<p>I visited the University of Virginia this previous spring and really fell in love with the campus. It's beautiful down there and it's a great school and a pretty good value, even for out-of-staters like myself.</p>
<p>Anyway, I was wondering if I could run some stats by everyone and hear some feedback as to what my chances are of getting into UVa.</p>
<p>I am Delaware resident, a white, Catholic, male.
I attend a public school and have a 3.9 unweighted GPA.
I rank 10th in a class of 270
I have taken one of the hardest course loads available at my school, all honors classes and seven AP course (bio, chem, gov, physics, calc, us hist) and have scored 5s on my bio, chem and gov exams.
My SATs are 680 (verbal), 650 (math), and 650 (11) (writing)
I also took these SAT IIs 760 (bio M), 770 (chem), 610 (Math Level 1)</p>
<p>I have run cross country for school all four years and have been the captain of the team for all four years. I was also named the team MVP and made 3rd team all-state.
I have also run track for all four year and served as captain of that team as well.
I swam for two years, but then decided to run winter track instead.
I am in my schools National Honor Society and I serve as President of the Science National Honor Society (I'm a science geek if you can't tell already)
I have been involved with a number of student government organizations and community service groups. I volunteer over 100 hours a year. </p>
<p>I know UVa is a real tough ticket for out of staters, that's why I am applying regular decision. I plan to major in biology or chemistry and (maybe) considering entering a pre-med program, although I know UVa is very competitive for pre-med. Anyway I would really apreciate some feedback on what my chances are on getting admited to UVa. Thanks.</p>
<p>UVa is a real heartbreaker. What is it about this school that make some kids absolutely fall in love with it? Anyway my d was one of those kids. OOS from NY. Honestly, I do not think your chances are great, but if you love the school, you gotta go for it. My d had higher stats, applied ED and was deferred and later rejected. We visited the school twice- she wrote letters to admission office. She did all the things she could do to express her interest in UVA. 3 kids from her HS applied ED to UVA that year. All 3 were rejected. Two of them are now at Cornell and one at UNC-- so all 3 were really solid students. So please apply but look at other schools too. UVA seems to love OOS athletes, so if you are "recruitable" for track, that may help your chances. Good luck.</p>
<p>I'm sorry to hear that Marny1. I'm sure your daughter would have loved it at UVa. </p>
<p>MeyerXC, I generally don't like giving people my advice about whether or not they'll get into UVa since its Admissions Office looks as so many factors beyond just one's stats. Therefore I really don't know if someone would be accepted. Even people with perfect SAT scores have been rejected. Nonetheless, here's an article about UVA's Admissions Office and Early Decision. Though you're applying Regular Decision, this missive will give you some insight into the minds of the admissions officers.</p>
<p>Globalist- that article seems a bit dated (at least regarding Metro NYC kids and I assume Boston-Chicago etc). It used to be thought that if you had a marginal chance of getting into a school, apply ED because it is the equivalent of adding 100 points to your SAT score and ED was your best shot of getting in. You have so many great applicants from certain metro areas applying for so few spots, that schools are getting top notch applicants applying ED. In my d's case, I'm familiar with all the 3 ED kids who applied to UVA there were 2 RD kids also -- all 5 were either waitlisted or rejected. All 5 were in top 3-7% of class- all had SAT's over 1400--all Nat'l Merit Commended--lots of AP's- great EC and Rec's. Being from Long Island, I've seen many of our local soccer and lacrosse players get into UVA. I guess the can fill their NYS quota of kids by taking our best athletes and a handful of others. Anyway my d is now a soph at Cornell. She's Happy- I'm Happy. MeyerXC- as applying ED seems to hurt rather than help, I suggest you apply RD. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>Yeah, the article is 3 years old, but the process is still the same. I know it's hard to get into UVa out of state - I would say equally as hard for both Early Decision and Regular Decision. Nonetheless, the largest contingent of OOS students at Virginia is from NY - over a 100 every year. The Northeast in general is especially competitive since the largest chunk of OOS students are from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachussetts.</p>
<p>That's a tough call man. UVA's hard to get into from out of state. A year ago I lived in Florida and really liked UVA. By chance, we moved to Virginia and are now state residents. Now (you're gonna hate me for this) UVA is my backup. I know that seems chancy since it's such a great school, but I have a friend who got in with like a 3.0 and a 1600 (that's all three, math, writing, and verbal) on the SAT. I must say, it's a blessing to live in Virginia</p>
