When I was trying to determine what college I wanted to go to, academics were very important to me. I always wanted to know: are classes too large, are they very hard, are they interesting, and so on. Now that I'm a student at Virginia Tech, I've learned that we have classes of 500 students and classes of 15. There are classes that require barely any work and classes that the majority fail. Some classes are fun and interesting and others make you cry from boredom. But all these things are what every college will tell you about their academics. I think that knowing the inside information will be most beneficial for you. This is what most people won't tell you. First of all, there is a core of academics here. You must complete roughly 15 classes in seven different areas of study. Some of those areas are boring and you feel like you're in high school again. Some of them are interesting and help you figure out what major you want to pursue. I will tell you that everyone's least favorite is the math area, because Virginia Tech does not offer very many formal math classes, but instead holds their math classes at an off campus computer lab. You must leave campus weekly to take quizzes on material you need to teach yourself. Everyone hates this. The math emporium, as we all it, is often crowded and can only be reached by car or bus, as it is too far to walk from the dorms. If you are not great at math, try and take your credits elsewhere or during high school, because it is difficult to get a professor taught math course that fulfills that math requirement.
There is good news though that definitely offsets the negative aspects of the math emporium. If you like three day weekends, it is very easy to get a schedule void of Friday classes. In fact, in recent years, Virginia Tech has cut back on the number of classes they offer on Friday and is focusing on offering classes on Monday through Thursday only. There is even a rumor that VT will soon stop offering Friday classes, but that is just a rumor. The other piece of good news, is that early classes are easy to avoid. This year, my earliest class is at 11am and on Monday and Wednesday I dont start until 230pm. Most professors do not like teaching 8am classes and have multiple afternoon sections. If you are stuck with an early class because the later ones are full, there is a way around it, only if it is a large lecture class. Attend that same class later in the day, but be sure to go to your assigned class on test days.