Virginia Tech is my ride or die...how should I proceed?

Colleges & Universities Virginia Tech
21

College admissions is based on understanding what a college wants and presenting an application that shows how you match. Your determination to attend VA Tech doesn’t matter. What does matter (to VA Tech) is unweighted GPA, course rigor, and test scores. Applying as a transfer doesn’t change that. There are still standards you have to meet and level of interest isn’t high on their list.

According to your initial post you purposely chose a less rigorous path and your math SAT is low. Now you want to visit the school to explain your choices to the admissions officers. They aren’t going to make individual appointments to discuss applications that are currently under review. Even if they did, what do you think you can say that will sway them? The VA Governor’s School for Sci. & Tech is for top math and science students, and it looks like admission is competitive. So why didn’t you go? You either weren’t accepted, didn’t apply, or rejected them for a less rigorous path. Choosing a less rigorous option is fine, but it won’t be overlooked by competitive colleges.

What you can do is write a (brief) letter of continued interest. Tell them that you’re taking calculus this semester and about any new accomplishments. You can also tell them it’s your first choice and you’ll attend if accepted. But keep it short and have your guidance counselor read it before you send it.

22

@hopefulhokie24 Hello. Current VT student here. I thought about how I would write this response to you in the way I could try to understand and help as I was on the opposite side of this process two years ago.

First and foremost, BREATHE! And I mean that in actuality, and to say that as from what I’ve what read, you were deferred, not rejected. I would understand being a little worried, but it’s really not over yet. You also have to remember that there are a lot of other applicants who were deferred for one reason or other, so again, it’s really not the end of the world. Just means a bit more waiting.

In terms of what previous posters have said, I would recommend writing the LOCI. Yes, I have seen it work and do wonders. Especially in your case being a legacy, it just might work. Had a friend who ED’d for engineering who was a legacy and ended up go through the whole process and then getting off the waitlist in May. It can happen, if you’re willing to play the waiting game.

Second, I think I don’t need to reiterate that choosing to apply to only one school was definitely not the best decision, but you do need to have a back up plan. Honestly, at this point, the community college route seems to be the best course of action second to VT. If you truly plan on transferring to Tech after one year, then I don’t see much of a point in paying for a four-year university, especially since you’ll likely have to take community college classes anyway because of how specific VT is about transfer credits. Trust me, I transferred from a four-year to Tech and I can tell you that Tech’s complete and total transparency with the VA community college system has been a godsend as not all of my credits transferred over from my former university and I’ve had to “jump through hoops” to make things work.

Lastly, if you do decide to go the CC route, you will need to make sure to keep your GPA up as high as you can. That first semester Calc class should gear you up for what’s to come if you end up not attending Tech. You’ll want a 3.0 or above to be the most competitive.

Again, you still have time to make a decision. I would just go ahead and write an LOCI and utilize the advice from posters above. And no, at this point, driving down there would be the worst thing you could do, unless you haven’t already taken a tour. I don’t know if they still do this anymore, but I remember hearing something about how they track interest through tours. Might help, but honestly, that letter will probably help more.

Best of luck!

23

IMO if you are rejected from VA Tech I would not assume that you can easily transfer in after a year. You should check VA Tech’s policies but many/most colleges take into account a student’s HS record and standardized test scores for transfer admission into the sophomore class.

The idea of applying to one college as an engineering major where your math SAT is below the schools 25th percentile AND standardized tests are considered “very important” (per the common data set) is an absolutely horrible idea. You have a very limited amount of time to put in applications to a couple of match/safety schools. It is unreasonable to think that there is only one college where you can have a great 4 year expereince and get a fine education.

I think everyone here hopes you eventually get into VA Tech but you should be prepared with a strong Plan B.

24

@hopefulhokie24 I would remain skeptical of any certainty that a LOCI will be considered (if even read) considering VT’s published policy re: wait list status - “letters of recommendation or personal visits will not affect our decision”. Yes, yours is a deferral situation and not a wait-list, but I think it’s more than reasonable to expect their policy/stance to be the same in either case. In addition, the fact that you applied ED already carries the message that VT is your first choice.

