<p>Hey guys! I'm an OOS junior applying to UVA's College of Arts and Sciences. I'll be tentatively going in the environmental science direction. Any helpful hints? tips? advice? Thanks!</p>
<p>Info
-asian female
-above average public school
-4.1-4.2ish gpa
-class rank: top 5%</p>
<p>SAT:
-SAT I - 2050
-SAT II - USH (740), Bio (710)</p>
<p>ACT: 32 (I think I'm going to take them again in Sept. just because of reading)
-r:28...ouch
-e:32
-s:33
-m:34</p>
<p>i think I'm just going to show them my ACT and SAT IIs. Is that bad?</p>
<p>Courseload/APs
-AP USH (5)
-AP Gov
-AP Spanish
-IB Biology
-senior year: AP Euro, AP Lit, AP Physics, AP Calc, IB Biology (2nd half)</p>
<p>EC's and Awards
-varsity crew/rowing team - coxswain
-church missions trips to peru and philly
-NHS - VP
-Human Rights Club - secretary
-Cultural Club - secretary
-Math magazine - asst. editor
-freshmen mentor
-Interact
-Science Honors Society
-Math Honors Society - asst. treasurer
-English Honors Society
-Foreign Language Honors Society
-Social Studies Honors Society</p>
<p>Work
-summer job at law office
-Internship in environmental science at Columbia University</p>
<p>Essays and Recs:
- i think both are pretty solid</p>
<p>its difficult for OOS to get accepted, if you were in-state you’d be a sure shot, but you’re still a strong applicant, however most OOS applicants are strong applicants and not all of the get accepted,ACT,GPA, and extracurriculars are solid and I think the internship at Columbia will definitely help, it also depends on the applicant pool, in my opinion you have a fair shot, good luck!</p>
<p>and as long as you send in either the SAT or ACT you’ll be fine, UVA doesn’t value one more than the other, I sent in both, your ACT is better than your SAT though, but it wouldn’t hurt if you sent in both</p>
<p>Well…I’m not sure how comparable OOS application chances are to international applicants, but what I feel is that UVA requires you to have more of an ‘edge’ than other schools.
Essays are REALLY important…i mean the long list of ECs is definitely impressive…but you would really need to talk about a passion of urs or something u’ve overcome or achieved in ur personal statement.
In my case…my application wasn’t great…1970 SATs, 670 sat math, 720 sat physics. But what I had was a story to tell about my experiences in the singapore army. I just stuck to that topic on my essay and the admissions office mentioned how much they liked it on the infamous ‘handwritten note’ on the acceptance letter.
Also, another thing that MIGHT be in your favour is your ethnicity…UVA is really trying to win some diversity points to further fuel its rising global recognition…and I feel it might not be completely limited to getting more international students in. </p>
<p>Hope that was somewhat helpful. I wish you the best of luck.</p>