<p>apologies in advance from this parent for both the obvious nature of the question and for the fact that it likely gets asked a lot on CC, but with that: daugther fell in love with UVA on her campus visit last week. We are not from Virginia. I see the stats (2 out of 3 applicants are non-Virginian but 2 out of 3 acceptances ARE Virginian), and recognize the selectivity and quality. All that said, my concern is as to whether her experience there would be as rich and diverse as at other similarly competitive colleges because of the geographical makeup. I realize this is one of the great state universities in the country, but since she would not be getting a price break for that fact, is it still a great university in the depth of exposure and richness of experience part? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>By law, UVA’s enrollment is 2/3rds in-state 1/3rd out of state. In contrast to its state flagship peers, Berkeley and Carolina are about 80% in-state, while Michigan is about 60%.</p>
<p>From a prestige perspective, tons of OOS kids want to go to UVA (hence all those OOS applications) and people know that getting into UVA OOS is very tough (due to the OOS enrollment cap). The admissions selectivity for OOS students at UVA is probably as hard (or harder) than it is at the private universities that are in the 10-30 range of the USNWR rankings.</p>
<p>If UVA seems to be a fit otherwise, I personally would think this is a very minor concern. Northern Virginia (which is where lots of UVA kids come from) is frankly pretty similar to the rest of the Boston-Washington corridor. Does it really matter that much whether your kid is surrounded, comparatively speaking, by more kids from Alexandria and somewhat fewer from Philly or Baltimore or Connecticut (which is what you’d probably find at places like Georgetown, Boston College, Cornell, etc.).</p>
<p>I grew up in the northeast I-95 corridor. Going to UVA as an OOS student broadened my horizons more than they would have been if I had gone to school someplace between Boston and DC.</p>
<p>I’m sure you will get a lot of replies but I just wanted to mention one thing. A lot of the UVA kids come from Northern VA and the Tidewater area. Many of these kids are children of military people and federal workers which means they’ve moved around a lot and bring a lot of diversity with them-they aren’t all born and raised in VA. I identify myself as a Virginian even though I was born in SC and also lived in CA before my Navy dad did his last tour in Va. Beach, making it the place I lived the longest.</p>
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<p>So, you’re saying that since two-thirds of U-Va undergrads are from Virginia and since everyone who resides within the commonwealth are all exactly alike and since the 5,000 non-Virginian U-Va-ers are all invisible that, therfore, your daughter’s experience in Charlottesville will not be “rich and diverse.”</p>
<p>Uh … yes, you are absolutely correct. Don’t apply there.</p>
<p>A high percentage of the “Virginia” residents have family from other countries. UVa includes large numbers of students who arrive directly from China, S. Korea, Singapore, India and other countries, in addition to a large number of Korean-Americans, Indian-Americans, etc. who are Virginia residents.</p>
<p>Virginia as a whole has a huge population of residents from Central America, although they do not yet make up a large share of UVa’s enrollment. A relative from Staunton Va told me his area is seeing many Russian immigrants.</p>
<p>One wise person told me that a student from an affluent Connecticut suburb has more in common with the typical student from an affluent Richmond suburb than that suburban Richmond student has in common with a typical graduate of a Norfolk city public high school.</p>
<p>@GolfFather…</p>
<p>Wouldn’t your logic suggest that the OP not attend ANY state school outside of their own state of residence? Why pick on Virginia?</p>
<p>I’d say about half my friends were OOS, half were in. Of the in-state, about a third were from northern VA, a third from the tidewater or Richmond area, and the other third from other parts of VA. Everyone brought their own perspective, experiences, and lifestyle to the table and it was pretty nice. I knew international folks as well and it was amazing to come back from break and hear what they did in their own countries.</p>
<p>The one thing, and I apologize in advance because I know that it’s a heated comment but I feel like I have to say it: I thought there was more “uniqueness” amongst the VA kids than the OOS ones. Except for a handful, most of my OOS friends all came from the northeast, attended private schools before UVa, and were generally well to do. Again, not all, I knew some from out west and a couple from the south, some were public schooled all their life, some on AccessUVa. But, for the most part, that’s just what I picked up and how I feel. For the location, the size, and the cost of UVa (again, this could be a heated comment and I apologize) the logical side of my brain says that this isn’t a bad assumption to make.</p>
<p>However, this DOES NOT take away from the fact that they were awesome people with their own personalities and I had and still have deep bonds with them. It just means that just because you’re OOS doesn’t mean you’ll find the IS-half of the school un-cultured. Which I guess hammers home my point that your D will find plenty of people to bond with and experience different things with. That’s the nice part about it being a state school :)</p>
<p>Often a problem with larger state schools is that the instaters know each other or head home on non-football weekends, etc. From our 4 years at UVa, those issues haven’t come up (and we are IS). Because of the selectivity of UVa, even for IS’ers. most students, even those from NOVA don’t come to UVa with their best friends from home. In addition, I don’t think UVa students come home on weekends nearly as much as those at other state schools within the Commonwealth. Maybe they have too work to do or maybe they are having too much fun to miss a weekend in C’ville, but they are not commuting back and froth between school and home, for the most part.</p>
<p>GolfFather, chill. It was a question, not a statement. May you miss your next critical three-footer. The rest of you, thanks very much – very helpful.</p>
<p>Super honest moment: I left Boston for Virginia eight years ago because of a major project that was about to begin at UVa. I thought I’d move on back to a major city up north once the project was complete.</p>
<p>That project’s been done for four or five years now. :)</p>
<p>I’m constantly delighted by the students at UVa.</p>
<p>Here is the thing that everyone is forgetting. Wherever you came from, your heart quickly becomes UVA’s, and the sense of ‘we are all UVA’ supersedes the place you spend holidays. In a sense, your background fades if that makes sense. UVA encompasses everyone (ok, maybe 95% but I never met anyone in the other 5%, I’m just assuming they’re there) and its very quickly not relevant from whence one came. What matters is where you are. I had friends from NC, MA, NY, Chicago, and Washington state as some of my best buddies. They now live in Costa Rica, DC, NC, Kansas, and California, respectively. My best Virginia friend from NoVa is in Raleigh. My other 3 best friends from VA are in Richmond (was from SW VA), portland, Oregon, and Pittsburgh. Believe me- UVA features the best of o,d Virginia- traditions and stunning architecture and a friendly student/ faculty group but does not favor Virginians nor resign one to a life in Virginia (though I was born and raised here and love proudly calling it home). Wahoowa! Hope your D and mine are both in Charlottesville this fall.</p>