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Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Overview

961 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
55% Acceptance Rate

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is a public institution in Blacksburg, Virginia enrolling 30,923 undergraduates. It accepts 55% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 86%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #42 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 1%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.

Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.

How Is Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Ranked?

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University ranks #42 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 1%.

#42 Best Colleges in Nation
#2 Best Colleges in VA
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University ranking badge

2027 Rankings

College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University was awarded 961 badges in the 2027 rankings.

Overall Quality

According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, Virginia Tech is ranked #42 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 1% of all schools in the nation!

Virginia Tech also holds the #2 spot on the Best Colleges in Virginia ranking.

See all of the rankings for Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Is It Hard to Get Into Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State U?

55% Acceptance Rate
59% Of Accepted Are Women
41% Submit SAT Scores

Acceptance Rate

The acceptance rate at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is a competitive 55%, so make sure you take your application seriously when putting it together. Even leaving out a minor detail could be a reason to move you to the rejection pile.

Average Test Scores

About 41% of students accepted to Virginia Tech submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 640 and 710. Math scores were between 640 and 740.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University  ( 640 to 710 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University  ( 640 to 740 )
200
800

Virginia Tech received ACT scores from 9% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 28 and 32.

ACT Composite Scores for Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University  ( 28 to 32 )
1
36

Learn more about Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University admissions.

What Is the Student-to-Faculty Ratio at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University?

17 to 1 Student to Faculty
99% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

With a student to faculty ratio of 17 to 1, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is about average in this regard as the nationwide rate is 15 to 1. While this does not translate directly to class size, it’s a good indicator of how much time professors will have to spend with their students on a one-on-one basis.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.

The full-time faculty percentage at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is 99%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  99 out of 100
0
100

What Are the Graduation and Retention Rates at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University?

93% Freshmen Retention
86% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

The freshmen retention rate of 93% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.

Freshmen Retention Rate  93 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at Virginia Tech for first-time, full-time students is 86%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  86 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

How Diverse Is Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University?

30,923 Undergraduate Students
35.2% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
43.0% Percent Women

During the most recent academic year, there were 30,923 undergraduates at Virginia Tech.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

How Much Does Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Cost?

$17,140 Net Price
34% Take Out Loans
$25,536 Total Student Loans

The overall average net price of Virginia Tech is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.

Net Price by Income Group for Virginia Tech

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$11,689 $11,670 $17,894 $25,835 $34,201

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Virginia Tech, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At Virginia Tech, approximately 34% of students took out student loans averaging $6,384 a year. That adds up to $25,536 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 2.6%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

How Much Do Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State U Graduates Earn?

$81,698 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State U make around $81,698 per year during the early years of their employment. This is good news for future Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State U graduates since it is 66% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Average Salary for Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Graduates

See which majors at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University make the most money.

Where Is Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Located?

Virginia State
30,923 Undergraduate Students
Small City Campus Setting

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is a public institution found in Blacksburg, Virginia. Blacksburg is a great location for students who prefer city over country life. Get more details about the location of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Location of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Contact information for Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State U can be found below.

Contact Details
Address: 210 Burruss Hall, 800 Drillfield Dr., Blacksburg, VA 24061-0131
Phone: 5402316994
Website: WWW.VT.EDU
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Polytechnic_Institute_and_State_University
Facebook: www.facebook.com/virginiatech
Twitter: twitter.com/virginia_tech

What Majors Does Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Offer?

27 Majors With Completions
22,282 Undergraduate Degrees

During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 27 majors graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular Majors Completions Average Salary of Graduates
Multi-Disciplinary Studies 11,141 NA
Computer Information Systems 991 $82,448
Management Sciences & Methods 611 $67,610
Business Administration & Management 435 $72,373
Mechanical Engineering 407 $70,337
Finance & Financial Management 357 $59,846
Computer Engineering 345 $75,104
Civil Engineering 334 $65,913
Communication & Media Studies 308 $36,639
Aeronautical Engineering 302 $70,859

Learn more about the majors offered at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Does Virginia Tech Offer Online Classes?

57% Take At Least One Class Online
1% Take All Classes Online

17,587 students took at least one online class at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.

Learn more about online learning at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Want to see how other colleges compare to Virginia Tech? Compare them side by side using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.

Notes and References

Footnotes

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

References

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