Application Policies

Appeals Policy

Submitting an Appeal for First-Year Admission

•     The appeal will only be accepted from the applicant, not from a parent or guardian.
•     The appeal form, which includes an opportunity to upload an appeal letter, must be received within 30 days of receiving the notification of the final decision. If you received a waitlist decision, you must wait for the final decision before an appeal will be considered. You can get a copy of the form by emailing appchange@sj5666.com.
•     The appeals process is NOT a re-review process of the existing applicant file. The appeal must contain NEW information that was not included in the initial application.
• Examples of new information might include incorrectly reported test scores for students who opted to have their test scores considered in their application review, or if grades on your Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR) were incorrectly recorded.
  • Statements of continued interest, updated extracurricular involvement, and letters of recommendation are not considered new information.
  • Senior grades will not be considered, and high school transcripts are not used in our application review process if you were required to submit an SRAR.
  • Test scores earned after the last testing window for each decision plan will not be considered.
• The appeal should include an explanation of why the new information was not submitted originally.
• The Admissions Committee will notify you of its decision by email.

Submitting an Appeal for Transfer Admission

• The appeal will only be accepted from the applicant, not from a parent or guardian.
• The appeal form, which includes an opportunity to upload an appeal letter, must be received within 45 days of receiving the notification of the original decision. You can get a copy of the form by emailing appchange@sj5666.com.
• The appeals process is NOT a re-review process of the existing applicant file.
• Transfer appeals must be made on the grounds that inaccurate or incomplete information was considered in the review process, either from the Common Application or Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR); however, as it is the responsibility of the applicant to self-report academic information fully and accurately, appeals made on the basis of errors in initial self-reporting may or may not result in a change to the final decision outcome.
• Appealing students whose applications were canceled must provide documentation that the cancellation was in error and that all steps for completing the application process were followed by the required deadlines. Appeals will NOT be considered from students who claim to have been unaware of the expectations and deadlines of the transfer admissions process, as reported on the Transfer Application Checklist. All applicants acknowledged in the Common Application prior to submission that they would review and follow this resource to ensure the application process was completed in the required timeframe.
• New grades which were unavailable at the point of the original application review will not be considered as grounds for appeal alone.
• Letters of recommendation, letters of continued interest, or supplemental resumes/portfolios are not considered in the appeals process.
• Applicants who have received a waitlist or deny decision and believe they meet the requirements for guaranteed transfer admission to their intended Virginia Tech major/program under one of the several Guaranteed Admission Agreements (GAAs) Virginia Tech maintains with other institutions may submit an appeal on the following grounds:
  • The applicant can provide documentation that the transfer-oriented associate degree applicable to their program and agreement has been completed or is pending conferral and that the final degree GPA meets the requirement stipulated by that agreement. Please note the following:
    • No applicant can officially meet all requirements for guaranteed admission until the degree is conferred with a final GPA.
    • All applicants were initially reviewed for GAA eligibility as well as competitive admission to their intended program.
    • Some GAA requirements extend beyond the basic degree and GPA requirements listed in the applicable agreement, especially for certain majors/programs, and all requirements must be met for an offer to be extended to that program under the GAA.
    • The most commonly applicable GAAs are available for review here: sj5666.com/admissions/transfer/vccs.html
• The Admissions Committee will notify you of its decision by email.

Application Changes

If you need to make a change to your application, there is no need to start or submit another application. Simply send an email to appchange@sj5666.com. Be sure to include your full name on all correspondence. You will get an email confirming your request and informing you of its change. Please note that at peak times, it may take a few days before you receive a response but please be assured that your change will be considered in the order it is received.

Below is a list of common application changes. An asterisk (*) signifies that your change request must be approved by a director. You will receive an email either confirming or denying your request.

• Change of address (permanent or mailing)
• Change of major*
• Change of residency as it relates to in-state tuition privileges*
  • If you are applying for in-state tuition rates, you must submit the Application for Virginia In-State Tuition Rates if you have not done so already. If you have questions about residency, please see our Residency page.
• Change in term and/or year you will enter Virginia Tech as a student*
  • Please see Deferring Your Enrollment.
• Change in housing status as it relates to on-campus or off-campus options
  • All first-year students are required to live on campus unless given specific permission by Student Programs. You will need to contact them directly at housing@sj5666.com or 540-231-6205.
• Change of date of birth
• Change of social security number
• Withdrawing your application
  • If you have accepted the offer of admission and are looking to withdraw your application, please specify if you are requesting a refund of your enrollment deposit. Refunds are only available to first-year applicants who withdraw their enrollment deposit before May 1 and transfer applicants who withdraw their applications before June 1.
  • Application changes that are not listed should also be directed to appchange@sj5666.com.

