Yield for CoE is running 32-25% over past several years
Any idea how that compares to other E schools?
One reason for the high acceptance rate might be that Virginia Tech is the third most highly regarded state school in Virginia, and it has twice as many undergrads as UVA and four times as many as William & Mary. So it has a lot of slots to fill, but many of the top instate students don’t apply, and many others apply (and get accepted) but go elsewhere.
My D is one of those who applied, got in, and will choose UVA instead (or another school, if she gets in). But she says that the kids in her school who get into Virginia Tech are a lot more excited to go there than the ones who get into UVA or W&M.
As an aside: I was trying to figure out which states have good enough state schools where Virginia Tech wouldn’t be considered either first, or second, or at least competing strongly for second. It looked to me like it’s California definitely, Georgia probably, and Michigan, Texas, and Pennsylvania possibly. So the quality of instate competition Virginia Tech faces is definitely unusual.
I think once you come here and start attending VT as a freshman you will come to realize how competitive the engineering school is. You really need to experience campus life and the academic rigor of VT’s engineering school to appreciate it. Don’t get hung up on rankings or admissions statistics. Be thankful that you have been accepted to such an amazing school that is well recognized and that students and employees love.
I was under the impression that the acceptance rate for engineering is %55, while the rest of the university is a%72
Side note to throw in–My D hopes to attend Virginia Tech Engineering (it will depend on the money situation) which she has chosen over acceptances at Purdue, RPI, Florida, and UVA. It did come down to UVA and VT (she got a full ride at GMU, but the engineering dept is relatively new), but after visiting both campuses, speaking to students and professors, and looking through the possible disciplines (mechanical vs cs etc) she believes that VT is the right choice for her engineering interests.
@Darling3 congratulations! My son had a choice between VT and UVA many years ago for ME and chose VT. She will love it.
Thanks! She’s all in, so we hope we can swing the cost- which is still a bargain, even if she doesn’t get an aid
Does VT give out of state scholarships?
These threads with the whole “why isn’t it more competitive” are always interesting. I think someone important somewhere once said something along the lines of “everybody wants to be a member of the club they can’t join.” i guess it’s kind’ve like that.
If acceptance rate is a factor in a university’s ranking AND virginia tech has a high acceptance rate, I assume that means the quality of their programs are that great that it didn’t need that extra data point to get ranked.
I agree @undercover007.
I suppose if VT had an acceptance rate of sub 30%, their ranking would be on par with Georgia Tech. JMO
We are thrilled our S was admitted to Tech regardless of the acceptance rate! What I find funny is that we were also shocked that he was waitlisted at USC! The bottom line is that there are many smoking mirrors out there when it comes to admissions and the marketing being used nowadays. Perhaps the simple reason is that VT doesn’t use deceptive practices and false yield rates, transfer figures etc. in putting the admissions info out to the public. Who knows but who cares! We can’t wait to visit the campus! Great school, great reputation and stellar research funding - when many state schools are cutting and withdrawing state grants and losing federal funds and in the midst of a hiring freeze. Celebrate the acceptance and ignore the negative comments! 
@xaviermom2017 - Why are you hanging around the VT board when you have a very important NCAA basketball game on the horizon?! Priorities @xaviermom2017. 
On of the reasons for the higher acceptance rate is VTech is not a common app school. Look at the change in GTech’s acceptance rate and how it went down when they joined the common app. Right now only those who want to and are willing to file out the VTech app apply and they don’t get those who will just check another box on the common app. If VTech were to go to the common app, applications would increase and the acceptance rate would decrease. GTech over the past four years is a perfect example of this.
@123Mom456 - That is an EXCELLENT point that I feel silly for not having considered.
My Son got accepted into the Engineering program at VT. He is debating between Worcester PolyTech and VT… Both great schools.
From the 2012-2013 application season to the 2016-2017 application season, Georgia Tech applications went from 14,000 to 31,000 (121% increase.) Virginia Tech applications went from 20,000 to 25,000 (25% increase) during the same time period. Common App, adopted by GT for the 2014-2015 season, was surely influential.
GTech admit rates were:
2011 - 51%
2012 - 55%
2013 - 41%
2014 - 33% - 1st Year Common App
2015 - 32%
2016 - 26%
Despite record-breaking number of applicants, Tech struggles to boost freshman enrollment
VT has join the coalition app, so as it gets more accepted, they should expect a steady increase in applications. To be honest, I don’t really see the need for undergraduate growth, unless they are trying to capture more OOS tuition.
It is possible to pull stats for freshman, by college.
https://irweb.ir.vt.edu/webtest/FreshmenSummary.aspx
For example:
At the University level (Freshman): 23.7% are OOS, the mean HS GPA is 3.98, and 39.7% are in the top 10% of their HS class.
For Engineering: 43.9% are OOS, the mean HS GPA is 4.15, and 66.4% are in the top 10% of their HS class.
And when comparing to Georgia Tech, keep in mind that about 63% of the BS degree’s awarded at GT are for engineering (2144 out of 3419), while it’s only about 23% at VT (1,405 out of 5,940; VT is a much more comprehensive university). (using 2015-2016 numbers). Much of the OOS demand is being driven by engineering at both schools.
If they want to boost yield, they probably need to boost merit-aid.
Lol @bsangs - multi-tasking!
According to the letter my son received yesterday, explaining why he was not accepted into the CoE:
“This year we received 10,600 applications for 1,775 available spaces.”
That means the acceptance rate for engineering was <17%. That’s pretty darn competitive if you ask me!