Chances of Getting Into UVA from Cali...

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Virginia
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<p>Hey. My name is Dani and I am going to be a senior at my Catholic all girls private school in San Jose, California. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED UVA when I visited it this summer and I really want to go there... I want to know if you guys think I have a chance? And, if I should apply early decision... I know UVA is where I want to go but I'm not sure if I should do ED... here are some of my scores and stats</p>

<p>Weighted GPA: 4.51
Rank: 2/200 Top 1%
ACT: 2/05 - (31) 6/05- (32)
SAT II: Us History (740) and I will take MATH IIC and Literature in the fall
AP: Psychology (5) Us History (4) and I will take APs in English Literature, Spanish, Government, Biology, and Calculus AB/BC this year</p>

<p>Courses I have taken:
spanish: spanish 1, honors spanish II, honors spanish III
religion: religion 9a and 9b, religion 10, women of faith, ethics
science:honors biology 1, honors chemistry, honors physics
social studies: psychology, ap psychology, ap us history, accelerated world history 9a and 9b
english: accelerated english 9a and 9b, honors english 10a and 10b, ap english 3 and 4
others: theater productions, step and weight aerobics</p>

<p>Senior Year Courses:
- Ap Calculus
- Ap Spanish IV
- Honors Civics
- Ap English 1 and 2
- Social Justice
- Scripture
- Drawing and Painting 1 and 2
- Ap Biology II</p>

<p>Top Junior Student
National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalist
Peer Tutoring Recognition</p>

<p>Extra Curriculars-
- California Youth and Government (Rising president of local deligation)
- Lead America National Junior Leadership Conference - Congressional Forum
- Students for Political Action
- Volunteer work at local Sacred Heart Community Center
- Club Volleyball
- High School Frosh/JV Volleyball team
- Volleyball coaching at local Junior High School
- Peer Tutoring
- Mu Alpha Theta Honors Math Society
- California Scholarship Federation </p>

<p>I still need to take the SAT, my SAT II's and maybe the ACT again... does anyone think I have a shot? and should I do early decision even tho I'm from Cali?</p>

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<p>4.51? I love these out of state GPAs...</p>

<p>Uhh, looks as if you are pretty set to me. Class rank is great and extracurrics seem good, though I don't know the level of commitment for each of them...just write good essays (though I have my doubts that the adcom actually reads them)!</p>

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<p>Dani, I'm glad to hear that you liked UVA. You've got a great shot, whether you apply ED or RD, but if UVA's your top choice, applying ED will give you a big boost. UVA's yield rate for out-of-state admitted students is relatively low, so it would probably be in their best interest to lock up someone like you early.</p>

<p>Oh, and about the essays: yes, they do read these. They are one of the primary factors in selecting Echols scholars.</p>

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<p>cavalier302, I was under the impression that ED had about the same admissions rate as RD. Am I mistaken about that?</p>

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<p>according to USNews.com, the rates are nearly identical: ED-38%, RD-40%. But, I would think that for OOS, it never hurts to show a little more love to the school by ED. btw: UVa has ~30% OOS.</p>

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<p>No, you're not mistaken about that, wahoo2007. But acceptance rates aren't everything. The relative qualities of the two groups are presumably very different. The early decision pool is <em>mainly</em> filled with people who are borderline, people who are slightly above the mean, and "what-the-hell" applicants. I would assume few people instate with 1450+'s and top 1% class ranks are going to apply ED. I mean, I'm sure it happens, but the applicant pool isn't exactly overly populated with these types. Someone who does have very strong numbers (above UVA's 75th percentile) would put himself/herself in a virtual "lock" position by applying ED.</p>

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<p>May I ask... why not Berkeley?</p>

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<p>Yeah, I hear Stanford calling too...
<a href="http://www.stanford.edu/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.stanford.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>umm...Berkeley is toooo big, UVA is nice and pretty.</p>

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<p>I agree. Having grown up 20 minutes from Stanford and 60 minutes from Berkeley, I have been in the bay area all my life. I have visited these campuses and I have visited about 20 schools total between the east and west coast. Of all the schools, I liked UVA the best. I just wanted to know if I had a chance of getting in there, that is all.</p>

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<p>danidebold, sounds like you've done your due diligence. Visits are the best way to decide. If you feel most comfortable here, then UVa should definitely be on your list of top three. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>cavalier302, that's a very insightful comment on early decision yeilds, thank you. Would you think someone (me) with excellent ECs, 1380 SATs, and a 3.8 GPA have a solid shot for ED if they are in state?</p>

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<p>Yes. Very, very good shot. What school do you go to? What rank does that GPA give you?</p>

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<p>I go to a highschool in Roanoke and that GPA puts me at about 12-15%ish, but each year about 8-10 kids to UVA. It's not Jefferson High School but it isn't Podunk, Oklahoma either.</p>