Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Top Questions

Very friendly and welcoming

When one travels to Virginia Tech, it's always a fantastic experience. The students and professors are always willing to help others find their way around campus, or to just simply talk about the school. I feel confident enough about the people at Tech to walk up to any student on campus and strike up a conversation. Never have I encounered such a fantastic student body.

My classmates are thirsty for knowledge and experiences that will help them become better contributers to world around them.

My classmates are spirited, passionate and dedicated to service.

The student body at Virginia Tech may be one of the most friendly and helpful communities I've ever encountered.

The people are all friendly and full of school spirit.

My classmates are a diverse and intelligent group who seem focused on their future.

Accomidating to everyone, no matter what social or economical differences that they may have.

Though quite motivated, Virginia Tech is not incredibly diverse. The school is predominantly white, and most of the students come from either the metropolitan DC area or Virginia Beach area. There are many churches and chapels for Christians but the other religious groups have a limited choice of one or two temples, mosques, or other places of worship. When forming groups of friends, I feel like many of the ethnic backgrounds tend to stick together. Although somewhat segregated with the groups of friends, I have never witnessed a case of racism at Virginia Tech. There seems to be a general tolerance of people of all races, genders, sexual orientations, and income brackets. Since many of the students come from the wealthy northern Virginia area, the students are generally upper middle class. If there were four tables of students in the dining hall, three of those tables would contain all people in the upper middle class. The other table would likely be the jocks who came to Virginia Tech from somewhere other than northern Virginia on a scholarship. They will surely have a VT sports shirt on. The three tables would consist of a table of white engineers, a table of asian engineers, and a table of white cadets, sporting their colors. There are a fair number of cadets, Virginia Tech being one of only two universities with a full Corps of Cadets. These cadets tend to be Republicans, with the rest of the school mainly democrats or ideologically minded libertarians. The only people who really wouldn’t fit in Blacksburg are those who can’t do without big city amenities as Blacksburg is far away from anything resembling a big city.

The students at Virginia Tech cannot be described in one fell swoop because of the immense diversity. The students do tend to stay comfortable and stay with the people they’re most familiar with. The main groups of students are the jocks, fraternities, sororities, engineers, Virginia students, international, architecture, and religious groups. Although there are many groups and within those, types of people, there are plenty of clubs, organizations, and activities to go to where students can feel comfortable and become associated with other students. Being renowned for its engineering, Virginia Tech is ironically stuffed with engineering students. These students periodically see broad daylight as they are consumed with their studies and spend much of their time staring at their computer and calculator in wonder. It is a coined joke to assume that any person who is socially awkward is most likely an engineer because they hardly have to opportunity to talk to others. The international students tend to stick together, spending time alongside those who understand their culture and speak their primary language. Most international students are very focused on doing well on their academics. Of any group of students that may feel place at this school it would be them, not because of Virginia Tech itself, but simply because of the different culture. That is not to say that aren't ways of integrating the international students with others. I have gotten involved with a group called "Bridges" in which English speaking students receive an international student as a "language partner" and they meet periodically for lunch to practice their English and have any questions they have answered, getting them further integrated with a different culture. There is a very active student body at Virginia Tech as students pursue their passions inside and outside their classes. With the abundant clubs and organizations students can easily become involved with groups that support what they are passionate about. Whether it is for sports, academics, literally any sort of hobby there is most likely a club. With a desire to be able to leave college and earn money students are regularly interested in finding a "good" job. It is emphasized that students should pursue internships and companies frequently visit to propose working for their company during job expos. As for most students being at Virginia Tech it is their first time on their own much of the student body is willing to pursue all sorts of activities to see what they are passionate about. I have been able to take a class in which I worked with refugees in Roanoke (whom I still visit) and tutor kids at a local high school. I frequently hike the beautiful trails that are only a few minutes from campus. I also am affiliated campus ministries such as Cru and Intervarsity, which are groups in which I learn more about my faith.

Being the large school that it is, Virginia Tech houses a melting pot of students, which therefore can lead to many stereotypes of groups and types of people. Of course there are the jocks, geeks, frat kids and so on; however to focus on those "sects" of people would be to only scratch the surface. Virginia Tech has a bond and pride that is unlike any college elsewhere and it derives from a far deeper connection. Students at Virginia Tech have faced many difficult and trying events that have left scars and caused deep wounds. The April 14 shootings, and most recently the killing of Officer Crouse have given Virginia Tech a dark mark that leaves upcoming students to think twice about entering into the "violent" school. In light of all these events there has not been a rift in the student body, but quite the opposite, a deep sense of unity. These events have brought the school closer together in a way that can be felt it immediately as a person steps onto campus. This unity has given our large campus an incredible "homey" feeling. Fueled by a generally welcoming student body that is caring towards one another. When a fellow Hokie walks by with their maroon and orange, whether on campus or off, it is commonplace to yell, "Let's Go!" and hear, "HOKIES" echoed back in response. I've never been to a place so proud for what they stand for, even in the midst of incredible adversity.

Being the large school that it is, Virginia Tech houses a melting pot of students, which therefore can lead to many stereotypes of groups and types of people. Of course there are the jocks, geeks, frat kids and so on; however to focus on those "sects" of people would be to only scratch the surface. Virginia Tech has a bond and pride that is unlike any college elsewhere and it derives from a far deeper connection. Students at Virginia Tech have faced many difficult and trying events that have left scars and caused deep wounds. The April 14 shootings, and most recently the killing of Officer Crouse have given Virginia Tech a dark mark that leaves upcoming students to think twice about entering into the "violent" school. In light of all these events there has not been a rift in the student body, but quite the oppostie, a deep sense of unity. These events have brought the school closer together in a way that can be felt it immediately as a person steps onto campus. This unity has given our large campus an incredible "homey" feeling. Fueled by a generally welcoming student body that is caring towards one another. When a fellow hokie walks by with their marron and orange, whether on campus or off, it is commonplace to yell, "Let's Go!" and hear the, "HOKIES" echoed back in response. I've never been to a place so proud for what they stand for, even in the midst of incredible adversity.

