<p>Well there's no surprise there and it is expected since the fairly liberal states tend to be better educated, whereas the hicky areas in the south of VA, or more appropriately, as we move from north-east to south-west VA, reflect declining education quality.</p>
<p>I placed a call just now. The lady who answered was nice (ahem, UVA admissions office, I know you can see this) Funny thing is the lady who answered was like "I know who this is..." after I said my name because my UVA rejection posts on CC had been floating around.</p>
<p>She said basically I was straight up rejected because of 2 Ds on my transcript and a C in BC Calc in Junior Year. I guess those Ds really did hurt (one on AP World History 10, one on AP Latin Virgil). Strange, because I thought since they were AP classes they would show up as Cs and Bs on the transcript (even though that isn't much better) since our school weights them 1 grade. I honestly could blame the D on just ONE assignment in world history (tip: never use Ice Cube's music, even censored, in a project- the judges will be intimidated and disqualify you). That was a big factor- even though I really don't like to blame anything on anyone else but myself or make any excuses. </p>
<p>Bottom line I learned I guess is to not take challenging courses if you can't handle them and if you think it isn't going well, drop it or change the course, because it's gonna bite you in the butt. Not even being in-state, skipping a grade, getting 800 on the Math SAT I, having a sister who goes to the school, attending the school's summer camps, or making a business that makes $2000 a week by the age of 16 could save me, and the decision is final. It's a shame because I didn't fulfill my potential, and my "potential" wasn't enough.</p>
<p>I guess I will further have to consult my guidance counselor about the transcript and re-think about where I'm gonna apply with those "Ds" (or should I say "Cs"?) on there. I'm not feeling too good about William and Mary now. </p>
<p>Oh well. Good luck to those who have gotten in to where they want. For some reason I feel relieved right now because I have a concrete answer, and I'm glad the admissions office at UVA was upfront about it.</p>
<p>Now, further suggestions are welcomed on where to apply...</p>
<p>Nolan, you know that transferring to UVA isn't out of the question. If it's your "one true love" then you'll probably try to transfer. All of us on this forum know that it's hard to get into UVA and when they have so many applicants it often comes down to nitty gritty things. You have a lot of guts to call about your decision and I know that can only help you in choosing other schools and enhancing your apps. You've obviously worked really hard and the reality is that you'll get into college somewhere.</p>
<p>What are you interested in pursuing? Answer that and then it'll be easier to give you some suggestions on other schools.</p>
<p>NolanDW, apply to William and Mary (a no-brainer alternative.) Also, you could get into the Honors Program at University of Mary Washington (right near Stafford.) It is a nice safety school and you could always transfer to UVA after 1-2 years.</p>
<p>"What are you interested in pursuing? Answer that and then it'll be easier to give you some suggestions on other schools."</p>
<p>I'm interested in pursuing business or psychology...hopefully expanding on my business/investing and perhaps real estate. Other alternatives I have right now are pretty much William and Mary and University of Maryland-College Park...possibly Virginia Tech or JMU (but I don't really like the lack of diversity at JMU). Thanks for the suggestion of Mary Washington EuroFootball, but I think it's too close to me. It's a very good school though.</p>
<p>Nolan, if I were in your position I'd be looking <em>realllly</em> hard at the Universities of Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia. Michigan might be tough (given your rank/transcript), but the other two would be excellent options.</p>
<p>How financially restricted are you and where are you from? If you're looking to enter top public schools, I'd say go for Michigan (apply EARLY because they're use rolling admissions). And Illinois and especially Wisconsin are easy to get in, from my experience. It will also be useful to tell your counselor explain the weight of those grades, so that the grades don't reflect as bad as one would think. You may try UCLA and the other UC campuses although UCLA (and Berkeley) are harsh towards out-of-staters, just like UVA is. </p>
<p>If you're financially capable, you can try USC because they place emphasis on SAT scores (during an admitted student session, they boast a lot about their high scores). </p>
<p>I'm sorry about the decision from UVA. Like I mentioned before, don't be disheartened. Admissions are quite an arbitrary process and close calls usually draw the line between those accepted and those that aren't. I am in UVA but oddly enough, I got rejected from University of Florida and UC Davis. Perhaps, they know you won't attend their schools if accepted, but perhaps they just don't want you. Feel free to AIM me if you want (bis2806).</p>
<p>"Both ED candidates from my D's school were accepted. I have no idea what their stats are like. One is an in-state non-minority male and one is an OOS (possibly with legacy) URM female."</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, how is one student in-state and another in the same HS OOS?</p>
<p>It might have to do with the residency and tax status of the parents. I knew people at my (instate, public) high school who were considered OOS, and I knew of OOS applicants who were considered instate.</p>
<p>DC residents are in a similar boat, since their tuition fees are reduced since they're technically not in-state.</p>
