What Are the Frequently Asked Questions about Virginia Tech's Guest Access Information Gateway?


Introduction

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Who can create and use Virginia Tech guest accounts?

Contents

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Applicant - How Do I Create a Guest Account?

  1. Go to the Virginia Tech Apply page and click either Coalition or Common App to apply.
  2. You will receive an email to create a guest account in about 24 hours and navigate to Onboard. The email will include a link to Onboard.
  3. Enter the Banner ID (90-) number; the ID number supplied in the applicant mail that you received.

  4. You will see Identity Challenge. This is asking for the email that was used to create the application. It is the same email address that received the invitation to create the account. Type that email in, then click Next.

6. Enter your date of birth in the format shown: mm/dd/yyyy. Click Next.

Identity Challenge, 1 of 2 questions answered correctly. When is your birth day (example 09/22/1985)? Text box. Next button.

7. On the Acceptable Use page, read and acknowledge the Acceptable Use Statement. Click Next.

8. On the Sensitive Information page, read and acknowledge the Sensitive Information Statement. Click Next.

9. The Agreement screen has a statement of agreement where you click either yes or no. If you choose no, you will not be allowed to continue with the account creation.

Agreement. I will comply with the University's information security Policies and associated standards for sensitive data and acceptable use. Yes and No button choices.

10. On the Choose Email Address page, the screen will pre-load with the email that you used to apply to Virginia Tech. The entered email address will be your Guest ID to access your application information and status. You may change this email, but keep in mind that changing it may cause a 48 hours delay for you to access your portal. If you need to make changes to the information on your Virginia Tech application, please contact appchange@vt.edu. Click Submit to continue.

11. Look for an email that will contain a one-time code.

example email of what customer will see. Your Virginia Tech Access.

12. Confirm you own the email account by entering the one-time code and click Submit Confirmation code.

Confirmation Code. text box to enter and 3 choice buttons. Submit confirmation code, change email address, send new code.

13. The Choose a Passphrase page will start by displaying only one text box, but will bring up the confirmation text box after you start typing. There is live feedback for the passphrase strength that will turn green when it is long enough and strong enough. Click Set Passphrase.

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14. On the Create Account page enter your name and click Create Account.

Create Account. First name text box. Middle name text box. Create account button.

15. Add information for your contact information. This is not mandatory. Click Add Contact Info.

16. When you see the Success screen the Guest Account has been created. Click Login to open the Virginia Tech Login Service screen.

17. Login at the Application Portal using the newly created Guest ID and passphrase. To go to the Application Portal in the future, click the following link: Undergraduate Admissions.

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18. You will be asked to agree to the Consent to Information Release. Slate is the vendor Virginia Tech uses for the application process. You are agreeing to share the information on the screen.

19. The next screen will be a welcome note.

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Applicant - What Can I See in the Applicant Portal before Decisions Are Released?

First-Year Applicant

You can view your application information and a checklist of things you still need to do in the application process before decisions are released by going to the Application Portal.

image of Application information and application checklist.

The Application Checklist below shows an item with a status "Received" and one item that has a status "Awaiting."

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The Self-Reported Academic Record (Login to SRAR) button will only appear for applicants who selected that they have studied inside of the United States. When you click the Login to SRAR button, it will log you into your current account or it will create a new SRAR account for you. There will also be an opportunity for you to link to the SRAR. If you use a different email address for your Virginia Tech application and the SRAR, the SRAR will let you log into the other SRAR and link it to the new login.

The Upload Materials section will only show up for students that need to send information such as domicile cases, international transcripts, military orders, etc.

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Transfer Applicant

You can view your application information at the Application Portal and a checklist of things you still need to do in the application process before decisions are released.

The Application checklist which items as received.

Application checklist. It will display things have provided.

The image below shows the Application checklist with some items with the received status and one item with the awaiting status. The awaiting status means we have not received the required information.

The Self-Reported Academic Record (Login to SRAR) button will appear for applicants who selected that they have studied inside of the United States. When you click the Login to SRAR button, you can log in to your current account or create a new SRAR account There will also be an opportunity to link to the SRAR. If you used a different email address for your Virginia Tech Application and the SRAR, the SRAR will let you log into the other SRAR and link it to the new login. 

The Upload Materials section will appear for students that need to send information such as domicile cases, international transcripts, military orders, etc.

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Applicant - What Can I See After Decisions Are Released?

When you go to the Applicant portal and login, you will see there is a Status update for your application.

Click View Application Update in the yellow Status update box to populate your letter.

