UNDERGRADUATE Profiles Publish Date 2/26/09

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Pamplin College of Business

Getting In

PROGRAM BASICS

Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech

1046 Pamplin Hall
Blacksburg , Virginia 24061

Public Institution

Web site

http://www.undergrad.pamplin.vt.edu/

Program e-mail address:

clemenz@vt.edu

Program telephone number:

(540) 231-6602

AACSB accredited:

Yes

Year in which the undergraduate business program was founded:

1925

Length of entire institution:

Four Year

Business program length:

Four Year

Degrees offered:

Degree/Program Name:
BS/Accounting and Information Systems
BS/Business Information Technology
BS/Finance
BS/Management
BS/Marketing
BS/Hospitality and Tourism Management
BS/Economics

PROGRAM COSTS

Annual Tuition (Resident):

$ 6,332

Annual Tuition (Non-Resident)

$ 18,789

Cost per academic credit (resident)

$ 264

Cost per academic credit (non-resident)

$ 783

Required fees

$ 1,866

Books:

$ 1,000

Room and board:

$ 6,589

ENROLLMENT

Full-time undergraduate business student enrollment:

4,172

Part-time undergraduate business student enrollment:

Total College enrollment for 2008-09:

28,259

ADMISSIONS

Minimum high school GPA for entire college:

2.0

Interviews for entire college:

Not offered

Additional application requirements for entire college:

TOEFL

Upcoming application deadlines for entire college:

Semester: Fall 2009
Deadline: 01-15-2009
Semester: Spring 2010
Deadline: 10-01-09
Semester: Summer 2010
Deadline: 01-15-09

Freshmen admitted into business program:

Yes

Percentage of business students admitted as freshmen:

80 %

Are the freshman admits to the business program required to complete pre-business courses before beginning upper-lever courses in the junior year?

Yes

Freshmen admitted by:

Indicate interest on university application

Minimum requirements for business program:

Entrance exam requirement other than SAT/ACT for business program:

Interview to enter business program:

Not offered

Additional application requirements for freshman admits:

N/A

Minimum college GPA for internal business program transfers:

3.3

Additional requirements for internal transfers:

Overall GPA of 2.0; overall GPA of 2.5 or better in selected business classes; competition based upon GPAs for acceptance.

Total number of full-time applications for entire college:

2,922

International applicants, entire college, 2008-09:

3 %

Selectivity--applicants admitted to undergraduate business program, 2008-09:

60 %

Yield -- applicants enrolled in undergraduate business program, 2008-09:

44 %

Relative Importance of Application Elements:

Secondary School Record:

Very Important

Class Rank:

Not Considered

Talent/Ability:

Considered

Interview:

Not Considered

Extracurricular Activities:

Considered

Volunteer Work:

Considered

Character/Personal Abilities:

Considered

Application Essay:

Considered

Work Experience:

Considered

SAT/ACT Scores:

Very Important

Recommendations:

Not Considered

High School GPA:

Very Important

Admissions program managed by:

The university admissions office

Total undergraduate business program applicants, 2008-09:

3,464

Applicants enrolled in undergrad business program 2008-2009:

44 %

Applicants admitted to undergraduate business program, 2008-09:

60 %

CLASS PROFILE

Class Profile:

Female: 45 %
International : 3 %

Entering students by age:

Mean: 18.2
Median: 18

Citizenship of Entering Students

U.S.: 97 %
Canada: .1 %
Other countries: 2.9 %

Percentage of US citizens in entering class who are:

African American: 4.0 %
Asian American: 7.9 %
Hispanic or Latino American: 3.0 %
Native American: 0.7 %
White (Non-Hispanic): 79 %
Chose not to report: 4.8 %
Other: .6 %

Entering students from the following region:

Northeast: 8.6 %
Mid-Atlantic: 82 %
South: 7.4 %
Southwest: .1 %
Midwest : 1.5 %
West: .4 %

SAT Scores for full-time entering business students on 1600 scale:

Mean: 1165
Median: 1160

SAT middle 50% range on 1600 scale:

From: 1,090
To: 1,240

Mean: N/A Median: N/A

From: N/A To: N/A

Percent of Students Who Were In:

Top 10% of high school class

29 %

Top 25% of high school class:

71 %

HS GPA of 3.75 or higher

45 %

HS GPA of 3.5 to 3.74:

30 %

FINANCIAL AID

Financial aid handled by:

Central financial aid office at the university

Institutional scholarship money distributed to undergraduate business students in previous academic year:

$ 3,974,025

Institutional scholarship money to be distributed to undergraduate business students in current academic year:

$ 3,987,402

Scholarships awarded to students in the business program based on:

A combination of need and merit

Scholarship consideration process:

Unique scholarship application

Other scholarship considerations:

FAFSA must be filed timely.

