My name is Abigail Clukey and I’m writing an article for NPR about the Virginia Tech over-enrollment. I have received permission from College Confidential to post here. I am looking to talk to students or parents of students who received the email from VT offering incentives to delay enrollment. If you experienced this, or know someone who did, please describe your situation on the thread below or email me at aclukey@npr.org.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
I’m confirming that Abigail is a vetted journalist and has received permission to post this message.
My son is an incoming freshman in Pamplin College of Business. We did not receive the offer of incentives that some published majors received.
I believe the students who received the offer are all in state STEM majors, specifically Biology and Engineering. There are several students who have posted about it on the VT Reddit.
My son who is now a senior has experienced a crowded year and didn’t have any problems. He stayed on campus two years and easily found a nice apartment for junior and senior year. He has never been shut out of a course or had a tough time in the dining hall due to too many bodies.
My other son is a rising freshman at VT and will be living in a LLC so he won’t be tripled up.
•General engineering.
•Mechanical engineering.
•Aerospace engineering.
•Biomedical engineering.
•Biology.
•University studies, essentially an undeclared major.
•Exploring technologies, a subset of university studies.
So actually undeclared majors fall in the group receiving offers from what was published in the Roanoke Times. My wife knows someone who told her they received and their child was all for it wanting to wait a year…but they were not for it and were not going to do it.
Only thing I told my son regarding the large number on campus this year is to schedule classes where you were doing lunch between 11-12 or 1-2 to avoid the large afternoon lunch crowd. I can tell you from when I was on campus tour with daughter a few months ago - we went to lunch at Turner (academic side) right at noon on day with classes and it was pretty crowded. Some lines 5minutes - some 10-15minutes depending on what you wanted. By 1pm the place was pretty deserted and you could walk up to about anything. Just like any restaurants - there is a lot of capacity but there just may be long lines at very heavy peak times - just avoid the peaks if concern.
New article on the over-enrollment issue - appears well written - new information in that as of last week they have less than 25 going for the gap year alternatives and 118 took the off campus option. So less than 150 have taken alternate options to alleviate crowding in dorms. It’s a start - I would assume they would like to see 300 or so take alternate options.
My friend’s daughter is in an LLC now and was told that they may have to triple up as well (she’s going into junior year). so new LLC’s are guaranteed a room but not necessarily just two beds
Yea I haven’t really seen the advantage of the LLC in room selection other than getting to select first - which I would pick as small a room as possible to insure not getting a third. It’s not like all freshman that signed contract before June 1 are not guaranteed regardless of LLC or not.
I guess if you signed your contract late (like after regular decision) and LLC may be a good idea to get you to front of list - where there will be some rough pickings in those late signature students.
My son has a Feb 22nd signature date which should get him at least mid-way through the process - so he should be ok.
So my D was accepted in the Orion LLC which is associated with New Residence Hall East very similar to the layout of Peddrew Yates during our college visit 2 months ago. The dorm room tour at PY involved a suite with three bedrooms and 2 girls per bedroom…so 6 total.
@cbl1 if you mean to tell me that the wonder kids at Virginia Tech Housing will be potentially tripling each room in the suite or adding two in the common area of the suite then they are in for a rude awakening…
I don’t think they are allowed to put students in the commons areas as they have no private door. Depends on room sizes for triples. If they have no room for a third closet and bed the room would not be tripped.
Lots of unexpected things will happen next year. I think I’d prefer my child to be tripled up than what happened to this VT freshman during the last (more minor) overenrollment. I found this rather poignant. http://www.collegiatetimes.com/opinion/over-enrollment-hinders-student-and-community-livelihood/article_d0336158-8301-11e9-95d0-4fa014280cdb.html
On that article from what I heard kids enjoyed the lounges and didn’t want to move when offered other housing. I believe that time around had a dorm come in line not long after start of year that gave them more rooms and thus the poster being moved.
Yes, 18 year olds can live with overcrowding more than with social upheaval. They’re trying to buy out the upperclassmen on-campus housing to make room for freshmen but they may still have to be in hotels. Hopefully they’ll let them stay in hotels all year and not make them move back to campus when there’s mid-year turnover.
Housing is extremely tight in Blacksburg but kids can be creative. I have a friend who graduated from VT who had to stay an extra semester beyond his 4th year (common for engineers). He and a friend successfully asked a local farmer to stay in her cow barn, with the cows, for free! Not a conventional setup that I’d recommend but he was happy with it and now has a lot of stories to tell.