Virginia Tech or Virginia Commonwealth University

Colleges and Universities A-Z Virginia Tech
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<p>Throughout most of my entire undergrad experience at VT I maintained an fearful attitude towards Richmond that was fueled by stories people getting shot and robbed everywhere. But then my sister attended VCU and I visited a couple of times and I was super jealous of her college life.</p>

<p>Definitely a lot of more things to do in Richmond. I get so bored, there’s not much to do in Blacksburg. Maybe that’s my fault because I don’t like to climb rocks and stuff like that. Sure VT has better oncampus food, but it isn’t very diverse considering it’s mostly American food that they serve. Offcampus restaurants are obviously way better in Richmond than in bburg. My sister’s freshmen dorm is pretty nice and was way better than my dorm and I think that was the standard building for freshmen. Dorm’s are pretty random at VT. Most get ****ty dorms, but some get really nice dorms.</p>

<p>Educational-wise. It doesn’t matter where you go for undergrad. I’m assuming that you’re doing some sort of post-grad studies since you’re a bio major. As long as you put in the work for a good GPA you’ll get into wherever you need to go.</p>

<p>gl</p>

42

<p>I have experience at both VCU and Tech.</p>

<p>VCU is more exciting if you want it to be, but there were alot of downsides to me.</p>

<p>

There is no standard dorm for freshmen. Each dorm is different, and you pay a different price depending on the dorm. The nicest one in my opinion is Brandt…suite style, and brand new. But not worth the money…which brings me to why I left VCU. Haha.</p>

<p>If you’re paying your way through college, or money-conscious, VCU is NOT the place to be. Part of the price students pay is because they live in the city, but a lot of what is paid to VCU is somewhat of a waste. There are a few nice dorms for freshmen…the rest are either comparable or worse in terms of condition and cleanliness. The problem I had was the cost…its over double what Tech’s dorms cost, and in some cases, more than people pay for homes or apartment rent. Plus, you’re required to get a meal plan…biggest ripoff ever. Tech is generally a better deal in terms of money and value. This is the biggest reason I didn’t want to stay.</p>

<p>You’re correct about education, but again, my personal experience with VCU made me transfer out of there. I got nothing out of my education at VCU, and not even because I didn’t try. This could be a rare case, but I made it out with all As and a B both semesters with minimal studying, and I was even taking upper level courses during second semester. I found that material being taught was not in depth at all, professors gave so many curves, and tests were easy. I’ve also had professors that DON’T take their job seriously. I had a professor that told us he cheated his way to his PhD…and this was a class that was junior/senior level. Probably a rare case, though.</p>

<p>I started off not liking VCU and the city, and i still don’t think city life is for me. I found my niche eventually, and experience stuff that could only be done in RVA. Now that I’m at Tech, I sometimes miss the parties and people (house parties > apartment parties)…but that’s why I visit! So I figured out a way to get the best of both worlds. Haha.</p>

<p>Anywayy, just my opinion. It’s really about what you’re looking for in a college that should determine where you go.</p>

43

<p>As well, the dorm clearance at VCU is ridiculous, financiallylost can attest.</p>

44

<p>My daughter just got accepted to VCU Arts and we visited the campus, and she loved it. We are from New York City suburb so she is comfortable with city living…it didn’t even seem like city to us. The food in the main campus dining area looked good to us, though we didn’t stay long enough to eat. We’ll do that when we go back in April. Anyway…a couple of questions…what do you mean by “the dorm clearance is ridiculous”? Compared to the private art schools she’s accepted to, and NY pricing in general, VCU is a relative bargain.</p>

45

<p>Dorm clearance = you have to scan you card to get into the building, then scan your card and show it to the security guards</p>

<p>You also must sign in your guests at the security desk, and you can only sign in two at a time (not including immediate family). All guests except for parents/young children must have some form of ID that they leave with the security desk, along with the student’s ID. It gets to be a hassle sometimes, especially certain times where everyone has someone visiting, so you have to wait in line to sign your guests out.</p>

<p>Food is okay. Meal plan is expensive & not worth it in my opinion, but to each his own. From experience & talking to a friend who worked in the dining hall, they make better food during orientation and weekends that parents visit. Haha.</p>

<p>VCU is really expensive compared to most VA schools because of the cost of living in Richmond, but to someone from NY I suppose it would be no surprise. Tuition and overall COA is probably the highest in the state, or close to George Mason’s COA. But again, probably no big deal to you.</p>

46

<p>That’s crazy. Marshall has a similar system and it is incredibly annoying. Something like that would honestly have been a deal breaker for me. I’m fine with scanning to get in (although my freshman year during the day you didn’t even have to do that) but the whole guest thing is just ridiculous.</p>

47

<p>Yeah, I agree it’s a bit ridiculous, but also necessary in a way. I’ve seen lots of random middle aged guys hanging out by the dorm entrances between 2-6 in the morning. I guess they have nothing to do after the bars and clubs close.</p>

<p>But yeah, the way VCU does it isn’t too efficient…there probably could be a better way to check in guests or something.</p>

48

<p>I would not live in a place where I had to check in guests, period. I didn’t even like having to swipe in my last three years at VT but it wasn’t too bad. If a place is unsafe enough that checking in is necessary I wouldn’t live there anyway. </p>

<p>It’s as much a psychological thing as a practical one for me.</p>

49

<p>I attended VCU for a year, then ran in the opposite direction. Tech isn’t even my first choice, but I would definitely go there over Richmond. VCU freshman dorms surround Monroe Park, generally filled with homeless people during the day, hence dorm check-in. The surrounding area of Richmond isn’t great, and you regularly hear gunshots at night. One of my good friends was jumped in broad daylight.</p>

<p>Crime rate aside, the school just isn’t that good. There’s no real campus since it’s in the middle of the city. This isn’t important to everyone, but it’s definitely something I look for now that I’m getting ready to transfer again. If you’re not in nursing or art school, your program isn’t anything to write home about. The academics are mediocre, and a TON of classes are in huge lecture halls because the student body is so large. In this way, Tech and VCU are similar (30k+ students).</p>

<p>I know one person’s experience does not make or break a college, but I thought I would throw in my first-hand stories.</p>

50

no, it’s not that bad. There are occasional things that happen at around 3 or 4 in the morning but they’re usually resolved easily. It’s pretty chill over here.