My classmates are lively, enthusiastic, adventurous, and the kind of people I wanted to meet and spend my college years experiencing life with.

Most of the students at Virginia Tech are white, middle class students from Virginia or surrounding states such as North Carolina, Maryland and New Jersey. There is not a lot of racial diversity at Virginia Tech. There are Asian/Asian American students at Virginia Tech but a very few number of African American and Latino students. There is a small proportion of politically active students at Virginia Tech. There are Young Democrats as well as Young Republican groups on campus but they do not have a huge presence on campus. Most students dress pretty casually. Because of the large amount of school-spirit at Virginia Tech, most students wear Tech t-shirts, sweatpants, or hoodies and call it a day. Because the weather is cold during most of the academic year, comfort as well as warmth is ALWAYS important when dressing for class at Virginia Tech. You will need rain boots, you will need a heavy-duty winter coat, you will need gloves and you will need a hat.

I'm Catholic so I'm part of the Newman Catholic Campus community at Tech, and I love it. It's a great way to hang out with people who share my same faith. We do a lot of service projects, have community dinners, play volleyball, watch football games at the house, and just hang out and have fun. There are many other religious and otherwise groups on campus as well. There are over 600 clubs on campus, so there's really a niche for everybody. Also, you only need 2 people and $5 to start a club, so it's really easy to create your own. A lot of students are from Virginia, but there are also quite a few from New Jersey, North Carolina, and all over the US. The students are pretty conservative politically, as compared to other schools.

I absolutely love how diverse Tech is. My best friend in the English department was Persian, and several of the guys I worked with at the Inn at Virginia Tech were as flamboyantly gay as they come. Of course you'll find prejudice, but not much of it. Generally speaking, the students at Tech are pretty accepting of one another, and supportive of groups like Cru and the LGBTA. I honestly can't think of anyone who would feel out of place. It's such a huge school with so many different types of people that just about anybody could easily find friends and feel at home. Different groups do interact, and it's not like high school - one group doesn't pick on or harass another group. Everyone kind of does their own thing and, for the most part, leaves each other alone. Most of the students are from the Northern Virginia / Washington DC area ("Nova"). There is a surprising number of out-of-state students (myself included) though, and even international students, particularly from Asian countries. Some people are really focused on how much money they'll make, but not everybody. Engineering and architecture students were the ones I mostly heard about it from.

Students at Virginia Tech are spirited, up-beat, and intelligent; one could argue that you could find this particular kind of student at almost every college, and I would agree with that. However, there is something that sets apart Virginia Tech from any other college I know; and that is respect for one another. "Hokie Respect" is a phrase you will almost always hear around campus, and it couldn't be more true. Wherever you go, you are greeted by smiling and kind students, often sporting maroon and orange to support the Hokie Nation. I can honestly say that Virginia Tech students are incredibly nice; students always are gracious and thoughtful of those around them. For a school that has gone through much in recent years, you will not find a tighter bond among the student body. Virginia Tech students are all apart of the Hokie Nation and always will be. Students are extremely diverse at Virginia Tech, and there is no predominant stereotype to label our university. I can promise you that at Virginia Tech, you will find people similar to you. It's impossible not too.

Virginia Tech has quite a diverse group of individuals. One of my favorite things to do each morning after getting on the bus is to pretend to be engaged with my smartphone while actually listening to students around me. The episode varies; one day I'll hear people rave about a party they attended the night before, another I'll overhear two Kuwaiti friends discussing calculus equations. I feel I also get a good cross-section sample of Hokies by noting the appearance of said bus-takers. There's the sorority girl wearing way too much makeup, the unshaven guy whose last shower is anyone's guess, and the typecast model boyfriend and girlfriend. Personality-wise: you name it, we have it. Virginia Tech has a very large population, and, speaking from experience, an individual coming from a rural high school setting might have a hard time adjusting to the lifestyle. Coming from such an environment, I did very poorly my first year before figuring things out. There's no one to hold your hand, so if you don't stay on top of things you can easily be lost in the shuffle.

Students at Virginia Tech are warm, friendly, and ambitious. Although there is diversity throughout campus, students are seen walking around campus happily in groups of similar friends. Despite race, gender, religion, or socio-economic status, every student seems to give others a chance at friendship. Competition is irrelevant, for at Virginia Tech a Hokie is a Hokie. Every student is treated equally, yet finds comfort in their group of close friends. The attire students where ranges from comfort to class and everything in between. This is the greatest part of attending classes, for one will never look out of place. Students are seen on campus wearing sweatpants and sweatshirts, to leggings with boots and a nice pea coat. This allows each student to fit in and allows for individuals to understand others based on personality as well.

Students at Virginia Tech are warm, friendly, and ambitious. Although there is diversity throughout campus, students are seen walking around campus happily in groups of similar friends. Despite race, gender, religion, or socio-economic status, every student seems to give others a chance at friendship. Competition is irrelevant, for at Virginia Tech a Hokie is a Hokie. Every student is treated equally, yet finds comfort in their group of close friends. The attire students where ranges from comfort to class and everything in between. This is the greatest part of attending classes, for one will never look out of place. Students are seen on campus wearing sweatpants and sweatshirts, to leggings with boots and a nice pea coat. This allows each student to fit in and allows for individuals to understand others based on personality as well.