<ul>
<li>I am currently a Junior in one of the top high schools in Illinois who wants to go into Mathematics Education</li>
<li>I have about a 4.8 weighted GPA, 3.8 unweighted </li>
<li>I got a 31 on my ACT and have one more which will hopefully go up. </li>
<li>I take all honors every year</li>
<li>Took AP Euro last year. Got a 5. Taking AP BC Calc right now. Taking AP Psych, Ap Chem, and AP Spanish next year.</li>
<li>I have volunteered at a nursing home for a year.</li>
<li>I have been on varsity tennis for 2 years, 3 counting next year. Went to state last year.</li>
<li>I am going to be president of Best Buddies next year. Was Secretary this year.</li>
<li>I am on the Relay for Life Committee</li>
<li>I am in Spanish National Honor Society and National Honor Society</li>
<li>Got a Science Achievement Award freshman year</li>
<li>Also was in Key Club (Fresh, Soph), Spanish Club (Fresh)</li>
<li>I am planning on taking two SAT Subject tests: Math II and Spanish</li>
<li>Went to an Athletic Leadership Conference</li>
</ul>
<p>You have as good a chance as any OOS applicant which means about 1 in 5 chance or whatever the breakdown turns out to be next year.</p>
<p>I just learned that I got a 33 on my ACT, and my superscore would be a 34.</p>
<p>I think you have a higher change than the usual OOS applicant.</p>
<p>Since UVA puts less emphasis on scores vs other factors, it probably only means that your chances are 22% instead of 18% (or whatever- this is just a rough guess from memory)</p>
<p>do you guys think I’m a pretty good candidate for the school? and what could increase my chances? I am also the first generation of my family to go to college in the US and my mom never went to college</p>
<p>Eliz- you are an excellent candidate for UVA. You can try to improve your scores a bit but a 34 is already near the top anyway and most top schools say there isn’t a marked difference between a 2200 vs 2300 etc, or a 34 vs a 35. Either one already puts you in the pile with other excellent scores (of which there are many, many, many thousands). </p>
<p>Since UVA puts a big emphasis on class rank and course rigor, make sure to take the hardest classes possible, and do as well as you can. If you are already in BC as a Jr then I would guess you have that covered. </p>
<p>Another thing you can do is to come up with a great essay idea and make sure you write a great essay.</p>
<p>Since you have the ECs, I would concentrate on making sure that you get great recommendations from you teacher and GC. </p>
<p>Even if you do all of the above though, just realize, that it is still somewhat of a crapshoot and there are thousands of others with the same stats as you, so don’t get married to one specific school.</p>
<p>elizabeth – check the UVa admissions FAQ’s to see if the policy has changed, but in the past UVa hasn’t “superscored” the ACT, only the SAT. A 33 is still an outstanding score.</p>
<p>I would encourage you to check Naviance, if your school uses that, to see how students with your stats have faired in UVa admissions in the recent past. If that data isn’t available to you online, check with your guidance counselor for his or her information on it.</p>
<p>As the previous poster has warned, the are way more OOS students applying to UVa than there are spaces, so every year there are many more qualified students denied admission than are accepted. One potential weakness in your application MIGHT be the rigor of your schedule. UVa wants to see that you have taken the about the hardest academic schedule offered by your school. I notice that you will not have taken an AP English course, AP US History, or an AP Government course. If there is some reason you haven’t taken them, such as they conflicted with one of your other AP classes, you might want to explain that somewhere in your application. Better, yet, if you can fit one of those into your Senior year schedule without overloading yourself, you should think carefully about doing that. I believe UVa would prefer to see AP English or Government on your schedule than AP Psychology. Or, if you really are a math/science kid and not that strong in English and social studies, how about AP statistics?</p>
<p>Again, though, I and other posters don’t really know what your chances of admission to UVa will be. We are just giving our best advice based on our prior observations.</p>
<p>Good luck with your college search and application process. One last piece of advice – start your applications over the summer. It will make for a much less hectic fall, giving you more time to make the most of your senior year.</p>
<p>I am not a english/ social studies person. Im probably going to go into math. I did take AP European History. But next year I am taking Advanced Topics (a math class) at my school which is a college course, its just not AP because not enough people take it in the world to have a test for it. Hopefully that explains it</p>
<p>and I checked naviance. My ACT average is the same and my GPA is much higher than the averages at my school. I am also planning to apply Early Action.</p>
<p>Just to make sure I understand what you are saying about Naviance – your GPA is higher than those of students recently admitted to UVA from your school? That is good. One additional question I would try to figure out is whether those students with lower GPA’s were recruited athletes, UVa Legacies, or had some other “hook” that helped them get admitted. </p>
<p>I think you have decent chance at being accepted because your grades and test scores are good. You have been involved in your school and in your community. But thousands of students with similar credentials apply to UVa each year. In addition, many with even stronger credentials, apply, as well. See [Notes</a> from Peabody: The UVA Application Process: March 2012](<a href=“http://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/2012_03_01_archive.html]Notes”>Notes from Peabody: The UVA Application Process: March 2012), a posting to Dean J’s blog on the admission process at UVa. In 2011/12, 19,484 out of state students applied to UVa. 22.4% of them, 4,355, were offered admission. </p>
<p>Those numbers are the reason I and others advise you to apply to UVa (apply early if you have your application together in time, but understand that UVa doesn’t give a preference to early applicants). Put a lot of work into your essays to submit the strongest application possible. But, also apply to a safety or two that you really wouldn’t mind attending because UVa and schools with a similar level of selectivity are very hard to gain admittance to these days.</p>
<p>my GPA is not much higher, its about .2 higher than the average accepted but I think my schools Naviance is not accurate because only 41 people applied from 2003 to 2012 which is a really low number to get anything out. And dont worry UVA is not my only school. I am probably going to apply to University of Illinois, University of Wisconsin, Loyola Chicago, Vanderbilt, Emory, Wash U, Boston College, Boston University, NYU, and Northwestern and Columbia. I am pretty sure I have a couple of safety schools in there but UVA is just one of my top choice. and thank you all for the advice and answers:) I will do my best to get in.</p>
<p>Did you end up getting in??</p>