Dear Kayla, Congratulations! We are Excited to offer you admission to Virginia Tech in Architecture as a Freshman for fall 2021. With over 31,000 applications for 6,675 seats in our freshman class, etc.

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Applicant - How Do I Respond to My Offer and Pay the Matriculation Fee?

Response to Offer of Admission will appear for applicants that have an offer of admission. If there is a waitlist, the Response to Waitlist will appear.

You have several options to accept the offer of admissions to Virginia Tech and to pay the $400 matriculation fee. You will see different instructions according to what you choose.

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Applicant - When Will I See My Financial Aid Notification?

After you have received an offer and view it, you can also see your Financial Aid Notification. You will be taken to Your Financial Aid Package. Click View Your Financial Aid.

Your Financial Aid Package and View Your Financial Aid button

You will be able to access information about Financial Aid on this screen of the Applicant Portal.

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Applicant - How Do I View and Respond to My Graduate Acceptance Letter?

The Graduate Acceptance Letter will show Acceptance when accepted and you can click the button to let Virginia Tech know if you will attend or will not attend.

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Applicant - How Do I Know if My Graduate Admission Was Denied?

Under the Application Data section, you will find the Application Status of Decision Made, the Decision, and a link to the decision letter.

Graduate denied admission. They should look under application and decision. If denied there is a link to see a copy of the decision letter.

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Applicant - What Is the Financial Aid Award Letter?

The Financial Aid Award Letter will show you the type of aid and amount offered.

Financial Aid Award Letter. Types of Aid and Amount offered in a chart. Inmportant Financial Aid Information shares where to find forms, how to report other sources of aid, information release, work study information, And federal direct subsidized, unsubsidized, and Perkins Loan Recipients information.

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Applicant - What Is the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet?

This page will show information about financial aid such as Costs in the year, grants and scholarships, what you will pay for college, options to pay net costs.

Financial Aid shopping sheet. Cost in the current term years. Grants and scholarships information. What you pay for college. Work Options. Loan Options. Other Options.

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Student - How Do I Grant Guest Access so Others Can View My Academic or Financial Records?

A student can give guest access to any person they choose (i.e., friend, co-worker, relative, etc.), as long as that person has a valid email address.

Students are able to grant up to four (4) guests access to view grades, financial aid, 1098-T Tax information, add money to Hokie Passport, etc., following these steps:

  1. Go to OneCampus, search for Hokie Spa, then log into Hokie Spa.
  2. Click Hokie Spa.
  3. Click Guest Account Access.
    Hokie Spa menu and instructions to be careful allowing access.
  4. Enter the guest email address.
    • It can be a valid @vt.edu or third-party email.
    • If you enter an invalid @vt.edu email address, you will see the following error:
  5. To confirm the guest's email, re-enter the email address of the person you are granting entitlements.
  6. Click the appropriate guest entitlements, or click All Information to select all entitlements.
  7. Click Grant Access.
  8. You will see one or more of the following messages at the top of the page:
    list is items for which access was given. Successfully added guest account access to Final Grades for myparentemail@gmail.com

Guests will receive the following email(s):

NOTE: If a guest has a valid @vt.edu address, they can log into Guest SPA (guest.banner.vt.edu) using their existing VT Username (PID) and will NOT need to create a Guest Account.

Email with a subject line, Virginia Tech Guest Access Granted. It also instructions them to login at guest.banner.vt.edu with their VT Username (PID) and password.

If the guest email was a non-Virginia Tech email, i.e., third-party email such as @gmail.com, @yahoo.com, etc., they will receive two (2) emails. One email is the guest invitation to create their guest account through Guest Account Management Service (GAMS). The invitation email states the guest will have seven days to create the guest account using the link provided in the email. If they go beyond the seven days, the student sponsor will need to send the invitation again from their Hokie Spa account. The other email notifies them that the student has given them access to view certain information, as well as, provides the link to Guest Spa (guest.banner.vt.edu), which is where they log in to view the information.

Email with a subject line, Virginia Tech Guest Access Granted. It also instructions them to login at guest.banner.vt.edu with their VT Username (PID) and password.

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What Does the Guest Account Creation Page Look Like?

Activate Guest account and a welcome message. Under display name guest will enter Prefix, First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, Suffix. Under Password, the guest will enter a password and enter again for confirmation. Under Contact Information there are 3 text boxes for Street, a text box for P.O. Box, and one for City. State is a drop down to select your state or province. Then a texxt box for postal code. Country is a drop down. and phone number should be entered as 10 digits with no dashes or spaces.

