I'm an out of state girl applying ED to UVA's college of arts and sciences as a computer science major
I have a 31 ACT, 4.25 weighted GPA, 3.52 unweighted gpa. All A's and B's except for one D I got first semester of Honor Precalc which I explained in the "additional info" box about how that doesn't reflect my overall academic ability.
I've gotten scores of 4's on five AP tests, and a score of 3 on one AP test
I play 3 sports, on class SGA, have a part time job, and am in multiple leadership positions in different clubs
I wrote my main essay about overcoming the difficulties of being a triplet. My supplement to the college of arts and sciences (what work of art has surprised/changed you etc in some way) was about the time I saw Dear Evan Hansen and how I resonated with the show's message. My other supplement was about how I strengthen my school community by being the President of a club called Every 15 Minutes which produced a video to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving.
-My slightly smarter brother is also applying (but not ED) if that has an impact
I have a daughter who is an in-state junior in computer sci in CAS, so I can just give my impression of admission trends:
-The 3.52 unweighted is somewhat low. If your school has lower, tougher grading in general, that will be considered, but otherwise that could make things difficult.
-If you pulled up the Precalc to a B by year’s end and explained it, that might not be too much of a problem. And if your brother is not applying ED, that might not be that relevant unless you end up deferred to RD and they have to consider you both in the same round.
-Every else sounds pretty good, though I don’t know if anything leaps out as a strong advantage. It depends on how your application reads.
-This is the first year in recent times with ED, so there isn’t much data on what applying ED may mean. Obviously, you have to be really good to get in for any round.
-Good luck!
thank you! and I ended up switching into regular preclac and I pulled my grade to an A 2nd semester. How does your daughter like CS there? Does she like in better in the CAS then CS in the engineering school?
@offtocollege20 It’s good you got that grade up. I think your final overall grades are definitely more important than someone having a bad quarter in something.
My daughter likes CS in the CAS and thinks the people in the department are really nice. She moved toward CS too late to have even considered the engineering school, but she’s happy with CAS in general.
My OOS daughter is a second year there now in E-school. Dean J emphasizes the wholistic review process and says classroom work factors more into the decision than test scores. But the middle 50% ACT scores there (OOS class of 2023) are 33-35. I don’t think that means you are not admissable, but your 31 probably needs to come up or be offset by something else that sets you apart. Try to bring that out in your essay which I believe will be a critical part of your application, along with your letters of recommendation. I wish you luck - it’s a great place to get an education.
Not to be a Debbie downer but both your GPA and your ACT are quite low for the University of Virginia. Even in state, I think your stats would be a high reach. With this being the first year of early decision, no one really knows how that will work. However, they did receive over 2000 applicants ED, and if prior years are indicative will receive another 15 to 20,000 for early action. To be honest, I think it is very unlikely you will receive a acceptance at early decision. There is a rumor that they will defer almost everyone who is not admitted (like Michigan does for EA) but consider the fact that the University of Virginia is your first choice in the regular decision round. Last year, the out of state son of a friend with an unweighted 3.9 and a 1520 on the SAT was rejected outright for EA despite compelling essays and personal circumstances. He is now enrolled at a different school ranked in the top 20 in the national US news rankings. Don’t let it get you down if that happens to you. UVA is extremely difficult to get into out of state! I guess we will see! Good luck!
The number was 2,160 this year which seems extremely low considering they had 2,400 in 2006 the last time ED was offered. In that year the total number of applicants was around 16,000. Last year there were over 40,000 applicants…
May take a little while to gain visibility and traction…
I would have thought it would have been higher based on the number of Virginians that apply. Out of state tuition has more than tripled since 2006 so a commitment to attend UVA without knowing what your financial package is not possible for many.
