What's so great about this school?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Virginia Tech
1

I see bumper stickers of Tech and people raving about it all the time. So, after a lifetime of being bombarded with Tech, my college decision time has come and Tech is a contender. But really… what does everyone see in this school? I visited, and I just don’t get it at all. It’s a sparsely spread out school in the middle of a frozen tundra with nothing to do for miles aside from Blacksburg (which was smaller than expected). I don’t mean this derisively, I’m just wondering what about this school makes everyone so obsessed with it.

That being said, there’s a good chance I’ll end up here. I’m going to miss UVA by the skin of my teeth and GMU didn’t give me enough money to make it worthwhile. Oh well.

2

I’m a Hokie alum from '90, but the “feel” of the school has not changed since I went there … my DS is there now, and he loves it. What do I love about it? Best 4 years of my life, hands down. Loved it from the moment I visited the summer before I applied … and I was visiting there under duress, because in my mind I was 100% planning to go to UDel, and who wanted to go to a school with “Polytechnic” in the name (this was back when it was VPI&SU, and VT was just a nickname)? Ewww… By the end of the visit, I’d completely changed my mind. Everyone we encountered was friendly and helpful. It was/is a place to challenge yourself, grow, try new things, within a community where everyone was accepted and encouraged. It was/is a like a huge family … we’re all Hokies, despite any other differences … and Hokies help each other, look out for each other, encourage each other. Was/is the weather occasionally awful? Yes … in sometimes long stretches. It is the stuff of war stories. It’s a community bonding experience … nobody likes crossing the drill field in the rain and wind, but you’re all doing it together – staff and students alike, I will say… The snowball fight on upper quad and the drillfield on the occasion of the first snow is epic. Was our football team awful? Heck yeah … back then, we were the Chokies … any of the few games we won, we won on the foot of our kicker, because we could move the ball to the red zone but almost never make it into the endzone. So the current downturn of the football team doesn’t phase me, because I’m still amazed we’re regularly playing on national TV (which never happened back then unless we made it to a bowl game, which only happened twice in my time there). Football was still fun and there is nothing like a gorgeous fall Saturday in Blacksburg. And, nothing to do? Maybe not compared to an urban school, but there is plenty to do in Blacksburg, and even more so now with the Venture Out office in Squires (which did not exist back in the day). No, it’s not urban stuff – but if you want to go hiking/camping/rock climbing/skiing/etc. – it’s all right there. And with all the clubs, you should find plenty to do if you try … you’ll likely need to throttle back your choices so you have time for school. My DS had never been sailing, EVER … had never expressed an interest in it … but he joined the sailing club in his first couple of weeks there. They sail on Claytor Lake every weekend. They go to sailing regattas in the fall/spring at other schools. He’s a runner, so he joined the ultra running club. A friend of his joined the scuba club … learned to scuba dive in the pool, and has been on scuba trips to FL. The list goes on and on. If you’re bored at VT, it’s because you’re not really trying.

Is any of this really unique to VT? I don’t really know, because I’ve never attended another school. I’m sure that anybody who has experienced a really good fit with their university will have similar things to say about it. Does VT “fit” alot of people. Apparently … which is why you have been “bombarded” with it all your life … I’m guessing you live in NOVA, where Hokie alum are pretty thick. Is it the best school out there? Of course not. Was it the best school for me? Absolutely. Is it the best school for my DS? I hope so. We tried very hard not to brain wash him. But since my husband and I both went to VT, he did grow up with it. He did have choices about where to go … he did look and seriously consider other schools. But when it came right down to the decision, VT was it … he said he felt like he was at home right away.

I will say, there are people who don’t like VT for a variety of reasons; no school is for everyone, and that’s okay. But sometimes some of that has to do with whether they are open to liking it in the first place. To some extent you get what you go looking for; if you expect you won’t like it, then you’ll be constantly finding faults. So, keep that in mind … VT can win you over, but if you go in disappointed to be there in the first place, then you are more likely to find it disappointing. No school is perfect; every school has good/bad points. Find the one that fits you the best.

3

Yes, wind swept frozen tundra yet you see bumper stickers, sweatshirts etc everywhere in Virginia. I guess everyone had a great experience at Tech. The people are down to earth and friendly. Some people will love that environment and some will not.

4

I’m currently a student at VT. Let me just say that going here is the single best decision I have ever made in my entire life. I love it here, and I’m so proud to be a Hokie. Of course, the school may not be for everyone. Since you’re asking about what’s great about this school, I’ll tell you what I think is great.

The campus is very beautiful. You gotta admit. All the buildings are made of “hokie stone” which is pretty neat. Yes, the campus is huge, yes the walks can be long from building to building, and yes, it can get COLD. But a lot of people say that’s all made up by the pure beauty of this school. You should try visiting again and checking out more of the buildings!

