Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Top Questions

Honestly, when I tell someone I go to VT, now-a-days, I am usually asked about April 16th. It's hard and sometimes frustrating that so many can only relate this school to the incident that happened last year-- but I always find more to talk about since there is always so much going on. I will always remember my experiences from joining a sorority. I have been able to gain leadership, social, and academic skills that I don't think I would have acquired otherwise. I definately think it is a college town as well... many people are hesitant about the size, but once you get involved the campus seems a lot smaller and I constantly find myself running into someone I know.

The best thing about Virginia Tech is the Hokie Pride. No other school can even compare to this and it is why high school students consistently choose to come here.

The best thing about VT is the school spirit. I would changes the class schedules, I rarely get all the classes I need and get rid of the ticketing staff. I think the school is getting to big b/c getting into classes is much harder, but I never feel like 22000 undergrads go here.People usually feel go 'oh' in a way that say they know about 4/16. VT admin is fine I have never really had a prob with them. The biggest controversy recently was SGA reps.There is alot of school pride. VT students go out on Tuesday, we get out of class for football; those are pretty unusual. I will always remember living in the sorority house last year and Spring Break this year. Students frequently complain about parking tickets.

The best thing about VT is the spirit & love that students, faculty, & alum have for it. It is just a presence that you feel the first time here, and you never lose it. It is in a great area for a college town if you want to be away from the city. The local town has really friendly people & good southern charm.

I spend most of my time in library or Torg. Not a big "college town" if you do not like to drink there is not much to do. I have had some problems with the administration, my advisor freshman year telling me that women should not be in engineering. Otherwise they have been helpful.

Virginia Tech is a beautiful campus with high energy atmosphere. Our school is large enough to blend in if you want, but small enough that if you get involved you will have a friend at every dining hall, you will have someone to say hi to everytime you walk across the drillfield, or in most of your classes you will see a familiar face. After the tragedy a lot of people tend to say that they are sorry to hear that you go to VT, or how is it? I typically just have to put a smile on my face and describe the emotions/feelings that I have for my campus that were not captured on the thousands of satellites that broadcasted the tragedy across the world. Blacksburg is a college town, but the community really loves the students. Athletic events often have not only students, but professors, and members of the community attend. The food here is amazing. VT football and basketball is A TON OF FUN. A lot of people may not think orange and maroon is the most desired colored combination, but at Tech there are 22000 people that think they look GREAT in orange and maroon.

Normalcy, I stated, reverberates throughout campus, but this is more probable on the weekdays...football season is a different story. You want insanity? Go to Lane Stadium and see the painted and costumed blurs of maroon and orange that bellow chants at every play. Football season is one of my favorite times of the year. Everyone comes together as Hokies and lives in the moment with the players on that field. Call it crazy, but I call it pride. That has to be the best part of being at VT: Pride. The April 16th shootings, which had the capability to crush this community, only sent a newly vamped stream of pride throughout the student body. WE WILL PREVAIL. There is a great respect towards students at Virginia Tech, it is no doubt a prestigious and goal-oriented group of young adults. Now though, after April 16th, people react differently when I say I come to Tech. Consistent questions arise about 'what it is like now' and 'do I feel safe'...I know these questions come from people who haven't recently stepped onto our campus. Just look at the drill field as the sun sets against the hokiestone buildings. One can’t help but just feel lucky and privileged to be here. No, it’s not for the Ivy League preps with loafers, but it’s for me, its home. The hokiestone can at first be intimidating and disorienting- as can be the statistic of a 27,000 strong student body, but give it a week and you will be joking about how badly Pritchard smells and complaining about an 8 o’clock in Derring. It may be a huge campus, but it’s all very consolidated and organized. You can walk everywhere. Downtown Blacksburg, which is also in walking distance, holds the pubs, restaurants, and clothing stores that provide everything from a cute date to a ‘crazy night on the town’ but if you need a new trash bin or razors you’ll have to head out to Wal-mart in Christiansburg which is still only a short bus ride away. In Christiansburg there are more chain restaurants, the mall, the movie theater, and contains most any store you would need. Parking is horrible. If you leave your car for 3 minutes Parking Services will make their rounds and tag you with a $30 ticket. Also, getting tickets to sporting events is a very choppy system that, although it doesn't favor any certain group, it kind of screws everyone over. The lottery system makes it so people very rarely get tickets when they want them. I know people that have gotten all but one football ticket and others that ONLY got one. The system is unfair and I don't understand why everyone cannot have a ticket if they want one like other schools.

I love the diversity at Tech. There is so much here and pretty much something for anyone. I sound like a commercial in that sentence, but it is true. I was able to find numerous clubs that i am now part of and so many things that interest me, all on campus. I am able to also find numerous volunteer opportunities. I love the size of the school. I sometimes find it lonely with it being so large, but i love the size, because it means that i can have numerous friends and various groups of friends and connections. There is so much school pride on campus, it's breathtaking. I love going to football games and school events because our school is just so amazingly together and even though there are thousands upon thousands of us, it seems that, when we have events that involve the joining of the whole school, it doesn't matter who you are, where you are from, what you're major is, all that matters is that you are a Hokie. That's all that matters.

The best thing about VT is our school spirit. I don't know any school whose students have more pride than the Hokies. One thing I would change is I would add more fields of grass on our campus. I love the hokie stone but compared to all the roads and sidewalks, it can make our campus look washed out. VT is the perfect size. I see people I know but meet new people all the time. People react when I tell them I go to VT by asking how it is after April 16. There isn't one place I spend most of my time on campus. On a warm day I am on the drill field with friends throwing a football around, watching the sunset from the top of the chapel, cheering on our hokies in lane stadium, cassell coliseum, and english field, etc. VT is definitely a college town! Everyone around here are die-hard Hokie fans, naturally. VT's administration is great, love President Steger! Biggest recent controversy on campus was obviously April 16. I am a little hesitant of what campus is going to be like this year with all the media. There is more school pride here than any other university, and i'm not just saying that because I go here! I can go anywhere wearing a VT shirt and someone will yell "go hokies" or high-five me. One experience I'll always remember is when i was crossing the drill field with my friend and the hokie mascot was passing out flyers. It didn't hand one out to me and my friend because it was occupied with other students walking by but soon i heard fast loud thumping noises and i turned around and screamed to see the hokie mascot right shaking a flyer at my face. It was funny. The most frequent student complaints is probably having no AC in some of the dorms.

During the fall of my senior year of high school, I had no idea where I would end up for college, but I am so glad that I landed here. The best thing about my world at VT has been my church; I am involved with Blacksburg Church of Christ's campus ministry group and it has become my second family. On a more physical note, the food on campus is AMAZING! I love to brag to my friends back home about it. Not so great is the wind; complaints about wind and cold are probably the most frequent negative comments about Tech. No matter who you are though, there is a niche here for you. With more than 20,000 students, it would be almost impossible for there not to be. The trick is finding it.