What are my chances at VT

Background:

  • White
  • Male
  • Illinois
  • large, public HS
  • no hooks

Intended Major:

  • BIT (Business Information Technology)

Academics:

  • GPA: 3.3 uw, 3.5 w (had a 3.5 uw and 3.65 w but online learning really messed with my ADHD/Anxiety and my gpa tanked)
  • AP’s: AP Comp Sci Principals, AP Comp Sci A, AP European History, Dual Credit Business Calculus course, Dual Credit College Algebra/Statistics course
  • ACT: 29 (26 Math, 30 English, 29 Science, 29 Reading)

Extracurriculars:

  • Summer coding/game design course
  • Part time employed, mainly working cashier or drive thru at a restaurant
  • Various volunteer hours: helping neighbors, forest cleanups, church stuff like acolyting, usher, help with technical stuff etc.(100+ hours)
  • Leadership in helping coach youth wrestling summer programs
  • JV/Varsity wrestling, competed for all 4 years of HS, was on JV for 2 years and Varsity for 1
  • Coding hobby, have messed around a bit with coding, made a game, websites etc.
  • Previous member of FFL (its like a lego robotics club)
  • Designed and built a product with a group that actually got investments

Essays:

Have ideas jotted down, still figuring out the wording. I’d say average essays

LOR’s:

  • Guidance counselor
  • Comp Sci teacher
  • Math teacher
  • Business Incubator teacher

Planning on applying Early Decision and I have visited the campus. I know it’s a reach school but I’m stressing out about it

So you’re applying ED and you know it’s a reach. So why stress.

Like everyone, have targets and safeties as well.

No reason to stress. Your grades and test are what they are. Keep studying - and everything will turn out well.

What excites you about Va Tech? Is it the location or the major?

Other schools, such as TN Tech, offer the major but you can probably find something similar at other schools. What other schools are you looking at? Obviously in-state you have Illinois State and the directionals such as Southern Illinois. And there’s lots of great out of state schools that will work.

I hope Va Tech works but I think it’s a reach. But no reason to stress - there’s tons of great schools out there for you.

Control what you can. And don’t fall in love with any one school because there’s many that will work for you.

Good luck.

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I like VT mainly for the program, I’ve done some research into it, and I’m sure other colleges can offer something similar but also I loved the campus, and the aesthetic there. There are other colleges that I am applying to that I’m excited about that I’m sure will be a good fit so if I don’t get in I have options.

What other schools? I will agree with you on VT- I’ve been to many campuses. VT and Duke are my two favorite aesthetics wise. VT is ENORMOUS but it is unbelievably gorgeous!!

That major seems limited -not offered a lot of places. But there are probably similar majors out there with a different name.

What other schools are you looking at?

Good luck - i hope you get in.

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My daughter is an out-of-state freshman at VT. She applied EA and was accepted. 1340/29 SAT/ACT (but I don’t think VT even looked at test scores this past year and specifically said they would not look at LOR’s - not sure what the 2022 requirements are). She had 4.2 uw gpa - can’t remember what her weighted number was, AP & Honors classes, etc… She was accepted into the business school.

According to VT’s Class of 2025 snapshot, the average combined gpa of incoming students was 3.98 (of course there were accepted students who were both above and below that number). VT had over 42,000 applicants in 2021 and has a strategic goal of achieving 40% population of URM & underserved populations by 2022. That could work against you as a white male.

That said, you should definitely apply if something about VT speaks to you. Your challenge will be conveying that to admissions. One very important aspect of VT is it’s dedication and commitment to serving others (it’s motto is UT Proism, and is mentioned in pretty much every email, article, social media post, etc. that they put out). The concept of service is highly revered by students, staff & alumni (and they live it in big way - it’s really pretty remarkable and one of things I love most about VT) - so, an avenue for you may be if you can find a way to highlight service to your community in a meaningful way. Another suggestion could be to reach out to your state’s admissions counselor at VT and ask about ED, so you have a complete understanding of what your best admissions strategy should be.

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I’ve been looking to also apply to IU Bloomington, CU Boulder, Texas Tech, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Mizzou, Kentucky, and UW Madison. I will have to say IU had a beautiful Campus, and I know Boulder is just as nice, but I haven’t visited it yet. And yes that specific major isn’t offered everywhere, but most colleges have an Information Sciences or Comp Sci major, but Comp sci is quite competitive at most schools.

I know LORs are not looked at and SAT/ACT is optional, but considering my gpa is on the low side I think submitting my ACT will be good. I also love their commitment to community service, it’s one of the things I love most about it actually, and I am working on those 4 Ut Prosim questions currently. Also do you know how I would find VTs Admission Officer for Illinois to reach out? Is it a simple google? Because I am not 100% sold on ED and would like to wait and see financial aid from other schools but I belive ED will be my best shot in. Thanks for all the help!

Here is the admissions team…looks like you have to click thru each until you find the one whose territory is Illinois. https://vt.edu/admissions/undergraduate/staff.html
Only reach out with questions that you can’t find on the website.

Will VT be affordable for you if you don’t get any merit aid?

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Look at Donnell Wright. His bio says he’s from Chicago and his territories include Illinois. Agree-don’t ask any questions that are easily found on the website. wright3@vt.edu
Confirm that yourself before contacting anyone.

And don’t apply ED if you need to compare financial packages. VT is not known for providing big merit awards. Good luck . VT is a great school and there are many other great schools out there if Virginia Tech does not work out for you.

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Yeah I will scour the website for information, and probably talk to my school counselor about stuff as well. Mainly regarding should I apply ED. And yes my family is in a very fortunate financial situation so I would be able to pay the out of state price. But I would also like to pay less if I can of course.

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Double check with your family about the budget. What they CAN pay and what they may WANT to pay can be different. Especially if you have less expensive good options.

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If you are doing MIS, add Arizona. It’s perennially #4 nationwide and an easy admit. You have a couple reaches in there and others that are likely. So that’s a great list. You might add Alabama and / or Auburn too.

Would you be interested in a solid school that is more tech focused? You may check out Missouri Science & Tech - better than Mizzou. Univ of Alabama Huntsville (UAH) would also work well. And call me crazy but if you like the outdoors of Va Tech, South Dakota School of Mines has a Business Management in Technology major.

If you want to do CS, you need a school like Bama, Ms. State, UAH, or Arkansas (another with an outdoorsy vibe like Va Tech). But with MIS, maybe you can stretch higher. Iowa State is another people talk about - I hear the campus is super nice.

You’ll be fine - you have some targets/safeties on there and some reaches. It’s a very good list. If VT doesn’t happen, you’re still in good shape. Good luck.

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UW-Madison will be a reach for you as well.

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Thanks for all that! I’ll defiantly check those all out. The more options the better!

Yup, especially being from Illinois

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