While I totally agree and selfishly hope other kids move on, leaving space on a waitlist, it seems like last years process yielded the right amount of commitments and I don’t think VT extended too many waitlist offers even after kids waiting till Feb for a decision.
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Last year WL over 7k. None admitted per CDS. But the previous CDS showed A few thousand off the WL.
Hard to make heads or tails of it.
That’s interesting as the year before they still had ED. I’m pretty sure some kids got off the waitlist last year as I remember seeing posts about it. But not a ton.
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We have tbe same experience with my S25, but I’m not sure that VT cares much. Theyre gatting a a lot of very highly qualified applicants so from tneir perspective theyre doing just fine.
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Technically, they are not struggling to get highly qualified candidates. So, they can take their time. My S25 said if she gets in she is going even with all the scholarship money elsewhere. The school sells itself, I know I am biased since I am a grad but, I know we will find a way no matter what to pay for the school.
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You have to wonder if their rankings and caliber students would be even higher if they were able to secure these students earlier! The facilities and reputation are phenomenal, but you’re also asking students to weigh this late decision against comparable schools. Purdue, for example, announces on Jan. 15th.
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At the end of the day. Any school your accepted into requires your deposit by May 1st pretty much. Finally Financial aid does not come out till March. So, in reality there is time. Our issue is we are scheduling visits with each school we are narrowed down to to talk with people in the program. Especially since we have gotten offers for honors colleges and a couple 4+1 programs that we need to understand more on.
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Very wise. We’re in the same boat, just scheduling our accepted student visits for the next month or two. Especially as mid- to late January comes around, we’ll be seeing what our son’s options are. We’re hoping VT is among them, as it checked off every box for him, especially the food and student happiness. The fresh hibachi in the student union made an impression on him!
Considering VT give very little aid, if any, that will be the next hot topic, after they finally do release decisions…
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VT does seem to do things a little differently than other colleges.
My take on it - releases decisions when they are ready, doesn’t send swag, doesn’t offer a lot of merit aid, doesn’t read the common app essays but does seriously consider its own prompts, has a Corp of Cadets and honor code, most students move off campus after freshman year, is very open with it’s admissions stats, admits by college, has a higher acceptance rate for out of state, accepts a good amount of community college transfers and credits and gets many more very qualified applications than it can accept.
With all of that, VT has a yield of around 50% for in-state students and 15% for out-of-state and at least recently has over enrolled so not sure there is a reason for them to change what they are doing. The school sells itself in other ways.
It’s not a place for everyone, but DD is very happy there - the campus is beautiful, school spirit and alumni support is amazing, the campus food is great, very good employment and research opportunities, tons of clubs and teams, lots of swag once you are there and more scholarships available after freshman year. It is home for her.
The wait is hard and hopefully everyone hears good news!
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Completely agree with this method! My current freshman didn’t commit until mid-March, which was after her other EA notifications came in and we had time to make 2nd visits. She wasn’t first in line for housing, but she wasn’t too far down the list either. I think with the FAFSA issues last year, alot kids weren’t accepting spots until later. They’ll assign incoming students a time to go in (last year it was the last 2 weeks of June) and literally pick their own room.
So yes, picking a bed already occupied gives you some control. DD got the dorm she wanted (which was non-AC but she chose it based on ideal location), and picked her room because it was one of the few rooms where the occupant actually wrote a bio! Make sure your kid writes at least a short bio in StarRez. They aren’t best friends, but the roommate situation is good. She says she has less RM issues than those that either knew their RM before VT, or found them on IG.
As parents of seniors, honestly, we spent too much time thinking about housing, roommates, etc., when at the end of the day it just worked out. I know of kids in the “worse” dorms of VT and they’re having a great experience. My D started out hanging out with a bunch of folks in her dorm, and as time went on and she made other friends, she’s often hanging out in their dorms. It’s all very fluid.
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My son is in Vawter which he chose without AC as you only really need it for like a month vs. the $'s he gets to keep from his college fund. One thing, when VT finally does release, assuming that the acceptance and housing contract deposit are fully refundable like last year, I’d sign-up to get in line for housing. My son still waited, and he probably could’ve had better Dorm choices if we would’ve accepted back in December. He did fill out his bio and roommate chose him because they both like golf and other sports, and sleep habits (going to bed and wake up times).
Agreed on the AC. Mine is close by in Eggleston, and wanted to be in Egg due to location, so it all worked out, but Vawter is a great location too IMO. It was hot for a few weeks in Sept, but she survived…and saved about $2500. 
Even after hanging out in other “nicer” dorms with friends, she’s happy in Egg.
And I laughed at your comment about financial aid, because it’s true…everyone will be eagerly waiting for their aid/merit packages, and then will be promptly disappointed.
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Hope everyone got in their Honors college scholarship application in tonight. It kind of feels like an extra burden on families when no one even knows if you got into the school let alone the Honors program. They might want to rethink this in the future. I hope my kid did not waste days writing. I am starting to feel for them. It’s way too much.
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First time I’ve even hear the honors application was available. Now I have to hope S25 didn’t miss the invitation. 
We got an email about applying because we indicated the honors college interest. The weird thing is it wasn’t shown as an option in the scholarship page. I hope that isn’t a bad sign for us. The only way we got to see it was through the direct link they sent in the email and start a draft of it. Unfortunately it was due last night. We got it in but definitely wasn’t our best effort.
S25 indicated an interest in the honors, too. But not even getting an invite for the scholarship application now drives up my anxiety.
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Don’t stress about receiving/completing the honors application. My D23 didn’t fill it out initially (I don’t remember if she indicated interest or not) but she was invited to the honors program when college acceptances came out in February. But even if your student isn’t initially invited/accepted into the honors program, there’s a very good chance they will be invited if they have a good GPA after their first semester or first year.
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Thank you for the reassurance, @flyawayx2 . I hate to focus on the negatives, so your message here helps to put the anxiety about possible outcomes to bed for a bit.
My brain knows that I just have to wait until the decision comes, but my heart gets caught up in a lot of “what ifs”, even though I know it’s not helpful.
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Don’t know if this helps, but when S22 was doing this, he got invited to honors and then got waitlisted to VT. Friends of his did not get invited and got in. I have no idea how their algorithm works, but it doesn’t seem to have direct correlation.
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