Out of State Students

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Virginia
21

My son is a first year student at UVA. He is from Ohio and is very happy there. UVA limits its out of state students to 1/3. U of M takes up to 40% of kids from OOS.

My husband and I both did our undergrad at U of Michigan. That is where we wanted our son to go, but he chose UVA. We are slowly getting used to the idea; his happiness certainly helps. I will always be grateful for the education/personal growth I had at U of M, both academically as well as due to the vibrant nature of the campus, diversity of the student body, and overall awesomeness of Ann Arbor.

The schools are very, very different. UVA student body as a whole is much more conservative than U of M. My son has appreciated the smaller size of UVA vs UM as well as focus on undergrads as opposed to grad school presence at U of M. Charlottesville is a lovely town and the mountains are beautiful, but I still prefer Ann Arbor–feels more cosmopolitan to me. My son does not feel like UVA is too Southern, and he also joined a fraternity. The weather is Charlottesville is MUCH better that that in Ann Arbor. U of M/Ann Arbor have a much “grittier/urban” feels than do Charlottesville/UVA, which feels much more gentile. Ann Arbor feels edgier.

UVA application of AP credit is MUCH more generous than U of M. My son had to take only one class his first semester to fulfill all his proficiencies/distributions at UVA. U of M gives AP credits, but won’t let you use them to fullfill distribution requirements–its a big deal, particularly to double major, study abroad, get out in 8 semesters.

U of M has a tons of kids from Chicago–and NYC for that matter. I think NOVA is to UVA what the Detroit suburbs are to U of M.

My son has friends from NOVA, other parts of VA, and “random out of state” kids. He has international friends as well. He has had no problems being OOS, although he does thinks its funny how kids from the East Coast have tremendous negative biases towards the Midwest. My husband and I lived in DC for six years–I have some knowledge of what he’s talking about. His sense has been that the kids from VA do NOT hang out with their high school friends, that they really want to meet new people.

My son was ready to send in the deposit to U of M in February when he got into the honors college, but my husband encouraged him to attend DOTL at UVA in april. That was all it took–he loved the campus, the students he met, and the classes he sat in on. For him, it was the right choice. I would really encourage you to visit the campus and take a hard look around. Hopefully your child will feel “right” about his choice.

Mostly, I would encourage parents to support their kids “process” and decision making. Also, we told our son he wasn’t coming home until Thanksgiving if he insisted on going to school in the middle of nowhere, seven hours from home through the mountains and WVA turnpike–I think that certainly made him think of UVA as his new home, make friends, transition.

Oh, and GO BLUE!

22

our DD could not be more northeastern liberal yet has thrived at UVA. We had reservations given the concerns voiced by OP and the stereotypes out there, but UVA is like most great universities (including UMich) - it is pluralistic and diverse, far more than people think. DD has gotten involved in a host of activities and been accepted throughout the community. The comment above as to how different NOVA is from Darien is spot on as well. There are many reasons to pick, and not to pick, UVA – but a perception of it as an exceptionally southern school is not one of them. From the vantage point of now almost one year, I think what I like best as a parent is that UVA takes what is best about tradition - the honor code, the reverence for history, the pride – and combines it with a 21st century ethos.

23

This is my opinion only, but:

First, UVA is 1/3 OOS, 2/3 Virginians. However, a hugely disproportionate number of Virginian applications (and admissions) come from NoVa, which is essentially DC suburbs, and plenty more come from other population centers/cities (Richmond, Newport News) too. So “rural Virginia” and “very Southern” students are actually in the minority. It is considered a “local” college/university to DC (and so is VT, for that matter, even though they are much farther away from us than the Baltimore schools are), because in large measure those are our children there.

Second, young adults as a rule tend to be more progressive and left-leaning. There’s an old saying, “If you’re not a revolutionary when you’re 20, you have no heart; if you’re still a revolutionary when you’re 30, you have no brain.” That captures something about human nature, I think. So unless, for example, you’re looking at a school that is either affiliated with a religion or well known to be strongly conservative, you can probably safely assume that the majority of the student body leans at least slightly left, because of their youth.

Third, it is very unlikely that you can bring together some 15,000 undergrads, 1/3 from all over outside the state, and thousands more (mostly young) graduate students, at a public university, and have their politics be heavily skewed, as a group. You’re going to instead end up with the full spectrum of politics and attitudes well represented, because of their sheer numbers.