<p>NQO, </p>
<p>But then do you adjust family income in terms of COLA for Fairfax County vs. Richmond vs. one of the SW VA counties? A $100,000 salary is quite high for some areas of Virginia, not so much for the metro DC area.</p>
<p>"It seems that no matter how many times we talk about our process, people will pay more attention to what they hear from sources outside of our office. Perhaps I should just give up, sign off, and let the rumors fly."</p>
<p>don't give up on making clarifying statements, Dean J re the constant misinformation out there on Quotas etc. We are grateful when you can shed light and not all of us get to see members of your staff on the road. UVa is unique and is a superb public university in a state with regions that are high contrast in terms of high school preparation..I live in SW Virginia now. UVa is just such a special learning community that of course the interest in it is going to be keen from every corner of our state. The Alumni support of UVa is always striking to me no matter where I go in the state. My thoughts are more in the vein of feeling like we need to open up a larger number of seats to instate kids in general which I feel could be done without reducing the academic admission standards. Some parts of Virginia are also very transient with parents from all over the nation, so I don't even think giving more seats to instate kids would really reduce the diversity of thought and experience which also adds to UVa's stature.<br>
I am a military brat who was always the Out of state guest, so I say I think it ought to be able to serve more instate families with reluctance. My experience with UVa was that applications are read with great attention, essays are read with care, and students are well understood in terms of their community school system no matter where they apply from-- which is amazing considering the high volume of applications your staff must review each year.</p>
<p>Our personal experience was an extremely disappointing one, and we know quite a few others whose experiences were similar (with respect to terrific students at private schools not getting in when they were highly qualified, and in some cases had even proven themselves with actual college coursework--not the "pre-college" classes-- taken and completed very successfully at UVA). With all the money that we have paid for many years to the state of Virginia, it is always a bitter pill to think that we are actually paying for so many OOS students, and that many private school students are ignored. And I am including the schools that are in the greater DC area that have students who live in No VA, but the schools are actually in the District and Maryland. They seem to treat those students differently--as though they are from OOS, just because they go to a school that is OOS, but within easy driving distance of the students' homes in NoVa. These are not boarding schools--the students commute each day, and thus driving time must be factored into the schoolwork and activity juggling act. The kids, their families and the schools are outstanding, but somehow they are not seen in the same light--and certainly not with respect to the ever-growing UVA contingent from TJ. </p>
<p>Sure, some would say "sour grapes", but we know first hand about too many students to whom this has happened for it to be just that. I certainly wouldn't expect that any of the representatives from UVA would tell us everything that is discussed in the Admissions Meetings.</p>
<p>BTW. our child who was so badly disappointed has been at a terrific & competitive school, has loved every minute and is about to graduate magna. It certainly would have been a lot cheaper for the parents of 3 children to have had her at UVA. We do recognize that kids are very happy at the school they ultimately attend--just find the UVA process to be as I've discussed above.</p>
<p>It would be interesting to see how UVA admissions assesses Virginia residents who are going to highly selective, academically rigorous private school whether they are instate or out, boarding or not. I am curious because it appears that UVA does not adjust many of the unweighted grades that are on a difficult curve from what I can see. My infor is from out of state schools for out of state students, but there is a definite advantage to come from a school that grades generously and gives high gpa numbers, from what I can see. Kids who were accepted at many of the ivies and more selective schools (than UVA's selectivity for OOS kids) often did not get into UVA with a lower than 3.5 gpa from schools where that would be extremely good and make you eligible for the most selective colleges. These kids would be comparable to TJ students in terms of being pre selected by the highschools. There are a number of DC, Maryland and Va independent schools that do cater to Virginia students and I am sure Virginia is not underrepresented in the NE prep schools. I am curious how they fare interms of acceptance to UVA. Folks we know have made remarks like "there goes UVA as our safety," upon choosing a private school over TJ.
