Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Date: Feb 18 2016
Major: Naval Engineering (This Major's Salary over time)
Virginia Tech is a great place to be from. That said, it is an awful place to be. Blacksburg is in the middle of NOWHERE. There is literally nothing to do in town or on campus but drink. The engineering faculty is mostly indian/asian, and it's almost impossible to understand half of your coursework between thick unintelligible accents and unrealistic expectations. The "Hokie Nation" is the greatest lie ever contrived. Tech will go out of its way to tell you how great it is, whether it is the food or the campus or whatever. There is so much Maroon and Orange you want to gouge your eyes out. The campus is pretty in postcards, but the dorms (especially the Corps) are in a perpetual state of disrepair. Hot water isn't really hot, the floors are always caked with salt, and every single bathroom smells awful. Most of the classrooms are no better-1950's desk/chair combos in windowless rooms with chalkboards on three walls. I've become unbelievably depressed here at VT, and don't understand why anyone would willingly come here except for becoming a Military officer in the Corps (when there is ROTC and OCS at "real colleges") or becoming an engineer. Alumni and professors talk about how marketable a VT Engineering degree is, but my GPA is awful as a result of the terrible teaching here, and there is nothing special about VT Engineering when you compare it to other good engineering schools like Michigan, Purdue, Georgia Tech, or Texas A&M. VT Engineering isn't even a ranked program in any of the "big ticket" degrees (Aero/Chem/EE/Mech/Ocean). If you want to be an engineer, look at Big 10 and Big 12 Schools, it will provide a better value and you will have a better time.