Also, the on-campus apartments mostly have 9-month leases since most students don’t stay in Charlottesville during the summers.
My Fourth Year son paid about $650/month for his room(plus some utilities) in a very crummy 4 bedroom apartment 2 years ago that was near Scott Stadium. The past 2 years he has been paying $800 (plus utilities) for a much nicer 4 bedroom/2 bath apartment on Wertland. Great location. Yes we have paid for a mostly empty apartment for the past 2 summers…and this summer it also will be empty until late July. He never got a meal plan and chose to cook with some of his roomates. He probably spends about $300 to $350/month on food.
There’s a requirement that you live in University housing as a first year, but the options open up after that. They guarantee a spot in University Housing 2nd year if you fill out the request form before the deadline. As for after that, I’ve never heard of them kicking a student off Grounds. Sometimes people don’t get their first choice, but I think they always have room. See the quote from the FAQs below.
There’s actually a surplus of housing in Charlottesville, so there are bargains out there. However, some of the privately-owned buildings are packed full of amenities and rents reflect that. Also, some private buildings are closer to certain academic buildings than the UVA-owned apartments, which adds to the attractiveness of off-Grounds housing.
In my experience kids at many schools move off campus second year, regardless of how much housing is available They are anxious to have “their own” place that doesn’t come with “rules.” I helps that it likely comes with a private bedroom, even if the rest of the place is shared. You may save money, but don’t bank on it. Kids always underestimate how much it costs to live on their own.
Good information from all. Thank you.
If it’s any consolation, I’m also from NY and my daughter is attending UVA in the fall for engineering and as a varsity athlete. There is not a SUNY school that compares to Virginia, in my opinion. OOS tuition is comparable to private schools - I don’t look it as paying more and “only” getting a public school education, I view it as just not being fortunate enough to live in the fine state of Virginia benefit from the subsidized cost that allows them to attend one of the best colleges in the world for very little $$.
And based on the EA statistics of offers, OOS students that are accepted probably trend towards the upper 50% academically:
Middle 50% SAT score: 1360-1500 (VA) 1440-1540 (OOS)
Middle 50% ACT composite: 31-34 (VA) 33-35 (OOS)
@jmk518, Congratulations to your daughter! Even Virginia residents are not paying “very little money” if full pay. An instate engineering student is paying about $33,000 a year these days. There are OOS kids that could actually be paying less if they qualify for need based aid, ( which is primarily what UVA gives, as opposed to merit aid). There are some OOS students that are probably attending for less than many full pay instate students.
@sevmom I should have been more clear - “very little money” is relative to full-pay private. Let’s just say, even with the athletic aid, I wish I lived in-state! I have another daughter that will enter college next year, so I should benefit from UVA meeting 100% need. $33k for UVA is a bargain,
Binghamton grad here, now Virginia resident with a D waiting to hear from UVA. NY and Virginia have two of the best public university systems in the country so hard to go wrong academically. Yes UVA scores high on all the dubious US New rankings but from an academic standpoint programs can vary widely within schools. For Liberal Arts and Science, its gonna be ahrd to beat UVA-- whether that warrants spending and extral 20k is another question. But for Art and Technology, I am not so sure UVA would be my choice. Some of the best public art programs are in New York schools, for example (also VCU in Virginia). So I guess I would say take a hard look at the specific programs your D is interested in, in addition to considering the overall university. I will say for certain, having spent four years in Binghamton, NY, the weather in Charlottesville is a lot better.
We are from NY and seriously considering UVA. Binghamton is a great school but I don’t think it comes close to UVA in any way. The main attraction to Binghamton is the cost. Lots of decisions to make in next few months. UVA v Binghamton v WashU (with some $$) v Miami (with presidential scholarship) v U Michigan, and maybe a few more in the coming weeks. At this point for my D it will probably come down to UVA v WashU. Hope to make the right decision as a family.
I think US News and World Report has done prospective college students a huge disservice with these rankings . Is UVA and excellent school, absolutely; is it 20+k a year better than Binghamton or any number of other quality public Universities. I doubt it. I am fortunate to live in state so wouldn’t have to face the choice of picking a so called lesser choice school over UVA (although even if my D were to get in, she is leaning towards VCU and Virginia Tech over UVA at the moment). But there are many many excellent schools that don’t score that high in the rankings and, IMHO, the US news “data” is very flawed.
US News gives points for high amounts of spending per student. UVa spends less per student on average than most “elite” private universities. Part of the reason is that Cville has a lower cost of living than the Bay Area, the Boston Area, DC or NY Metro area where many of the “elite” colleges are located. However, part of the reason is that UVa is more cost-efficient.
US News also gives points for the percentage of alums that contribute to the U. While UVa has many generous and loyal alums, there are some Va. residents who feel they are already paying their share in state taxes and who do not donate. Therefore, the percentage at UVa is lower than many “elite” private institutions.
