General questions

Colleges and Universities Virginia Tech
#1

<p>I'm from texas and got accepted to VT but don't know too much.
As it was more of a safety than anything (got deferred from Duke and rejected from WashU) I didn't expect to be in this position, but now that i'm lookin into VT it doesn't look so bad. Does anyone have any opinions about its chemistry/biochemistry program? Also, I have heard that the relationship between VT and UVA is very analogous to aTm and UT-austin. Is this true? aTm is known for the less intelligent, more conservative crowd around here, and i'm quite liberal (and don't want to be alone in a crowd of conservatives). Also, does anyone know if any outta state kids have had any kind of problems?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

#2

<p>I am in a similar situation, I got rejected from my #1 school (William & Mary) and I now have to look at the schools lower on my list. I was accepted to VT and there is a good chance that I might go there, and I consider my self as liberal as anyone. Anyway, here are a few thoughts:</p>

<ol>
<li>Virginia is not as conservative as Texas</li>
<li>I am sorry you are from Texas; it must have sucked</li>
<li>Today VT is not that conservative, but a lot of its alumni are because they were admitted during the days when VT was much easier to get into, but now that it is more compettative it is balanced.</li>
<li>UVa is probably more liberal, but it also has a lot of preppy conservatives</li>
</ol>

#3

<ol>
<li>Today VT is not that conservative, but a lot of its alumni are because they were admitted during the days when VT was much easier to get into, but now that it is more compettative it is balanced.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>></li>
</ol>

<p>haha are you implying that conservatives aren't as smart as liberals? hmm....</p>

#4

<p>Va tech is a very good school. Located in a small college town with lots of trees (a shock to most texans, trees are over 30 feet tall!!)</p>

<p>Yes there is a rivalry with UVA but fairly typical of a state with 2 large public universities (others, Kansas, Kansas state, OK, OK state)</p>

<p>It might be located in a very conservative part of the state but as with many campuses, it has its own liberal flair. I ignore the above opinions since that is way off topic. My D has been there for 3 years and 25% of her friends are out of state (mainly North) and have all liked the town and people and climate. Did you know there is a major hi tech presence in the area?</p>

#5

<p>bbpilot;
My son has VT on his top-3 list. Although we have visited (absolutely gorgeous campus), I was not aware of the high tech presence you mention. Can you elaborate?
I think the only real "con" to VT is that it doesn't seem much like a college town...very little to do close to campus. However, I realize our perspective may be all wrong. S is an outdoors kind of kid, so that part of him seems tailor made for VT. What is your daughter's feeling about the surrounding area, things to do, etc. Was she a "city girl"?<br>
Thanks for any insights--S will obviously be making a decision very soon and we won't be able to do a second visit. Any other comments regarding life there are most welcome.</p>

#6

<p>Thanks for the comments guys...
I definitly like hearing about the beautiful campus, as that is gonna be a factor in my decision. I love the outdoors and i'll probably be biking around campus all the time. Curiouser, what dyou mean by 'not much like a college town'? Do you mean that since it's not in a big city that it's not very 'college-esque'? </p>

<p>Personally, I can't wait to get to a smaller town. I live in Houston now and i absolutely hate it. Many kids around here agree and we hope that the grass is greener on the other side...although I don't know whether that hope is true. I think the small town feel might make it more relaxed and perhaps easier to work in. I also heard it's one of the safest colleges in america....i bet this small city thing's gonna be awesome.</p>

#7

<p>Oh boy, where to start. Hi tech, first. Corning and other leading tech companies have facilities there, you can't miss the Corning factory on the way in to Tech. The Blacksburg/Christiansburg/Radford area that tech is in is now one of 14 Metro. Statistical Area's in Virginia. Just got that designation this year. You can check out the Virginia Employment Commission VELMA web site and see the job diversity in the area. Aoubt 40% of the jobs are in private service producing jobs... high paying jobs. About 15% Of the area is manufacturing employment -- not textiles, we are talking hi tech MFN. School is the state main Vet school and starting a Med school this year. School is wired everywhere. My D comes home and her PC automatically switches back home wireless lan. The web resources and liabrary are very very good. Plus the teachers are very good and advisors are always helpful. They want you to succeed. Make sure you also consider there 6 hour course drop policy. 6 hours can disappear from your transcript very far along in the semester -- smart idea to offer your kids a chance to wipe the slate clean and learn from their mistakes. My D used it once her freshman year.My D took 24 hours of AP to tech and the advisors work with her scheduling so she is out in 3 years with a biology degree.</p>

<p>Outdoors -- Tons of Virginia state parks around the area. Lots of camping hiking rock climbing opportunities. My D spends alot of weekends seeing hometown friends that go to close by schools like Radford (A reknowned party school). You can sip through the Blacksburg small town in a few blocks, she enjoyed the local stuff. You're right, other sides of campus are not like that, but still it seems to be fine with her. The security is very good, not sure it is the safest college in AM, but there is a lot on security and emergency poles all over the place. Left us feeling very good about leaving her there.</p>

<p>A car is good to have to be able to get to the outdoors and other universities. The Campus is very classic and awesome. Very well layed out. Heated sidewalks so snow clears quickly. Christianburg is a couple miles away and my D worked there at Applebees for a while (Until she realized college tippers are not the same as Richmond, Virginia tippers in a middle/upper middle class area). That's where the walmart is also. Oh, the flex meal plan is very good there and allows for tons of choices -- name a chain and they are there.</p>

<p>Overall, a nice city/college in the valley next to a small town. I have lived all over the US and it is a very good college site. I personally went to Mizzou, similar type of college layout. My Bros went to SMU and Columbia -- now that is a city environments. Good luck on your decision, let me know if you have anything else specific...</p>

