Purdue is the role model in my mind. Announced when they would release EA decision. Released it on that day & time. No software glitches, no weird portal changes before. Top Notch. Makes you wonder why all the schools can’t do that.
2 Likes
Oh, cool, a math problem. 
25% of offers would be 14.25% of applicants assuming an acceptance rate of 57% (last year’s overall acceptance rate, which does not differentiate between early/regular). I wouldn’t actually assume that number is accurate, but for what it’s worth…
2 Likes
Apparently a lot of the admissions team left a few years ago right before covid I think. The new team then over-admitted and the freshman class was too large. Housing was a big problem and the dining halls are really overcrowded. Sounds like they’re experimenting now - I agree with whoever said the limited Dec. decision release was probably a test.
3 Likes
Who knows what they are doing or why. My son was one of the lucky ones to be included in the 25% of the admits that was released in December, which is great for him, but nevertheless it seems obvious to me that the VT admissions process is not well run especially compared to the other schools which my son applied to. Good luck to everyone who is still awaiting a decision, I hope that you all end up at the school that is the best fit for you, whether that is VT or elsewhere!
2 Likes
UGA also does an outstanding job
This is not really true. They came out on a different day than the webiste.
Also not true. There was tons of portal changes and many people knew they were getting in or deferred only.
I’m hoping VT has some weird portal changes!
Pitt is such a GREAT city too!
UGA defers a large amount of EA applicants though (especially OOS), who then have to wait until the end of March to hear. I think they play a similar game of accepting only the very high stat OOS applicants in the EA round to try and get them hooked on UGA. I agree though that their admissions guy is great at answering questions and trying to give as much information as he can without cracking the actual code to admission.
Yes, it’s a long wait until Feb for schools like VT, FSU (and UF?) It’s a long wait for the last Friday in January to hear from UNC-CH. It’s a long wait until the end of March for UGA deferrals, and a long wait for Ivy Day. That’s why it’s a good idea to have a mixture of rolling and EA so they can have some acceptances by the end of December.
I think VT is testing the early release batch as an option since they only recently did away with ED. I don’t believe VT’s intent is to send the message that they don’t “want” your kid - this is just how college admissions works. It’s a humbling experience - it’s hard not to take it personally. Like it or not, VT has gotten a lot more popular and is receiving a lot more applicants.
Try not to be anxious about the dorm situation. It tends to be more of a parent issue than a kid issue. Year one goes by fast and 99.9% of students emerge from their dorm experience unscathed and move on to a very expensive off-campus apartment. With the exception of the newest dorm, even the most desirable dorms have the same old furniture and very small rooms. It’s a state university, not the Ritz Carlton. My D (VT Class of 2025) had an ED roommate and a high pick in a supposedly desirable dorm but her room was shockingly small and the hall bath was an experience 
It’s good for them to go through these things - it builds character!
Good luck to everyone! VT is a special place but have confidence that your kid will thrive no matter where they end up. Four years is just a small blip in the rest of their lives!
7 Likes
Agreed with the previous posters about the poor reputation of VT Admissions in the college counselor sphere (with challenging predictability and overenrolling, etc.)
Also, agree about not worrying about the dorm. My VT freshman daughter is there now, in an air conditioned super desirable dorm in a tiny room and she spends all of her time in the “bad” dorms with friends.
ETA: The poor reputation begins and ends with the admissions process. Our college counselors have high regard for the program and personally, my daughter couldn’t be happier. She’s in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences and the classes feel personal and the professors care. She loves it.
6 Likes
I’m disappointed to read that the poor Admissions process continues. H and I were/are proud alumni, and I was so disappointed by their admissions office with older S 8 years ago, that I filled out a very detailed and harsh survey response afterwards.
It wasn’t just the clunky application - this was before they were on the common app. It wasn’t the lack of financial aid or scholarship $$, even though our “OMG who can afford their EFC” number equaled in-state public costs and my S was a super high stats kid, in-state from an underrepresented part of the state. I mean after emailing him he didn’t receive a nickel from his department, 30 min later it was followed up with a “Disregard that email. We messed up the spreadsheet and everything was in error. “ This was the math department, lol!
But rather even the tone of their communications was very off-putting to my S. Every day after he was admitted, Duke would email him with something that read “You are awesome. We want you. Please choose us!” Virginia Tech’s read more like “Hurry up and choose us, or you’ll miss out.” As I said, just disappointing and off putting.
That being said, we still do love the university. It is a great school with fantastic school spirit. And good luck to all!
