it's in the middle of downtown Richmond so you don't really get that campus feeling, isn't very selective when it comes to admitting students, 50 percent graduation rate! (not that i wont graduate, its just that i'm worried ill be surrounded by students that don't care about school)</p>

<p>** i'm not eligible for the honors program (MD guaranteed program, need to have 1910 SAT score , i have an 1800) but I can transfer into it my second year if i meet the standards (26 MCAT, 3.6 gpa, ect) which i believe might be hard</p>

<p>Virginia Tech
pros-better reputation than VCU, graduation rate 85 percent, i haven't visited yet so thats all i can say for now</p>

<p>cons- not diverse (3% african american), in the middle of nowhere, classes/professors seem harder which might make it difficult to get a good gpa, a lot of preppy stuck up people? (tell me thats just a myth ?) a lot of people are into that whole sorority/fraternity college thing which i'm not really into..i mean how many black people do you see at these crazy football frat parties?...haha</p>

<p>soo which school should i go to!? i cant decideeee!</p>

2

<p>About VT: There are not actually a lot of preppy people there. It is a TON of kids from Northern VA but there aren’t anywhere near as many preps as UVA, for example. Greek life isn’t a huge aspect of Tech life. Like you can get by with or without it. Frat parties are open to everyone and no one really cares if you’re in one or not; it won’t affect your social life. </p>

<p>Also, it has a really beautiful campus.</p>

<p>VCU: I really liked the atmosphere and the campus. Aside from that, I can’t say much.</p>

3

<p>If you can, you should try to visit VT and compare. Of all of the colleges in the state of Va I would say VCU and VT are by far the most opposite in terms of environment. You may or may not like the out in the country atmosphere of VT and Blacksburg is far from urban! </p>

<p>As far as the diversity aspect, yes, VCU is much more diverse, but in talking to former students, including some friends of my s who are minorities, Tech has a very accepting atmosphere for students of color. In my opinion VT has one of, if not the, most close knit student bodies anywhere. And preppy? Nah, haven’t seen that. Sweatshirts, t-shirts (mostly in maroon and orange) and jeans reign there.</p>

<p>Don’t just make your decision on the pre-med influence; that could change depending on how you do in your science classes. You may end up changing your mind (and major) somewhere in the first couple of years. However, MCV is a great school and gives VCU students a tremendous hospital to matriculate to, not just for medicine but for many science fields. </p>

<p>Go where you feel most comfortable regarding the social and atmospheric elements- if that is at VCU, great! But do check out VT just to make the comparison. Good luck with your decision!</p>