Virginia Tech is a public institution that was founded in 1872. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 24,034, its setting is rural, and the campus size is 2,600 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Virginia Tech's ranking in the 2015 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 71. Its in-state tuition and fees are $12,017 (2014-15); out-of-state tuition and fees are $27,444 (2014-15).

At Virginia Tech, a former military institute with its background in the sciences, students are encouraged to “invent the future.” Students are known as Hokies, a term that was the original rally cry when the school was known as the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute. Sports teams, also known as the Hokies, compete in the NCAA Division I Atlantic Coast Conference, and the school mascot is the HokieBird. Virginia Tech is settled in Blacksburg, a typical college town full of restaurants, bars and clubs. Students account for more than half the total residents in Blacksburg, and they dominate the town's public Blacksburg Transit bus system, which is free for Hokies. On campus, students can go bowling, play pool or try out video games in the BreakZONE. There are also more than 600 clubs and organizations, including a large Greek system of more than 50 fraternities and sororities. Freshmen must live on campus, which puts them in close proximity to the school’s renowned dining facilities. Students can order steak and lobster at Virginia Tech’s West End Market, or grab a meal from on-campus chain restaurants, including Au Bon Pain and Pizza Hut.

With the school’s long history as a technical institution, graduate offerings include programs in the highly ranked College of Engineering. The school is also a research powerhouse, with seven research institutes and two university research centers – including the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science and the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute – that offer research opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students alike. All students can also take advantage of the Math Emporium, an off-campus lab that houses more than 500 Mac computers, tutoring sessions and classes. Notable Hokie alumni include football player Michael Vick and talk show host Hoda Kotb.

As a broad-based research university with a large undergraduate population, Virginia Tech strikes a balance among learning, discovery, and engagement. The university offers almost 200 degree programs among eight colleges with historic strengths in science, technology, engineering, and professional programs. Virginia Tech provides a comprehensive education placing a special emphasis on professional development - a hands-on, minds-on way of learning.

Exploration of new ideas takes center stage at this Top 50 ranked U.S. Research University where research is a hallmark experience for every student. Defined as an experiential learning activity that synthesizes knowledge and skills acquired in the classroom, research provides a unique opportunity for students to contribute to knowledge creation. Building on its strengths in science and engineering, Virginia Tech offers a novel, innovative program focused on interdisciplinary studies and research, aptly named "Scieneering". All students, including undergraduates have the opportunity to benefit from research experiences, connecting a basic research question to the solution of an applied problem, or interpreting art, society, and culture in new and provocative ways. Daily, Virginia Tech students and faculty strive to Invent the Future.

Located in a sylvan mountain setting away from city life, the university has a well-developed tradition of student involvement in more than 600 clubs, organizations, and social groups each offering leadership, service, and recreation opportunities. Virginia Tech's Hokie Spirit underscores the strong sense of community that pervades the school.

With a history beginning with military student life, as the land-grant college movement emerged in the 19th century, a small college feeling belies the large university reality. Today, the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets continues that military tradition, but comprises only a small fraction of the student population. It embodies the university's emphasis on building character and leadership throughout the student body.

Although Tech is in the name, the campus supports robust life in the arts and humanities. A $100 million Center for the Arts opened in Fall 2013.