7 Likes
We didn’t have any negative experiences with admissions at all - although everything was pretty much still closed down in 2020/2021 at the tail end of the COVID shutdown (and once she submitted the Common App, we really didn’t need anything from admissions). We knew going in that merit awards at VT were few and far between (she ended up with a small non-resident award). Once admitted, she received several follow-ups from VT congratulating her (one with a VT pennant flag and some stickers) as well as a separate welcome from Pamplin, where she was accepted as a business major. She definitely felt wanted - maybe they’ve listened to survey responses?
My older daughter went to UNC-CH and got nothing from admissions other than the acceptance letter (which is a Golden Ticket in and of itself). It didn’t affect her desire to attend. She was also admitted to UGA and they sent swag every week, it seemed.
As a parent, comparing the two state universities, I have found VT to be much more responsive to any emails I’ve sent over the past three years, their website is much more user-friendly than UNC’s was and my daughter has had little trouble seeing advisors and getting the classes she needs at VT (unlike my older daughter at UNC).
2 Likes
Yes, I am pretty sure schools like Duke will have different ways of responding to students after admitted since they are a private school with money for that type of thing.
Mine has been admitted to ECU, UNCW, UNCC, UNCA, Elon, USC, App State, and only ECU, USC and Elon have followed up with much of anything. USC is the only school to send tons of stuff. Each school is different!
We have found UNC to be completely underwhelming in the whole process - the tours, the communication after applying, no open house day. They just don’t need to do any of that to get kids to apply in masses and attend. It has actually turned mine off to UNC.
1 Like
This is our first time through the admission process so we don’t know what to expect. My son got a holiday message in the portal from the VT School of Science the day before the surprise decisions came out in December with the statement “We hope to see you in the New Year”. I thought that was a little unusual since the only way they will see him in the New Year is if they accept him? He was not accepted in December so I was tempted to read too much into the message he received the day before the announcement. He’s received subsequent general recruiting messages from the School of Science in the portal since then so I’ve concluded that the holiday message was just an unintentional poor choice of wording.
1 Like
We got an email yesterday saying that our application was now incomplete because our SRAR didn’t have second semester classes. It says that it should be updated by 1/18, but the email wasn’t sent until 1/20.
Kiddo is already accepted at schools that he’d be happy to attend - VT is the only application that he doesn’t have an acceptance for, so this isn’t a huge deal. If it were the top choice, I’m sure we’d be frazzled.
I don’t know if most students enter the year’s classes in SRAR - nobody seemed to care that he only had first semester. As a homeschooler with a good bit of DE, we weren’t sure what would be available for spring semester. The VT one was listed as complete when it was turned in in October. We didn’t update it because of issues at other schools (like UTK) with updates kicking it RD instead of EA. Of course, this may end up causing that anyway. Just thought I’d pass it along in case anybody has a kid who hasn’t updated and may miss the email.
2 Likes
Not sure I follow. Virginia Tech indicates they do not consider first semester grades for senior year. Are you talking about junior grades?
As best we can tell, they are asking for second semester senior year classes. Because the SRAR is supposed to match the transcript exactly, and because our reporting school does not list spring semester courses that will be taken, our SRAR listed grades through the end of junior year and the in-progress classes that were being taken first semester senior year. The email appeared to be asking for second semester senior year classes. The exact words are ‘Your SRAR appears to be missing your second semester coursework.’
Of course, kid has completed everything needed to graduate and knows some public school kids who complete their courses in December and then work (or sometimes early enroll in college). Maybe they were concerned about what kid was taking in spring semester? In our area, several schools use block scheduling so the kids’ schedules aren’t necessarily a continuation of their fall classes and may not be set at the time that kids submit applications in October. But, knowing they don’t consider grades we hadn’t thought to update to list the courses once the DE and other classes were decided upon. We debated doing the update, but after the UTK situation we thought it best to not mess with anything.
This is what was sent on 1/20; the application was submitted and marked complete in time for the EA deadline of 11/1.
Thank you for your application to Virginia Tech! As of now, your application remains incomplete due to your academic materials needing additional attention. To be considered complete, please submit the following:
Your SRAR appears to be missing your second semester coursework.
To do this, return to your Applicant Portal, access your SRAR, and unlock and update your SRAR with the requested information. Then, you will formally resubmit the SRAR from the “Review/Submit” tab.
Please do this as soon as possible and no later than 01/18/2024 to ensure your application receives full consideration. Without this information, your application is not complete and is at risk of cancellation.
oh. I think they are not looking for 2nd semester grades but they want to know what courses he’s taking 2nd semester.
1 Like
Yes, that’s what i said - that we hadn’t updated second semester classes, and they sent the request after the deadline, which is not ideal.
Thats unfortunate. When we filled out my sons, I remember it asking for the full year of classes. Its surprising that it even let you submit in the first place.
1 Like