Requirements

Academic Requirements for Freshmen

Each year, over 20,000 people apply to be among approximately 5,900 entering students. Before you can be considered for freshman admission, you must complete:

• 18 units of high-school course work
• 4 units of English
• 3 units of math (includes algebra I, geometry, and algebra II)
• 2 units of laboratory science (chosen from biology, chemistry or physics)
• 2 units of social science (one must be history)
• 3 additional academic units (foreign language is highly recommended)
• 4 elective units

Some majors have other requirements, such as an additional year of advanced math or lab science. Most students who are selected for admission have completed more than the minimum requirements and have at least a B+ grade point average.

Freshman Holistic Review

Admissions directors use a holistic approach throughout the application review process. Many factors are considered to include:

• Rigor of academic program
• Grades in academic courses
• Standardized test scores
• Ethnicity
• First-generation
• Leadership and service
• Legacy
• Major requested
• Participation in Virginia Tech pipeline programs
• Personal statements
• Disciplinary record
• Residency
• Veteran status
• Service/UT Prosim
• Employment
• Research experience

Some majors, such as engineering and architecture, have other requirements for advanced math and/or lab science. For more information, check specific major and college requirements. Most students who are selected for admission have completed more than the minimum requirements and have at least a B+ grade point average.

ACT/SAT Requirements

Virginia Tech will accept scores from the ACT, the old SAT and the redesigned SAT. Because the redesigned SAT is a different test than the old SAT, a numerical score on one test will not be equivalent to the same numerical score on the other. CollegeBoard has provided concordance tables which can be found here.

Fall 2017 Freshman Snapshot

SAT* scores ranged from 810 to 1600
ACT scores ranged from 17 to 36

(SAT scores reflect critical reading and math section scores only)

Please note: These are not minimum requirements for admission to Virginia Tech.

For more information about the incoming class of 2021 (Fall 2017), please see the complete Freshman Snapshot.

What about the essay?

The redesigned SAT makes the essay portion optional, and we will not require it of our applicants. We will store the result, though, and may use it in research that helps us understand the possible future value of those scores in freshman advising and course placement. Meanwhile, the College Board makes it easy to see which institutions do require or recommend the essay portion on their website.

Home Schoolers and Others in Non-Accredited Programs

In order to be competitive for admission to Virginia Tech, students from other than accredited schools (including home-schooled students whose programs are not accredited) must provide the following documentation for review by the admissions committee:

• Application for admission
• Application fee
• Transcripts
• Grades (level of performance)
• SAT and/or ACT test scores

Virginia Tech attracts highly competitive students nationwide and from over 100 countries. An increasing number of these students have unique educational backgrounds that require additional evaluation. The university administration recognizes that students from other than accredited schools may not study in the traditional classroom environment and that they are unable to provide the traditional documentation needed to evaluate their academic performance. Virginia Tech believes that providing this population the opportunity to demonstrate proficiency in their college preparatory curriculum through the above-listed documentation will be beneficial to both the student and the university.

Please be sure to include with your application package transcripts of any college course work you may have completed.

Academic Requirements for Transfers

The most important factors considered for admission are:

• Completion or progress toward completing prerequisites, particularly Freshman English, math, and science for the intended major. Prerequisite requirements can be found on the Transfer Guide in the Course Recommendations by major section.
• Overall GPA in college course work with B’s or better in Freshman English, math, and science for intended major.
• Although the committee considers applicants with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 (on a 4.0 scale), most competitive applicants will present a GPA of a 3.0 or better. (In majors where applications exceed available space, the competitive GPA may be even higher.)
• Transfer applications are no longer accepted for majors in Architecture or Industrial Design.
• Transfer applicants who have successfully completed an associate’s degree at a Virginia community college will receive preference in the admission process.
• Being in good standing at your current or most recent institution.
  

Foreign Language Requirement

By the time they graduate from the university, students must meet a language study requirement.

For most majors, the minimum requirement may be met in high school by completing 2 units of a single foreign or classical language (3 units for those students who will graduate from certain majors within Virginia Tech’s College of Science and College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences). The requirement also may be met after admission by one of the following:

• Earning 6 semester hours of college-level foreign or classical language credit. Such credits are in addition to that number normally required for graduation
  in a student’s program of study.
• Receiving credit by examination for a foreign or classical language.

A student who enrolls at Virginia Tech under the non-degree program must meet minimum requirements set by the university. All students must be in good standing at their current school and have at least a recalculated 2.0 GPA to be considered for non-degree student status. Transcripts are required. Individuals who are not currently enrolled must be in good standing at their previous institutions(s) and may be required to submit transcripts. Other restrictions placed on non-degree applicants are as follows:

• A prospective non-degree applicant who has been denied admission as a regular-status applicant (freshman or transfer) will not be eligible for reconsideration for non-degree admission.
• All non-degree students register for classes on a space-available basis only. Until the deadline for adding classes, a non-degree student may be forced to drop a class if the number of degree-seeking students exceeds the number of available spaces in a particular class.
• A non-degree student will be allowed to attempt up to a maximum of 40 semester hours as a non-degree student, not to exceed 11 hours in any one term during the academic year or 5 hours in any summer session.
• A non-degree student is required to maintain an overall QCA of at least 2.0.
• Do not apply for admission as a non-degree seeking student if you need to take lab science courses. Lab science courses are only available for degree seeking students.
• Current high school students will only be allowed to enroll as non-degree students with approval from their high school administration and for coursework not available at a local community college.
  

Senior Citizens

The Senior Citizens Higher Education Act passed by the General Assembly in 1974 provides the opportunity for Virginia citizens 60 years of age or over to audit or take courses for credit at state supported institutions of higher learning in Virginia without paying tuition and required fees. Senior citizens who had a taxable income not exceeding $23,850 for federal income tax purposes for the year preceding the time of enrollment may take courses for credit without paying fees. A senior citizen, regardless of income, may take a non-credit course without paying fees providing the number of courses does not exceed three per term. Senior citizens who wish to take classes at Virginia Tech should submit the Request for Waiver of Fees and paper copy of the Non-Degree Application to the Office of Undergraduate Admission along with an application for Virginia residency status.