<p>I know that UVa gets nearly 15,000 apps a year and it just makes me wonder how much they weigh the essay. It seems unlikely that they would be able to thoroughly evaluate 3 essays from 15,000 students; so basically my question is how much weight does the essay hold, in comparison to test scores, class rank, gpa, teacher recs?</p>
<p>Many top universities get 15,000+ apps per year (harvard gets over 20,000), so that's not a huge issue. Essays probably aren't as important as grades and test scores for just getting in, but they're very important in the selection of Echols/Rodman Scholars.</p>
<p>that answered my question, and the one i was about to ask, concerning the echols. thanks a lot cav, i really appreciate all your help. heh, im goin nuts right now with the early deadline a month away. i have like 50 posts on this board. yep.</p>
<p>so would you say the echols selection process is less stats driven and more essay and character driven?</p>
<p>Here's how it was explained to me by someone in admissions and by my high school GC (who, while working on his PhD at UVA, sat in on admissions sessions):</p>
<p>A certain number of people are essentially auto-admits. They're the ones with 99th percentile test scores, class ranks in the top 1%, great ECs, great recs, etc. These applications are generally read once and then forwarded to the Echols selection committee, where essays and recommendations become the key factors for acceptance to the program. I think that of those put forth to the selection committee, about 1/3 are selected to be Echols Scholars.</p>
<p>So, yea, people picked to be Echols Scholars have top stats and great essays/soft factors.</p>
<p>The essays may be important for scholar selections. However, from personal experience, I really think they somewhat compensated for my below-average-for-uva-admit test scores. They are very important and I felt they were what that got me in. Be passionate and honest in your essays, because in the end they will help.</p>
<p>So what did you write your essays about that helped so much? I'm stuck thinking about what I can write about that'll make me stick out or help me, because I'm in the same boat: I need the essay to compensate for test scores.</p>
<p>tenniscraze and staett, I'm in the same boat as well. I feel like I wrote 3 great essays, and I'm hoping they'll make up for whatever I'm lacking GPA-wise. (I'm out of state, by the way.)</p>
<p>tenniscraze, were you oos? Could you possibly message me your stats from when you applied?</p>
<p>hey cav, what are u majoring in and how is the work load for you so far??</p>
<p>I'm a physics major. So far, the work load isn't terrible, but I'm a fairly lazy person and I blow off a bit more work than I should...</p>
<p>UVA students generally work pretty hard in the week (especially those in premed classes) but have plenty of time for other pursuits.</p>
<p>so did u apply to the college of engineering??</p>
<p>No, I'm in the College of Arts & Sciences. I'm not really the engineering type.</p>
<p>I applied to CLAS and got "****ty" SAT scores</p>
<p>My stats:
Int'l Student
Rank: top 10% - 5/45
530v 660m
620wri 640phy 650math2c
International Baccalaureate Diploma - Predicted 36/45 points:
(Math HL, Geo HL, Indo B HL, EnglishA1 SL, Business SL, Physics SL)
GREAT recommendations (math+business), GREAT counselor rec - the best you could ask for
297/300 TOEFL score</p>
<p>1.Varsity Team for tennis - travelled to Thailand for SEASAC tournament (all the int'l schools in South East Asia compete)
2. Vice-Chairperson for Studnet Council
3. Co-founder of Amnesty Int'l
4. Habitat for Humanity....
5. Won accolades in drama and also badminton</p>
<p>Now, my SATs were, in my opinion, the only below-average component of my application. My essays were really crucial and since I applied to Stanford, I used my stanford essays as a basis/approach to answering the three questions in my UVA application.</p>
<p>I talked about my struggle about my own identity as a gay guy, and what came out of this experience that leads me to wanting to contribute to diversity at UVA - I believe I answered the diversity question. In my second essay, which is for CLAS applicants, I talked about my interest and curiosity during a class I attended at Stanford (It was a matrix theory class) - and how Math provoked me in a positive and educational manner. The topic of free choice, I talked about my interest for planes, and how it led me to having a passion for math. I briefly discussed my research and the end talked about what I wanted to do at UVA and how I would contribute to the academics here.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Oh I forgot to add that I also did college courses at Stanford in 2004, in Matrix Theory and Its Applications and Oceanography. I got a B and a C respectively.</p>