<p>I'm currently a junior in high school. I would really like to attend UVA but the only way I can afford the out-of-state costs is by earning the Jefferson Scholarship. I was just wondering if I should just give it up based on my lackluster qualifications:</p>
<p>3.93 GPA (my school doesn't weight them) in the most challenging courses available to me. 2230 SAT (1430 math and reading), although I hope to bring that score up when I take the SAT again in the fall. Score of 5 on AP Bio, the only one I've taken so far, and hopeful to receive at least one more 5 this year. I'm involved in many extracurriculars, although they are generally not very time-consuming (this is a worry to me). I'm a member of National Honors Society and hoping to be elected president of it. However, I do not have much leadership outside of being a counselor at day camps and an officer in a couple clubs at school. </p>
<p>Is there anything else I can do to improve my chances? Should I even bother to try?</p>
<p>Something I forgot to mention: my school is not eligible to participate in regional competitions, so I would be competing against all the other students attending ineligible schools just to make it to finalist status.</p>
<p>Just so you get an idea of how competitive the Jeff Scholarship is, two of my closest friends chose it over Harvard and Yale, one had a 1600 SAT (in my time–6 years ago), perfect grades and many other accomplishments.</p>
<p>How do you know you cannot afford OOS costs? Have you pre-calculated your EFC? UVA’s Access UVA program really does a nice job of keeping your overall costs down. If you are very low income, then you will likely qualify for Pell Grants and your financial aid package will ensure your loans are capped to not exceed a certain point.</p>
<p>My son had a 1460, 5 5’s on AP’s, 2 4’s on AP’s, was an Eagle Scout, many other EC’s and volunteer hours. He was a National Merit Finalist. He was waitlisted at UVA.</p>
<p>you can’t apply for it, everyone is automatically considered when they’re reading applications unless your school is in the regional competition
or at least that’s how I understand it. </p>
<p>But as someone mentioned, AccessUVA should help with keeping the cost down for you.</p>