Applying for Early Action

• Early Action is available to all first-year applicants. Those interested in the Early Action plan must select that option on the application and submit the application for admission on or before November 15. 
• All supporting academic materials must be received by December 1. The first-year applicant checklist can be found here, including official deadlines for academic materials.

Applying for Regular Decision

• Regular Decision is available to all first-year applicants. Those interested in the Regular Decision plan must select that option on the application and submit the application for admission on or before January 15.
• All supporting academic materials must be received by the end of January. The first-year applicant checklist can be found here, including official deadlines for academic materials.

Applying for Spring Semester

We currently accept transfer applications for the Spring semester. To see which majors are available by term, please visit the Available Transfer Majors website.

Applying for Summer Semester

Transfer students can select Summer as their intended program when applying through Common App.

Any recently admitted students may request a change in their term of entry to summer by submitting a request to appchange@sj5666.com, provided their final official transcripts can be sent to Virginia Tech by the appropriate deadline prior to the start of classes for the requested term.

Students enrolled in other universities may attend summer sessions as visiting students. High-ability high school juniors and seniors may attend as non-degree seeking students. For more information on summer courses, visit summer.sj5666.com.

Corps of Cadets Policy

• If you apply as a cadet and request to change from cadet status before decisions have been released, your application will be re-reviewed.
• If you request this change after decisions have been released, your application for admission will be re-reviewed by the admissions committee and your decision may change. This process usually can take a week on average, depending on the availability of the review committee.
• If your request is approved, the switch to civilian status will be made and your application fee of $60 (domestic) or $70 (international) which was waived when you originally applied, will be billed to your account.
• If your request is denied, you must enroll as a cadet and spend seven weeks in the Corps of Cadets.
• If you drop the Corps before the seven weeks, you will be required to leave the university for the fall semester and can return in the spring semester with whatever housing assignment is available at that time.
• If you drop the Corps after seven weeks, you can change to civilian status and accept a new housing assignment based on availability.

As a reminder, you are not committed to the military upon enrollment in the Corps. We encourage you to reach out to admissions@sj5666.com with any questions you may have about the Corps and it will be routed to the appropriate person for response.

Deferred Enrollment

• Students offered admission may request a deferral of up to two years before entering Virginia Tech after accepting their offer of admission and paying their deposit by the deadline. Email the deferral request to appchange@sj5666.com by June 15 (Summer and Fall applicants) or December 15 (Spring applicants). You will receive a form to fill out.
• Deferred students may only attend a community college during the deferment period with the understanding that poor academic performance in those courses may negatively impact the offer of admission. PLEASE NOTE: Students are limited to a total of 30 credit hours during the deferment period.
• Students granted a deferral are expected to begin their studies at Virginia Tech for the approved entry term.
  •  Subsequent requests for deferment are not guaranteed and decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the review committee. 
  • If a subsequent deferral request is denied, the student must enter Virginia Tech in the approved term or reapply for admission for the desired entry term.
• All deferred first-year students will be subject to the first-year on-campus residency requirement upon enrollment at Virginia Tech, regardless of whether or not they have pursued additional college work and no matter the number of credits pursued during the deferral.
• A deferred first-year student who has pursued college work during the deferral period and wishes to instead return in a transfer status will need to contact our office at admissions@sj5666.com.
  • These students may apply for on-campus transfer housing as outlined on housing.sj5666.com or pursue off-campus housing options once the student's record has been updated to a transfer status. On-campus housing is not guaranteed for transfer students. 
•  All transfer students who defer will be regarded as transfer students upon their return.

Major Changes

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions will accept major changes for an applicant up until the deadline. Changes will not be considered after the following dates:

• Early Action - November 15
• Regular Decision - January 15
• Transfer (Spring) - October 1
• Transfer (Summer/Fall) - March 1
• No change of major will be considered after the application submission deadline. 
• No change of major will be considered during orientation. 
• No change of major will be considered until the student is enrolled and works with an academic advisor.

If an applicant has an extenuating circumstance, a director will review their case for a major change from May 20-May 31 for first-year applicants and from June 1-4 for transfer applicants. Email appchange@sj5666.com to learn more about the request process.

Refund Policy

• Early Action and Regular Decision first-year applicants who accept the offer and pay the enrollment deposit, but subsequently decide not to enroll at Virginia Tech, will receive a full refund of the $400 if their request is received by our office (via email to appchange@sj5666.com or by mail) on or before May 1.
• Transfer applicants who accept the offer and pay the enrollment deposit, but subsequently decide not to enroll at Virginia Tech, will receive a full refund of the $400 if their refund request is received by our office (via email to appchange@sj5666.com or by mail) on or before May 15 (Summer) or June 1 (Fall).
• Under no circumstances will refunds be provided after May 1 or June 1, respectively.