Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Top Questions

Virginia Tech = Hokie Pride. Our school pride and spirit is huge, everyone, no matter what the major, can come together on that. Blacksburg used to be cute and quaint and now it's trying to become too big too fast, I don't like that all of the Northern Virginia elements are seeping down into our town, it's just not the same.

The best thing about VT is the people, from the students to the faculty to the support staff, everyone is nice. I'd like to make the campus more diverse and more sustainable. Size wise, it's just right. Blacksburg is VT, there is no real town without it. VT administration is generally on the ball, but they do not listen to students at all and are too interested in research at the expense of undergrads. School pride is everywhere. Big controversies are over media and 4-16. Student complaints are over subpar on campus housing, large class sizes, the math emporium and foreign TAs

The most frequent student complaint coming from Freshman is the lottery system. It always seems that there will be students who get every single ticket - or close to it, and then another lot which might get 1 or 2 and hopefully its a weekend we are at Tech or aren't busy with other plans. Also with the lottery ticket, everyone complains about selling the tickets. A lot of people think they should be able to sell them, as Facebook is a major outlook for it, while most of the rest start to believe that if you receive something free you shouldn't be able to sell the ticket.

Many people seem afraid when they come to Virginia Tech. With so many students going to our school, they think they will get lost in the crowd. The events of April 16th, however, proved that the students of this college are truly more connected than any of us thought. There were few students who were not touched by the events of that day-- many people knew at least one of the victims, and if you didn't then you knew someone who did. With a college of 27,000 undergraduates, this is amazing. When I graduated that spring, someone asked my graduating English class to stand up if you knew one of the victims. When they asked this, nearly everyone in the graduating class stood up; there were only a handful of people sitting down. At Virginia Tech, you better watch out, because pedestrians have the right of way on streets, while cars have the right of way on sidewalks. Bleaks-burg, Virginia: if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes.

-School pride -Parking -Just right -I come from California, so people from home are sort of shocked I chose a school so far away. However, post 4/16, people always ask about that day when they first learn that I go to VT. -In the dining halls! (ABP, West End, D2) I also spend a lot of time in Torgerson, McBride, Shanks, Squires, and at the athletic facilities. -College town! -I love them--very helpful -How tickets were handled in the lottery for the Yankee game -YES -No ? -Unfortunately, April 16th. But it will always remind me how much I love and take pride in being apart of the Hokie community at Virginia Tech. -Parking

The best thing about VT is the community - the Hokie Nation. When I first got to school at VT, I was scared to death. The high school I went to is one of the smallest public high schools in Virginia, and it was the only one in the county. My first class at VT was bigger than my entire high school. But once I took a look around me at the student body and how much pride everyone has in the school, and how even though there are thousands of us, VT has a small-school feel. The one thing I would change is the parking situation. I'm not going to lie, the parking at VT is horrible. Luckily, we have an awesome bus system that runs throughout Blacksburg, and as long as you show your school ID, you get to ride for free. Speaking of Blacksburg, it's a total college town and I love it. Everyone loves it. The townspeople love having the college students around and are really nice to all of us. There are bars, restaurants, tatoo parlors, coffe shops, neat little stores and plenty of churches all right there for us. And a new shopping center is being built right now with a whole new set of restaurants and stores. Obviously, the most recent controversy here was the tragedy of April 16, 2007. I saw victims being treated right after the events, I lost friends, sometimes I'm still scared of class and I frequently have nightmares. But none of that has ever, for one second, made me want to transfer to a different school. Virginia Tech has become more than just my school; it's my home. I've always been proud to be a Hokie and nothing could change that.

The best thing about VT is the fact that no matter where you are from, you can find acceptance and a home away from home. The school is the perfect size and there are tons of ways to get involved! There is more school pride at VT then any other school and the Hokie spirit extends beyond the campus and is felt throughout the US.

The best thing about VT is our pride. I'd change the parking situation and the fact that there's always construction--our school is beautiful, why do we always need to be changing it? Our school has at least 25,000 people, and sometimes it feels too large, but there are other times that it still seems like a small world. People usually mention April 16th, or they might say something about football. I spend most of my time on campus in classrooms, in Shanks Hall (English building), in dining halls, or at work. Blacksburg is THE college town. The campus is the center of town, and everything about Blacksburg is about Virginia Tech. On a gameday, the whole town is completely orange and maroon, and businesses close for the games because EVERYONE is at the game. My respect for our administration has skyrocketed since April 16. There's lots of controversy regarding how they handled it, but I stand by them until the end. April 16. I know of no other school that has more school pride than Virginia Tech. Unusual? Probably that despite the fact that we already had the most school spirit before April 16, the tragedy brought us closer together and we now have more pride than ever. I'll always remember April 16--I don't know that anyone could ever forget. It really bothers me to know that some freshmen don't understand and think we should get over it; however, it's so much a part of us, so much a part of all the people that experienced it. It's something you hold with you everyday. We all lost a little bit of ourselves that day, and we've all had to find ways to heal. Complaints--PARKING.

The most frequent complaint concerning VT is the parking situation. For starters there is NO parking if you are a commuter and secondly if you do miraculously get a parking spot you are very likely to end up with a ticket. These problems are solvable though, the BT (bus system) runs constantly and if you live downtown you never need a car or bus, two feet are all ya need! Living downtown is also a great decision because VT definitly has a quaint college town feel. There are tons of restaurants, shop and bars all within walking distance of campus and houses and apartments off campus. Theres typically always something to do to kill time! A lot of students attend VT but you would never guess it, the campus seems small since you frequently have classes with a similar group of students in your major. However, when it comes to advising you have to be on top of your own stuff because acquiring help from faculty is nearly impossible! Be prepared to be independent in figuring out your necessary course work etc. School pride here, at VT, is almost nauseating...Students and alumni are always in full swing "GO HOKIE" mode which makes games and campus activities all the more exciting and intense. Nowadays, when I tell people I attend Va Tech I get two responses. Often times it's one of sympathy because of April 16th but the other times it's an "ohhh you're a smart girl" sort of response which is a great feeling!

At VT, every Hokie is proud to be a Hokie. Though our school is large, it is the perfect size to enable everyone to get involved in what interest them. Because of the large size, we have hundreds of organizations, clubs, students from every country, variety of unique classes and majors to fit your goals and interests, and much more. At Virginia Tech, there is a fit for everyone. We are a big school in a small college town, where the community finds themselves just as loyal to the school as the students do. April 16th made our school and community even closer-- a school pride that any college would be lucky to have.