Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Top Questions

Know yourself and your limits. Going into college, I really didn't know who I was. I considered myself to be strong, independent, intelligent, and a great person in general. What I actually am is ignorant, arrogant, proud, dependent, and emotional. These may come off as quite negative, but college taught me to explore who I am. I thought I was capable of taking multiple difficult classes at the same time, but I didn't know my limits. Through finding my limits, I now know more about myself and what kind of a job I'm more suited for!

Know yourself and your limits. Going into college, I really didn't know who I was. I considered myself to be strong, independent, intelligent, and a great person in general. What I actually am is ignorant, arrogant, proud, dependent, and emotional. These may come off as quite negative, but college taught me to explore who I am. I thought I was capable of taking multiple difficult classes at the same time, but I didn't know my limits. Through finding my limits, I now know more about myself and what kind of a job I'm more suited for!

I wish I had known the rigors of being a college student; how difficult it can be to be out on your own without anyone forcing you to study, go to class, etc. You really have to be very disciplined.

I wish I had learned how to ask for help. This may seem rudimentary, but I have found that there have been many circumstance where the knowledge and experience on the proper way to ask for assistance would be crucial. It was dificult for me at the beginning of college to swallow my pride and seek further teaching. Once I learned mastered the skill of asking, my coursework became drastically easier. I wish I had more experience and knowledge on how to ask for help.

I wish I had known how large class sizes can be.

I wish that I would have done more research about the majors and the required coursework for each major. Virginia Tech offers so many great majors that I wish I hadn't just boxed myself into one. I wish I had taken a more rounded look at career possibilities and left my options open.

I wish I had known how many opportunitites there are. I worked part-time while attending school and I feel like I missed out on the chance to join the various clubs and organizations at school.

To be honest, I wish I had known what it was really like to live on your own in such a huge community. Virginia Tech is a great school, but if you are the type to enjoy a closer knit group of friends, VT may seem too huge for your liking. Also, I am at a cross roads as I want to be a nurse now and VT doesn't offer nursing as a major. Make sure you have researched your major before choosing a school or you will have to trasnfer, which is a hassle.

I wish I had known how crazy Blacksburg weather can be. Most of the dorms are not airconditioned and it's still really hot in the fall, and then again late spring. I also have pretty bad allergies, so having to keep my window open all the time so that my room was not a sauna resulted in me getting sick often. The weather can be really crazy and nothing like you expect it to be in the mountains of Virginia.

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Before I arrived at Virginia Tech, I wish I would have known the ways in which college professors are different than high school teachers, especially when it comes to grading assignments and outlining a class syllabus. It was difficult to realize that professors won't be running after you to turn in homework, so you have to keep your priorities very organized. I also wish I had known that there were so many responsibilities, such as creating my own schedule and keeping track of my graduation requirements throughout the year.

Virginia Tech does an extremely great job with all of its orientation programs and whatnot, in giving incoming students all the information they could possibly need to be happy and healthy Hokies. I felt that I was told everything I could possibly want or need to know and so much more about Virginia Tech. Freshmen at Virginia Tech are pretty much expert Hokies by the time they arrive on campus because they have been fed so much information.

Prior to attending college I wish I had know a little more about the various clubs and activities that Virginia Tech has to offer. The first couple of weeks were very stressful and between juggling classes and meeting new people it was hard to also find clubs to get involved in. Since adjusting to college life I have learned about many clubs that I would have liked to join and will hopefully join next year, it would however have been helpful to have this information before hand so I could get involved sooner.

Prior to coming to Virginia Tech, I wish I had known that when a professor sets a date for an assignment, he/she really means that it is due that day/time and will very rarely accept any late work.

I wish I had known that college isn't some scary daunting thing, everyone is learning how to go about it together, its a blast.

I wish I had know before coming to college, that studying for test and exams in college is a lot different that studying for exams in high school. Back in high school, I could study the night before or maybe two nights before the test and I would recieve a good grade. In college, I tried doing the same style of studying and I did not have the same success. I realized that I needed to study several days before the exam and it is better to study in groups of people, rather than by yourself.

I wish that I had known that this school was literally in the middle of nowhere. Students would have to be involved in sports or sororities, fraternities, clubs or other organizations to stay busy when getting away from academics.

Being able to budget my time between playing Division 1 soccer and the rigors of academic life, I wish I would have been able to schedule my courses differently to take advantage of free time that I had and time when we were traveling or playing games. I aslo wish I could have chosen my dorm situation differently and was able to arrange who I was rooming with to again help with my scheduling and studies. I underestimated the difficulty my course load was and wish I could have adjusted my fall semester better.

Before I came to school, I wish I would have realized how much freedom I was going to have. Moving from high school to college is a huge adjustment, and my parents weren't there to make sure I woke up in time for class or finished my homework. Learning to be responsible for yourself is an irreplacable habit that will greatly affect how your first year at college will go.

I wish I had better study skills for tests because they are a lot harder than in high school.