UVA chances please?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Virginia
1

I’ve loved UVA for a while and I think it would be a good school considering I don’t have an idea for a major but they are well rounded. I’m mostly worried about my lack of leadership and strong extra curriculars and the sudden influx of new things my junior and senior years… im also wondering whether to include things i did freshmen and sophmore year…?

I’m a junior, female, asian, in state
Class Rank: #2 (currently but not assured ofc)
GPA: 4.56 (also not assured)
SAT: 1460 (math: 740, english: 720, essay: 6/5/6
ACT: 33 (english: 35, math: 34, reading: 33, science: 30, essay not in yet)
EC:
varsity swimming for 2 years and state qualifier both years, but I quit last year
was class vice president only freshmen and sophmore years
scholastic bowl
varsity cross country and sailing (started both this year, not great at either but made it to regionals for xc)
girl scouts
NHS (will have 100 community service hours by graduation, hopefully sooner) and Model UN
part time lifeguard in the summer
nominated for art honor society this year (so will be part of it senior year)
ive talked to sca and will become a member next year

So my sophmore year I was “mildly depressed” (according to my doctor) and I was having breakdowns and crying regularly. I’m not sure if it was just stress and hormones, etc, but I decided to quit swimming year round because of it (plus I hated it and realized that I want to put my health above ecs just for college). I started xc and doing art on my own, and this year I started ceramics and really love both and have felt a lot better devoting some time to the things I enjoy. Anyways, I was wondering if this would hurt my chances at all (and if I could write my essay about this…).

If listing my classes and other info would help with ratings please ask. Also if there are any colleges within my range that you recommend I would be grateful. Thank you for your time!

2

Also if you could do chances for William and Mary, VCU, UNC, and UC Berkley

3

You made the right choice. If you really like art, devote a LOT of time towards this activity. You will get portfolio projects, experience, essay topics, and a ‘hook’ to show off to colleges. You don’t have a lot of leadership positions, which is completely fine. You can make your own EC if you would like (art club, ceramics club, etc). Other than that, your SAT and GPA are above average, so you should be fine.

4

Sounds like a solid application. I would NOT write your essay about your mental health, just to be safe. Perhaps an essay about your passion for art would be a good essay. I wrote mine about my love of budget cooking, which colleges loved.

5

I agree with the two posters above. Find something you excel at, or have the potential to excel at, and devote most of your EC time to this activity. If it’s art, perhaps you can create an Art Club (for leadership). You can enter in the Scholastic awards and many other online art awards. Go to an art summer camp or work on perfecting your portfolio that you could eventually send to colleges as a supplementary attachment.

Being well rounded is not good for applicants who want to apply to elite schools. I assume you are OOS (out of state) so UVA is definitely tough to get in. Demonstrate that you have a passion for something and you’ll have a good shot.

6

I would not write about mental health. Write about overcoming other challenges and/or having a passion for something. If you are in-state in Virginia, I’d say UVA and William and Mary, and VCU look pretty good. If you are out of state, UVA, W&M, UNC, and Berkeley will all be significantly more difficult, so keep that in mind.

You have all public schools here. You may want to consider some private schools in your range that may have more attractive aid packages to give. Just a thought.

7

OP is in-state for UVA, W&M and VCU. (“I’m a junior, female, asian, in state”)
All three are doable, VCU would be closest to a safety unless you are trying for VCUArts, then none should be considered safe.

UCB is a reach for OOS, and will likely be at least twice the cost of the others, if you get in. similar comment for UNC.
Have you looked at the other VA schools - JMU, CNU, Richmond may be good matches for you…

8

Yes I’m hoping vcu is my safety school: no arts program. I’ve only just discovered my love of art last year and while I think I have some potential to improve in ceramics (my teacher is submitting my work to a relatively selective jury show) my technical skills are severely underdeveloped. I am still practicing and will try to work very hard this summer though so hopefully I can improve enough to put together a portfolio…
Thank you all for the essay help! And I don’t really want to go to CNU but I’ll try looking at JMU and Richmond. I mainly suggested VCU, UNC, and William and Mary bc I just visited them for spring break and rly enjoyed the feel of each.

9

I just saw this here.

Don’t worry too much. Try for Echols. But remember that you can always earn your way in to UVa as well. UVa has guaranteed transfer agreements with VA CC’s and Richard Bland if you hit a certain GPA (and nothing worse than a C in CC, I believe). W&M also has a guaranteed transfer program with Richard Bland.

10

Definitely will do. Thanks for taking the time to look through and be a confidence booster. Over stressing is a bad habit of mine but I’m working on it.

11

UVA will be tough for you but not necessarily impossible. W&M probably similarly difficult. UNC really tough since you would be applying from out of state and don’t have a “hook”-something that sets you apart that they need in their demographic. Richmond, JMU, VCU should all be do able. What about VT? Excellent school.

12

^ Richmond wouldn’t be easier than UVa/W&M. As publics, UVa and W&M have an in-state bias.

13

VT is nice but my parents stressed that it specializes in engineering, and since I struggle in math, I don’t think it would be a good fit for me…

That’s good that vcu will be doable and will hopefully act as a safety (edit: oops I guess not Richmond). I still haven’t been to JMU but I’ll try to check it out this summer.

14

I’m just going to throw my two cents in on this conversation:

Your ACT and class rank definitely place you in a good region objectively with these schools. Also, your EC’s are definitely fine and dandy. I feel like if you were to apply to any of those suggested (VCU, W&M, UVA, JMU, Richmond, UNC), you will almost definitely be in the clear. With your higher ones, they are pretty holistic, so keep that in mind. You have an iffy chance at UCB, as they are pretty selective, out-of-state (w/ in-state bias), will definitely cost more (OOS tuition), and is not nearly as big a bang for the buck as the ones near you. UNC (great school) may cost more as well, but I’d run an NPC; they appear to be pretty giving with assistance.

You said to give you suggestions. The things the others have mentioned are all pretty good. I might throw in GMU; I hear good things about them. UCB came out of nowhere, so I’m sure we could recommend more if you could tell us why you picked that one out in particular.

Things to note: How are your parents’ finances? If you’re low-income, Richmond, W&M, and UVA will probably be great in terms of affordability. If that is a concern, try out the NPCs.

Another thing I wanted to kind of throw in (you said your interests and major were undecided) is that you cannot declare a major at UR until your Sophomore year, and they are pretty well-rounded in what they do:
http://newspiders.richmond.edu/credits-degree/index.html

On the essay, you might write about overcoming depression, potentially showing off your newfound interests and hobbies that both helped you and opened up your mind to new ideas. Be sure to downplay (or even omit) what your mild condition has driven you away from; that is not a thing you want admission officers to know that. Also, it has to be pretty neat, engaging, and original. Try to find something insightful, cheerful, and metamorphic that you would enjoy writing about, and make sure it reads like a short story instead of a 5-paragraph essay.

Best of luck, and hope everything turns out great!

15

@MON824 thank you! I’ll keep all that in mind. I think I’ll probably end up applying to mostly in state schools. I just listed a few out of states that I’ve heard of and knew ppl that liked them. And thanks for the essay suggestions.