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Introduction
The biggest piece of advice i can give to a high school student considering Virginia Tech is to actually come and visit the campus. You will know as soon as you step foot on to this beautiful campus that you will want to attend VT. I would suggest the campus tours because they can show you around the academic side of life here, but I would also suggest visiting during a weekend with a few of your friends and getting the actual feel for the campus life in all forms. We have great nightlife whether you drink or not.

I chose VT because I felt at home as soon as I visited. Even though there are a lot of students, you don't really get the overwhelmed feeling because the campus isn't really that large. I liked how I still felt like I could get to know a lot of people. Also, for the ladies: we are one of the few public universities to boast a higher male population than female.

There's really no student who doesn't fit in at VT. I have seen a lot of diversity. As for the workload, it's a step up from high school, but that's true of any good college. If you don't like large classes, you might not like it here though. Most majors have what they call "weed out" classes which contain anywhere from 300-700 students in a lecture. This can be overwhelming to some but you get used to it.

Campus Life and Social Life
As for social life: we've definitely got it all here. From Roanoke Street to the fraternity houses to Collegiate Suites and Pheasant Run where you'll find constant apartment parties, there is always something to do and somewhere to go on the weekends. You can go DT (Downtown) to bars like TOTS, Big Al's, or The Tavern. On campus, we have a pretty good size Greek Life, with over 25 Frats and about 16 Sororities. We have a club for anything, too, and if there isn't one you can start it.

As for sports, Varsity sports get exciting, particularly during football season. Tailgaters young and old, sometimes VERY old, start early in the morning and keep campus lively on the weekends during the fall season. This is probably the best part of campus life at VT. If you were to go around and ask 10 people why they came here, 7 would probably say it was because of Hokie Football! But if you don't want to sit and watch, you can join a club or intramural team for any sport you can imagine.

As for residential life: all freshmen are required to live in the dorms, but don't worry, that's not a bad thing. The friends you will have for the rest of your life, whom you haven't even met yet, are going to be your hallmates Freshman Year here. VT is also known for having the largest male dorm on the East Coast...but don't worry, guys, that's where a lot of girls like to hang out.

But in my opinion, the best thing about the campus is the food. There are so many options: from West End (#3 dining hall in the country!) to Owens, where you can eat a sandwich Coach Beamer invented, and D2, the "All You Can Eat" dining hall.

If you don't already know, the only bad part about the campus is the cold walk across the Drillfield in the middle of winter. But campus is most beautiful right after it snows, when the branches are covered in snow and everything is completely white. The dorms are located on one side and the academic buildings are on the other, so walking is required, but it only takes about 15 minutes to walk from one side of campus to another, which considering our 28,000 students is pretty reasonable. Advertisement
Academics
Virginia Tech's academics are underestimated. We're wrongly compared to UVA, but we ourselves have one of the most prestigious Engineering Programs in the Nation. The most populated majors here are: Engineering, Business, Agriculture, and Communication. There is a pretty heavy workload but it's dependent upon the major and what classes you take. As I said before, there are "weed out" classes. This means that Freshman Year is a time for teachers to test you to make sure you are in the right major. As time progresses and you talk to upperclassmen, you will learn which professors you should be taking classes from and who you should stay away from. But I have liked every single one of my teachers over the last year.

Student Body
There really isn't one stereotype that I can apply to students here at VT. The majority of the population is Caucasian, but we remain very diverse. The majority of the students are from instate, mainly Richmond, Northern Virginia, and of course Southern Virginia, but there are a lot of students from the Northern states and all over the United States.

In Closing...
Parting words and facts: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is the full name of VT. We are not VA-Tech as the announcers on ESPN like to say. A Hokie is a made up animal but screw it, we're proud of our maroon bird. It originated from the Old Hokie Cheer which you will learn and never forget once you get here. Our school colors were created so that we would be different from all of the other colleges in the nation: they are Burnt Orange and Chicago Maroon. There are many other traditions that Virginia Tech students always participate in, for instance, "Orange Effect," wherein at one Football game per season, the students and fans attempt to wash out Lane Stadium with orange. Then, after the 3rd quarter of each Football game, the entire stadium participates in the Hokie Pokie, while the tubas play it on the field. I can't forget the opening song to each football game. "Enter Sandman" is played before the team enters the field and the entire stadium begins to jump up and down in anticipation for yet another victory.

Another thing that the Virginia Tech campus is known for is the Hokie Stone. It was instated that all buildings would be covered in this stone that comes from the Blacksburg area. VT is also known for its Corp of Cadets. You will always see men and women in uniform because we have a very large program, VT was infact orginally an all male military university before it went public and co-ed.

So in ending this piece about the most perfect university, I have never met someone that didn't like Virginia Tech after attending. There are some select people who don't like the large campus feel, but for those who do VT is the place to go.