Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Top Questions

Many students at Virginia Tech are involved in student government. Also many students are involved in athletics clubs and groups at Virginia Tech. Obviously, the football team is rallied behind a lot at Virginia Tech. Along with the football team, the basketball team has also gained popularity. There are also many intermural and club sports teams. I had many friends on club Lacrosse as well as intermural field hockey. Ultimate frisbee and kayaking are also extremely popular.

I was involved with a community service sorority called Chi Delta Alpha. I loved it because it had a balance between service and sisterhood. I got to participate in projects with Special Olympics and the Humane Society, and I volunteered as a tutor at the local elementary/middle schools. We also had all the fun parts of a sorority like bigs and littles, formals, etc. My roommate and I always left our door open when we lived in the dorm. There was always something going on, and it was a really easy way to get to know people on our hall. Football games at Tech are huge! Getting tickets is pretty easy, and everyone starts tailgating hours before the game. There are also other events always going on around campus - poetry readings, acapella concerts, plays, etc. If I was awake at 2am on a Tuesday, chances are I was studying - or pretending to study. My junior year roommate and I were both night owls, so we generally studied pretty late, and at least one night a week we would treat ourselves to a 1am pizza. Firehouse delivers until 3am! There are pretty much always parties going on. Thursday - Saturday night, finding a party is not hard at all. Of course the fraternities and sororities throw tons of parties, and if you're willing to pay $4 for a solo cup of keg beer, you're more than welcome. If you don't drink and party, though, there's still plenty to do on the weekends. Squires Student Center has a bowling alley, and sometimes there are movies playing on campus for students. And all that drinking peer pressure doesn't really exist - if you don't want to drink, no one is going to tell you you're "not cool" because of it. Off campus, there are tons of restaurants and little shops downtown. If you're wiling to go out of Blacksburg, there's a mall and movie theater in Christiansburg. A little further away are tons of hiking trails, including the Cascades, and the New River, where students go camping and tubing during the spring and summer.

For freshman, the most popular activity is Ultimate Frisbee, hands down. Partaking in this is one of the best ways to meet new people, establishing relationships that will last for the rest of your life. Personally, my favorite student activity is intramural sports. I was captain of a championship coed flag football team last year and had an absolute blast. We held random practices on the drill-field, devised a playbook together, and after the season was over we decided to all stick together and play softball the following semester. I'll never forget our championship game - we were down by a touchdown with only 30 seconds to play. One of our female receivers caught a pass, broke three tackles and ran 70+ yards for a touchdown. On the opposing team's next play, their quarterback threw a long pass, which I tipped into the hands of our safety, who ran it back for another score as time expired, giving us the win. Hollywood couldn't have scripted it any better.

For freshman, the most popular activity is Ultimate Frisbee, hands down. Partaking in this is one of the best ways to meet new people, establishing relationships that will last for the rest of your life. Personally, my favorite student activity is intramural sports. I was captain of a championship coed flag football team last year and had an absolute blast. We held random practices on the drill-field, devised a playbook together, and after the season was over we decided to all stick together and play softball the following semester. I'll never forget our championship game - we were down by a touchdown with only 30 seconds to play. One of our female receivers caught a pass, broke three tackles and ran 70+ yards for a touchdown. On the opposing team's next play, their quarterback threw a long pass, which I tipped into the hands of our safety, and he ran it back for another score as time expired, giving us the win. Hollywood couldn't have scripted it any better.

Almost every student at Virginia Tech is involved in some type of organization including greek life, clubs, sports, and others. Virginia Tech offers an overwhelming variety of clubs for students to easily join and freely participate in. It is entirely simple to find an organization of interest. There are academic clubs, social clubs, intramural sports, club sports, as well as division one sports teams. Athletic events are well-attended all around. Football and basketball are most popular as the school is best known for our division one teams; however, other division one sports as well as club teams are very popular as well and are always supported with numerous fans. The greatest feeling about being away from home is the feeling of safety. The campus is well-lit and is surrounded by helpful and friendly people, as well as emergency polls throughout campus for safety. Though individuals should not be too trusting of others, campus is truly is a safe and comfortable place where you can leave your belongings for a few minutes without constant worry. This provides a cozy and safe environment for everyone.

For freshman, the most popular activity is Ultimate Frisbee, hands down. Partaking in this is one of the best ways to meet new people, establishing relationships that will last for the rest of your life. Personally, my favorite student activity is intramural sports. I was captain of a championship coed flag football team last year and had an absolute blast. We held random practices on the drill-field, devised a playbook together, and after the season was over we decided to all stick together and play softball the following semester. I'll never forget our championship game - we were down by a touchdown with only 30 seconds to play. One of our female receivers caught a pass, broke three tackles and ran 70+ yards for a touchdown. On the opposing team's next play, their quarterback threw a long pass, which I tipped into the hands of our safety, and he ran it back for another score as time expired, giving us the win. Hollywood couldn't have scripted it any better.

