Hi all,
Daughter was thrilled to be accepted EA to UVA. She likes the size of the school, school spirit, variety of social activities on campus, location in a college town and the prestige/reputation of the school.
We know UVA is one of the top-ranked public universities but, given the higher OOS tuition, we need to be convinced that the academics are worth it!
What makes it a “great” school?
Seems fairly easy to get credit for AP courses; how beneficial is that?
D is most likely a science major (maybe a social science) - any feedback on the sciences?
Can anyone coming from a smaller high school comment on transitioning to large lecture classes the first year? Is it just 1st years who should expect larger lectures of more than 100 students?
If she majors in Arts/Sciences but wants to take courses in McIntyre, is that possible? Hard to register for?
Any other feedback on experience with advisors, class registration, access to research or internship opportunities is appreciated.
Maybe my choice of words in the title of this post was too dramatic - I was just trying to attract interest! But yes, I would like more details about the academic piece from people that know more about the school than we do. If I knew a current student I would ask them directly. But since I don’t, I’m turning to this forum in hopes that a current student or parent (or recent grad) will chime in with their personal experiences.
We have visited and liked what we saw. Plan on visiting again for DOTL but that’s at least 6 weeks away.
Hi, I too am an OOS parent. First Congratulations on your daughters acceptance. My son transferred in as a 2nd year from a smaller university. He also came from a private high school with a graduation class of about 250. That being said he has embraced the largeness of UVA. Hehas found his Niche with a club sport and is also pledging a frat and does some volunteering. He is in arts and sciences and most of his AP classes transferred which is really helpful to fulfill some of the core requirements. It also opens room up for a minor or double major.He is a pre business major. Non Mcintire can take intro to business, managerial and financial accounting and business law. It was not hard to register for these classes, I don’t know what other Mcintire classes are available. The application process is mid 2nd year, in fact notifications come out in the next week or so. There is also a business institute program for arts and sciences majors. Not really sure of the details with that.
The large classes also have discussion sections with a graduate student which is helpful. The classes without grad students, he has found the professors very approachable and available during office hours.
Overall this has been a great experience. The one thing I will say is that these kids are smart. It is an eye opener when they don’t get all A’s. my son had an English teacher basically tell him a B is an A at UVA. Kids are competitive but I don’t have the impression that it is cut throat . Definitely go to days on the lawn. We did not because we didn’t come in from us but everyone says how great it is. Good luck, feel free to message me or ask other questions.
I think that the main issue is that it depends upon what other alternatives your daughter has, what it will cost, and what your financial situation is.
UVA is certainly a very good school. There are a lot of very good schools, although not all that many that are ranked higher than UVA.
Given your screen name I might guess that you are from New York. Would I take on significant debt and pay just over $60k per year to go to UVA instead of paying much less to go to one of the SUNY’s (if I was in-state for the SUNYs)? Probably not.
Do you have younger kids? Whatever you pay for your older kids is a precedent.
Assuming that your kid has another great choice that is more affordable, then you need to calculate the total different in cost over the course of 4 years, after aid, but including differences in travel costs and an inflation factor. If higher interest rate loans would be needed, that also needs to be factored in.
Then, I would try to answer the question: “Is a degree in _________ from UVa worth $_________ more than the same degree from __________ University?”
Also, keep in mind that housing and food in many parts of the Northeast (the parts with the better universities) is much more expensive than in Cville.
For students who are eligible for state grants, that also needs to be considered. Some states do not allow their grants to be used at out of state colleges, or reduce the amount of the grants.
As noted above, the need to reserve savings for other siblings is critical - particularly since a relatively low percentage of universities meet 100% of financial need. With AccessUVa, even if a family is not currently eligible for aid, they may become eligible if a 2nd or 3rd kid attends college during the same year.
Thank you for all of the information. We won’t be taking out loans to pay for this. We’re willing to pay assuming it’s “worth” it to us.
@collegehelp4us, I appreciate the feedback you gave. Those are the types of details that we’re looking for. Our student tour guide was great but also made some comments that made us think the advising might not be the best. Not that it would make or break our decision but we would like to consider all pros/cons. It was helpful to hear that your son has had a good experience and that the professors and TAs have been accessible.
Hi there! I am an OOS first-year, and did come from a small high school. I did not find the transition from small classes to large lectures to be that bad; it’s only an issue if I’m really tired and start to drift off to sleep :). My science classes this year so far (Bio, Chem, Psych, Enviro) have all been in large lecture halls, but I have had no issues with them. Getting to the professor’s office hours can be difficult since they only hold them once or twice per week and a lot of students go, but the TA’s all hold office hours and are just as helpful. 2nd and 3rd years do have to deal with large lectures sometimes, but the more one progresses into their major, the less the large lecture classes they have to take.
I came to UVA because I liked the idea of a larger school with a lot of different people that had the “traditional” feel of the campus/grounds: the gorgeous, brick buildings (especially the lawn and rotunda, absolutely beautiful!), the traditions (trick or treat on the lawn, lighting of the lawn, the good ole’ song, etc.), and more. But even then, UVA does not feel like a large state school at all; it has more of a medium-size private school vibe to it. UVA’s financial aid program, Access UVA, was wonderful, and thanks to the financial aid I was awarded, UVA cost me less than my in-state public flagship! I personally did not send in my AP scores but I have heard from my peers that UVA is very lenient with the credits and helps some students place out of prerequisite classes or into more advanced intro classes.