Guest Account Activation Completed. Congratulations, readacted email address, your geust account has been activated. You may begin using your guest account immediately. Please refer to the email you received for instructions on acceessing specific services. To make further changes to your account, return to GAMS Edit Personal Information.

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What Does the Email about Guest Access Was Granted Look Like?

Virginia Tech Guest Account Management Service pleasedonotreply@vt.edu. This email is confirmation that a Virginia Tech Student has requested that you receive Guest Access to Virginia Tech Information System. Virginia Tech Student, (and the student's anme will be included) has granted you access to view the following informaiton. It then lists all things you gave access to. Log in to the Virginia Tech Guest Access Information Gateway at http://www.guest.banner.vt.edu. By using this service you agree to adhere to Virginia Tech's accetable use guidelines available at https://vt.edu/acceptable-us.html. This is an automated message, please do not reply to this email.

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Student - How Do I Remove Guest Access from a Guest to Whom I Previously Granted Access to View My Academic or Financial Records?

  1. Log into Hokie Spa.
  2. Click Hokie Spa.
  3. Click Guest Account Access.
  4. At the bottom of the page, check the entitlement(s) to remove.
  5. Click Remove Access and the following message(s) will display at the top of the page.

    Green check mark. Successfully removed guest account access to Financial Aid award Letter for micarpen@vt.edu. The example shows 11 things that had been successfully removed.

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Guest Spa - How Do I Create a Guest ID and Where Do I Go to Access Guest Spa?

Guests will receive the following email(s) after a student sponsor grants entitlements:

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What Is A Screenshot of the Email Showing My Entitlements?

Email from Virginia Tech Guest Account Management service listing entitlements that the Virginia Tech student granted you to access.

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Guest Spa - What Menu Options Will I See in the Guest Spa Menu?

The Guest Spa main menu may have some of the following, but will be specific to each guest and the entitlements they have been given by the student sponsor:

This menu page is dynamically built based on entitlements the student grants to the guest through Guest Account Access page in Hokie SPA.

**If you think there should be an entitlement available to you that you do not see in Guest Spa, you will need to have the student log in to their Hokie Spa account to grant the entitlement.**

The General Finance Information menu item will display for all guests who have an entitlement.

An example: Attention For Authorized Payer and BTP Parent PIN: Access and disclosure authorizations are granted and maintained by your student. If you no longer have access, please contact your student. Then it lists the authorized entitlements for the account. VT Authorized Payer Login. Student Account Billing and Payment Only. VT Parent BTP PIN Login. The Budget Tuition Plan. Pay Online with Foreign currency. Quick, secure, and convenient payments from over 220 countries and territories, in more than 100 currencies.

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What Guest Entitlements Are Available to Me Using Guest Spa?

Guest entitlements are the entitlements that the student grants you access to view. Each guest will have access only to the entitlements they were granted by the student sponsor. If you do not see what you are looking for in your menu, please contact the student who sponsored your account and who granted the entitlements. You should have received an email after the student sponsor granted your access with a list of entitlements that were granted.

If there are entitlements that you are interested in, but do not see them in Guest Spa, you will need to **contact the student** for them to log in to their Hokie Spa account to grant the entitlement.

Please keep in mind that final grades are an option to view, however grades throughout a semester are **not** an option.

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How Do I View My Financial Aid Award Letter and What Does It Contain?

The Financial Aid Award Letter will be displayed in the Financial Aid Information menu.

  1. Click Financial Aid Information.

    Welcome to the Virginia Tech Guest Access Information Gateway. Financial Aid Information. View financial aid information for students that have granted you access. General financial information. General financial information for parents of VT students.

  2. Click Financial Aid Awards to view Award Letters.

    Financial aid menu. Fiancial aid awards. View a student's award letter.

  3. Select the appropriate Aid Year from the drop down menu, and Student (if multiple exist) and then select Submit.

  4. Click the tabs to view the information.
    • Shown below is an example of the information displayed under the General Information tab on the Financial Aid Award Letter page.

      General Information on Financial Aid Award Letter page in guest spa. Sections include Enrollemnt, Direct Deposit, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Guest Account Access, and VT Email. Other tabs available are Award overview and Accept award offer.

    • Shown below is an example of what is displayed under the Award Overview tab on the Financial Aid Award Letter page.

      View of the Award Overview on Financial aid Award Letter page on guest spa. Sections include, How we determin financial aid eligibility, Cost of attendance, University Statement (e-bill), Expected family contribution, determining your financial need, financial aid restrictions, need calculation, Expected Emrollemnt status, Level Status, Financial aid award by term, and Additional aid and payment options.