Obviously it’s your choice, but your guidance counselor probably has better insight than those teachers, friends, and well intentioned CC posters.

25

^^^

  1. The OP’s guidance counselor agreed with the posters here that a visit to Va Tech is not a good idea.
  2. Posters here (myself included) have clearly stated that there is no guarantee that a LOCI would be read or would carry any weight in the final decision, however since VA Tech is the OP’s top choice it seems that it is worth the fairly minimal effort to submit one.
26

@happy1 I misread OP’s original post and thought she had asked GC about sending a letter and had been told “no” on that as well. Thanks for the correction. To your second point, not all the posters on this thread have been as measured in their suggestions. Agreed there’s little effort involved in sending it, but others posting that it will be read was my point of reference.

@hopefulhokie24 Maybe ask your GC their thoughts on the LOCI.

27

A deferral carries something the wait list doesn’t: a re-review of the application. I would expect any new materials, including a LOCI would be examined in the re-review. Whether or not it makes a difference is uncertain, but I would favor the odds that it will at least be read.

I would still encourage OP to apply elsewhere - or plan on community college. I seem to recall VT was cramming three people into double rooms last fall, the yield being higher than expected. Adjustment/correction for that seems likely in this round of applications.

28

If there’s any way you might get a higher math score, consider taking the Feb ACT (or, in the possible event of being waitlisted, the March SAT). They may not consider late scores, but it may be worth a try.

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I agree with evergreen5 in post #27, to consider taking the ACT in February. Send a LOCI soon, then update them later with your midterm grade in Calculus I from your community college.

30

Here’s your guaranteed path to VT.

In addition to what others said above, if VT is your dream come heck or high water, there is a way VT must take you. I would apply to Richard Bland College of William & Mary, the only junior college in Virginia. The Commonwealth of Virginia actually legislated that the public universities MUST admit CC students and the JC students who achieve GPA levels above ‘x.x’. The x.x varies by JC, CC, major, and university, but are quite reasonable in all cases. Check out Richard Bland’s website, other CCs you may consider, and Virginia Tech’s website for Guaranteed Admission Agreement.

VT even has it in writing on their website what GPA is necessary for engineering. It is quite incredible this is the law, so take advantage of it.

31

From VT Admissions (verbal this afternoon) re: ED deferral. Take it as you will…

The school does not review LOCI, letters of recommendation, or any “new” materials in cases of deferral. “…the school does not want any letters or emails…”. Assuming their definition of new materials is consistent, then standardized tests taken after 1/1/20 and Senior year grades probably would not qualify as new materials anyway even if they did accept/review LOCI, etc. re: deferrals (per admissions appeal policy).

32

@happy1 I actually did talk with a VT rep quite a bit about transferring and I remember clearly that test scores are not utilized, other than to let you place into and out of freshman English and Chem if your math and reading scores are high enough, as well as your high school transcripts, which are utilized to make sure you actually graduated high school. Besides that, only your grades from college, resume, and anything else the Coalition app require is fair game. Honestly, the hardest part about the whole transfer process is making sure your GPA stays high enough, second to finding an off-campus apartment. I’ve had several transfer friends who have noted how transparent and easier the application process felt versus senior year. I will say that it is true, a first year transfer is harder than a second for a CC as VT only accepts roughly half of COE transfer applicants and most of those spots go to rising juniors. But it’s doable. But yes, I just remembered that some time ago, they added an SAT math requirement that, I. believe, requires around a 600 on the SAT. This could prove to be more of a problem in terms of registering for the class.

I didn’t think it was possible when I originally posted but it would be in your best interest to boost that SAT score up and fast. @hopefulhokie24

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  1. Register to (re) take the sat and the act. You want 600+ in math so, study.
  2. apply to Richard Bland today - it’s a residential community college and highly respected, so that getting good grades would help if you have to go through the transfer route.
  3. prepare a 2- paragraph letter indicating your continued interest, with latest updates including first semester grades, your registration in dual enrollment calculus this spring +anything else that’s NEW since October and as a multiple legacy your definite intent to enroll if admitted. That’s it - no excuses, nothing about how it’s your one college application (which all admission counselors will mark as a negative, ie., Hubris + foolishness/immaturity).
34