<p>Really? That's shockingly low even for instate. Does your friend have any particular talent/skills going for him/her? UVa looks for students (instate and out-of-state) who excel or at least are trying to excel against a backdrop of difficult situations (i.e. extreme poverty, etc.). I used to volunteer in the Admissions Office, so I know.</p>
<p>Well he goes to the governor's school with me which I guess helps him out and he comes from a VERY rural area. He also applied ED, but I was still shocked he got in, considering his scores. His grades aren't too hot either, he's failing calc right now.</p>
<p>Well, if he fails Calculus, there's a good chance UVa might rescind its offer. When seniors slack off their last year/semester and do badly even after being accepted, UVa has been known to take back its offer of admission.</p>
<p>Your friend better not drop the ball. If his scores are that low, it wouldn't take much for UVa to rethink its admissions offer. Someone in the Admissions Office must have believed in him for some reason and was fighting for him. It would suck if he let that person down.</p>
<p>By the way, though it's easier for instate students to get in, it's not exactly a piece of cake just because you have good scores. My friend attended a VA high school where one year it had 2 valedictorians and 2 salutatorians, and all 4 of them were rejected by UVa.</p>
<p>MeyerXC, I'm not trying to scare you w/ all this info. The one great thing about UVa is that it looks at each applicant in totality. Unlike some public schools, UVa doesn't cut you off if your GPA or SAT falls below a certain number. UVa realizes that each person is more than the sum of his/her scores, and it will look at everything that you bring to the table.</p>
<p>Good point, UVA is like a public ivy. I've heard of some smart Virginians not getting in. I guess this guy got in probably because these Governor's SChools hold alot of weight in Virginia (everyone who applied from our gov school got in).</p>
<p>Well I apreciate all the advice, I know its a real wild card considering all of the different stories I've heard. It's a really wonderful school though, but like I said I'm by no means counting on getting in (plus I have another strong public school right in my backyard, University of Delaware) There's just something about UVa, though I could just feel it on the tour, I don't know if its the campus, the tradition, or what it is, it really has a liberal private school kind of feel to it.
About the recruitment for track: I'm a decent decent distance runner (10:05 3200m), but that's by no means recruitable to the top ACC distance program this year.
I'd love to hear back from kids who have either applied to UVa, been accepted, or have worked with admissions there. What really makes a student stand out, what did you do differently? How about those essay? Man they were tough (what is your favorite word and why? lol) Which one did you all answer, how did you approach it?</p>
<p>I really apreciate the feedback, it has definetly been helpful</p>
<p>Yeah, the article is 3 years old, but the process is still the same. I know it's hard to get into UVa out of state - I would say equally as hard for both Early Decision and Regular Decision. Nonetheless, the largest contingent of OOS students at Virginia is from NY - over a 100 every year. The Northeast in general is especially competitive since the largest chunk of OOS students are from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachussetts.</p>
<p>It may not be a hard and fast quota but for the few years that I followed OOS statistics, it seemed that they admitted a similar # each year from NY. That # was about 100 students a year and yes, NY did get the largest amount of OOS students admitted. U of Delaware is also a wonderful school and also extremely popular with NY kids. Best of luck.</p>
<p>a thought...
Not just UVA but most competitive schools... What role does where you come from really play? I'm a little confused because schools say they want "geographical diversity" but at the same time I see all these kids from prestigious high schools in CA and NY get in to just about every good school in the nation. I know of many students at other high schools who are just as qualified but get denied or deferred. So do colleges really want "geographical diversity" or do they want students from those high schools (NY, CA) with whom they have tight relationships?</p>
<p>I think magnet schools that have to weed out a lot of applicants have an edge in the college admissions game - schools like Stuyvesant (in Manhattan), Bronx Science, Jefferson Science (in Northern VA) to name a few. These schools usually have some sort of admissions exam and accept only the best students in their area. (I know that Stuyvesant has a lower acceptance rate than most Ivies.) So, for a college to admit someone from those high schools, it knows it's supposedly getting 'la creme de la creme'. For example, Jefferson Science sends a 1/3 of its graduating class to UVa every year.</p>
<p>Thanks Globalist...Yeah i've heard of Jefferson...and I know every student that goes there is crazy smart.<br>
And while we're talking about VA universities, anyone looking at William and MAry? it's the second oldest school in the nation and I think it's really good. I would have applied there myself, but alas, there is no engineering program.</p>