Virginia Tech is offering a sabbatical scholarship at Free Community College: NPR

Emmanuel Mahgerefteh wanted to attend Virginia Tech as long as he can remember.

When he was accepted after applying early at the engineering school, he was delighted. So were his parents. But an email that he received two weeks ago has brought him, along with his family, to reevaluate his plans for next fall.

Last month, Virginia Tech offered about 1,500 freshmen new financial incentives to delay enrollment after over enrolling more than a thousand students. Nearly 8,000 students have accepted bids for an intake cycle of over 30,000 applicants.

Waiting at around 7,000 acceptances and taking into account the usual "hot summer" of 400 students, school officials had a target size of 6,600 students. But people continued to accept after the target number was reached, until the deadline of May 1st.

The selected group of students who received the incentive offers is enrolled in some of the most populated branches – Engineering, Biology and University Studies (not reported). They had until last Friday to be interested in three options: take a sabbatical year with a $ 1,000 scholarship, enroll in a year of a free community college or s & # 39; Register for free summer courses while taking a semester of fall or spring. All options would ensure that students start at Tech the following year.

Mahgerefteh was with his friend, who also plans to visit Tech next fall, when he opened the email. They both initially swept. But when he showed his parents later, they were excited at the idea of an alternative plan. The opportunity to attend free of charge a local community college seemed to be too good an opportunity to pass.

"My father … when I first told him, he said," Oh, you should do that 100%. This is an excellent offer, "said Mahgerefteh." You would save so much money, you would become at home. And from there, I was struck by so many mixed thoughts. "

According to Alec Thomson, vice president of the National Council of Higher Education, it is a relatively unconventional solution to look for a university after the over-enrollment of a course. The usual procedure is to try to adapt the existing campus infrastructure, for example by transforming dormitories into double occupancy into triples.

Virginia Tech has already indicated the additional changes it would implement to meet the influx of students. The requirement for freshmen to live on campus has been removed and conversion projects from student lounges to multiple dormitories have begun. The school also adds sections to courses in demand, recruits additional faculty and invests in counseling and support staff.

School officials predict that less than 10% of the students who receive the offers will accept one. Thomson stated that this result is what he would expect given the circumstances that had to coincide to make the options attractive.

"There really should be two factors involved here," says Thomson. "A) Virginia Tech is really the only place you want to go, and B) you have the opportunity to delay your university education in priority … you have another plan that you are ready to undertake there." And I suspect that the number of people in this category, when presented with this option, is relatively small. "

Mahgerefteh is a new student in this category.

Mahgerefteh having already earned a year of credits in a community college class that he had attended in high school, an additional year of community college would make him a teenager in the fall of 2020. He fears to be essentially short of two years of learning alongside his teacher. future classmates.

"At Virginia Tech, I'm surrounded by engineers," says Mahgerefteh. "They have so many things out of the classroom – they have projects, they have different programs and internships, they have competitions, you know, so much more than taking the course and getting the credit."

Nevertheless, he can not ignore the benefits that choosing the community college option would represent for him and his family.

"If I went to community college, you will save a lot of money, because it's a year without tuition, that is, a year without housing, without meals and that saves over $ 20,000, "explains Mahgerefteh. "I would transfer with my partner [degree]and there are a lot of scholarships you can get. It's a huge financial incentive. "

Dannette Gomez Beane, Director of Recruitment and Operations at the Virginia Tech Undergraduate Admission Center, advises students who are thinking about this decision. She met parents and students and answered many phone calls. Some families call him three to five times in the same day.

She added that these offers were not designed to please everyone, but were useful for students who were already exploring ways to make the university more affordable. They are not binding either. Beane said that students can change their minds later. And students who choose none of the options will still be able to register in the fall as scheduled.

"We say:" talk around the table to determine what is the best solution for you and your family right now, these are just additional options, "Beane said. "And that's exactly what they are, these are options, so they can leave anytime they're not what they had in mind year-round." next."

Since Virginia Tech and the Virginia Community College system have a close partnership, says Beane, students who spend a year at the community college will benefit from a similar training experience to Tech's. According to her, an articulation agreement between the engineering program and the particular system ensures that the courses are transferred and that the students benefit from additional benefits.

Last weekend, the Mahgerefteh visited Virginia Tech to discuss these offers with admissions officers like Beane. Mahgerefteh says that there is still a lot of uncertainty, but things are less intense. They plan to return to campus before June 21st deadline review other issues directly related to the transfer in the engineering program.

"At first there were a lot of emotions, but we have calmed down a bit now and are trying to figure out which is the best option," said Mahgerefteh.

Mahgerefteh says that he and his parents are studying these two possibilities carefully. They have until June 21 to decide where it will be in August.

He says that he knows his father will be happy when he chooses to go to Virginia Tech. "But it will always be something in my head and mind," says Mahgerefteh. "Like," Oh, what if we took that offer? "

Abigail Clukey is an intern at the NPR National Office.