HELLO everyone; Update: I did go up to Tech and I believe it was the reason I have been waitlisted instead of rejected. I spoke with an admissions person and gave her my speech I rehearsed in the car the entire ride up there and she said that I had done more than 99% of other applicants. She gave me her email, and the email of a person who I should email my speech to so that it may be attached to my application. I emailed it and ccd her and it was attached to my application! She told me she would remember my name, and also that had I come a week later, my application would have already been read (she checked while I was there and I wasn’t in her queue, but I was close to being read in someone else’s). But, I was waitlisted as EVERYONE else seems to be, so chances are slim of getting off of it; probably going to go to NC state (If I get in) and transfer.

35

OP- let me give you a piece of advice- do NOT plan upfront to transfer. While you are busy pining away for V Tech, you will be missing out on all the wonderful things that your current life could offer you.

If you get in- great. Be prepared to work your tail off. And if you don’t get in- work your tail off somewhere else and bloom where you are planted.

36

Thanks for the update hopefulhokie

I’m glad you had a good experience going to see Virginia Tech admissions. Best of luck getting of the waitlist and that NC State decision.

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Let us know where you got in!

38

Did you hear back from VA Tech for their EA decision release?

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I would take this with a grain of salt. I think it was actually inappropriate for her to tell you that you’ve done more than 99% of applicants. You weren’t on her list to read. If she’s not seeing every application, how would she know how you compare to every other applicant?

Your math SAT is ~100 points lower than their mid-50% if I remember correctly. For a tech school that heavily considers test scores that can hardly be classified as doing “more.” I point this out only to temper your expectations. You’re not a shoo in for transfer. Certainly apply if it’s what you want, but fully throw yourself into whatever school you do attend in the fall in case transferring doesn’t work out.

40

@hopefulhokie24 Probably shouldn’t be saying this but I’ve been watching this thread for a bit.

I actually transferred from my former institution to Tech in the fall. I was in a similar situation as OP was where I didn’t really like the school I attended, even when I submitted the deposit, mainly because it felt like I was settling and I went to the exact school that my parents wanted me to go to, which was 40 minutes away. In the back of my mind, I tried convincing myself that maybe I’ll like the school, but there were so many factors surrounding the school itself that made it pretty evident that I wasn’t going to get the traditional college experience I craved freshman year. Even from orientation, there was talks of certain people who knew they were going to transfer eventually, most after freshman year. Mind you, this was a four-year university. Long story short, I gave it two months before I would decide to start thinking about transferring, which would have been easy since most of classes aligned with Tech’s engineering curriculum, and I ended filing out the application after several events occurred that gave me the sense that this school simply didn’t care about its students (I.e. multiple faculty leaving in the middle of the semester to move over to other jobs and the overall unprofessionalism and lack of communication of the school). The last straw was my study-abroad program that I went on my second semester where they told me that some of the classes wouldn’t transfer back to the university 5 DAYS before my flight. Now I take full-responsibility since I should’ve known that studying abroad as an engineering major would’ve been too good to be true, but throughout the entire program, to which I was with others, it seemed like they were making up everything as they went along. One day they told me one thing, another thing the next. In the end, even the program’s two coordinators ended up leaving in the middle of the semester. In the end, the most fun, and most ironic, thing that happened was finding a group of friends in my STEM classes who also planned on transferring out as well. It was more a “misery meets company” thing and we all ended up transferring together and never looked back. We all enjoy Tech much better 100%.

Sorry for the long story, but I felt it was right to share to help. In my opinion, it would be better to just go to the CC instead of spending more money on a school you don’t feel great about and end up forcing yourself to love. I’ve had upperclassmen friends who’ve transferred to the community college for that very reason because it was more affordable and it made sense for them so they wouldn’t feel “trapped”. Obviously don’t outright hate the university you go to, but if you want to transfer to VT eventually, the community college is one of your best options. Either way, whatever you decide, I wanted to simply say all this as the “perfect” freshman experience can be overrated. If you’re up for it, you can make long-lasting friendships anywhere. Do I wish I had a better experience? Yeah. But in the end, it worked out pretty nicely. Again, just my two cents.