As for research, I know UVA has the Undergraduate Research Network (look up UVA URN and their website has a ton of info) which streamlines the process for undergrads trying to get lab research experience. Each 1st year is assigned a faculty advisor; mine was really helpful when planning and scheduling courses, as well as examining majors and required requisite classes. The reputation is unbeatable; people back in my state are typically very impressed when they hear that I go to UVA (especially if they pay attention to college basketball haha). Overall, I love the whole UVA experience–the school spirit, being surrounded by very smart and motivated students, the traditions–even as a busy pre-med student. Sorry for the rambling but I hope this helps!
@seaotter17, thank you for the info. It doesn’t thrill me that it’s so difficult to meet with a professor at office hours; wonder why that’s still acceptable at UVA. This is where the concern about it being a state school comes into play for me - at a private college we hear professor’s are very accessible. Although I understand that the TAs could be just as helpful, it would seem to limit a student’s potential to develop any sort of relationship with the professor.
I’ve seen on social media that UVA students are looking for private tutors. Can anyone comment on that? I thought (perhaps naively) that colleges offered “free” tutoring. Is tutoring only available for certain courses?
Another approach is shared responsibility. If your student really likes UVA you should have an agreement that says they should share the expense and repay a % of the cost over the instate option. That way everyone makes a rational decision.
There is a tutoring center. My son was successful in getting help from professors. Also many of the large classes have discussion classes with the TA in addition to the lecture. These are also helpful.
I like the “shared responsibility” approach. If your son or daughter wants to attend a much more expensive university than another great choice that is available to them, make them take out loans if they choose the more expensive choice. That will make them understand opportunity costs.
Most students need to take out a full set of federal loans regardless of which college they choose. When my son was choosing between UVa and a more expensive private university, I told him that if he selected UVa, he would only need to work during the summers. However, if he selected the more expensive university, he would have to work during the school year. That was persuasive to him. Then he attended a UVa fraternity party (without my advance knowledge), and he didn’t need any additional convincing to pick UVa.
They locked my thread for exposing the unfortunate truth. I would not come here—especially as an OOS where it will be even harder to the connect with the other 2/3rd of the school that is already in a clique before the year starts. I go over more reasons why not on my post. A very toxic culture that the school throws a blind eye to. It’s you’re life at the end of the day, and I do not know your other options, but I would think very long and hard before coming here.
You may want to contact the UVA Parents Association. They will have POC for your local Alumni network and you can talk to other OOS families. I am instate and have some of the same concerns about class size and accessibility. However, based on my own experience at a small private LAC, students don’t really start having a lot of contact with profs until they get past the core classes anyway. Indeed, a TA may be in a better position to help a Frosh understand what to expect on a test .
For those of you that have experience with kids at UVA and another university, could you comment on how the class registration process compares? Is it harder to register for classes at UVA, particularly the first two years?
I’ve read that students need to get on several waitlists and attend those classes as well for the first few days of classes. More common in certain majors? Is this the norm at most schools anyway?
Thank you.
My son is a second year transfer at UVA. He cam from a university that had 6600 students. It was very hard to get into classes he wanted. They really adhered to the class cap and from what he experienced there was not alot of movement in terms of being pulled off a waiting list especially if other sections had openings. There is also the athlete angle- they get first dibs at class registration. From what I hear that is common anywhere. He registered for his classes at UVA over the summer at orientation. They gave each student 3 classes and told them that the schedule would open up in early August. I was concerned but he ended up with classes he needed and with great times. 2nd semester was a little harder b/c most of his requirements were fulfilled. He did get in one class off the wait list easily. In the end he got what he needed. I think the benefit of a larger school is the flexibility of different sections. Enjoy your DOTL!
Can anyone give me an idea of how off grounds housing costs compare on on grounds? Room and board for on-grounds housing is about $11,600. Since so many students move off their 2nd year (and rentals are typically for a 12-month period), we’d like to get a better handle on the costs, understanding they vary by apartment.
we are paying 650 next year for a room in a 4 bedroom house plus utilities. Some places can go higher to like 900 but come furnished. Did you join the UVA PArent Network group in Facebook? Parents there are gret and very helpful.
So it seems like off grounds housing costs anywhere from $8000-$10,000 (based on other estimates on the UVA Parent Network), not including utilities or food. Do students typically get a less expensive meal plan?
I’m still trying to figure out why so many students move off their 2nd year since the options on grounds seem nice enough.
@newyorkmom2girl UVA only has guaranteed dorm options for first-year students; after that, students move either into on-campus apartments, off-campus apartments, or into the residential colleges (which are dorms). The vast majority of students move to an apartment 2nd year (on or off campus) since there aren’t dorms outside of the residential colleges (which are Brown, Hereford, and the International Residential College; they require an application). I do believe that a less expensive meal plan option is allowed.