<p>I was accepted to both UVA and VT for engineering last Friday! I'm looking to keep college costs down, so I am probably staying instate and will decide between these two schools. I have visited both and I liked both, and unfortunately did not have any gut feelings or love-at-first-sight for either school. I know VT is ahead of UVA in engineering rankings and is considered the more traditional engineering school, but in context, both are fantastic engineering programs and both produce very successful and knowledgeable engineers, so I'm not really worried about the ranking difference. Does anyone have any advice? I've talked to engineering students from both schools and they all seem quite intelligent and down to earth people. I'd be happy at either, probably.</p>
<p>My advice would be go to visit again, now that you are closer to a decision point. Look for things that at first glance are small details (e.g., not make or break items), that may make your personal experience more enjoyable or fulfilling. I can’t tell you what those things will be – they will be the things that matter to you personally. You’re right – they’re both good schools, you’ll get a great education at either one – so now look at the “other” part of college and see which one will give you the best opportunities for exploring your interests, whether they’re academic or extracurricular. For example, I have a friend whose son is having a hard time finding decision points between two of his top choice schools, so now they’re looking at the vibrancy of the Christian community on campus by contacting various campus groups. That is something that is important to <em>him</em> – how active is the community? Is one school’s academics so much more overwhelming than the other that engineers (his major) don’t have time to participate much? Same approach could be used for anything similar that matters to you. Good luck!</p>
<p>First off, Congrats on getting accepted to both schools. Obviously, both schools are impressive for engineering and I suggest just deciding where to go based on which campus you like better (which one is more personal and will make your 4+ years more enjoyable). I’m only 16 so don’t take this too seriously, but I visited and Virginia Tech this past weekend and I found it to be VERY friendly and personal. The people are very nice and helpful, the facilities such as the gym and library are easily accessible and provide options for whatever you are doing, and the food is amazing. If I get accepted to VT, I’m definitely going to be going there, and the food is a BIG reason why. </p>
<p>Flagship University versus Flagship Engineering College. There’s no bad choice, IMO. Since you’ve narrowed the choices down to two, I agree with the others that another visit to each might be in order. If you feel equally comfortable at both then your choice may come down to small things, e.g., dorms, food etc</p>
<p>I agree with @ChrisTKD above. I have spoken with senior leaders at these schools, and they agree that both institutions provide superb education in engineering. Virginia Tech is considered more of a “technical” college since the largest group of students and resources are in engineering. UVA is a top-tier non-technical school, perhaps not as strong in engineering but overall terrific. Either will get you into a great job or graduate school, and as others have stated, there is no bad choice. Congratulations!</p>
<p>Try going to the Admitted Students days in April. My S and I went a couple of years ago when he was admitted to the COE at VT. Along with the general program, there was an engineering open house where we could go and talk to students and professors in each of the engineering disciplines. The students were so enthusiastic. The open house helped my son begin to feel like a part of the COE and also to start narrowing down which branch of engineering he wanted to pursue.</p>
<p>Honestly, it depends on what time of environment you want. They are two very different schools in very different environments. I found UVA to be more preppy and formal and VT to be more down to earth and friendly. Just my 2 cents. We’ve spent a lot of time in the Charlottesville area and I found it to be too crowded. I found VT to be more close knit and contained. Both are awesome schools and you will get a great education wherever you choose to go!</p>
<p>How does the campus life differ at these two schools? For instance, is Greek Life similar in stats, presence etc? Are the engineering job prospects comparable?</p>
<p>The Greeks dominate the social scene to a much greater degree at UVA than at VT. VT has plenty of Greek options, but you don’t have to join the Greeks to have something to do. VT is also by far the better Engineering school. UVA’s engineering is much more theoretical. VT is about preparing you for the cutting edge of the field. </p>
<p>Do you want to take your engineering degree and get a banking job? Go to UVA. Do you want to take your engineering degree and get an engineering job? Got to VT.</p>
<p>Perhaps chuy’s comment is a bit oversimplified but there’s some truth to it. If you attend UVA’s engineering open house some of the professors talk about everything except the engineering. For example, engineering graduate is in medical school, engineering graduate is working in consulting, engineering graduate is a policy advisor for some senator. UVA likes to say that its graduates use their engineering knowledge to solve problems (not necessarily engineering problems). That’s fine but its not what every budding engineer or CS major wants. </p>
<p>Yeah, it’s extremely oversimplified. You should visit both campuses because there are differences and you should go to the one you’d be happiest at. But if you need a tie breaker, that’s a good one.</p>
