Student Software Bundle FAQs

All incoming undergraduate students are required to purchase the Microsoft Enrollment for Education Solutions (EES) software bundle. This also includes transfer students.

You will pick up the software bundle on the second day of your New Student Orientation session.

You will pick up the bundle during Transfer Orientation.

The cost of the 2020 undergraduate software bundle is $74.00 plus tax.

Since the incoming undergraduate software bundle is a university requirement, the charge will be billed to you in mid-July along with charges for tuition and fees for the fall semester. The bursar’s office sends e-bill notifications monthly to the student’s VT e-mail address for any new activity on a student’s account. The Software Service Center does not accept any form of payment. Instead, your account is billed for the software through the bursar’s office. Hokie Passport accounts may not be used to pay for the software bundle.

If you are enrolled in either summer session, you may come to the Software Service Center during regular business hours (8:00am-5:00pm Monday through Friday) to pick up your bundle.

Students can pick up the software beginning August 21, 2019 at the Software Service Center located on the third floor of Torgersen Hall.

The Software Service Center will  have extended hours on Saturday, August 24 (10-4) and Sunday, August 25 (10-4) for your convenience. After August 25, The Software Service Center returns to regular business hours (8:00am-5:00pm Monday through Friday).

The bundle contains Microsoft Office 365 and Windows operating system upgrades. Students are entitled to new versions of the software as long as they remain an undergraduate at Virginia Tech.

The computer you purchase should conform to the 2020-2021 University Computer Requirements, which can be found at http://www.compreq.vt.edu/

No. Macintosh users actually get “more bang for their buck” than Windows users. Since your Mac gives you the flexibility to run both operating systems (Windows and Mac OS), you are licensed to install and use both versions of Office as well as the Windows operating system. Information for installing Windows on a Mac can be found at https://secure.hosting.vt.edu/www.software.ais.vt.edu/vtnet/vtnet_mac/osx/html/parallels.html (Parallels can be purchased through the University Bookstore or online.)

The bundle is an inexpensive way to stay current with the latest releases of the basic Microsoft applications. It also helps us standardize our support. Simply stated, if you need assistance with your machine, technicians are more effective in troubleshooting issues when they know what software you have on your machine.

Since the incoming undergraduate software bundle is specific to Virginia Tech and can only be purchased through the Software Service Center, it would be rare that an incoming student would have the same license that the university provides. The Microsoft EES Agreement grants students a license for Office and the Windows operating system with any upgrades as long as the student is enrolled at Virginia Tech.  Questions regarding the bundle, the requirement, or to have your current personal license reviewed for comparability, please contact the Software Service Center at (540) 231-3969 or studentsoftware@vt.edu

No. The Software Service Center stocks software based on projected incoming student demand, so advance orders are not necessary.

No. Incoming undergraduate students are only eligible to obtain their software bundle when physically on campus. Software will be available beginning August 23, 2017.  Once classes have begun, mail orders are honored for off-campus students.

Software can be purchased by incoming graduate students beginning August 21, 2020. Graduate students in certain majors are required to purchase software. Contact your department to find out if you are required to purchase software. Graduate students now have the option of purchasing Office 365. The Software Service Center also offers additional software titles for your convenience. For a complete list, visit our website.

No. Virginia Tech has established computer requirements for incoming students, and you should have purchased a laptop with a full and licensed operating system installed.  When you arrive on campus in the fall, you may need to procure additional software depending on your department’s or college’s software requirements. For information on department’s specific software requirements, see http://www.compreq.vt.edu.