BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech set a new record this year for the highest number of first-year applications for admissions.
“Last year we had a record number of applications of 42,000. This year we broke another record and saw a 7% increase and surpassed 45,000 applications,” said the director of undergraduate admissions, Juan Espinoza.
Espinoza attributes the increase to the changes the school made to its application process.
“We attribute a lot of this growth to the changes we introduced back in 2018 when we revamped the entire application process. And did everything we could to make it easier for students to apply. So we removed a lot of those barriers that were there unintentionally,” he said.
Nationally, colleges are seeing a decline in admissions. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, undergraduate enrollment has seen a 6.6% decline since 2019.
“I think we are bucking that trend of reductions in applications we are seeing in most colleges and universities by paying attention to the students and what they’re looking for. And so by revamping the application process and making it easier for them to navigate, they’re going to be attracted to Virginia Tech,” said Espinoza.
Although application numbers are up, only a limited number of students will get the chance to be a Hokie.
“Right now enrollment growth is set to stay at around 30,300. So no major growth planned for this incoming cycle. So yes, there’s more applications pursuing a pretty similar amount of spaces. Our freshmen goal for this upcoming year is going to be around 6,800 students,” said Espinoza.