Really hope VT says something yes or no about general scholarships before determining need-based aid with FAFSA delays. Read to make a final decision between VT and another college that already offered merit. Don’t want to wait until mid-Apil to decide.
2 Likes
I haven’t seen any merit information yet either.
I thought it was pretty widely known that VT doesn’t give that much merit. Maybe $2-3k unless your student applied for the Stamps scholarship back in January and got that. Even the Honors scholarships are like $5k.
Just want to warn you as I’m not sure what you are expecting in terms of merit aid but I’m not expecting much.
If you have time, maybe look at the thread from last year to confirm but Tech is not known for giving lots of merit.
6 Likes
My DD was accepted the first wave as well. She received some emails in Jan to apply for Honors College scholarships, but was not notified of being accepted to the HC, so declined to apply, thinking she didn’t qualify. Ugh! She was notified of HC acceptance during the 2/2 wave of acceptances. We received a paper letter in the mail for the HC acceptance, but that’s the only “snail mail” we’ve received. No word on any merit. As others have said $3k seems to be the most…I heard someone received $8k in years past but it sounded to me like it was dependent on a specific major. In the scholarship portal, there seemed to be far more opportunities for current students (most are college/major specific).
FWIW, I’m an info seeker too, and no, I haven’t received as much direct info from VT admissions. With that being said, I’ve spoken to several (unrelated) parents that have had students at VT, as well as at some highly ranked schools (like UNC)…hands down they agree once in school, their Hokies received far more communication and advising. My DD emailed a few questions to VT and to the other school she was considering. VT answered her within 2 hours. It took the other school 3 days to answer; maybe they were having a bad week, IDK.
2 Likes
Have there been any information sent on webinars or virtual information sessions yet?
How does housing work at VT? Son applied for Galileo & got accepted - it seemed like 4 yr housing for honors kids?
We are cautiously optimistic about VT Honors and visiting tomorrow for the CS info session. DS is considering Rutgers Honors (in-state) as well as Northeastern for CS major.
Anyone going to Hokie Focus this weekend?
4 Likes
We’re going to the Saturday afternoon session.
1 Like
On campus housing is only guaranteed for the first year. There are some LLC’s that come with a two year contract though. Galileo is not one of those however, and it is not guaranteed for more than the first year.
Most VT students live off-campus after the first year.
My son is in West AJ residential college, and that does have a two year contract. But you have to be certain that you want to be there 2 years… most kids do end up wanting to live somewhere else after the first year (you get your own room, no random fire alarms, no drunk freshmen puking in the halls, etc)
Is it difficult to find off-campus housing? And would students need a car?
No, it’s not that difficult to find housing from what I’ve seen. A lot of kids rush out to get housing in October for the following year, but it doesn’t seem necessary. I see plenty of housing availability on my parent feeds even now. I don’t think students need a car, they get free rides on the city buses, but you’ll want to be near the bus line, and it will take a little more time than if you drive in… so a number of students do get a car.
My son has one more year in West AJ, and I’m not planning on getting him a car afterwards… I’ll recommend that he get a place in the condo complex across the street from the campus so he can just walk there (it’s a bit more expensive, but probably worth it in time saved).
1 Like
Definitely not necessary unless your student wants to live with a larger group and needs 4 or 5 bedrooms or wants to live in the most popular and newest complexes within walking distance to campus (although if they are just looking for a single room, those are easier to find).
Cars aren’t necessary but many students like to have them for the flexibility of being able to go where they want, when they want, even if they still opt to take the bus to campus for class. Keep in mind that if they do bring a car as a freshman, they need to move them to an outer lot for home football games - not a big deal, but there are some that complain about it.
As an off-campus student, finding a parking spot for class can be a challenge (most spots are nowhere near the academic buildings) unless they score one of the coveted Perry Street parking deck spots (reserved spots, near the academic buildings that are very hard to get), so most students take the bus, unless they ride with a friend who has a Perry Street spot.
3 Likes
What is the best dorm?
If you’re on Facebook, there’s a few discussions in the VT Parent groups:
DORM FIND ROOMMATE and DORM SELECTION PROCESS: Virginia Tech Parents | Facebook]-R
Dorm Spreadsheet:
Virginia Tech Parents | Facebook]-R
They always need upper class mentors in Galipatia. My sophomore Hokie stayed on there this year with her friends. She’s choosing to move off next year, but she’s got friends who are juniors and still living with the LLC.
1 Like
FYI
1 Like
My son is OOS and he just logged into the portal and the financial aid information is there now.
1 Like
Parents for Incoming Freshman, OOS was delivered Saturday morning, and in-state are supposed to be released later this week. However, my OOS DS didn’t have anything over the weekend. So I called the VT Scholarships & Financial Aid office this morning. If your EFC/SAI still shows $0 for 2024-25 and your student has completed a FAFSA, it could be that your student’s SSN# was not provided with their Common App, and VT can’t match your student with their FAFSA. So you have to call and provide it to them, so they can tie the data. https://finaid.vt.edu/
We let our son take the lead on all of this process as that’s how he wanted to manage, so not sure if the Common App gave an * as to why (although optional) students should provide this in order to match it with their FAFSA. I can google it now and it tells you that you may need it to match FAFSA, but not sure if he realized when completing the Common App, since we aren’t looking for Federal aid/loans, however VT would rely on that to match him to his FAFSA. That being said, OTHER SCHOOLS were able to match his FAFSA to him without his SSN#…
1 Like
I laughed when I read the VT financial aid package. It’s a joke. It’s BY far the lowest amount my son received from any school. Even another Virginia school - William and Mary is giving him $21K a year in need-based aid, not incl loans etc. Virginia Tech is now the MOST expensive school out of the 13 schools he was accepted, including three private schools and multiple out of state publics.
We eliminated VT; it’s just not worth the $
1 Like
by 21k need-based aid, you mean giving him 21k he doesnt have to pay back?