Public · University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, Virginia · Small city
- 54.8%
- Admit rate
- $24,953
- Avg net price
- 86%
- Graduation rate
- $81,698
- Median earnings
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is a public bachelor's-granting institution in Blacksburg, Virginia (small city setting), enrolling 30,923 undergraduates.
Will you get in?
See where your numbers land against Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University's admitted students.
- Admit rate
- 54.8%
- SAT (mid 50%)
- 1280–1450
- Avg GPA (est.)
- 3.79
Enter a test score to see where you land against Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University's admitted students.
A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.
About Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg is an incorporated town in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States. In the mid-1600s, English colonists were still uncertain of what lay beyond the Allegheny Mountains, whose topography and possession by native inhabitants, Tutelo-speaking tribes, were a barrier to expanded settlement by the Colony of Virginia. The Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center is home to several companies of varying sizes including Honeywell, and the National Weather Service which maintains its Southwestern Virginia headquarters there. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Small city
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 27 miles to Roanoke, VA
- To the ocean
- 173 miles
- Nearest airport
- 26 miles to Roanoke–Blacksburg (ROA)
How Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University compares
More selective than 81% · #10 most selective of 43 in Virginia
Higher than 87%
Higher than 94% · #5 of 49 in Virginia
Higher than 91%
Higher than 92% · #4 of 51 in Virginia
Cheaper than 29% · #34 cheapest of 47 in Virginia
Lower than 63%
Lower than 23%
Larger than 98%
Percentiles compare Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Virginia.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University campus
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate30,92380%
- Graduate7,82220%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women14,37646%
- Men16,54754%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White57%
- Black5.9%
- Hispanic9.8%
- Asian14%
- Other or multiracial13%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 30,923
- Graduate enrollment
- 7,822
- Student–faculty ratio
- 17 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 15%
- First-generation students
- 18%
- Students over 25
- 2%
- Median family income
- $89,378
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $127,458
- Endowment
- $1,939,700,000
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Where students come from
Home state of the 7,196 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From Virginia61%
- Other U.S. states34%
- International4.7%
A regional draw: about 61% of first-years come from Virginia, the rest from elsewhere.
5% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 54.8%
- Test scores
- Considered but not required
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- 1280–1450
- SAT average
- 1364
- SAT reading
- 640–710
- SAT math
- 640–740
- ACT composite
- 28–32
- Average GPA (estimated)
- 3.79
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $15,948
- Out-of-state tuition
- $37,764
- Room & board
- $16,550
- Books & supplies
- $2,678
- Total cost of attendance
- $36,951
- Average net price
- $24,953
Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.
Outcomes
- Graduated (within 6 years)
- 86%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 69%
- First-year retention
- 93%
- Transferred to another college
- 0%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $67,377
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $81,698
- Median debt at graduation
- $21,500
- Students with federal loans
- 34%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 77%
About 17% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.
Graduating on time
By student background (4 years)
When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- Yes
- Dorm capacity
- 10,213
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 33%
- Housing charge (year)
- $6,520
- Meal plan (year)
- $5,998
- Application fee
- $60
- Athletics
- NCAA Division I-FBS
- Football conference
- Atlantic Coast Conference
- Varsity athletes
- 702 (423 men · 279 women)
Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.
Varsity sports (12)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- B
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 1.1 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 74
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 57
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 12 campuses (38,857 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.
Reported offenses in an average year
The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.
By offense type, per year
Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.
What you'll actually pay, by family income
Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.
College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.
Four-year (or more) true cost
Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.
$17,894/year × about 4.3 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.
Does the school pay you to attend?
Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.
Modest institutional aid: 55% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $5,568. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.
Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 7,158 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $81,698
- Typical debt at graduation
- $21,500
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 26%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 79%
Typical debt would take roughly 2.6 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
Graduates here tend to earn well relative to what they borrow — typical debt pays back fast, and most out-earn a high-school graduate.
Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.
The pay gap here
Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.
Men out-earn women by $15,363 (21%) a decade out.
Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.
Campus climate
- Summer high
- 82°F
- Winter low
- 22°F
- Annual rain
- 42.6″
- Annual snow
- 24.7″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Blacksburg Nwso, VA US station (1.8 mi from campus).
What Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University graduates study — and earn
Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.
Colleges similar to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University side by side →
University of Connecticut
Storrs, Connecticut · Fringe town · 22 mi to Hartford
- Students
- 19,835
- Admission
- 52%
- Net price
- $25k
- SAT
- 1348
- GPA
- 3.8
- Earnings
- $74k
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
New Brunswick, New Jersey · Small city · 27 mi to New York
- Students
- 37,751
- Admission
- 58%
- Net price
- $24k
- SAT
- 1410
- GPA
- 3.9
- Earnings
- $74k
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Amherst, Massachusetts · Small city · 20 mi to Springfield
- Students
- 23,671
- Admission
- 60%
- Net price
- $22k
- SAT
- 1423
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $72k
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, New York · Large suburb · 29 mi to New Haven
- Students
- 18,101
- Admission
- 49%
- Net price
- $19k
- SAT
- 1419
- GPA
- 3.9
- Earnings
- $75k
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania · Large city · 2 mi to Pittsburgh
- Students
- 20,370
- Admission
- 58%
- Net price
- $30k
- SAT
- 1370
- GPA
- 3.8
- Earnings
- $66k
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama · Small city · 31 mi to Columbus
- Students
- 26,816
- Admission
- 46%
- Net price
- $24k
- SAT
- 1345
- GPA
- 4.1
- Earnings
- $65k
Colleges near Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine
Blacksburg, VA · Private nonprofit · Graduate
Radford University
Radford, VA · Public · Bachelor's · 6,038 students
New River Community College
Dublin, VA · Public · Certificate · 1,965 students
Roanoke College
Salem, VA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,767 students
Galen Health Institutes-Roanoke
Roanoke, VA · Private for-profit · Associate · 315 students
American National University
Salem, VA · Private for-profit · Associate · 630 students
Virginia Western Community College
Roanoke, VA · Public · Certificate · 3,898 students
Paul Mitchell the School-Roanoke
Roanoke, VA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 169 students
Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.














