Virginia Tech's academic reputation? (Falls Church: private school, university, live in)

[aggie86]

I'm new to the area and was wondering what Virginia Tech's academic reputation was? I know UVA is highly regarded, but how about Virginia Tech? What areas are they known for?

[finini01]

Fairly solid reputation. Definitely not in the same league as UVA. They're big on business/marketing, like any state school, but they are also well known for engineering.

[CaliTerp07]

There are so many VT grads in the area; a degree from there is valuable for that reason alone. The academics aren't as rigorous as UVA, but for networking purposes I think a VT degree is still quite valuable in this area.

If you want a job somewhere else in the country after graduation though, I doubt the name has nearly the power outside of Virginia.

[FCNova]

VT is a good school. Fantastic engineering program.

[GoHokiesGo]

Originally Posted by finini01

Fairly solid reputation. Definitely not in the same league as UVA. They're big on business/marketing, like any state school, but they are also well known for engineering.

I think you've got that backwards... Virginia Tech is very well known for it's engineering programs, both undergrad and grad. It's ranked in the top 15 in the nation in most engineering disciplines, and is highly regarded for that.

The business school, I believe, is ranked in the Top 40-50.

UVA is well known and highly ranked for it's business and law programs, while VT is well known and highly ranked for it's engineering programs (UVA still ranks around 30 in engineering, so they're aren't bad at it either)

[The Dissenter]

I'd give my right arm to have gotten into VA Tech. Well respected locally and has a reputation outside of VA.

[ChristineVA]

Great reputation in Virginia. Not easy admit standards coming out of high school. My coworker's daughter was just waitlisted with a 3.7 GPA (and, yes, excellent SATs).

[aggie86]

Thanks for the input guys.

I wanted to get a feel for the university's reputation as a whole and I know that VT has a pretty solid rep, just wanted to hear from the locals.

Here is my current dilemma. I live in NoVA and work for the feds and am thinking about doing my MBA part time. The two MBA programs that have caught my eye are VT at the West Falls Church location and Johns Hopkins program in DC.

I have my own pros/cons list, but what are your thoughts? Hopkins vs VA Tech MBA?

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by aggie86

Thanks for the input guys.

I wanted to get a feel for the university's reputation as a whole and I know that VT has a pretty solid rep, just wanted to hear from the locals.

Here is my current dilemma. I live in NoVA and work for the feds and am thinking about doing my MBA part time. The two MBA programs that have caught my eye are VT at the West Falls Church location and Johns Hopkins program in DC.

I have my own pros/cons list, but what are your thoughts? Hopkins vs VA Tech MBA?

Considering you're talking about a competitive in-state school vs. an even more competitive private school, I'd go with the former. IMO with so many MBAs and other graduate degree students out there these days, finding a balance between cost and reputation is key. Now if you were considering, say, a George Mason MBA - no offense meant to any Patriots - then I'd say go for Johns Hopkins. Of course, that is just my layman's opinion; I'm not a college counselor, I just play one on City-Data.

[CaliTerp07]

I don't think there's any real difference in that tier of MBA programs. Especially if you want to continue working for the feds--then just go where it's cheapest, as they don't care where the degree is from.