Class of 2017: A snapshot of the newest Hokies
This year Hokie Nation is gaining approximately 5,350 new undergraduate students. Applications for undergraduate admission were received from 45 countries and every state except North Dakota.
Of the new first-year and transfer students, more than 200 opted to get a jump start on their academic career and participate in Virginia Tech’s Summer Academy. The academy is a unique opportunity for students to launch their academic career in a small classroom environment. Participants are able to accelerate college graduation plans by taking specialized courses in a small classroom environment, move into their residence halls early, and find their way around campus and the Blacksburg community before the start of the fall semester.
In addition to those who participated in the Virginia Tech Summer Academy, most all of the entering class visited campus over the summer to attend New Student Orientation. There, they were able to learn more about what it means to be a part of the Virginia Tech community, meet current and other incoming students, and register for fall semester classes.
Class of 2017 at a glance
This year’s applicant pool was once again extremely competitive. Competitive applicants typically have A/B grades in a rigorous academic curriculum. The middle 50 percent of students offered admission had grade point averages ranging from 3.78 to 4.23 and SAT (critical reading and mathematics) scores ranging from 1160 to 1340.
While the majority of the new students are from the commonwealth (more than 3,500), about 1,700 represent other states, territories, and countries. The top states of incoming out-of-state freshman, by order of enrollment, are Maryland (364), New Jersey (275), Pennsylvania (242), North Carolina (146), and New York (96). The top five countries by order of enrollment are China, India, Jordan, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia.
The most popular academic programs for incoming freshmen by order of enrollment are, general engineering; university studies; biological sciences; business; human nutrition, foods, and exercise; physics; mathematics; animal and poultry sciences; psychology; and biochemistry.
The Class of 2017 includes
- 224 international students;
- 343 students participating in the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets;
- 152 valedictorians and salutatorians;
- Students representing 1,337 high schools;
- 1,533 legacies (meaning their mother, father, grandparent, sister, and/or brother previously attended the university); and
- 27 sets of twins (32 sets of twins and one set of quadruplets entered as members of the Class of 2016 and 24 sets of twins entered as members of the Class of 2015).
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.
Students are guided on a campus tour during orientation.
Students are guided on a campus tour during orientation.
