UVa Chances???

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Recently I visited the University of Virginia after drooling over photos and reviews of it online. I have fallen in love with the school, but I’m worried that I won’t fit the criteria. I will be applying to the College of Arts and Sciences in the fall and I plan to study political science and spanish. I still have a little bit of time to bring up my grades and my SAT scores but I need some advice. What should I do to increase my chances? Here is a list of my grades, test scores, and extracurriculars.

Transcript:
9th Grade
Honors English 9: A-
AP European History: B+, 3 on the exam
Honors Algebra 2: B-
Honors Earth/Environmental Science: B-
Spanish 2: A
Gym: A+
Concert Orchestra: A+
Art 1: B

10th Grade
Honors English 10: A
AP U.S. Government: A-, 4 on the exam
Honors Geometry: B
AP Biology: A-, didn’t pass the exam
Latin 1: A
Spanish 3: A
Gym: A+
Concert Orchestra: A

11th Grade (1st semester only)
AP English Language and Composition: A
AP United States History: A-
AP Psychology: A
Honors Precalculus: C
DE Chemistry: C
Spanish 4: A-
Drama 1: A
Personal Finance: A+

Future 12th Grade Schedule:
AP English Literature and Composition
AP Human Geography
AP Statistics
AP Physics 1
AP Spanish
Business Law
Oral Communication
Global Issues

(Side Note: I am planning to do very well in the last quarter of the school year and maintain my As and bring the Cs up to a B average for the year. I also still have to take my AP exams but I’ve been studying a lot and hope to get a 5 on all of them.)

GPA: 4.045 (unweighted is at least a 3.8, hopefully higher)
Class Rank: 57/434 (this should go up so that I am in the top 10% by the end of this school year)
SAT (first time without studying, will be taking it again in June and aiming for a 2100): 1850 (560 math, 620 critical reading, 670 writing)

Extracurriculars:

  • Member of National Honor Society for 11th grade, will be President for my senior year
  • Member of Model United Nations for 11th grade, will be Vice President for my senior year
  • Link Crew Leader (helping freshmen adjust to high school) for 11th grade, will be a Commissioner for my senior year
  • Member of the Spanish Competition Team, came in first place for extemporaneous speech, team came in first place for school foreign language department
  • Member of Key Club for 9th, 10th, and 11th grade, planning on continuing for 12th
  • Will be joining Debate Team, hoping to place in Districts or even go to States

These are all of the things that I can think of to write down. I’m feeling very nervous about my application because I don’t feel that I am a strong enough candidate for UVa. What can I do over the next few months to increase my chances? I would like to apply Early Action to the College of Arts and Sciences.

Thank you for your help! :slight_smile:

2

I will be applying in-state.

3

At SAT = 1850, maybe not. At SAT = 2100, much more likely.

4
  1. Bring those C's up to at least B's before the end of this year. You should not be getting any C's after 9th grade.
  2. You want your class rank to be top 10%. They take HS class rank seriously at UVA. 1a., 2a. corollary: AP test scores can get you credit, but they know that many exams won't be taken until long after admission decisions are made. Don't plan to rely on AP test scores to make your case for admission. Concentrate on your grades before everything else.
  3. As a Virginia resident, you generally want your unweighted GPA to be 3.75+ and your SAT to be 2000+, to be competitive. Those are rough guidelines, of course; some do get admitted with lower, and some do get denied with higher. But those are the level where I would start shopping for blue and orange clothing.
  4. Are you taking the most challenging classes available? Can you at least take AP Calc AB instead of Statistics? As long as you are carrying at least a B through midyear you should be fine. Your transcript is the anchor of your entire application, they look at your course selection as well as your grades.
  5. Concentrate on deep participation in a small number of ECs, ideally serving as an officer. Think "quality > quantity."