If you didn’t know, VT is consistently rated extremely high for quality of food. Princeton review ranked us #1 in food recently. There are so many options on campus, and all are good and tasty.

If you’re even remotely into sports, specifically football, this is a god college for you. We aren’t the biggest football school, but we have lots of fans and games usually get really full when they’re at home, especially ones against big rivals live UVA. It’s great to see everyone get together for a game.

Many programs in VT are ranked high in the US. The college of engineering at VT is one of the top rated engineering schools in the nation, and many types of engineering break into the top 15. If you’re gonna be doing engineering, VT is best school to be getting an engineering degree in, because it’s a quite well known school. Architecture is also very good here. If you’re gonna be doing majors related to those, definitely consider VT.

Overall, the school spirit is extremely high. You can easily tell that everyone there is happy to go to VT. The students here are also ranked pretty high for overall happiness.

Speaking of the students, the people here are so nice. UVA has a rep for attracting snotty kids (while I have no definite proof of that, it’s all that I’ve heard), while VT gets all the very chill, relaxed kids. Mostly everyone here is super nice.

Maybe it’s not the school for you. I would understand that. VT isn’t for everyone. But you should at least give it a consideration. Especially if your major falls into engineering. If you have any questions, I’ll be glad to answer them. Good luck with searching for a college!

5

To be honest, I really can’t point at anything specific that makes VT what it is. I graduated in 92 and did college visitation a couple years ago with S1, and it was (as others have said) virtually unchanged. Even downtown had not changed much -

Mike’s Grill - unchanged.
Souvlaki - unchanged.

Balcony - unchanged (well a new name “Top of the Stairs”, but the place is unchanged).
Greeks - unchanged.

I’ll bet all of these are familiar to the Hokies here. We all have a shared experience.

But I will comment on one thing you brought up -

If anything, this is a defining feature for Tech. The campus is your life and there is little to do that does not involve other students or the school. Maybe this is what makes Tech, well, Tech. There are not many large schools left that are in an out of the way area the way Tech is. And that makes it unique.

So people don’t show up there obsessed with the school, but it’s pretty hard to leave without getting obsessed (even if it’s just a little bit)

6

To the Alum that have responded… WE love VT campus and after seeing it first hand even though we have many relatives that are VT grads, it really is has a College town feel. We live in between DC and Baltimore in MD so VT will be an OOS school for us and cost, but if my DS gets in we will seriously have to consider the higher cost of education for DS to go here. My question is whether students get lost in the vast size of VT? My son needs and wants to engage personally with professors and so he wants no part of a big school, but a visit to VT had him changing his mind at least enough to apply to VT. He is not an engineering major but still a school of science major (economics) but is afraid he will simply be swallowed up by all those students! Any personal experience in how the professors actually interact with the kids. What are the chances of Internships when there is 17K kids on campus?? OH and the food at VT is amazing. My Nephew is currently there and says the food there is plentiful to get on the Hokie meal plan and yummy. Good luck to the OP and if you are a Virginia resident you are very lucky to have the option of VT at in state tuition. Wish we did!

7

It is certainly possible to get lost. It is also possible to make the campus “smaller” by taking the initiative to go to office hours, get involved with research, etc… It was about the same size 30 years ago when I attended, and I never felt lost or like I was just a number. I went to office hours routinely for some classes … not as much or at all for others. The classes where I went routinely, the profs knew me by name and were always helpful. By senior year, I had taken a few classes in my major (EE) with the same profs, and they knew me well enough to weigh in on my plans after graduation. You can make a big school smaller, with some personal effort; there are some things about a big school that will never be available at a smaller school, though (e.g., facilities, research opportunities, etc.). Very much a YMMV issue.

8

Yes, Certainly those are great suggestions. This will be hard decision should he be accepted! Thank you for the feedback.

9

@BB1945…the economics major in the COS is a freshman class size of around 10 and within the business school around 30 so at least within the major there would be small classes.

10

@bboop42‌ Thank you so much for that information! That is good to know. Oh such a long wait!!!

11

@BB1945 Hang in there. I was in your situation last year. I am a 1989 VT graduate (AIS) and my DH was (CEE). I have a Senior VT Mech Engr major and now a freshman at JMU (was sad initially he picked JMU over VT but all worked out for the best). Here is a link to VT statistical data which has some good stuff. Best of luck.

http://www.ir.vt.edu/

12

Can’t say much more than any of the other posters here. Spouse and I both attended VT - it is where we met. We would never trade the experiences we had. We both had excellent job offers from around the country. We both still have friends from VT. We still go back to visit. One thing I do recall is the “frozen tundra” did not last long, and was less so than most schools anywhere geographically North of Blacksburg.

Having lived and worked in metro areas most of our careers, because of VT, Blacksburg, and the people, we hope to retire there someday.

