<p>We don’t set the VA:OOS ratio. The state legislature does. I follow the bills that are proposed each year to change the ratio and they always seem to fail in appropriations.</p>
<p>Looking at UVa’s overall budget, about 6.9% comes from the state. Looking at the academic division alone, the number would be about 11.5%. Keep in mind that that budget includes the funds needed to operation the College at Wise. </p>
<p>Generally, about 1/3 of the Virginia population at UVa comes from NOVA. Almost every school in the region has offers in the double digits (the same is not true for other regions). It is far, far more competitive to be admitted from OOS.</p>
<p>I think it’s important to realize that we don’t compare applicants in our reading process. We look at what a student was offered at their school and what they did in light of that. Students who go to schools with limited options aren’t penalized for the school’s curriculum. If a student attends a school that offers 3 AP courses, they take all 3, and have an excellent profile, are they stronger or weaker than a student who took 4 AP courses at a school that offers 24? We don’t compare students to way many assume we do. it doesn’t make sense to compare students who had vastly different curricular options.</p>
<p>To the OP, I’ve spent ten years making school visits in NOVA for multiple colleges and I found myself smiling as each post rolled in with a different school name. I have so, so many fond memories of my visits to the schools in the region. I only get a week there each year these days, but I always wish I had two or three. Good luck with your decision and your upcoming move!</p>
<p>My husband would be working at Bolling AFB if we move. He has worked in the Pentagon area before and we have visited the DC and NOVA area many times, so we are aware of the traffic volume and commuter issues. We like the Kingstowne area because of its proximity to Bolling (the shorter the commute, the more time spent at home with us!) and because relatives lived there in the early 2000s and really liked it. We don’t want to send our kids to the most competitive schools because we don’t want to add that kind of pressure to the stress of moving. Our current high school is competitive within our state, but probably not compared to Fairfax County. RS is in top 5% here, RF is an A/B student. Neither are looking at top tier colleges: RS doesn’t need to add intense academic rigor/competiveness to physical disability and chronic health issues, RF just isn’t that kind of student . RS is interested in George Mason, while 8th grader isn’t really thinking about it much yet. </p>
<p>I appreciate all of the responses you’ve made. It makes it much easier to decide things when other people give their opinions.</p>
<p>Moving to Annandale for TJ - note, if the kid does not get in, or gets in and doesn’t like it there, you are stuck with Annandale High as a base school. No disrespect, and Annandale is I am sure a good home for many students, but many would be TJ students would find that Annandale as their fallback presents “issues” that Woodson for example doesn’t. We found ourselves in exactly that position - DD stuck it out at TJ (loves the school, but not the pressure), but it would have been nice to have had the choice.</p>
<p>Fairfax schools in general - we have, on the whole, found the system excessivly bureaucratic. I would strongly suggest considering Arlington as an alternative, if you can accept housing cost tradeoffs. (Loudon also has good schools, we are not exurban types and never really considered it) OTOH, iiuc, Arlington will no longer participate at TJ due to budget cuts. Note, TJ is a governors schoo, though run by FCPS you can go there from Loudon, Prince William, Fauquier (long commute though) and until recently, Arlington. (not Alexandria though, despite the mailing address)</p>
<p>deanJ - who sets the max number of TJ kids number :)</p>
<p>DD did not apply to UVA, she has great SAT’S, had I think a really strong essay (she was just waitlisted at WUSTL, we are waiting to hear on rest) Our impression is that UVA is mainly concerned with GPA (her weak spot, low for TJ) As it was the number of apps she did was a stressor.</p>
<p>If your policies are different than we think, you need to do a better job marketing, as you are losing some potential applicants as a result.</p>
<p>UVA admissions will deny school or regional quotas but it is darn tough for well rounded good stats NOVA girls to get admitted and even tougher for W&M.</p>
<p>Arlington is still paying to send kids to TJ - it survived the latest budget proposal. Although at the expense of some things they are looking to cut, but alas in the grand scheme of things we are still a very lucky district! I also love our Career Center options in Arlington - students can take Plumbing, Electrician training, Vet Studies, Cosmotology, Culinary Arts, TV/Media Studies, Engineering, Aviation and so much more - my apologies if I mentioned it before but it is a great and underutilized program for those kids who want to study some more “career” oriented classes outside of the standard core. My Ds experience there has set her apart in many of her apps and my D2 is set to take a class there next year.</p>
<p>Wherever you choose though, welcome to the area :)</p>
<p>My son is at Madison, near Vienna. He recently opened up to us about how hard it’s been for him there. The school has about 2,000 students, and he estimates that 1,900 of them smoke pot. He says that even the honor & AP students spend their weekends doing nothing but having sex, doing drugs, hanging out at the mall, and playing Call of Duty on PS2. If you have more conservative moral standards, you are mocked. If you don’t worship the environment and celebrate Earth Day every day, you are scorned. Teachers routinely use their bully pulpit to advance their own religious, philosophical, and political agenda, while forbidding any dissenting opion, no matter how respectfully given or how well-supported.</p>
<p>Athletes are venerated, while students with challenging academic loads and terrific grades are ignored unless they have straight As on a semester report card. </p>
<p>Students are affluent, bored, and self-absorbed. The FCPS bureaucracy is appalling, overwhelming, and uncaring. In our 5+ years in FCPS, my son has only been inspired or motivated by 3 teachers.</p>
<p>To read more about the high school experience in Fairfax county, go to urbandictionary.com and search for “Northern Virginia.” You will get an earful.</p>
<p>I think that the Kingstowne area is a pretty good one for a commute to Bolling. The Beltway can be somewhat slow but that area is much better than the area between Braddock Rd. and Chain Bridge Road. Also the commute once you leave the Beltway is usually very good except if there has been an accident. My husband often travels to Andrews on the Beltway in the morning and even that is not very problematic.</p>