The Greek organizations are very popular on campus. As a member, I met SO many new people and now see at least three people I know on the way to each class. It makes the university so much smaller and I recommend it to everyone. But the great thing about Tech is that you don't have to be in a fraternity or sorority to meet people and do fun things. There are so many clubs on campus. I hear a lot of good things about the snowboarding club, surfing club and skydiving club. There are also a lot of academic fraternities. My best friend (a girl) is in a service fraternity, so they meet, hang out and plan community service events. They also go out to parties together and really enjoy each others company. You can't mention Virginia Tech without mentioning Hokie Sports. I have never missed a home football game. Saturdays during the fall are unlike anything you've ever seen. The school spirit is overwhelming. Our football team is an extremely talented team, so its a great source of pride for our school. All of our sport teams are consistetly winning teams. Main St. has a lot of great restaurants and stores that are always open. Last weekend I went to my friends house to watch the ACC championship--great food and great friends. I met my closest friends in classes last year and through joining a sorority.

There is such a large variety of groups and organizations to join on campus. Currently, I am part of the SGA marketing team and Alpha Phi sorority. I really enjoy both, and both have allowed me to get to know so many great people. Since there is such a large variety of different groups, I wouldn't say that one is the "most popular." Each person has individual interests and there is a group here for pretty much anything you want to do. I guess if I had to pick something popular it would be inter-mural sports teams. A lot of my friends participate in those. I also enjoy being in my sorority. Greek life on campus is great, but it isn't the end of your social career if you aren't in one either (which is a good thing!) However, it gives you an opportunity to get involved with community service, philanthropies, non-profit organizations, other organizations on campus, and allows you to meet a great group of people!

I would say Greek organizations are probably not the most popular, but the easiest to identify. Alot of people have mixed feelings about the Greek organizations--to some, they are despised. Though there is a slight separation between those who are Greek and those who are not, we tend to be respectful of everyone. Other than Greek, there are many, many other organizations to get involved with. Pretty much anything you can imagine, there is a club for it. Even skydiving! Athletic events are HUGE at this school. Of course you can guess why--HOKIE FOOTBALL. Pretty much, our schedules revolve around football. Classes are affected on Thursdays when we have a night football game and even if you don't care about football, you will definitely know when a home football game is going on, considering how the amount of people in the town triples. We travel to our bowl games and tailgate hours before our home ones. We are nuts for Hokie football and support our other sports as well. April 16th is a big memorable day for our students. We still are affected by those events that happened on that tragic day. We celebrate each year with a memorial and always have those victims in our hearts. The downtown and party scenes are there, if that is what you are into. Every Friday and Saturday night the bus is packed transporting people around to various parties. You can always find somewhere to go. If I am not looking to party on the weekends, I enjoy going out to eat in the many restaurants spawning Blacksburg and Christiansburg. My friends or boyfriend and I may catch a movie at the Regal, Lyric, or a free one sponsored by the SCA, or we may even go out stargazing at night. There is alot to do in Blacksburg--whatever your interests. My favorite things to do in my free time at Tech is to take advantage of the beautiful outdoors. We are blessed with many local parks, National Parks, hiking trails, and of course, the great Appalachian Trail. I love going hiking to these beautiful places. We even have Mountain Lake, the prestigious area where Dirty Dancing was filmed just up the road from us.

One of the great things about Virginia Tech is that you get the small college feel with the big university benefits. Once a student declares a major and he or she begins taking major-specific courses the classroom size shrinks, conversation within class increases, and strong professor-student and student-student relationships are formed. It makes for a great experience; the student feels more involved in the course and his or her education. It’s a wonderful feeling. Another great things about being a large university: there’s always an abundance of courses to choose from; more than you’ll know what to do with, actually. Believe me, you’ll have a hard time limiting yourself to just fifteen or eighteen credit hours. And the learning doesn’t have to stay in the classroom either. Here’s another great aspect of a large university: Virginia Tech has over 600 student organizations. These range from major related clubs to honor societies to sports clubs to Quidditch—yes, broomsticks and all. And if there isn’t a club that interests you, all you need is two other people and a faculty advisor and you can create your own! Going back to the professors though. They’re great. Every professor I’ve had has been incredibly passionate about the course they’re teaching. And that passion is infectious. It makes you enjoy the subject and the work. It makes for a great experience. Another thing: their doors are always open—virtual or realistic. They never turn down an opportunity to talk about the course or just life. And it’s all genuine. You can tell they care more about connecting with you, and being a teacher, mentor, and advisor than just about relaying their knowledge. As far as jobs go, Tech is geared toward preparing its students for the future. I get at least ten or more emails a day from my department informing me about business in the area or nationally looking for interns and part-time employees. It’s wonderful to know that the prospects for graduates aren’t as gloomy as the media paints them to be. There are myriads of opportunities, and they’re only growing. And Tech makes sure its graduates are prepared to compete and achieve in the world that awaits them.