<p>Thanks MDmom. Her brother is at UVA and started with 37 hours advanced credit thanks to his IB program which she also attends. While I know it isn’t a safety, we are in state, she is first in her class and will be her high school’s nominee for Jefferson Scholars at UVA.We have not looked at international schools but McGill might be a great option. I haven’t seen that other state flagships schools have big advantages over UVA (especially UNC as it is close to impossible for VA kids to get accepted) but Michigan is a good suggestion.</p>
<p>And, while she is a jock, she is also the hip ultra liberal. A bundle of contradictions but all seem to fit in one package.</p>
<p>If your daughter is the Jefferson nominee for her school, she will be admitted to UVA. On our visit there, one of the admissions administrators (associate or assistant director) stated to me that they admit all nominees–and have even changed decisions for a nominee. </p>
<p>DD did look at some schools in Canada and Scotland. We were not comfortable with that much distance, but luckily for us, she decided that on her own.</p>
<p>Our son was also a Jefferson Scholar nominee. He made it through two rounds but did not ultimately get the scholarship. He was an Echols Scholar which exempted him from all general ed requirements and could apply for an Echols (multidisciplinary) major. It would be a great idea for our daughter also but she feels like she has to make her own way. That is one reason why we are not too worried about admission. She is spending the weekend in a few weeks with a friend who is already there and hopefully will feel like she can “make it her own”.</p>
<p>We have very good friends whose children both attended UVA. It is big enough that siblings certainly can make their own way. </p>
<p>Have your daughter talk to professors and ask about programs. They were very upfront with my daughter telling her strengths and weaknesses of different programs at tdifferent colleges, but they did not bash other programs. Your daughter also should look at requirements. For example, DD’s language class is five credits per semester (the first two years) and has seven contact hours. It really cuts into other classes because there is only one section of her language lecture. She will take her second year of language during the summer to free up her schedule next year. Some time along the way, she wants to start another language. If you have specific questions, just ask.</p>