Fall 2022 entering class takes shape
Hokie Ambassadors take a minute to answer questions from prospective students and their families during a campus tour.
Virginia Tech’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions achieved its enrollment goals for the 2021-22 cycle and is preparing to welcome another academically strong and diverse entering class for the fall 2022 semester.
First-year students
Based on a June 2 deposit projection, the admissions office will achieve its target of 6,979 first-year students this fall. First-year students are often classified as first time in college (FTIC). After receiving and reviewing a historic-high 45,185 applications during the 2021-22 cycle, Virginia Tech extended offers of admission to 25,799 FTIC students from the highly competitive applicant pool.
The currently deposited group represents 2,178 high schools, 47 states, and 69 countries.
The snapshot reveals the 2022 deposited group is academically strong as measured by its mean GPA of 4.04. Comparatively, the 2021 deposit pool posted a 3.98 GPA. This is Virginia Tech’s second FTIC group to go through a test-optional admissions cycle. It was announced during Tuesday's Board of Visitors' meeting that Virginia Tech would remain test-optional for an additional three years.
“I am pleased about how the class entering this fall is shaping up, and we believe that remaining test-optional has provided access to Virginia Tech for students who have been excluded from the process,” said Executive Vice President and Provost Cyril Clarke. “Virginia Tech is extending test-optional admissions for three additional cycles. Doing so will give the university a total of five test-optional admissions cycles to analyze and help determine our path moving forward.”
Among all FTIC applicants in the 2021-22 admissions cycle, 51 percent selected a review with SAT/ACT scores and 49 percent selected a review without scores. Test-optional review selection is evenly split among the FTIC deposit group with an average SAT score of 1,316.
Fall transfer students
Virginia Tech received 3,066 applications from transfer students during the 2021-22 cycle. Offers were made to 1,819 students, a 23 percent increase year-to-year. The June 2 projection shows the Office of Admissions will meet its fall 2022 transfer enrollment goal of 1,060.
Sixty-two percent of the deposited transfers are coming from Virginia Community College System institutions. They represent 420 high schools in 28 states and 20 countries.
Academically, the 2022 transfer deposited group is similar to the 2021 pool as measured by all academic profile metrics tracked by the Office of Admissions. The 2022 group currently holds an average prior college GPA of 3.50. The 2021 group scored an average prior college GPA of 3.55.
Strategic goals
The June 2 snapshot shows continued gains in underrepresented and underserved populations in the class entering this fall. In the combined FTIC and transfer group, African Americans plus students who identify as two or more races with African American included comprise 8.8 percent of the deposits received. That number was just 4.5 percent in 2017. Hispanic/Latino deposits represent 11.1 percent of the entering class. In 2017, 6.4 percent of the entering class identified as Hispanic/Latino.
“Strategic enrollment goals adopted by Virginia Tech in 2015 continue to guide our enrollment management strategy,” said Luisa Havens Gerardo, vice provost for enrollment management. “When we offer greater accessibility and cast a wider net, we realize a more diverse and inclusive campus community. This, combined with its reputation as one of the country’s top academic institutions, makes Virginia Tech a highly attractive destination for college-bound students.”
The university's strategic plan, The Virginia Tech Difference: Advancing Beyond Boundaries, challenged the institution to achieve 25 percent representation of underrepresented minority students (URM) and 40 percent representation of underrepresented minority or underserved students (URM/USS) in the entering class by 2022. In the June 2 snapshot of current deposits, those numbers are at 21.4 percent and 40.3 percent respectively. At the 2017 census, the entering class comprised 13.2 percent URM and a 33.1 percent URM/USS representation.
“We can’t help but be encouraged by the strides we’ve made to reach these marks,” said Juan Espinoza, associate vice provost for enrollment and degree management and director of undergraduate admissions. “While the official count will not be released until the fall census is conducted, it feels great to see the URM/USS number surpassing the 40 percent URM/USS goal. However, we know there is still work to be done and we will continue these efforts to attract and yield academically strong and well-rounded students to be a part of Hokie Nation.”
Fall census is expected to be released on Sept. 19.