Percentage of institutional scholarship money distributed to business students based on merit, 2008-09 year:

53 %

Percentage of institutional scholarship money distributed to business students based on need, 2008-09:

47 %

School offers guaranteed loans:

Financial aid web site

http://www.finaid.vt.edu/

Academics & Lifestyle

PROGRAM BASICS

Business students who graduate within four years:

58 %

Business students who graduate within 6 years:

74 %

Freshman retention rate:

89 %

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

Credit hours required for graduation:

Degree: BS
Hours: 125

Other degree requirements:

Completion of university core, college core, and major requirements with 2.0 overall GPA and 2.0 in-major GPA.

ACADEMICS

Average class size in required business courses:

106

Class size:

Classes with fewer than 20 students: 22 %
Classes with 21 to 50 students: 51 %
Classes with more than 50 students: 27 %

CURRICULUM

Number of elective courses available in business program:

Year of the last major change to the business program's core curriculum:

2000

Leading areas of study:

Accounting

Finance

General Management

Management Information Systems

Marketing

Special programs for business students:

Leadership minor; Business diversity minor; Honors program degree options

Business program offers work study or co-op opportunities:

Yes

Variety of employers for co-op, representing industries associated within Pamplin majors.

Business program offers study abroad opportunities:

Yes

Study abroad program description:

The Pamplin College of Business provides many international opportunities for its students. It offers a number of faculty-led study abroad programs and supports exchange and internship programs around the world. Study abroad means a variety of opportunities for the student to learn, live and travel in another country or region of the world.

Volunteer work and community service opportunities:

Yes

Volunteer opportunities description:

Many opportunities for service learning through courses in the College of Business. At the university level, VT-ENGAGE encourages everyone everywhere to do volunteer work as a way to give back to the community. Virginia Tech students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to perform as much community service per year as possible. Members of the community and Virginia Tech family and friends are also encouraged to join in efforts by doing volunteer work in their respective communities. VT-ENGAGE provides the resources for you to find a place to volunteer your time, talents and energy and make a difference in your community. VT-ENGAGE also develops and finds resources for volunteer projects.

FACULTY

Faculty:

Full-time faculty : 124
Adjuncts and visiting faculty: 22
Permanent/tenured professors: 78
Percentage of permanent/tenured professors who are women: 23
Percentage of permanent/tenured professors who are underrepresented minorities: 18
Percentage of permanent/tenured professors who are also members of company boards of directors or of advisors: 11
Percentage of permanent/tenured professors who are business owners: 15

Prominent faculty:

Kent Nakamoto
Vijay Singal
Rich Wokutch

STUDENT LIFE

Largest on-campus organizations for business students:

Alpha Kappa Psi
Delta Sigma Pi
Pi Sigma Epsilon
Beta Gamma Sigma
Business Horizons

Freshmen are required to live on campus:

Yes

Business students are grouped in learning communities:

TECHNOLOGY

Wireless network available:

Yes

Technological improvements made in the last three years:

Pamplin's computer labs have been upgraded with new computers; a Bloomberg terminal has been made avaialable for the students use, and we have added video conferencing capability to our college. The university has installed public messaging systems to all classrooms and has added additional layers of security to the electronic mail system.

Trading laboratory available:

Alumni Affairs & Careers

ALUMNI

Total number of undergraduate business program graduates since inception:

35,237

Total living alumni:

33,177

Percent of alumni who gave, 2007-08 academic year:

18 %

Mean alumni gift 2007-08:

$ 1,022

Median alumni gift, 2007-08:

$ 100

Single donation in excess of $10 million in 2007-08?

Prominent alumni:

Name: David Calhoun
Title: Former partner Goldman Sachs
Name: Brad Casper
Title: President and CEO of Dial Corporation
Name: George Nolen
Title: President and CEO of Siemens Corporation

CAREER SERVICES

Percent of 2008 graduates who provided employment information:

73 %

Seeking full-time employment in business: 86 %
Not Seeking full-time employment in business: 14 %

Number of companies recruiting undergraduate students on campus in previous academic year:

370

Companies that posted full-time job offers/positions on school job boards, previous academic year:

205

Other activities and services provided for business majors:

Career prep workshops on resume writing, interviewing, career fair prep, transition into the workplace, dining etiquette, networking, job search, etc. Additionally, 15+ career fairs take place on campus, one of which is targeted toward Business. Alumni return to campus in the Wachovia and BB&T Distinquished Speaker Series keynote addresses.

