Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Virginia Tech begins welcoming large freshman class
By Allyson Folker
The Collegiate Times (Virginia Tech)
07/12/2007

(U-WIRE) BLACKSBURG, Va. — Monday marked the start of orientation for the class of 2011 at Virginia Tech, a monthlong program that provides incoming freshmen with the opportunity to get a feel for campus and to learn what being a Hokie is all about.

While anxious students don maroon and orange and explore what will be their home for the next four years, university administrators are scrambling to find a way to accommodate the record number of new students coming to Blacksburg in the fall.

While the large number of freshmen is welcome by the university, it may prove to be a problem come move-in time this August. The unexpectedly high number of incoming freshmen, coupled with low cancellation rates and more returning students opting to live on-campus, has forced those in charge of housing to find a way to accommodate those students come fall.

The university presented both incoming freshmen and returning students the opportunity to get out of housing contracts with a full refund of their deposit going toward university charges such as tuition or student fees. Tech also offered an additional 150 in Dining Dollars to any students who choose to cancel their contract and live off-campus.

Drawing from a pool of over 19,500, the university offered admissions to just over 12,800 applicants, expecting around 5,000 of those to enroll.

This year, admissions greatly exceeded its expectations however, receiving a record number of deposits from just over 5,200 individuals solidifying their status as members of the class of 2011. Because of the high number of acceptances, Tech did not draw from its wait list of over 1,400 hopeful applicants.

Those opting to attend Tech this fall had a median high school grade point average of 3.77 and SAT scores of 1205, both up from last year's average 3.74 and 1201.

The average grade point average of those accepted this year was 3.82.

The incoming class will be 75 percent Caucasian, 9 percent Asian, 3.5 percent black, 3 percent Hispanic, and less than 1 percent Native American.

Close to 9 percent of students left their race blank, much less than previous years. Students who left the race category unknown in previous years were 13 percent in 2004, 12.6 percent in 2005 and 11.5 percent in 2006.

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