<p>tenniscraze, while I realize that NoVa has some of the best high schools in the country, do not demean the rest of Virginia and do not call South West Virginia "hicky". Not all Fairfax schools are great, not every school is TJ, and some Roanoke and Lynchburg schools are very good. My hicky school, with a senior class of only 50, had all 6 people accepted who applied to UVA early. A lot of Northern Virginia high schools are not batting 1.00 right now.</p>
<p>Private schools in Maryland, Virginia and DC pull students from all three jurisdictions. Some students at these schools are IS and some are OOS.</p>
<p>yea my private school is in D.C. and we have kids from MD VA and DC</p>
<p>What's your hicky school? It's probably the only good one in the south anyway.</p>
<p>"It might have to do with the residency and tax status of the parents. I knew people at my (instate, public) high school who were considered OOS, and I knew of OOS applicants who were considered instate."</p>
<p>How are OOS ppl considered instate?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Nolan, if I were in your position I'd be looking <em>realllly</em> hard at the Universities of Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia. Michigan might be tough (given your rank/transcript), but the other two would be excellent options.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yeah, Michigan indeed will be tough because of the way they calculate GPA (soph + junior unweighted).</p>
<p>
[quote]
How financially restricted are you and where are you from? If you're looking to enter top public schools, I'd say go for Michigan (apply EARLY because they're use rolling admissions). And Illinois and especially Wisconsin are easy to get in, from my experience. It will also be useful to tell your counselor explain the weight of those grades, so that the grades don't reflect as bad as one would think. You may try UCLA and the other UC campuses although UCLA (and Berkeley) are harsh towards out-of-staters, just like UVA is.</p>
<p>If you're financially capable, you can try USC because they place emphasis on SAT scores (during an admitted student session, they boast a lot about their high scores).</p>
<p>I'm sorry about the decision from UVA. Like I mentioned before, don't be disheartened. Admissions are quite an arbitrary process and close calls usually draw the line between those accepted and those that aren't. I am in UVA but oddly enough, I got rejected from University of Florida and UC Davis. Perhaps, they know you won't attend their schools if accepted, but perhaps they just don't want you. Feel free to AIM me if you want (bis2806).
[/quote]
</p>
<p>My parents really are stressing me to apply to in-state but I may end up paying off college myself. My Michigan app is almost done. Thanks for the advice and I'll probably talk to you a little bit more on it later for more input.</p>
<p>
[quote]
How are OOS ppl considered instate?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Both of these people had a parent living and paying taxes in the state of Virginia. I'm not familiar with the intricacies of the laws regarding IS/OOS status, so don't go quoting me.</p>
<p>Well, private schools present a whole different atmosphere in NoVa....believe it or not, but some kids in private schools are there because they couldn't cut it in public schools and either got into so much trouble, were hanging out in the wrong crowd, bad grades, ect, that their parents send them to private schools...now on the other side of things, there are some top-notch private schools in the area, so classifying the private schools as "wonderful" and full of rich, smart, beautiful, intellectual people isn't very true...public schools seem to put out the same caliber people as the private schools do, but its all about who works the hardest...its extremely tough to be top of your class in NoVa because there are usually 50-100 other kids competing, and when everyone takes the same AP classes (basically by junior year you're in or out of APs), they compete even harder out of school to be the best...NoVa is definently an interesting area to live/grow up in</p>
<p>on a side note, my roomate is actually using my NoVa experience as a topic for her final paper on culture images and how they affect a certain class of people (shes doing how grades, and the simple mention of A B C D or F affects high schoolers, affects high schoolers and the general youth population, and is using NoVa as her example)</p>
<p>
[quote]
My parents really are stressing me to apply to in-state but I may end up paying off college myself.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Don't do that.</p>
<p>Nolan, if UVA is your choice school and you are as attached to it as your posts suggest, I would definitely recommend staying in-state. If you were to go to a state school or a CC and have a good college semester under your belt you would be an extremely competitive transfer applicant for fall 08.</p>
<p>...because it is a private school. Some of the kids live in Virginia and some in Maryland or D.C. Sorry I was confusing.</p>
<p>Also, some kids have one parent who lives in one jurisdiction and one in another and this gives them some flexibility. Since we are near a lot of military installations/work places (Pentagon, etc.) and Congress, some kids live in one jurisdiction but are considered domiciled in another jurisdiction, which is their "home state" so domicile is a really confusing thing in this area. For UVA, it is further complicated because I understand that the University (which seems to have a broad definition of "legacy") treats out-of-state legacies as in-state for admissions purposes.</p>