<p>@ChrisTKD @chuy Sorry for the late reply! I still have not made a decision, and it’s becoming extremely difficult to make up my mind. I have done a lot of research on both schools, and they both are truly amazing for engineering, in different ways. I have talked to students from both schools, and they all were nice, smart people with good insight on their respective programs. I am really having a tough time deciding…I am interested in nearly all engineering disciplines, with a particular eye for CS/EE/CpE. I want to receive the best engineering education I can and get an engineering job after graduating (I do not think I want to go to graduate school unless my work requires it). I like that VT puts a huge focus on its engineering programs with its budget, but, I also like that UVA has a smaller engineering school and pushes for a well-rounded education. VT and UVA tied on Payscale this year for starting and mid-year salaries (university wide, I didn’t see engineering comparisons). I don’t have a preference for one school or another yet. The non-academic aspects of both schools are not a huge factor in my decision, as I liked both environments and I believe I will fit in fine at either. I have three weeks left to decide, and the more I think about it, the more lost I feel. :/</p>
<p>Give some consideration to internship, co-op opportunities and research. Tech has been fanastic for my D. Got a great summer internship within first 5-weeks of freshman year. Tech’s Engineering Job Fair is second to none and huge. Also got a great co-op with top tier company for sophmore year. I wasn’t a big believer in the co-op program before but I am now – it is a must if you want a job gateway to some of the Fortune 500. Has also worked on two significant research projects. It is all there if you want it at Tech. </p>
<p>@zimboszone really? internship offer in September? wow. Do you think it is like that for computer science students as well. I mean would you recommend me to attend the fall career fair itself as a freshman? I thought freshman don’t have good chance to land one summer internship until the spring fair… please provide me details. I most likely going to attend VA Tech, so I am just curious. I mean I got into COE as well as the honors college, if that helps.</p>
<p>Also, could you please elaborate on those research opportunities. Could you please suggest me how/when to get those research opportunities (during the school year?). Thanks for the help!</p>
<p>You have nothing to loose by going in September to the job fair. Fact is most freshman don’t go because they think they don’t have a chance and yet my D went and got an offer. As a sophmore she got 3 co-op offers – she is outgoing and interviews well, but not an extraordinary student. Here is a link to the co-op page at Tech and a list of co-ops by major and company <a href=“http://www.career.vt.edu/CEIP/EmployersListByMajor.asp”>http://www.career.vt.edu/CEIP/EmployersListByMajor.asp</a>.<br>
She got first research opportunity during the school year spring/freshman by going up and talking to a guest lecturer after a class – just asked. Second opportunity was through the Scieneering Program – which is a minor in Interdisciplinary Engineering and Science – here is the link <a href=“http://www.undergraduate.vt.edu/Scieneering/students/students-page.html”>http://www.undergraduate.vt.edu/Scieneering/students/students-page.html</a>. On the left side of the page is a link to a spreadsheet “2013-2014 Project Database” that shows some of the research opportunities that the scieneering minors get to choose from – they have to do research. It will give you just a taste of the scope of research available.
Be excited about the real work experience and research at Tech. As far as honors, nice to get to register first but otherwise not so much of a benefit as it is very tough for engineering majors to make the grades to stay in honors and the GPA requirement is the same as all other majors. Opportunities above had nothing to do with her Honors status.</p>
<p>@Apalapa here is engineering salary information for Tech for 2012 grads. <a href=“http://www.career.vt.edu/scripts/PostGrad2006/Report/DetailReportSalaries.asp?College=00&Majors=Y&Cohort=2012-2013”>http://www.career.vt.edu/scripts/PostGrad2006/Report/DetailReportSalaries.asp?College=00&Majors=Y&Cohort=2012-2013</a> </p>
<p>Virginia Tech definitely provides a lot of opportunities for their engineers that really makes it an outstanding program. The alumni network, research opportunities, co-ops, internships, study abroad options, and more are all things to take into account. Also, because Tech is such a big school, there is a larger amount of different clubs and organizations to be a part of. It’s a closer, more friendly community there, which you can definitely see and feel during the April 16th memorial events, The Big Event, and Relay for Life (which is the largest in the country!). I’m a finance major at Tech, but my closest friends are engineering majors, so if you have any specific questions let me know!</p>
<p>@ReachForDreams It would be great if you can ask your friends (especially CS majors) of their opinion on VA Tech in terms of getting internships with big software companies and other research opportunities available starting from freshmen year. Also, how easy is it to maintain a 3.9+ GPA for a CS major at VA Tech? Thanks!</p>
<p>@agg999 One of my best friends is a CS major so I can answer some of this based on conversations I’ve had with him and what I’ve seen so far. He’s gotten so many offers for internships and jobs with companies, it’s crazy! CS at VT is one of the majors where it seems like it is so easy for those students to be successful because they get so many opportunities. VT has a corporate research center right near campus with a lot of companies that look to hire CS majors during the year, so he is working with one of them for 10-15 hours a week and getting paid as much as an internship during the summer. I also know he and his friends have been able to get interviews with many big companies like Microsoft and Intel. VT has the Engineering Expo job fair every fall where most of the big companies you are probably looking to work for recruit heavily from. The CS program at VT is known as a top program everywhere, so everyone wants the CS majors. You won’t have a problem with internships and research opportunities.
In regards to GPA, Tech challenges you, but I know it also is definitely possible to succeed if you just put the work into it that you need to. At first, you have to take all of the basic classes that all students in the college of engineering have to take, but my friend has really enjoyed it! Last semester he only had to take 12 credits (the average is 15 a semester) and had Tuesdays and Thursdays off!
Let me know if you have any other questions!</p>