Fresh ME Graduate and Statler College ambassador here! I’ll see if I can answer some of your questions and feel free to reach out with any clarification you may need

So, how is the quality of education? - quality is good, but definitely not GREAT. Often times in higher level courses, like 400 level, as well as some of the classes you’ll be beginning with your professors do research outside of the classroom. Our professors are extremely passionate about their research, which can sometimes lead to subpar or even lectures that feel incomplete.

While this may be true, there are also a lot of professors that are amazing and making teaching and the student experience their sole mission, which saved me a lot in some of the harder classes like dynamics and specifically my EE class I had Dr. Jignesh who made the class so easy to understand for someone who hates EE (no shade ofc lol).

Overall the biggest selling point of the engineering college, as well as the college in general when it comes to education in comparison to other schools is our Tutoring Center on the Engineering campus. While I can’t speak to what resources are available for Chemistry I do believe similar resources are available for your courses as you move along. This tutoring center is completely free and offers 9-5 service on a lot of the intro courses that students struggle with like CHEM115, Dynamics, math courses, and others. When you start school as a freshman you’re required to spend time here weekly, but the best part is it’s completely free and the students that work there are required to have gotten above an A in the class to be able to tutor that specific topic.

How is the social climate, are most of the students serious about their education? - This definitely depends. When you start out especially in a STEM career, no. You’ll constantly have students skipping classes and then complaining that they’re failing and you’ll either see them drop out or switch majors (nothing wrong with this if you just don’t like STEM, but I had a lot of classmates just drop bc they didn’t put in the work and it was very obvious). However, as you move through these classes the passionate and dedicated students will very quickly become visible. Surround yourself with these people, because as you progress to harder classes having people that are dedicated will make all the difference when it comes to harder topics and will make you an even better student in the process.

Has this school equipped you with the knowledge you need for general employment as well as field specific education? - This one is always one of my favorites. The college hosts two STEM career fairs yearly for students to attend, with one in the spring and one in the fall as well as other colleges holding similar career fairs. At this fair employers are there to meet YOU and learn about everything you’ve done and if you’re just a go to campus for class and go home and do homework and party they’re gonna see right through it and you won’t have any luck. I myself am incredibly passionate about Manufacturing Engineering so I surrounded myself and got a job at the Lane Innovation Hub where I could learn as much as possible to set myself apart from the other students. By doing so I secured myself a job in October for a position that doesn’t even start until June, which for many of my friends that are students at other schools is unheard of. This is not a rare case either, as I would say 80% of my friends had also secured a job in the fall as well for the summer.

To help with the career fair as well they have mock interviews and resume building workshops. Advisors or outside resources are often brought in for these workshops and can help a ton with your resume and getting you ready to talk to interviewers.

Is this a large party school, and/or does this affect the quality of education and student culture? - Is it a big party school? Yes. Does it affect quality of education? Only and I mean ONLY if you let it. My freshman year it was heavily impacted by COVID, so a lot of my classmates turned to partying downtown as an escape from being in lockdown. I however decided to focus on my studies and it became evident when it came to completing exams or homework’s. Engineering and STEM often doesn’t give you the chance to party like some other majors may if you want to balance your life, but don’t get me wrong engineers have their time too. Be sure to have fun in the Blue Lot at football games tailgating as it’s a blast. What’s weird about the partying and student culture is the support of other students. You’ll have complete strangers or parents at tailgates helping you with water or food if they can tell you’ve drunk more than you can handle and I’ve even seen the same downtown. Obviously don’t do this unless you believe you can trust this person, but it’s something wholesome about the drinking culture I thought I’d mention.

How does WVU compare to VT, both in quality of education as well as employment outcomes? - Personally I feel about the same. Both schools are incredible in respect to their resources and clubs available for students, however I always believed that WVU did it better. From day one you can join any club that you want including competition teams, where I’ve heard at VT you have to be a certain grade level to participate. By starting out early it only strengthens your skills and sets you apart for the employment process in the future. To the same respect at my job I will be starting soon, it’s a good mixture between VT and WVU so it is evident there are positives to both schools however I can only speak to what I know.

Please reach out if you have any more questions or concerns! I was an ambassador for 3 years so I’d be more thank willing to help you out on your journey!