13

@BassGuitar Tech is a very unique campus, as many people have stated above. There’s a crazy amount of school spirit. From my experience, I’ve seen that even people who don’t fit in the stereotypical student personalities still seem to find a place/group that makes them really love Tech. On top of that, Tech’s a great deal financially compared to most other universities in VA. Although UVA is more prestigious, Tech has many top ranked programs and lots of companies come to recruit students for jobs and internships. I’ve known people to go to top graduate programs, companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, and students are consistently getting offers from the big companies in DC and NoVA.

Even though there’s not much to do outside of the university, there are so many opportunities for students in academics/research, jobs with local start ups and departments on campus, extracurricular clubs and organizations, greek life, athletics, etc. I was involved in a bunch of student organizations, had jobs on campus, did research, and still had some social fun on the weekends - it really made me feel like I had a fulfilling college experience. It’s not too hard for most students to make friends, and there’s always something going on during the weekends which is fun. Going out downtown in Blacksburg is a steal compared to other universities in VA since Blacksburg is really cheap. There are also tons of school wide events throughout the year, and overall students are just really welcoming.

14

I teach at a school in the middle of a nowhere so vast it would make your head spin. Years ago, I attended a boarding school that was likewise in the middle of nowhere. Then I attended a college at a campus that was (and still is) known for being very insular.

My observation is that when most students complain that there is nothing to do, what they really mean is that there are few places to shop. Like, ick.

Bottom line: what makes a place interesting is the people you spend time with. And building relationships is more about you than the place where you do it. Or it’s about being in an environment where relationships are cherished. That’s the thing you want to pay attention to. Not how many malls there are nearby.

One of my best memories is 3 guys sitting around a candle, playing cards in the middle of a power outage, two nights before the rest of campus returned from Thanksgiving break. The tundra didn’t matter. It was all about those guys and what we meant to each other.

15

So true with the relationships you build, whether at Tech or any another University. The relationships we made with other students at VT left imprints on our lives - people from all walks of life, from all parts of the country. I’m not saying you won’t get this elsewhere, but Tech has a certain spirit where you find camaraderie with strangers, who become your friends, perhaps because it is remote. Biking on the back roads, hiking the Cascades or Dragon’s Tooth, tubing down the New River, pulling all-nighters with a roommate, bowling at the student center, burning off stress on the racquetball courts, kicking back listening to local bands downtown, sitting around with someone playing guitar at the Duck Pond.

But you also build relationships with the faculty. Yes, there are big classes at first, but as you get further into your major, you can choose to work closely with faculty advisors, and develop professional relationships and friendships. A fellow classmate and I were once asked to assist a professor in preparing and cooking a meal for a faculty event, using his recipes and an heirloom sauce that he and his family brought with them when escaping from pre-communist China. I wasn’t much of a cook, but I learned a lot about a different culture and an incredible life story over the course of a few days, and outside of the classroom.

From alumni recruiting on campus, I landed a job with an international company. My wife instead chose to continue with grad school and with the help of the reputation of her faculty advisors, attended an Ivy league school, obtaining her doctorate on a full research assistantship.

16

Discussing this with DH, something else a bit harder to pin down occurred to me… I wonder if part of the “aura” of VT has to do with its strong traditions and underlying environment of honoring service (Ut Prosim). Certainly UVa has strong traditions tied to its founder, Thomas Jefferson; but I wonder if most large, public, state universities have the same level of tradition and sense of the past that VT does. I have no way of knowing, really, since I only attended VT. But VT’s origins as a military school and the presence of the Corps on campus give it strong ties to the past, and a strong sense of students belonging to the overall VT family through history. And its motto of Ut Prosim does permeate the culture, with a sense of belonging to something bigger than yourself, and that you have a duty to serve beyond your own interests. I think that is part of where the Hokie Nation sense of community comes from, even if it is not a conscious thing… Just another thought to add to the discussion.

17

The tundra is only frozen for part of the school year so there’s that.

Look, it’s a college town. If you want an urban campus where there’s more to do then by all means go to one. The reason people love VT (and the reason most great college towns are located in rural areas) is that although there is less to do, a lot of people are doing the same things. Most Hokies can look back at hiking out to the Cascades, going to football games, playing pickup sports on the drillfield, and a ton of other experiences that are shared.

And it’s hard. The academics are hard. Walking across the drillfield in November at 8AM is hard. Watching Sean Glennon pretend to play quarterback for two years was hard. Hardship builds character, and makes people stick closer together.

So I could list a bunch of things I loved about Blacksburg and VT, and I’m sure I have, but you asked what was so great about the school. It’s not any of the individual things that I loved, it was the community, and that’s something you’re either going to buy in to (in which case you’ll love the school) or something you won’t (in which case you’ll hate it.)