hello! My deadline to decide on a college is May 1st and I’m currently on a day-to-day panic attack basis. I’ve been accepted to both colleges and I am an undecided major. (Pamplin Business College Undecided at Tech, College of Arts & Sciences at UVA). I’m a very anxious person and I focus on school over social.
I’m really struggling to pick a college and it’s killing me. I’m going to try to explain my thoughts for each scenario.
For Tech: The main reason I’m so hesitant about tech is how far away from home it is (5 hours, seriously??) I do not like the fact that it’s in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by mainly cows and open fields. For that reason, I’m afraid of living in Blacksburg after my freshman year (I hate feeling isolated). I absolutely love the school spirit and I kind of always imagined myself as a Hokie but I was never sure. It seems a bit run down and focused on the social aspect of college. I received a scholarship here (** please not finances are not much of a factor for me at the moment). I am very studious, so I’m not sure I like that it’s a party-ish school. If I were to go here, I would be with EVERY single other person from my area, which I am not a fan of. I love the community at tech, and feeling like a part of the hokie community would feel great but its not the best school, and I’m not necessarily a fan of the fact that I busted my butt for years to get into college, while other students in my area got in without lifting a finger in high school. Also the food here is amazing, which would be SUPER helpful for my numerous medical/dietary restrictions.
For UVA: I was never super committed to UVA but decided to visit because ALL of my family was pushing for this school. I really enjoyed the campus and I LOVE Charlottesville, and the amount of things there is to do. (more of a city environment.) My major concern is that it will be way too hard, and I wouldn’t be able to continue/I’ll flunk out. I’m also worried about the food, because I need to be gluten-free, and I don’t want to get sick everyday here. I like that it’s close to home (2 hours vs 5 hours, no brainer) but I’m afraid that I’m not going to fit in to the school. It seems very preppy and study-oriented. I’m all for focusing on my studies, but I don’t want my entire college career to revolve around solely studying for the next test. I’m not sure I’ll fit in here, but I know its the better school and maybe the better option? Not a lot of students from my area are going here, which is kind of a plus. Beautiful area, good for studies. I’m just not sure what I want to do.
I just wanted to dump all my opinions here and let someone else see it- perhaps someone is feeling the same way. Please feel free to decide on a school for me or share opinions on which would be better.
Any help is appreciated, thanks.
@stressedsomuch Both are great schools but to clarify a couple of points - VT is not really considered a ‘party school’. I’d say just the typical amount of college parties, frats and sororities etc. If you’re looking for parties you’ll find them, but I know tons of kids that are not partiers and they are having a great time and in no way feel like they are the minority. Schools like Washington and Lee ARE party schools with great academics - work hard / play hard and they brag about getting drunk and puking and being in class again at 8 am. Many students are skipping W&L for that very reason. Just not my idea of fun no matter how ‘highly ranked’ it is.
Tech is constantly voted ‘happiest students in the country’ and even though it may seem isolated to you, there is plenty to do in Blacksburg (it’s a classy little town) and Roanoke is 45 minutes away and it, too, ,is very 'up and coming" - great downtown restaurants and music, craft beer, etc It’s winning tons of awards for ‘great place to live’ even for young people. If you like the outdoors, VT is like a paradise for hiking, rafting, canoeing / kayaking etc - right off the Appalachian Trail. I am not meaning ‘primitive’ outdoors but just outdoor fun so that you can always find something great to do on a weekend. Hokies don’t fall in love with VT for no reasons. There really is something special there.
The food consideration is MAJOR if you have food allergies. 4 years is a long time to not have a school that makes life easier in that department, if it’s a challenge.
VT is viewed as having strong academics - esp Pamplin College of Business. Tons of great companies come there to recruit! It is NOT going to be UVA but you don’t have the pretentiousness that you get at UVA with that ‘uppity’ crowd where you feel that everyone has a BMW except for you. I guess it depends on what you’re looking for when you get out.
You cannot go wrong with either school and UVA is awesome! But I just wouldn’t sell VT short for some of the reasons mentioned.
I actually live in Roanoke, so I’ll mostly talk about VT. Like southern5062 said, it’s not really seen as a party school (that’s reserved more for Radford) even though I’m sure there are some. Both schools have a lot of school spirit, but personally I’ve always felt that Tech has a little more school pride .Also, you mentioned that you didn’t like that a lot of people you know will be going to VT, but tbh it’s big enough that you will rarely see people you knew from high school. (That’s true for both schools though). And because it’s so big, even if you are on the more studious side, there’s definitely going to be other like minded people around so you won’t be forced to socialize 24/7. Also, like you mentioned, the academics are really different at both schools. VT is more STEM centered, so if you’re interested in something in that area, VT would probably be on par if not higher than UVA in that sense. Slightly off topic, but Roanoke is a pretty cool place to live/ hang out as well, and it’s pretty close to VT. Downtown is amazing, but there’s also a ton of other stuff to do like the star, Berglund Center, the mall, the festivals, plus about 20 million hiking/ walking trails if you’re into that. Blacksburg also has a lot of festivals and concerts that are a lot of fun to go to.
Some of the best advice which may or may not sound cheesy) is it to pick the college where you could see yourself becoming the person you want to be. I’m not sure if any of that really helped, but congrats on getting into both; they’re both really great schools! Good luck!
If you choose, UVa, meet with the dining manager. A friend of my daughter’s did and he agreed to accommodate her allergies. She’s gluten-intolerant and has other allergies and he said it’s no problem to make special meals for her. I’m thinking they might have to do that by law nowadays. Also, I wanted to note that the area around UVa has the same outdoor activities as Tech. You describe yourself as super studious, which is more a “thing” at UVa, but I know many serious students at Tech, too. They’re about the same for school spirit as well. This is crazy, but maybe think of how you like to dress. I know kids at both campuses who dress preppy and who dress casually but “prep” is definitely more popular at UVa. Final thought: If you were thinking of a STEM field, I’d say go for Tech, which can often be more hands-on in its education and by reputation, offers more employers on campus recruiting. But you’re not – so go for UVa, with its worldwide recognition for being great in all majors.
UVA is easy do not worry about work load