College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

VALarge public institution · Overall rank #112 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the 92nd percentile nationally.

Who it’s a good fit for

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is a public university in Blacksburg, Virginia, whose degree mix is led by Business and Engineering, with mobility, its strongest , among the highest we track. Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them.

The model attributes part of the gap to measured factors that add to expected earnings, while an unexplained remainder subtracts from it. Return is among the highest we track.

Students who arrive with Pell Grants finish below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole, and mobility is among the highest we track. Affordability is modestly below average, and the net price for the lowest income band sits well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it.

The admission rate is below the median for comparable public universities of similar size. Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than on to further study, and the largest departments are among the best-paid ones.

Virginia Tech at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
54.8%
Six-year completion[2]
86.2%
Four-year earnings[3]
$85,647

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$17,894
Median student debt[4]
$21,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$35,325

Virginia Tech rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is a public university in Blacksburg, Virginia, enrolling 30,923 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits near the top of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (92nd percentile).

The university is a large public institution where the mobility pillar is the strongest of the four, and affordability is the weakest. The university admits 54.8% of applicants, a rate well below the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Among first-time, full-time students, 93.1% return for a second year, against a median of 83.1% for comparable institutions. The six-year graduation rate is 86.2%, compared with a median of 65.0% for comparable institutions.

An estimated 12.8% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students, and the six-year rate describes only those who did. The four pillars sit far apart.

Mobility is the strongest, and return is close behind. Access sits well above average, while affordability is the weakest of the four.

The shape is a selective public university where the mobility and return pillars are both strong, while affordability lags.

Mobility is the clearest strength, giving the university a strong showing on the outcomes captured by that pillar. Azimuth places mobility in the 94th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, the university's highest pillar position.

Azimuth places return in the 91st percentile and access in the 76th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Affordability, the weakest pillar, stands in the 34th percentile.

Strong mobility and return results sit alongside a less favorable affordability result.

Pell Grants go to 15.3% of undergraduates at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Among enrolled students who submitted scores, the middle half of SAT scores fell between 1,280 and 1,450, and the middle half of ACT scores between 28 and 32.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth ranks the university #352 for access. Pell recipients complete within six years at 79.2%, which is 7.0 percentage points below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole.

Azimuth ranks the university #86 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $4,910 more than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Virginia Tech rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#112

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 94
Access & reach
National percentile: 76
Affordability
National percentile: 34
Return on investment
National percentile: 91

Top-ranked majors

  1. Engineering Mechanics#1
  2. Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services#1
  3. Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences Business Services#2

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / Virginia Tech briefing

Virginia Tech cost & financial aid[6][7]

For aid recipients, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University has a comparatively high average net price despite a substantial aid offset from its published cost. The public university lists a cost of attendance of $36,951.

Its published in-state tuition and fees are $15,948, out-of-state tuition and fees are $37,764, and room and board are $16,550. Its , what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $24,953, with financial aid savings of $11,998 against the sticker price.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $15,634; this university is $9,319 above that figure. Azimuth ranks the university #931 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The peer comparison and affordability rank point in the same direction.

Costs vary widely by family income at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The published cost of attendance is $36,951.

Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $11,689 for the lowest family-income band; $11,670 for the lower-middle band; $17,894 for the middle band; $25,835 for the upper-middle band; and $34,201 for the highest band. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $22,512.

Azimuth ranks the university #931 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 32% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an average savings of $11,998, leaving an average net price of $24,953 across aid recipients.

For comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price, the middle value for those institutions, is $15,634; this university’s average is $9,319 above it. Published in-state tuition is $15,948, compared with $37,764 for out-of-state tuition.

Federal borrowing is common here: 90.6% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Among borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $21,500, which is $1,424 above the $20,076 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years. Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $35,325.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$17,894

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Virginia Tech

At Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, federal borrowing is common among undergraduates, so loan amounts warrant attention alongside published prices. 90.6% of federal aid recipients take federal loans; among borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $21,500.

The peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size) is $20,076; the university’s median is above it by $1,424. For the separate population of Parent PLUS borrowers, median borrowing is $35,325.

At Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, median earnings among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled reach $85,647 four years after completion. The university is $20,037 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That places the earnings level in the 93rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $4,910 more than the model expects for similar students.

That result falls at the 71st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show a typical outcome of $85,647.

The downside earnings scenario is $57,418 and the upside scenario is $116,604. Borrowers who finish carry a median of $21,500 in federal loans.

Against a peer median of $20,076, the university's median is $1,424 above. If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month.

Parent borrowing is separate from student debt: median Parent PLUS borrowing for parent borrowers is $35,325. Student borrowers' federal debt is separate; that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$21,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$35,325

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$244/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$449/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Virginia Tech briefing

Virginia Tech career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $85,647, in the 93rd percentile. That is $20,037 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth places the return pillar at the 91st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $4,910 more than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 71st percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds $15,225.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $10,315. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,670.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University posts high earnings four years after completion: the median is $85,647 among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. That figure is based on an earnings cohort of 5,294 completers, and Azimuth places it in the 93rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $4,910 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings scenarios tied to the program mix put typical earnings at $85,647, with a downside scenario of $57,418 and an upside scenario of $116,604.

An estimated 29.7% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The school-level median and the modeled range both point to earnings that can differ substantially by field.

At Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, median earnings four years after completion are $85,647, above the comparable-institution benchmark. That figure places the university in the 93rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $65,610, leaving the university $20,037 above that mark. Graduates earn about $4,910 more than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sits in the 71st percentile according to Azimuth among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $15,225.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $10,315. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,670.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 91st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix run from $57,418 in the downside case to $116,604 in the upside case.

Computer and Information Sciences is the highest-earning program shown here, with 366 degrees awarded and median earnings of $144,103 four years after completion. Azimuth ranks it #14 nationally within its field among nonprofit four-year institutions; its earnings are 1.56x the national median for that field.

Industrial Engineering had 191 degrees awarded and median earnings of $116,641, with an Azimuth national rank of #5 within its field. Management Science had 444 degrees awarded, median earnings of $108,726, and an Azimuth national rank of #8 within its field among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings vary widely by field, with earnings scenarios ranging from $57,418 in the downside case to $116,604 in the upside case. These are scenarios based on the program mix, not observed groups, and published earnings cover 57 programs.

At Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, higher-than-expected earnings sit alongside borrowing that is somewhat higher than the comparable-institution benchmark. Borrowers who completed had median federal student loan debt of $21,500.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), was $20,076, and the university’s figure is above it. Graduates earn about $4,910 more than the model expects for similar students.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years. Aid recipients had an average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, of $24,953, compared with $15,634 at comparable institutions (same type and size).

Earnings beat the model, but both borrowing and average net price sit above the peer benchmarks.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$15,225
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$10,315
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$4,910

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Virginia Tech briefing

Virginia Tech acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University admitted 54.8% of applicants in the reported entering class, a rate below the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In practical terms, the reported outcome shows that admission was granted to a little more than half of that year’s applicant pool.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
54.8%
Approximate lower endpoint
1280
Reported average
1364
Approximate upper endpoint
1450

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Virginia Tech briefing

What are the largest majors at Virginia Tech?[12]

At Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, the higher-earning fields in this set are technical, but earnings vary across prominent programs. Four years after completion, Computer and Information Sciences shows median earnings of $144,103 from 366 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks the field #14 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions. Industrial Engineering reports $116,641 from 191 degrees awarded and ranks #5 nationally by Azimuth among that cohort.

Outside engineering, Management Science records median earnings of $108,726 across 444 degrees awarded; Azimuth places it at #8 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions. Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services is more moderate at $74,005 from 252 degrees awarded, despite an Azimuth national rank of #1 among that cohort.

The field results range from high earnings in technical programs to a more moderate figure in this nationally ranked field.

The program roster includes several fields with high national placements and distinctly different earnings levels. Azimuth lists 53 ranked bachelor's programs among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology ranks #3 nationally, with 23 degrees awarded and $67,892 in median earnings at the same point.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University awards degrees across 53 ranked programs, with earnings data published for 57. Business and Engineering are the two largest families, each accounting for roughly a fifth of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Social Sciences is a distant third at 8.8%. The largest single program is Management Science, at 444 degrees awarded a year.