Yes, there are a lot of rumors, most of them not true most of the time in any process. It's is appreciated when a college rep addresses them, and I do appreciate your input, Dean J. It's also useful, I would think, to hear what the perception is about ones school, particularly from the CC crowd who seem to be a knowledgeable group of parents and students when it come to the college scene. When a "rumor" is widely perceived, it should be dispelled with facts. The Princeton thread that discusses the perceived discrimination against Asians (a popular misconception) is something that should be addressed by Princeton and those other schools being accused of treating Asians the way the treated Jewish students years ago. Though I do not believe these accusations, I know some highly educated, very reasonable families who believe this to the point that if they are of mixed ancestry, they will try to "pass". It's sad when this happens. Just saying "it ain't so" is not not enough when the rumor has gone so far that it is not just the students whispering it</p>
<p>Our principal (of a Fairfax County high school) believes that UVA has a quota system and will only admit a certain number of students from each NOVA school (except, of course, TJ)! He and the guidance counselors have looked at the admit data for the last several years. He concludes that UVA admits approximately the same number of students from the school every year no matter what the academic achievement of the class is. Some senior classes have been academic, some have been very sports-driven, some have been party-goers! Doesn't matter! UVA admits about the same number every year!
He actively advises students and parents to seek alternative colleges to UVA.</p>
<p>Yorkyfan, good for your principal that he's tracking the number of admits to UVA! Hard to dispute numbers....</p>
<p>We also produced Ivana Ma, an 'Apprentice' contestant who dropped her skirt to sell m&ms. We're so proud of that.</p>
<p>I wish I could go to this school. Our school (Bx Sci) has the worst atmosphere and is so severely underfunded.</p>
<p>Wow...thanks for topping this. I haven't looked at it since my last comment. There is NO quota system in place at UVa. Our process is not a draft (where students are put side by side and picked from there), so we wouldn't have a case like the one Not Quite Old is describing. </p>
<p>Collegehopeful, you have some other magnets in NYC that are great...Bronx Science isn't the only option (though I'm not up on the restrictions that might be placed on you based on where you live in the city).</p>
<p>Several years ago I visited TJ in my role as an employee of the Office for Civil Rights, US Department of Education. I was also a Fairfax County resident then so I was pretty curious about the school. I wasn't impressed by the physical plant. It looks just like any other high school although admittedly I only saw a small part.</p>
<p>Several of us were there to speak to parents of students with disabilities at TJ, primarily learning disabilities. Many of the parents were upset as to how their children with disabilities were being treated. They said that the attitude among the faculty there was: "You're in here so why do you need help?" We offered to do a training session for the teachers, but TJ never responded to our follow-up emails.</p>
<p>Dean J. Lovely school. I had some dealings with UVA's law school when I was in OCR. You all were very cooperative, and had done the right thing. However, I think this administration has used OCR to abuse UVA, which is one of the reasons I decided to retire and move-on to Madison.</p>
<p>Thanks to UVA for accepting our son several years ago. He probably wouldn't have gone because my wife and I are Carolina grads and he was also accepted there (he went elsewhere), but we were all mighty proud of the admission offer. He was a NoVA applicant who went to private school in the District.</p>
<p>Thanks for that comment, TS. I haven't seen the OCR around my office since I came here, but I have heard that representatives were here fairly often for a while. </p>
<p>Hard to believe your son didn't wind up at UNC. I imagine he was wearing Carolina blue as a toddler. :)</p>
<p>As to the Carolina Blue: well some but not a whole lot. After all it was grad school not undergrad. He was accepted to film school at USC. That's what he wanted and that's where he went. The cost was painful considering that we had the Virginia prepaid tuition plan. I figure with the plan, 1.5 semesters at USC equaled 4 years, in terms of cost, at UVA.</p>
<p>UVA had very little in the way of film. UNC had more, and now has a screen writing program, but most of the film stuff in NC is at the NCSA or UNC-Wilmington. </p>
<p>BTW, as a footnote to nothing, my son just called while I was writing this to tell me that he and his writing partner just sold a six-month option to an independent film company on a script they wrote. It won the award for best screenplay at the LA Screamfest a couple of months ago. There wasn't a lot of money for the option, but it's a start.</p>