Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Date: Feb 16 2013
Major: Psychology (This Major's Salary over time)
Psychology, for me, is an intellectual and scientific discipline. Psychology students at tech, for the very most part, just don't fit this mold. The psychology community at Williams Hall is very friendly and warm (especially graduate students), but it is very easy to skate by as a undergraduate for the most part, and this reflects in some of the students. With a little bit of effort it isn't difficult to finish the major requirements in under three years. So perhaps look for a double major in biology, business, or something else that blends well. Some of my classes were a complete joke and completely useless. Others were mildly stimulating.

Psychology should be about understanding human experience/behavior and self-discovery, and I rarely get this from coursework. Though I do appreciate the emphasis on the scientific elements of psychology. It's boring for most people, but I'm getting sick of psychology being referred to as a social science or liberal arts major; it isn't.

The faculty are good for the most part. Some are very legitimate contributors to their field, others are practicing scientists but are horrible teachers. The

textbook + boring slideshow = class

model is pretty common.

I'm not a big fan of Tech in general. The students are largely slightly above average high school students from privileged northern Virginia. It reminds me of high school very often. Good number of smart people; a lot of dumb people. I haven't met anyone who is truly outstanding. Not a great deal of diversity in terms of ethnicity nor personality. I feel like there's been an effort to increase the number of women at the school. Fine, but I'm not a fan of the idea of letting more women in just to increase the ratio. There are a lot of people at Tech that honestly shouldn't even be in college (men and women), with pathetic writing and communication skills.

Socially, this place is mostly a drag. There are few decent bars downtown and a massive number of bland house parties, but that's it. If love playing beer pong and quarters every weekend in crammed apartments and dancing to crappy, generic music, then by all means come here for the social scene. Downtown is one street. Good restaurants, yes. Food is one of few things Tech can brag about, but they seem to talk about that more than their academics. Exciting is one of the last words I would use to describe Blacksburg.

To put Tech in a word: eh. Oh, and safe. Academically, socially, and culturally.. safe. If you can find a niche socially here you'll have a good time, and very few people truly dislike being here, but I know I'm going to leave just thinking I could've chosen better in every way.