Emory & Henry, Virginia Highlands Are Excellent College Choices
colleges, education, emory & henry, virginia highlands,
Students, please take your seats. Today’s lesson is: With top-notch colleges in Washington County, you don’t have to travel far for a great college education.
Washington County is home to Emory & Henry College as well as Virginia Highlands Community College. Both are conveniently located and offer reasonable tuition prices.
“Students might think that because Emory & Henry is a private liberal arts college, it carries a high sticker price – but that’s not true,” says Dirk Moore, director of public relations at E&H. “Compared to other liberal arts colleges in Virginia and Tennessee, and given the financial aid packages we offer, Emory & Henry is incredibly reasonable.”
Emory & Henry is a four-year college that was established 172 years ago, and its academic reputation attracts students from many states and several foreign countries.
“We offer a variety of curricula, and our science programs are among the strongest,” Moore says. “Many E&H science grads end up going to medical, veterinary or pharmacy graduate schools at some of the most prestigious schools in the nation, including Stanford, Berkley, Harvard and Yale.”
Moore says E&H is also known for its high-tech mass communications program, and its strong education program.
“Any principal would be proud to have an Emory & Henry graduate as a teacher in their school,” he says. “We are truly an asset to Washington County.”
The same holds true for Virginia Highlands Community College. The college that began holding classes in 1969 is located on a 100-acre campus situated along Interstate 81 at exit 14.
“Tuition here for our 3,200 students is about one-third the cost of attending a typical four-year institution,” says Anne Dunham, public relations and marketing specialist at VHCC.
Virginia Highlands is a two-year college that offers numerous programs for students who will ultimately transfer to a four-year institution.
“We also offer occupational technical programs for students who will attend VHCC for two years, then will go directly into the workplace with an associate of applied science degree,” Dunham says.
Dunham adds that VHCC is also involved with more than 30 four-year institutions as part of a Guaranteed Admissions Program, which helps VHCC students when it comes time for their transfer process to a four-year college.
“For example, if a student wants to transfer to, say, Virginia Tech, and has earned a 3.4 grade point average at VHCC, that student is guaranteed admission to Virginia Tech with that GPA and will enter there as a junior,” she says. “The student doesn’t have to back up and take any classes to meet any Virginia Tech criteria. That is an important perk because this scenario doesn’t happen for many students at other community colleges. However, it happens for all graduates of Virginia Highlands Community College.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
Photo by Ian Curcio