Job offer results, 2008 graduates:

Received first job offer by graduation: 91 %
Received first job offer in three months following graduation: 7 %
Received first job offer more than 3 months after graduation: 2 %

Top hiring firms:

Deloitte Touche Tomatsu
KPMG LLP
International Bus. Machines
General Electric
Ernst & Young
PricewaterhouseCoopers

Marriott
Freddie Mac
Lockheed Martin
Bearing Point
Wachovia
Accenture
Navigant Consulting
BB&T
Northrop Grumman

Graduate compensation:

Median base salary: $ 49,000
Median signing bonus: $ 3,000

Grads accepted jobs in following functional areas:

Consulting: 24 %
Finance/Accounting: 27 %
General Management: 4 %
Human Resources: 8 %
Management Information Systems: 10 %
Marketing/Sales: 20 %
Operations/Production: 5 %
Logistics/Transportation: 1 %
Other: 1 %

Grads accepted jobs in following industries:

Accounting: 20 %
Consumer Products/Retail: 8 %
Consulting Services: 19 %
Financial Services: 14 %
Government/Education: 9 %
Pharma/Biotech/Health: 1 %
Manufacturing: 5 %
Media/Entertainment: 1 %
Petroleum/Energy: 1 %
Real Estate: 1 %
Sports/Leisure: 3 %
Technology/Science: 16 %
Non-Profit: 1 %
Other: 1 %

Percentage of job acceptances, US and Canada:

US: 100 %

Grads accepted jobs in the following US regions:

Northeast: 4 %
Mid-Atlantic: 82 %
Midwest: 2 %
South: 10 %
Southwest: 1 %
West: 1 %

Number of companies recruiting interns on-campus, 2007-08 academic year:

215

Internship postings on job boards, previous academic year:

330

Top internship recruiters, 2007-08:

KPMG LLP
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Deloitte Touche Tomatsu
General Electric
Ernst & Young
International Bus. Machines
Target Corp.

US Government
BB&T
Wolseley
Wachovia
Lockheed Martin
Marriott
Freddie Mac
Norfolk Southern

Percentage of internships that were paid, previous academic year

90 %

Mean internship compensation per week:

$ 675

Median internship compensation per week:

$ 620

Average internship, in weeks:

Graduate Comments

My senior-level professors are amazing and are main reason I have stuck with finance. Lower level business classes are dull, but once senior year hits the teachers are outstanding.

As you rate my university, I hope you put no weight on the events of April 16, 2007. I have always and still feel completely safe while in Blacksburg, VA. I think the unity amongst the student body is unsurpassed by any other school in the country.

When I look around at the students in my business classes, I only see future business leaders.

I believe that Pamplin has prepared me more than I ever could have imagined to enter the business world upon graduation. They made it possible for me to have a balanced and professional resume as well as arranged opportunities for me to network and establish connections with prospective employers. By offering on campus interviewing opportunities as well as a huge career fair every year, Pamplin has made it possible for me to succeed in the ultimate goal of any college student, which is to find a job!

The classes are very good once you reach the senior level courses, but all courses below that are very mediocre are taught by professors that are not of high quality. The career services center does a great job with on-campus interviewing, but the business school and business career coordinator are very ineffective at bringing in firms that are different/local or anything other than firms that come to all career fairs. The business school does a great job promoting study abroad programs, but does a poor job emphasizing any business organizations, events, etc.

Minus a few bad teachers I have had recently, the business program at Virginia Tech is very solid. For the most part all the teachers are very knowledgeable and I really have learned a lot that I can carry over for the rest of my life.

I initially chose Virginia Tech for their Engineering program back in 1996. I left, after a disappointing 2.5 years in that program, feeling unsupported and more like a number than an individual to that program. I worked for 6 years before returning to Tech. When I returned to complete my bachelor's degree I chose to move to the business school. The atmosphere and support from both administrative and teaching staff was spectacular. I was finally looked at as an individual student, not simply as one in a crowd of many. I cannot say enough great things about the Pamplin business school. I'd recommend it to anyone searching for a quality business program.

They have more than prepared me to graduate and hit the ground running. Both my advisors and my professors have nearly bent over backwards to help with classes, schedules, job placement, even my own personal life.

Virginia Tech's business program is highly underrated, it has single handedly hands down helped me to receive offers from all 4 of the big 4 accounting firms.

I'm in the Business fraternity - Delta Sigma Pi. Our business school is very supportive and being in that Greek organization has really enhanced my experience in the business school and in the business world in general. Though Virginia Tech is large, there are so many opportunities, such as Delta Sigma Pi, to make it 'smaller' and make one succeed and enhance the college experience.

The most frustrating aspect of learning at my school is taking a difficult or extremely important class with a graduate assistant or TA. The problem is that these "kids" normally have no experience in the real world and are essentially teaching to fulfill school requirements and/or make some money. I have had some incredible teachers throughout undergrad, however, and if I had taken the initiative, the opportunity was always there to learn more about the careers and experiences of my teachers.

Our exposure to many different businesses and firms makes finding the right career/professional path so easy.

For the most part I have had a great learning and challenging experience at Virginia Tech's Pamplin school of business. I will comment that there are certain professors like there are at every school that shouldn't be teaching. They are smart individuals but are not good at conveying the information to students learning it for the first time.

While the introductory level courses seemed rather easy, the upper level classes have been challenging and interesting. Due to these classes, I feel fully prepared to enter several areas of the job market. In addition, Pamplin does an amazing job of bringing in guest speakers for panel discussions and special presentations.