#8

<p>bbpilot-
Wow. Thanks for the detailed info. It really helps--I'll be printing this off for my son to read! He was accepted into the College of Natural Resources and our experience meeting some professors there was terrific--they're definitely interested in your success and it shows.</p>

<p>aceestrin--
My comments re the college town issue....Another school on his top 3 list is UGA. Athens GA is a phenomenal college town on the edge of the campus with many many restaurants, clubs, shops, and yes, bars, to visit. Although it's not a big city, Athens offers SO much for the kids to do. The part of the
"College town" for VT on the other hand only had a handful of these kinds of places immediately next to the campus. It was literally a one street strip that had "stuff" for just a couple of blocks--very similar to Clemson in that way. Much, much more rural in feel.
The two schools are similar in many ways, but the college town environment is not one of them. Even my son, who is definitely NOT a city kid, wondered about the lack of "college town" atmosphere. That being said, the surrounding area for outdoor sports and sheer beauty can't be beat. It is rather isolated though.</p>

<p>I would be very happy if he went to either one...I think VT is an amazing place. We loved our visit there.
Hope that answers your question, aceestrin.</p>

<p>One more thing, aceestrin. We visited VT with a friend of my son who bicycles competitively. He thought the campus was awesome also and definitely a great place to have a bicycle. I'm pretty sure they have a cycling club there that does intermural competition. I will say that the way the school is laid out seems very compact given how large it is.</p>

#9

<p>My experiences at VT were much different. I went there last year and found it to be one of the most boring places that I have ever lived. I transferred and am much happier. Curiouser, you are right Blacksburg is not much of a college town. There are some food joints and bars thats about it. My experience was the on weekends when there is not a football game (which are awesome by the way) there really is not much to do but go to parties. </p>

<p>Many of the students at Tech (outside of engineers) are not very focused academically. A lot of the math courses at Tech require you to take a bus to the "Math Emporium" where you learn on a computer because Tech can't afford to hire enough teachers. Here is one student's humorous take on the math emporium: <a href="http://filebox.vt.edu/users/ajayne/emporium.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://filebox.vt.edu/users/ajayne/emporium.html&lt;/a> I was in the honors program but I know that outside of that many students have a problem getting into the courses that they want.</p>

<p>Tech has two great positives: the food and the people. Tech has the best food for a college campus that I've ever tasted (they have won many awards for it). And the students at Tech in general couldn't be nicer.</p>

<p>So there are some great things about the university itself but the surrounding town is not very enticing. If you're going for engineering or architecture you can't beat Tech but other majors (particularly arts & social sciences) might want to look elsewhere.</p>

#10

<p>remember to take all of these with a grain of salt, seeing as their biased between Tech and UVA supporters. The best way to decide if you can't visit is to talk to students if at all possible at all the schools of interest. If you need a screenname of current Tech student just send me a private message, I know of a great person that would be more than willing to help.</p>

#11

<p>"seeing as their [sic] biased"</p>

<p>jtran10, I don't think my post was biased. I pointed out the things that I didn't like, but I also pointed out many of the good things about Tech. In fact, I think that I am the most qualified person to comment since I have gone to Tech and UVa.</p>

#12

<p>Thats true...you did show both positives and negatives of Tech...but I would give VT a little more credit..</p>

#13

<p>But...I am biased--as an Engineering student at VT..:)</p>

#14

<p>Wahoo... your line... In fact, I think that I am the most qualified person to comment since I have gone to Tech and UVa... is LMFAO funny. </p>

<p>Wow, do you think you know both schools... Try and be a little more humble and objective, appearently something neither of the top 2 Va schools has taught you... Good luck on transferring, again.</p>

#15

<p>haha...I love it.</p>

#16

<p>I know, this from a student that wants to transfer again, out of state... Oh Please give us an opinion while you turn into a professional transfer/student .... LOL</p>

#17

<p>bbpilot1, please enlighten me as to where I ever said that I was trying to transfer again. Cause if I am its news to me. What did I say that wasn't objective, the only possible thing was that Tech students seem to lack focus, which from my experience is true. From your previous post it is clear that you know Tech and Blacksburg pretty well, please tell me where what I said is incorrect.</p>

#18

<p>Wahoo sorry if I was wrong about your transferring again. </p>

<p>I take your statement "Tech students seem to lack focus" as absurd for Engineering and science schools. It is the school in Virginia.</p>

<p>I do agree that your statement of ... Many of the students at Tech (outside of engineers) are not very focused academically. A lot of the math courses at Tech require you to take a bus to the "Math Emporium" where you learn on a computer because Tech can't afford to hire enough teachers. </p>

<p>And thats my point. Engineer students are different, I am sorry you found it "boring" but with the internet connectivity I find it hard to believe...</p>

<p>Incorrect in your post was "boring", I just don't think it was right to classifiy it as boring as an engineer major... clubs, projects, etc make the differance... Good luck at UVA... </p>

<p>Oh and I do know the area and C'ville very well, both have great recruitment days for Engineers, especially Comp Science, Chem and Phyics...</p>

#19

<p>bbpilot, thanks for your reply. I wasn't in engineering and so I didn't have that experience. From what I've heard, you are right that engineers have plenty to occupy their time. You're a great advocate for Tech =) Best wishes!</p>

#20

<p>Then you made a very wise choice to go to TJ's school if you were not Engineering major. Sorry for the slat or confusion, Tech is the Engineer and Vet school to go too.. Also 25% of phamacy students at MCV @VCU (the premier school) come from Va Tech. Now if I wanted to go into Nursing as a practicioner or manager, UVA is the place....</p>

<p>What's your major sir?</p>