Hi Molly - I am so sad about Kayak. After yesterday’s awful news to boot, I feel very sad indeed. Both my twin brothers graduated with bachelors and masters degrees from VA Tech and one even did student teaching there, he married in the chapel on the campus, and they both love Tech. It is so tragic to think such a great university will forever be the site of such a dispicable act. They always say UVA is harder to get in but VT is harder to stay in (meaning a better education) and anyone who ever went to VT is passionate about the school.
Yes, you describe the school perfectly. That's what I've heard too from my Va.relatives.
I have some cousins at VCU also...don't know about its reputation, but they seem to do well.
Just got an e-mail back from my brother (professor now in IL) and his daughter knows one of the injured, went to school together in Harrisonburg, VA - shot twice in the leg had surgery but doing well now. My niece is at JMU but almost went to VT, she is very upset with the events like the rest of the kids. My brother says his students where he teaches are upset, if it could happen at tech they say it could happen to them too. He had to talk to them about rationalizing the rarity of the event.