BLACKSBURG, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia Tech has made significant changes to its admissions process.
Beginning with the new admission cycle, the university will discontinue the early decision option and formally eliminate legacy as a factor.
The 151-year-old school will also comply with the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to remove race and ethnicity as an explicit factor in the admissions decision process.
“Every year we examine our admissions and enrollment practices to ensure that we continue to strive for a best practiced and innovative approach to providing access to a Virginia Tech education to all qualified applicants,” said Luisa Havens-Gerardo, vice provost for enrollment management. “The discontinuation of the early decision plan and the use of legacy as a factor in admissions will allow us to improve the admissions process to benefit all students.”
Since 2018, Virginia Tech made several changes to its admissions process including:
- Adopting the Common App, a shared application platform, which university officials say furthers the school’s goal to eliminate barriers and make education more attainable for more students.
- Making SAT and ACT scores optional
- A streamlined fee waiver application process
According to Virginia Tech brass, “these changes have increased access to a broad demography of students and heightened interest in Virginia Tech, as evidenced by the ever-increasing number of applications received in recent years.”