Azimuth ranks it #8 nationally within its field and #2 in Virginia. Computer and Information Sciences is both the second-largest program and the highest-earning, with 366 degrees awarded and a median of $144,103 four years after completion.

That earnings figure is a benchmark ratio of 1.56x against the national median for its field. The highest-ranked program is Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services, which Azimuth ranks #1 nationally within its field and #1 in Virginia, with 252 degrees awarded.

Engineering Mechanics also holds a top national rank, at #1, though it is a much smaller program with 22 degrees awarded. The pattern is one of concentrated strength in engineering and business, with the largest programs also among the best-paid and best-ranked. Across all fields, 38.2% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods 444 degrees awarded
$108,726
Computer and Information Sciences, General 366 degrees awarded
$144,103
Mechanical Engineering 319 degrees awarded
$96,376
Finance and Financial Management Services 294 degrees awarded
$102,902
Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services 252 degrees awarded
$74,005
Biology, General 250 degrees awarded
$61,703

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Virginia Tech briefing

How does Virginia Tech serve students from different backgrounds?

Mobility is the clearest strength at the university: the six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 86.2%, while Pell recipients complete at 79.2%, below the overall rate by 7.0 percentage points. Azimuth places its mobility pillar in the 94th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $4,910 more than the model expects for similar students. That earnings beyond expectations measure, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sits in the 71st percentile.

High overall completion and above-expected earnings point in the same direction.

Access at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University begins with 30,923 undergraduates and an admission rate of 54.8%, giving the public university a broad undergraduate presence. Pell Grants go to 15.3% of undergraduates, and an estimated 12.8% of the undergraduate body entered as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 76th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The enrollment, Pell Grant share, and transfer estimate describe several routes into a large public university.

06 / Virginia Tech briefing

What colleges are similar to Virginia Tech?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Virginia Tech.

Admissions peerAuburn University45.9% admitted
Comparison with Virginia Tech
MeasureVirginia TechAuburn University
Peer earnings · 4 years$85,647$73,151-$12,496 vs Virginia Tech
Average annual net price$24,953$24,323-$630 vs Virginia Tech · lower cost
Admission rate54.8%45.9%
Explore Auburn University →
Higher-admission alternativeElon University66.4% admitted
Comparison with Virginia Tech
MeasureVirginia TechElon University
Peer earnings · 4 years$85,647$77,800-$7,847 vs Virginia Tech
Average annual net price$24,953$41,555+$16,602 vs Virginia Tech · higher cost
Admission rate54.8%66.4%
Nearby alternativeWake Forest UniversityNearby option · NC
Comparison with Virginia Tech
MeasureVirginia TechWake Forest University
Peer earnings · 4 years$85,647$92,943+$7,296 vs Virginia Tech
Average annual net price$24,953$28,719+$3,766 vs Virginia Tech · higher cost
Admission rate54.8%21.7%
Explore Wake Forest University →
Higher-earnings alternativeMaine Maritime Academy$113,298 earnings
Comparison with Virginia Tech
MeasureVirginia TechMaine Maritime Academy
Peer earnings · 4 years$85,647$113,298+$27,651 vs Virginia Tech
Average annual net price$24,953$23,414-$1,539 vs Virginia Tech · lower cost
Admission rate54.8%54.1%
Explore Maine Maritime Academy →
Lower-cost alternativeVirginia Military Institute$17,113 average net price
Comparison with Virginia Tech
MeasureVirginia TechVirginia Military Institute
Peer earnings · 4 years$85,647$75,027-$10,620 vs Virginia Tech
Average annual net price$24,953$17,113-$7,840 vs Virginia Tech · lower cost
Admission rate54.8%71.3%
Explore Virginia Military Institute →
Similar profileUniversity of Maryland-College ParkMatched across several measures
Comparison with Virginia Tech
MeasureVirginia TechUniversity of Maryland-College Park
Peer earnings · 4 years$85,647$84,365-$1,282 vs Virginia Tech
Average annual net price$24,953$15,678-$9,275 vs Virginia Tech · lower cost
Admission rate54.8%44.8%
Explore University of Maryland-College Park →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings