Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Date: Mar 20 2010
Major: Journalism (This Major's Salary over time)
VT is an enormous school with an enormous amount of opportunities. People's experiences can all be very different depending not only on your major and extracurriculars, but also just on what you make it. I speak having come from the Communication department, and have had a very unique experience there. Much of what I will say has everything to do with Comm and little to do with the school in general.

As for the school as a whole…

1) I think, with a school containing close to 25,000 people, no one really has the right to complain that the people suck. It is what you make it. There are many different people you could surround yourself with. Yes, granted, the vast majority are a) from NOVA, RVA, or VA Beach, b) WASP's, c) not too bright, shallow, and care mainly for sex, alcohol, and drugs. However, there are more than enough people who are NOT like that, and they're not that hard to find. I've met some wonderful people here who created a very positive environment for me. (Also, only 17% of the student body is Greek. You do NOT have to be Greek to fit in, and I love that about this school.)

2) The spirit at this school is incredible. The kids here bleed maroon and orange. I didn't care for football coming in, and now I can't get enough of it. It's infectious.

3) There is nay a program I can think of that this school doesn't have. They're not all fantastic, but they exist. There are also limitless extracurriculars to get involved in. The number of opportunities to get involved and find things to do outside of class is extraordinary.

4) Some of the programs here might surprise you. For example, VT recently started throwing a lot of money at the fine arts. VT has one of the most underrated theatre programs in the country. Our music program is also extremely impressive.

5) The town of Blacksburg, unfortunately, has few redeeming qualities. It truly is in the middle of nowhere. Virginia Tech IS Blacksburg late August through early May. The winter weather is hellish and dismal. "Downtown" consists of a few blocks and takes a full five minutes to see all of. There are some cute shops and restaurants, but virtually nothing to do. If you don't LOVE the outdoors or LOVE alcohol, you are going to get bored a lot. The movie theater in Christiansburg (the next town over) is the most exciting thing around. Thee is NO good shopping. Roanoke is 40 minutes away, but honestly isn't much better and not worth the drive. The shopping and nightlife just barely improve.

6) The school's financial aid is laughable.

7) Just like any school, you'll see some faculty that care too much about their research to be concerned with students. Others are wonderful. It sometimes depends on which department you're in. I've had mostly positive experiences with faculty in Communication, Theatre, and Political Science.

8) Since this school has such a huge selection of majors, the difficulty of coursework can vary immensely. I've had a pretty easy time in Comm. However, be prepared to work much harder if you're an engineer, architect, biologist, business major, etc.

9) Students will joke about how VT is "cursed" after 4/16/07. However, I feel perfectly safe both day and night.

10) The campus itself is…fine. It's not gorgeous and it's not ugly either. The neo-gothic architecture is great, but all the buildings, for the most part, look EXACTLY the same. Also, a large campus is fun to explore your first year, but after that it just gets extremely frustrating. It's entirely possible that you could have to make a 25 minute walk from one class to another (in 15 minutes…good luck).

11) We have a transit system, but it can get not only very crowded, but obnoxiously unreliable.

12) The food here is amazing. There is definitely a reason we're #1 in the country.

13) The dorms vary heavily. The newer suite or hotel-style dorms are gorgeous and luxurious. The older, more traditional halls can feel like prison.

14) Getting your necessary classes can be very difficult in the majority of majors. Some advisors are helpful while others aren't - it's a crapshoot.

As for the Comm department…

This department continues to shrink on me the longer I stay at this school. It's the reason I wish I had transferred, though now it's far too late. I decided not to transfer over a boy…WORST MISTAKE EVER.

The Comm department recently went through a change in leadership, and ever since, has been abysmal at helping its students. They even strictly limit the number of Comm classes you can take! Most legitimate journalism programs REQUIRE an internship before graduation. Here it's not even encouraged, nor is voluntary involvement in student media encouraged. In fact, it's DIScouraged. The department hates its student media and fights it with hopes it will fall apart. It's completely backwards and unprofessional. I've only had one professor who encouraged involvement in such things. The only available outlets for students to get broadcasting experience, VTTV and Planet Blacksburg TV, are both hated by the department, who are doing literally all they can to make sure both organizations fail. All this school cares about is money. Screw the students - they shouldn't be able to get that valuable hands-on experience if it costs us money! They complain about lack of quality in student media content, but do nothing to help improve it. The attitude this fosters in Comm students is unbelievable. There are a ton of us, and about 85% of them don't do a SINGLE Comm-related extracurricular during their time here. They think they don't have to. Many wait until their last semester and then panic when they realize what they've done to themselves.

Also, our journalism program does not train talent. It's trained some talented producers and directors, but there is NO ONE that trains anchors and reporters.

Some Comm classes are better than others. Most are not extremely in-depth, and the best, most useful ones aren't even required! The department doesn't teach broadcasting students anything hands-on or useful until junior year, when it should start no later than sophomore year.

I can only hope that I get into a great graduate program like Syracuse or Northwestern to make up for the experience (or lack thereof) I had in VT's Comm department.