Do professors know your name?
Class is what you make of it. Some class sizes can be quite large, especially in the early years of study. This sometimes makes it harder to get involved with your professor and build relationships with them, but it is not impossible. If you participate in class and go to office hours, the professors will know who you are. It seems daunting at first but professors want to know their students. They want to see kids come into their office and ask questions and get help. These things really pay off in the end.
Tell us about your favorite class.
I am a total design geek, so my favorite class was Advanced Techniques in Document Design. I actually ended up helping teach the class by my senior year.
Least favorite?
Accounting, for obvious reasons.
How often do students study?
With all the students running around participating in so many events and organizations, it may be tough to believe that we take our academics very seriously and spend a lot of time studying. I would say that at least two days out of the week, Tech students hole up in the library or Math Emporium and study for hours at a time.
Is class participation common?
Yes.
Do the students have intellectual conversations outside of class?
I don’t know that you will overhear students talking about the chemical make up of the solutions they processed in lab that morning over lunch, students do meet in study groups quite often, and that is where those discussions take place.
Are students competitive?
Yes and no. Every person is different. The higher you go up the class rank, the more and more competitive students become. Valedictorian is decided by .001 points around here so students take that very seriously.
What's the most unique class you've taken?
Mysterious Mushrooms and Malicious Molds. I highly recommend it.
Tell us about your major / department.
I had a very unique major here at Tech. While technically I was an English major, I studied in the Professional Writing track which is combination of communication, business, marketing, and graphic design study. I still had to take all the literature classes required by the major, and I learned how to write at the professional level, but PW kids are different in that we can do it all. A jack of all trades of sorts. Studying Professional Writing prepares students for a multitude of career paths. The English department is pretty small, as are most Liberal Arts majors at a big science school, but we have a large presence on campus because we have three different types of majors: Professional Writing, Literature, and Creative Writing.
Do you spend time with professors outside of class?
Because my department was so small and my classes were so small, I spent a lot of time with a few of my professors. I became a teaching assistant for 3 classes my senior year and was used as a guest speaker at many freshman level classes.
How do you feel about this school's academic requirements?
Tech is getting hard to get into – and for good reason. VT is a great school for a great price that you just can’t beat. Obviously, there is only so much room here so competition is getting steep but that is only to make sure that the students who come here actually want to study and get a great education.
Is the education at this school geared toward getting a job, or learning for its own sake?
Tech is all about making sure that its graduates get a job. There is an entire department devoted to helping students write resumes, prepare for interviews, and meet with specific advisors to coach them through the job hunt. The university puts on more than 35 job fairs for employers and students to attend each year, so we get a lot of experience going out and talking to potential employers.