<p>3.5/4.1 GPA, national merit semifinalist, hoping for a 34 on my ACT, 1700 hours of community service, top 5 percent in community service in the state, DECA national qualifier, DECA vice president of local chapter, FBLA national qualifier, FBLA vice president, member f Kansas city youth symphony, president of school orchestra, all state and all district orchestra. 1s at state solo an ensemble festival, variety tennis, hopefully captain of tennis team. Also NHS member, but honestly everyone Gets into NHS. Owner of a startup business, what are my chances at UVA as a instate student? Also what can I do to improve my chances of getting in? I'm looking to major in either INdustrial engineering, or finance/accounting.</p>
<p>Your stats are exactly like mine! Literally. I’m curious as to what people say about your chances because I am basically in the same boat. And did you just get back from DECA nattys? Dope right? Anyways, can someone please chance him. Im interested as well.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>^^ Also, from NOVA?</p>
<p>^^ Also, from NOVA?</p>
<p>Haha I did! It was amazing. But Orlando was much better in my opinion</p>
<p>Your unweighted GPA may be a bit low for UVA, and you don’t have any standardized test scores yet. These two things, other than course load, are by far the most important things in your application. Your extracurriculars seem strong and will help you out, but they are not as important as the aforementioned. Work hard your senior year to bring that GPA up and study hard for the SAT/ACT and subject tests. Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>If your 1700 hours of community service were court orders, then I’d say no. But, seems to me like you have a pretty good shot. Do well on SATs or ACTs and good recommendations, and emphasize your (hopefully) strong schedule.</p>
<p>Yeah they were definitely not court orders haha. I volunteer at a inner city school and teach calculus there. And my sat and act scores will be good</p>
<p>Sounds like good essay material then as well. And top positions in extracurriculars. And National Merit Semifinalist is 1) awesome and 2) likely means standardized tests will go well for you. I say 95% you are in. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks! Do you think I should apply early action to UVA? And can you only apply to one school early action? Or to more than one?</p>
<p>I agree with Fermat that your GPA may raise some questions, depending on where you attend high school. Are you at a NOVA public high school? If you are in a NOVA public high school under the newer, more lenient grading scale, 3.5/4.1 weighted may be somewhat low, as GPA’s in the mid-4’s are becoming more common. Have you looked at the Naviance data for recent applicants to UVa from your school? How do you compare there? Also, what is your class ranking? (If your school has the “all 4.0’s are valedictorian” thing going on, then rank is of little significance.) Also if you are at TJ, rank is less significant (unless you are in the bottom 25 to 30%). </p>
<p>In any event, UVa will look at your schedule of classes – is yours – including senior year – among the most challenging offered by your school? UVa wants to see that you challenged yourself in HS and that you did well in challenging classes. How many AP’s/IB’s have you taken so far (in relation to those offered at your school)? Have you had an upward trend in grades? If so, be sure to highlight and explain that in your application. </p>
<p>You mention that you are NMSF – but that info won’t be out until the Fall. If you are counting on that distinction based on this year’s cut score for VA, just know that the number fluctuates from year to year. But, if you had a 220 or better (the 2011 cut score), you are likely to test well on the SAT/ACT. : )</p>
<p>You appear to have strong extracurriculars that are varied and also show a deep interest in each. This record should provide you with the fodder for strong essays/short answer responses. Also consider submitting the arts supplement for your musical achievements.</p>
<p>What can you do to improve your chances? Work hard to finish strong this school year; make sure you are registered for a challenging set of senior-year classes; line up strong recommendations; and work very hard on your essays – it is a great idea to start on then over the summer. </p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>How many AP classes did you take? Top schools want to see you take a lot of AP’s.
What is your class rank? Top schools do not like to see students with NMSF ability outside the top 10% of their class. Everything you listed is great.</p>
<p>Honestly, there is no measurable way to determine your chances at UVA. With your stats, even with an average SAT score, you would probably be a shoe in if you were legacy. If you are not, just send in your application and hope for the best. UVA’s admissions office is quite frank about the fact that the are no measurable standards for admission, so there is really no way to predict.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I’ve taken 10 Ap classes, and all honors possible. But I’m not in the top 10 percent</p>
<p>^ ^
Per Dean J’s Blog post of March 27, 2012, for this year’s admits from schools that report class rank, 95.7% were in the top 10% of the class. So not being in the top 10% is somewhat negative for your application.</p>
<p>That said, put together good essays and line up strong rec’s and submit an application. With your otherwise strong credentials, you may be the exception.</p>
<p>It would also be prudent to identify some “safety schools” you would be happy to attend if UVa doesn’t work out.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Being in the top 10% is important. I hate to bring up this sad fact, but accepting students below the 10% makes colleges look worse in US News and other rankings. Yes, pointless college rankings can be a factor in determining your college admission. That being said, you still are a strong applicant. Just work to raise your rank/GPA as much as you can during your senior year.</p>
<p>What are some good safety schools that I should look at? Also in Virginia, and in the us</p>
<p>VADAD I’m sorry but your comment about this kid getting in if he’s a “legacy” is completely off base. For all practical purposes being a legacy only helps if you’re from out of state – it means you’re thrown into the less competitive in state applicant pool. But if you’re in state, as this kid is, it makes no difference. I know plenty of NOVA students with legacy status who are now enrolled at Tech, JMU, and Mary Washington.</p>
<p>I suspect this kid will get accepted, but I also agree that his grades might lead to a double take. U-Va weighs the high school record more heavily than test scores, and a 3.5 in a NOVA high school is not outstanding.</p>
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<p>Do you have proof of that? I’ve seen people guess at that before but I have never read anything that verifies that. UVA’s own CAS profile lists legacy as one of the most important things they look at, even higher than SATs.</p>
<p>I’d rate your chances at 50-50 for in-state. If you write great essays then you can improve your chances but right now you’ve done everything you can to become a competitive applicant.</p>
<p>Alternative Schools:</p>
<p>For Industrial Engineering you should consider VT as its program is rated #7 in the country. For accounting you could consider applying to W&M, VT, James Madison et al. VT has accounting specialties (accounting information systems and management information systems) that are particularly in demand.</p>