    • Shown below is an example of what is displayed under the Accept Award Offer tab on the Financial Aid Award Letter page.

      Under the Award offer tab you will find information for borrowers and the award amount decision.

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How Do I View the Requirements to Receive Aid?

The requirements to receive aid will be displayed in the Financial Aid Information menu.

  1. Click Financial Aid Information.

  2. Click Requirements to Receive Aid to view Student Processing Requirements to receive aid.

  3. Click to select the appropriate Aid Year and Student (if multiple exist) and then click Submit.

    After selecting the aid year and student name Satisfied Requirements will show.

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How Do I View the Financial Aid Holds?

  1. Click Financial Aid Information at the Virginia Tech Guest Access Information Gateway.

  2. Click Holds to view Financial Aid Holds.

    Financial aid menu. Holds (clickable link) This will show holds placed on a student's financial aid application. The holds identify problem(s) that must be statisfied to continue the awarding process.

  3. Click to select the appropriate Aid Year and Student (if multiple students are listed) and then click Submit.

    This example shows another student chosen (name readacted) with a message

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How Do I View Academic Progress for Financial Aid?

  1. Click Financial Aid Information at the Virginia Tech Guest Access Information Gateway Main Menu.

  2. This page will display Financial aid information once it is available.

    Example shows the financial aid menu with no informaiton shown. Once that informatin is available it shows under this financial aid menu.

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How Do I View the Cost of Attendance?

Click Financial Aid Information at the Virginia Tech Guest Access Information Gateway.

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How Do I View My Loan History?

  1. Click Financial Aid Information at the Virginia Tech Guest Access Information Gateway.

  2. This page currently does not display any information. However, the Loan History is available with the “Financial Aid Award Letter” entitlement. You may need to have the student give you this entitlement.

    Fiancail aid menu with not additional information.

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How Do I View Final Grades?

  1. Click Student Information from the Virginia Tech Guest Access Information Gateway main menu.

    Main menu. Welcome to the Virgina Tech Guest Access Information Gateway. Student information. General Financel Information.

  2. Click Final Grades to view final grades by term. Please note these are **final** grades. Seeing updated grades throughout a semester is not an option.

    Student information menu. Attention: Guest access to academic record information via this format does not provide FERPA disclosure by the student. Students must update the online FERPA waiver to allow discussion of the academic record with a third party. Final Grades link. View a student's final grades.

  3. From the final grades menu, click to select the appropriate Term and Student (if multiple exist) and then click Submit.

  4. Guests can change terms by clicking a new term from the selection list and clicking Submit.

    Student information is displayed and a chart with CRN for course, Sugject, Course number, Course Title, Campus, Final Grade, Attempted, Earned, GPA hours, and Quality points. A second chart shows a suttmer of the current term, cummulative, transfer, and overall.

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How Do I View My Unofficial Transcript?

  1. Click Student Information.

    Main menu at Virginia Tech Guest Access Information Gateway with 2 menu choices. Student Information and Genral Financial Information.

  2. Click Unofficial Transcripts to view the unofficial transcript.

    Student Information Menu. Guest access to academic record information via this format does not provide FERPA disclosure by the student. Students must update the online FERPA waiver to allow discussion of the academic record with a third party. One menu choice: Unofficial Transcripts. Unofficial Transcripts should be selected to view unofficial transcript information.

  3. Click to select the appropriate Transcript Level and Student (if multiple exist) and then click Submit.

    Unofficial Transcript page. Transcript information is determined by Level. Select a level from the drop down box and click the submit button. Transcript Level with drop down choices. Student Name: with student's name. Submit button.

  4. This page displays the unofficial transcript for the selected student and lets the guest quickly view Transfer Credits, Institution Credits and Transcript Totals.
    • Below is an example of the information under the Transfer Credit tab.

      Unofficial Transcript page with level chosen. For the transfer credit tab, Student's name, Transcript data, curriculum information, and all transfer data is provided.

    • Below is an example of the information under the Institution Credit tab.

      Unofficial Transcript listed by term: Fall Semester, and spring semester.

    • Below is an example of the information under the Transcript Totals tab.

      Transcript totals laid out in a table with headers of attempts hours, passed hours, earned hours, GPA hours, quality points, GPA. Provides Institution totals, Transfer totals, and Overall totals.

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How Do I Deposit Money to My Student's Hokie Passport Account?

