Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Top Questions

There is some diversity but not a crazy amount but no one is hostile towards eachother, most students dress casually to class, different students interact in class settings or clubs, most VT students are from NOVA, most students families are middle class, students are somewhat politically aware, predominantly center when averaged together, no students do not talk about future earnings.

I come in contact and associate with people of all racial, religious, politically affiliated and socio-economic perspectives. Although, a great majority of the students are white from middle or upper class homes. It is easy for me to associate with many types of people so it is difficult for me to see how difficult others may feel about being out of place here. Politics has become a heated personal issue all over the country in all age groups. I talk about politics with any one I feel can have an intelligent conversation without getting offended from a differing opinion. This makes it hard to tell whether people are unaware of issues or unwilling to take the risk of engaging a person unable to conduct a civil discussion. I grew up right, am drifting center. Many students talk about what they will earn. Since family connections and personal networking can be so influential yet often unintentionally private, it is impossible to tell who is boasting and who is just wishfully thinking.

Need more diversity!

The student body is good

If I were to take the most commonly shared characteristics into one person, I would get a white, Northern VA, former Varisty athlete, sports fan, smart and cocky person.

Anyone who is not white and rich will probably feel some sort of discomfort going to VT. Not many students are politically aware or active. Most people on campus are very conservative.

No student would really feel out of place at VT, there is something for everyone and though sometimes it takes some searching to find like minded people, if you really want the connection it shouldnt be a big deal. It seems to me that most students @ VT are either from 757, NOVA, or lately MD....but you always have a few califonians or people from tennessee who mix up the student body, which is refreshing

I expect for there to be people everywhere you go that do not like some sort of person. I have learned to overlook these things because I didn't come here to make friends, I came here to make money. Any student who does not feel as if they belong here will feel out of place. If you know in your heart that you are supposed to be here and you earned your way in, then you shouldn't have a problem fitting in because everyone here has something in common: we are ALL hokies. Most students wear comfortable clothing to class. Different types of students here interact all the time because sometimes they are even forced to interact because of group work, projects and research. In a dining hall, I can imagine that there would be one table of sorority or fraternity members, a table of friends, some athletes and a study group. Most VT students are from Virginia because Virginians are very proud to have such a wonderful university. Many of the students come from upper middle class and high class families. Students are very politically aware, but are very liberal at the "college age". Some students, like myself, think about money all the time and I try to budget and consider things that would allow me to know what I can look forward to in the future.

I feel like Tech is most accepting of persons from various socio-economic situations. There is also a large blend of politically active and aware students from all political views. Students often talk about how much they'll earn one day - it is often in the context of engineers bragging (sometimes joking, sometimes very seriously) about how much more they'll make as engineers than students in other fields. As far as racial experiences, there seems to be a belief amongst some students that almost all black students are here to be athletes, and that few non-athlete black students exist. I would like to see more racial diversity amongst my classes. It is not uncommon for me to have classes of only white persons. As far as LGBT interactions, I am a member of the LGBTA and have had generally positive and accepting experiences in most of my other extracurricular groups. However, there are times in classes in which I feel the other students or teachers just assume all persons present are straight - especially when topics of gender and sexuality are part of the conversation. I wish there was more awareness of the LGBT Community on campus. SafeZone is nice, but it is not enough.

The student body at Virginia Tech has always characterized as laid-back and accepting. That doesn't mean we are indifferent, but we are definitely aware that no two individuals are exactly the same and not everyone has the same point of view as everyone else. Students at Virginia Tech are very diverse. I would not characterize our campus as extremely liberal or extremely conservative. We don't all come from one place and there is no typical student. If one was asked to draw what they thought the typical Virginia Tech student looked like, the most accurate sketching would have to be the Hokie bird. That is what unites all of us and only those who belong to the VT community would really understand.

Racially speaking, VT isn't very diverse. Pretty much, the majority of the people are white. This is something I believe is evolving. The campus is becoming more racially diverse, but I'd be lying if I said it was diverse at this point. There are clubs and groups for different races and religion, probably developed to help people feel less isolated in such a homogeneous environment. I've attended a few Young Democrat meetings and that's really helped me feel more connected to people who share my political beliefs on campus, because it seems to be a fairly conservative campus. There is a strong LBGT community that offers lots of support; members have spoken to several of my classes. I believe people of any sexual orientation can fit in at VT. Different types of students interact. There is very little prejudice here that I've witnessed. There have been some movements protesting the lack of diversity of race among professors, but I don't believe VT is a place that discriminates. People here are smart, and smart people are less likely to discriminate. Even if they are conservative. As far as what students wear to class, that's up to them. Some come to class in sweatpants every single day without fail. Others look like they are about to hit up a club downtown. Live and let live. Wear what you like, most people don't judge.

Not very diverse, some aspects are but it could be a lot better.

I would say Virginia Tech is a very white kid school. There is not that much noticeable diversity just walking around campus. Most of the kids here are from Northern Virginia, Richmond and Virginia Beach. Most kids either sport hokie gear to class or are kind of prepped out. Everyone and their brother pretty much owns a pair of sperrys and a black North Face Fleece.