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Virginia Tech accepted too many students in the fall. Now they're offering money, gap year to students who defer

The university is projecting more than 7,500 acceptances -- 1,000 higher than the average incoming class.

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Tech is offering special enrollment options to incoming class after they accepted too many students for the fall semester. 

The University said they are projecting over 7,500 acceptances according to a interview with the Virginia Tech Daily with Luisa Havens Gerardo, the vice provost for enrollment management.

In a message from the school’s provost, in-state students in programs with “higher-than-anticipated enrollment” are offered several special options.

GAP YEAR

The first option is enrolling in the school’s Guaranteed Admissions Program (GAP2020). This option allows students to take a gap year and enroll in fall 2020. Students will also receive a $1,000 scholarship that can be renewed for up to four years. In addition to a scholarship, they will also be able to keep their current scholarships and receive priority housing next fall. 

ONE YEAR AT LOCAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

The second option is enrolling in the Guaranteed Admission Transfer Program (GRANT2020). Students who choose this option will have to wait a year to officially enroll in the school while taking classes at a local community college that the school will pay for. The school says they will honor current scholarships and still give priority housing in the fall of 2020. Students can also apply for a grant for up to $5,000 for internships, co-ops, study abroad and more.

ENROLL IN SUMMER 2019

If those options aren’t enticing enough, the school is offering a third option:  Students can start taking courses in the summer tuition-free and then enroll full-time in the fall or spring. These students will also be given a $2,000 grant during their enrollment. 

The school says these offers were only “made within specific majors that have higher-than-expected enrollments. If you did not receive the offer, your major is not considered in this group and therefore you are not eligible.” 

It is unclear at this time how many students the school expects will choose these options.

Virginia Tech officials claim everything is under control, however.

“The provost has already organized a working group to prepare for the influx and preserve the quality of the Virginia Tech experience,” Havens Gerardo said. “One possible solution is to modify our requirement that first-year students live on campus for the 2019-20 year. 

Another consideration is incentivizing students to start classes earlier, during the Summer Academy, or later than the fall semester. “

Read more about the special options on Virginia Tech’s website

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