  1. The student has to set up the access for you to be a depositor for the Hokie Passport account.
  2. Click Hokie Passport Services which will redirect guests to the Hokie Passport Services page where they can make a deposit on the student's Hokie Passport account.

    Main menu Virginia Tech Guest Access Information Gateway. Two menu choices, Hokie Passport Services, and General Financial information.

  3. Click Make a Deposit and follow the on-screen instructions.

    Hokie Passport Deposit. Welcome Guest on behalf of student name. Make a deposit button.

  4. Enter the amount you want to deposit and which account, then Click Make Deposit.

    Hokie passport deposit. Enter the dollar amount you would like applied to the account(s) below. Minimum of $15 and Maximum of $1200. Flex Additions/ Dining Dollars, text box is to add dollar amount digits only. Hokie passport account. Text box to add dollar amount digits only.

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How Do I View the History of the Hokie Passport Account?

  1. The student has to set up the access for you to be a depositor for the Hokie Passport account or for you to view the history of the Hokie Passport account.
  2. Click Hokie Passport Services which will redirect guests to the Hokie Passport Services page where they can make a deposit on the students Hokie Passport account.

    Virginia Tech Guest Acess Information Gateway Main Menu. Menu choices, Hokie passport services and General Financial information.

  3. Click Account Balances and Transaction History and follow the on-screen instructions.

    Hokie Passport Deposit. Welcome Guest on behalf of student name. Two button choices: Make a deposit; Account balances and transaction history.

  4. Below is an example of the information under the Hokie Passport Transaction History.

    Hokie passport transaction history. Balance information for Dining dollars, and Hokie passport. Spending History section. From: month drop down menu, day drop down menu, year drop down menu. To: same drop downs as from. Accounts: drop down menu to choose the account you want to view. View history button.

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How Do I View the 1098T Tax Notification?

  1. Click Your Student’s Financial Information from the Main Menu at Virginia Tech Guest Access Information Gateway.

  2. Click View Tax Information for Selected Student.

    Guest menu for Student's Fiancial Information. View Tax Information for selected student.

  3. Enter a four-digit tax year and click Submit to view 1098-T tax statement.

    Finance Information Finance 1098T Tax Note. Enter Tax Year. Text box to enter 4 digit year. Submit button.

  4. Below is an example of the tax notification.

    Example of 1098 t tax form, with amounts listed for scholarships and grants.

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How Do I View the Student Account Summary?

  1. Click Your Student’s Financial Information.

    Image of the above instructions

  2. Click View Account Summary for Selected Student to display Account Summary.

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  3. Below is an example of the account summary you will see.

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Why Do I See "You Do Not Have Guest Access to This Page"?

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You do not have entitlements allowing you to see or access this site. Your student sponsor must grant guest access through Guest Account Access page in Hokie SPA.

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Why Do I See "This Page Is Not Enabled for Current User Role(s)"?

example of the error, this page is not enabled for current uer role(s).

You have navigated to a page, possibly via bookmark, etc., that you do not have the entitlement to see.

For example, you may have previously been entitled to see Financial Aid Award Letter and bookmarked the page within Guest SPA. If the student removed the entitlement and you tried going to this page directly, you would get this error.

You should check with the student sponsor to make sure the entitlement to view that page is still active. The student sponsor will do this by logging into Hokie SPA and navigating to Guest Account Access page.

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I Am Unable to Remember My Password or Password Is Not Working

  1. Go to Guest Banner.
  2. On the Virginia Tech Login page, click I forgot my username or password. 
  3. Click I forgot my password.
  4. Enter your username (the email address you use to login).
  5. Watch for an email. It will contain a link to reset the password. **The link in the email is only valid to use for 30 minutes.** If 30 minutes has passed, repeat these steps.

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I Am Unable to Find the Email After Using I Forgot My Username or Password Feature

  1. Look for an email from PleaseDoNotReply@vt.edu in your junk or trash folder.
  2. Add PleaseDoNotReply@vt.edu to your contacts and try the reset again.
  3. If that does not help, check with your student sponsor to see if they entered your email address correctly.

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When I Try to Create the Guest Account the Process Fails When I Enter My Birthdate

Your birth date may have been entered into the Virginia Tech system incorrectly. Please contact the undergraduate admissions office by phone at 540-231-6267.

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Why Do I See "You Are Not Authorized to See This Page"?

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You may see this page if you try to access the portal and:

The situations named above should resolve within 48 hours.

If you have questions, contact admission@vt.edu.

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