Hi!!! As a current OOS UVA student, I’d like to give my perspective that isn’t some of these that are from parents and only hearing second-hand. 
UVA is one of the top 3 public universities in the country. No doubt about that. I’m not sure about SUNYs, but the fact is the education there just isn’t what it is at UVA. It’s consistently ranked this way for a reason. Your financial situation is individual of course, but I can say that when comparing UVA to private schools, UVA was 60k a year as opposed to 70k (for those without scholarships) and over 4 years, that adds up. On the note of private schools, I see you made comments about professors not being accessible. I have had nothing but great experiences with this, including in large introductory classes. While each professor has individual methods, they are very enthusiastic about meeting with you and are some of the top in their field. I will say that this is not a small school the size of a high school – students may need to show initiative and reach out first, but this is college and expected. Professors are enthusiastic as long as students are the same to speak with them.
UVA has really strong programs across fields, and while I can’t speak directly to the sciences, I will say that if she’s undecided about what major she wants, I’ve found strength there at UVA. I came here uncertain, but thinking of a science major. I have now done a total 180 and am working in policy and the humanities, convinced by the sheer quality of my teachers and the diverse strength in its programs (and that I just have always been a humanities, not a science person). UVA is a great school, and no matter what major your daughter leaves with, she will leave with a UVA degree. The same cannot be said of all schools and their programs.
Having AP credit is extremely beneficial. It helps to remove Gen Eds. At the same time, plenty of my friends didn’t have APs at their schools (so no credit). They have not been at any disadvantage, and I know UVA is also revamping its requirements to have it suit different interests.
My first year I had several small classes. It honestly depends on your major interests and pre-reqs. Intro Biology and Micro have lectures of 500 students (and TAs to provide the small class discussion). A seminar on the Global South might have 6. I also believe McIntire has a minor that you can register for classes through.
As a large state university, there is tons and tons of access to research. As I mentioned before, it takes students their own motivation to seek it out – but it’s not hard, seeing as emails are sent out from millions of different groups to advertise. While they won’t just give it to you, it’s not hard to look or find support.
@perrin9, thank you for providing details about your experience.
We are comparing UVA to other private schools and do want to make sure that the academic experience is similar. I have no doubt that it meets my daughter’s criteria on school spirit, intellectual vibe, location in college town, social opportunities, wide range of majors, etc.
One of the concerns is that UVA functions like a public school but costs nearly the same as a private school (and in our case more than some private schools because our D has received merit scholarships.) So I really appreciate hearing from a current student that the support and personal attention is there for the students who look for it.
Can you comment on your housing experience?
Hi! I’m another current UVA student, and though I’m late to the party I hope I can still be of some help!
For housing, the first year dorms are perfectly fine–in old dorms and new dorms, you get a great hall community, and in CDF and Gooch-Dillard, you get the benefit of more space and privacy. Most students tend to live off grounds after first year. Second years often live in UVA-owned apartments like Bice (http://housing.virginia.edu/area/140) or Lambeth (https://housing.virginia.edu/area/1171). Some common rental agencies among students are MSC (https://livewithmsc.com/) and BMC (http://www.tbmcom.com/). The listings on their websites are pretty representative of what off-grounds housing is like.
I also just wanted to chime in on the large class/professor accessibility issue in the sciences. As a Physics and CS student, I have not found it difficult to get to know my professors at all. Office hours do get busy, but professors are very responsive to emails and often stick around after class to answer questions. They want their students to succeed, so they will absolutely be willing to set up times to meet one-on-one to help with coursework or just give general life advice.
Good luck with your decision! Go hoos!
I think it’s not a good idea to pay 60K for OOS! Go to the private school for the same amount of money, good luck
While UVA is a public school, it is smaller than the typical “large state school” that people think of - nowhere near the size of Ohio State, UT Austin, Texas A&M, Penn State, etc. It’s a lot closer in size to Cornell, Northwestern, U. Penn, etc. My top choices were Michigan, Virginia, and Cornell, and the functional differences between the three were completely invisible to me, public or private. Personally, I don’t think that UVA being public would make it a lesser school that a private school that costs the same, but that’s just me.
We are in the midst of a UVA v Cornell decision. My daughter is really leaning towards UVA and is actually there today for day on the lawn. She is visiting Cornell on Friday for their admitted students day. Both great schools…tough choice. We prefer Cornell as its closer to us and and a bit less expensive but ultimately we will let her choose.
Good luck, tough decision! We are 6 hours from UVA but honestly it isn’t horrible. He takes Amtrak home for breaks. they have a long weekend in OCtober and parents weekend. The spring he was home for a week. Its this last stretch that seems long but he will be home in a month. Surprised Cornell came out cheaper - perhaps try and negotiate any aid they gave you if UVA is her choice. You never know. Good luck!
@quadaces its funny I always tell people that UVA is a public school with a private school sense of community.