<p>Our daughter is finishing her junior year near the top of her class at one of Northern Virginia's most highly regarded public high schools. She has accumulated close to a perfect record throughout high school in demanding classes (which will include 11 APs by the time she graduates). She also has an impressive (if not quite off the charts) string of extracurricular activities. </p>
<p>The one weak mark on her record (by U-Va standards) is her tests scores. On her first try on the SAT she scored just over a 1200 (not including the writing, which at 660 was her highest of the three scores). She'll take the test again, of course, and probably will also take the ACT, but given her history with test-taking it's unlikely she'll improve her scores dramatically. The best she can hope for is likely the mid-1200s. </p>
<p>Her older sister, on the other hand, had mediocre grades in the same high in her freshman and sophomore years (including a half dozen Cs) before turning things up in her junior and senior years. BUT she scored 100 points higher on the SAT. On the extracurricular front, the girls' records were remarkably similar. </p>
<p>The older sister was admitted to U-Va. I have a sinking feeling that daughter number two will not be. It's sad to think that daughter number two will pay a steeper price for her SATs than daughter number one paid for two years of mediocre grades. I'd appreciate hearing what others, particularly Dean J, might think.</p>
<p>i am a senior in highschool from nyc and was admitted into uva. I recently (2 days ago) attended an information session at uva and they said that they understand not everyone is the greatest test taker. They said the most important part of your application is your transcript, that the applicant has challenged him/herself and suceeded. Even if you arnt a good test taker, as long as you are in the ballpark your transcript will make up for it.</p>
<p>I'm familiar with a girl who had similar test scores as your daughter. She had very good high school grades, but not quite in the range of your daughter's. She was admitted to UVA.</p>
<p>parent2009, I know a brilliant SAT tutor (he was mine actually) and he tutors for many of the TJ kids. PM me with your general location and I'll give you his email address. He does not advertise because he is already in such high demand. You may find the drive worthwhile (most do); a student in my class (the class max is about 25) drove every Saturday and Sunday to his class from Maryland. (It was a good 1.5+ hr drive.) He lives in Springfield. The class is about $500 (I think; my mom paid). Just PM me.</p>
<p>If I remember correctly, I scored a few hundred points less than your daughter did. Then, in the fall or senior year I took the ACT and got a 30!!! My grades weren't anything impressive. My extracurriculars were ok. However, my essays were pretty good. And so I was accepted :)</p>
<p>I was an OOS student admitted to UVA with a 31 ACT ("low" for OOS standards)....but I'm more than positive that my ECs and essays are what earned me the likely letter and eventual admission.</p>
<p>Scores are a big part of the applicant. But they aren't the applicant. I think UVA realizes this more than any other school I applied to. Best of luck, hope to be hearing good things in the future!</p>
<p>ok...let me put it this way..i got admitted for Fall08 as an OOS student with 1160/1600 and 1810/2400...test scores are obviously not everything..i had a gpa of around 4.0 and great ECs, essays and recs..i thought my SAT score would let me down..it didn't...don't worry..she should be fine as long as the other elements of the application is good...good luck! :)</p>
<p>OOS, waitlisted, gpa 97.4 uw and 100+ w. Mediocre sat's 660R, 720M, 660W; sat subject tests were 700, 720 and 800. Fairly good act of 33. Very good ec's and recommendations. In hindsight, I think that the weakest parts of my application were the essays. I wrote them too quickly and sent off the UVA application to get it out of the way. When I reread the essays a few weeks later, I made many changes before I sent out the rest of my applications. Got into Vandy and Cornell with my later apps</p>
<p>Parent 2009: Remember, the SAT is just part of the equation. Your daughter has a strong transcript with her APs and ECs. Her rank, I would assume, also would be strong. We had only a couple of kids get into UVA this year (we're small and in rural VA). Two of the three had mid 1200s on the SAT. But they had strong schedules, played at least two sports and worked part-time jobs. They also had great class ranks, No. 1 and 3. That could have helped.</p>
<p>Looking at past profiles, UVA seems to value high GPA significantly more than high test scores. They will generally admit people with high GPA and rank and lower test scores than vice versa. Of course, this is just my impression.</p>
<p>I was waitlisted because of my low ACT score, 21. That was my weakest part of my application.
3.9 gpa all honor classes and took all the AP classes my school had, research projects since 10th grade.</p>
<p>I am thrilled to read Dean J's last post and it is nice to know that UVA does not base its decisions on one standardized test. I hope Dean J reads this post (as we have been cautioned not to call out to her directly). I just wonder what percentage of the applicants that fall below the 25% range on the standardized tests are, in fact, admitted, after eliminating the athletes, VIP's and URM's, if any, that fall below the 25% range? It would be very refreshing to find out that<br>
applicants who are not in that category, that have good GPA's but poor test scores, have a real shot.</p>
<p>Does UVA keep the SAT scores of those students accepted into the Echols or Rodman program's? Does the school keep track of honor's students GPA's at graduation and where they subsequently went on to do post graduate work?</p>
<p>DCM, your scores are entered into the central computer system when you apply and they'll be in there for a long time. </p>
<p>I'm not sure I understand the second part of your question. Echols and Rodman are scholars programs and are a little different from the honors colleges/programs at other schools. The central computer system holds data for years and years (including GPA, grades, courses taken, etc.). If it didn't, you wouldn't be able to request transcripts. Development and the Alumni Association keep track of your job info. I can't give you much more information about their activity.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
I just wonder what percentage of the applicants that fall below the 25% range on the standardized tests are, in fact, admitted, after eliminating the athletes, VIP's and URM's, if any, that fall below the 25% range? It would be very refreshing to find out that
applicants who are not in that category, that have good GPA's but poor test scores, have a real shot.
[/QUOTe]
Whoa! The stats here go way beyond those we calculate in our office. We aren't statisticians. We leave all that to the Office of Institutional Assessment.</p>