@Catmatmc I think you are confusing admission and enrollment. Because of the yield rate (who says yes back when you offer them admission), colleges admit way more students than will have in their entering class. We offered admission to just under 10,000 students to get a class of 3,725.
I’m sure you’re aware that students are applying to lots of schools and they’ll only enroll at one of them.
@catmatc I will add to Dean J’s note with some more facts. I do NOT live in Fairfax County (FC) but do like to make sure these types of discussions stick with facts and less with emotions.
For the entering class of 2016-17, FC had an admission rate at UVA of 42.2% (1143 of 2707 apps), compared to the total in-state admission rate of 43.6% (4213 of 9667 apps). Meanwhile, 28% of the total in-state apps were from Fairfax County and 27% of the in-state offers were from FC. About 27.5% of the eventual total in-state enrollees were from FC.
So the takeaway here is that they admit a slightly lower % of FC apps than for the rest of the state – at least in the latest year of available data. And their admissions and enrollment % from FC mirrors the % of total apps from that county. So, a big % are admitted from FC because a similar % of their in-state apps are from that particular county.
This focus on Fairfax County’s representation at UVA has been around for decades. If you are from FC, you may read the data as they admit a (slightly) lower % from your county than the rest of the state….and interpret there might be some bias against FC. Or, if you are not from FC, you may think there’s a bias for FC because over ¼ of the in-state students are from this one county.
A personalized link should be coming for DOTL registration. I’ll check on when that is going out and let you all know. It might take a little while since I’m on calls and we have big spring break crowds.
Does anyone know if waitlisted students accepted in either May or June are at a disadvantage for housing options and class registration for their first year?
WhosBoss - While your analysis that it is slightly more difficult to get in from Fairfax County might be true acccording to SCHEV, you are missing the big point that an enormous chunk of 1143 students who got in from FC were Thomas Jefferson students. I have seen parents report as many as 250 in the TJ class are admitted into UVA each year. That’s more than a quarter of the FC students. That leaves the rest of us in the remaining 21 FCPS high schools at a signficant disadvantage. We are also competing against residents who have their children in private schools both in Fairfax County, Arlington County, Maryland and D.C. privates. We are also competing against NoVA residents in private boarding schools.
anyone know how it works with a corporate National Merit Scholarship if you get accepted off the waitlist after May 31 which is the deadline to declare a school for the scholarship ? Do you lose the scholarship or can it be transferred prior to the first disbursement
@DeanJ Thank you for the reply. On https://housing.virginia.edu/first-year-faq it says “Incoming first years should complete the online First-Year Housing Application after May 1 and before June 1” under “How do I apply for Housing?” Is that something different?
Daughter was accepted yesterday we are all very happy and excited. We now wait for the Financial package from UVA and Villanova and go from there. Dad knows where he wants her to go!
D accepted. In state, 1320 SAT, 33 ACT IIRC, 3rd gen legacy (Echols and early integrators), 4.5 weighted gpa, very unique background and essays. Regularish ECs for high achievers (clubs/leadership), outstanding writer. IB, excellent critical analysis skills. 10/10 for one rec, 8/10 for the second just based on analysis of teacher’s intellect, writing skills, and their subsequent non FERPA scholarship recs, but both from multi year IB teachers.
She let me read her favorite word and impactful work of art essays…I expect an Echols letter tomorrow, tbh. Will update. (this is not meant to be cocky, but she surprised me–an Echols Scholar–with her work, even though she didn’t necessarily want me to see it.)
We are waiting on Ivy day but as Virginia is our family school, this will likely be her choice unless there is an extraordinary scholarship offer beyond what other schools have indicated (once balanced with school value, of course).
Has anyone here that was denied actually considered transferring? I think I want to, I made a mistake taking a class I couldn’t handle resulting in struggling to find a passing grade. I feel like I let this negativity define me and I’m putting a lot of blame if missing out of my dream school to this. I have always been a straight A student until last semester junior year where anxiety because a huge burden on my life and I believe affected my grades. This past month though I have felt better and more like myself that I have in Avery long time. For this reason I think transferring in and a new college transcript might be more reflective of who I actually am? Thoughts? Do I have a complete wrong idea of how transferring really is? I’m sorry for discussing a personal story but I think I need the perspective of others. Thank you so much if you take the time to help!
S accepted out of state: 35 ACT (not superscored), 4.8/5 weighted GPA. 8 APs, Started investment club at HS., varsity sport (captain), NHS, commended PSAT, clubs/EC’s, vol. Will come down to the financials for us. 3 kids in HS!
I would like to post some different view of the “fairness” issue raised by @rodrigoborgia . I agree there is a disadvantage, but I think that actually goes against Thomas Jefferson students. Keep in mind that TJ is not an average high school, and it’s average SAT score is typically 350 points higher than state average. Well, because you got so many smart kids at on school, follow your logic, it will probably actually put the TJ kids at “a significant disadvantage,” not the other way around. for example, a TJ student, say, with a SAT in the high 1500’s will likely to be academically placed in the top 1 or 2 percentile at any other high schools, but is probably only a middle range student at TJ. My point is, if you look at the numbers, it is actually harder for TJ kids to compete with other high school kids with the same academic achievements, as it will be so much harder to be “top of your class” at TJ.
As a Fairfax County resident, I am really proud of the fact that we have a high school that is constantly ranked #1 in the nation and, more importantly, we have an option for kids with talent and passion to unlock their potentials. I just think it is unfair to blame TJ kids in this case.
I cannot accept the fact that TJ students are considered to be at a disadvantage for college. They are not smarter then other students in the state, they have just been given the advantage of a wonderful school with many opportunities that other schools in the state do not have. TJ students with SAT’s in the 1500’s will be at an advantage at every college in the nation compared to other students without the same opportunities. They will also receive more merit aid due to their courses completed and test scores so whether they go to a instate school or not will not matter as far as cost. My students are in the middle of the state. They and their friends are still getting 35 ACT’s and high 1500 SAT’s even without the advantage of TJ. When they finish Calculus BC they don’t have the opportunity to take Differential Equations like TJ students do. They are taking around 15-20 AP classes and getting 5’s on the exams. Should UVA not let them in so that more TJ students can be admitted? They have accomplished the same things without the advantages of TJ and I believe colleges should value that. College admission is also about much more then just test scores and grades. Colleges look at much more then the TJ students scores, it is a holistic approach. Think about how boring it would be if the entire instate class at UVA came from one high school. My students school only gets about 14 students into UVA a year with a class size of around 500. TJ gets about 200 students in a year. How is that not fair? My students school competes and sometimes wins against TJ in Latin and academic team so why should they not have the same chance to go to UVA. The rest of the state also pays taxes to support UVA so why should only students from one area be admitted? Students from the state are admitted with lower test scores then TJ students but again with the same opportunities they could have achieved the same scores and hopefully at UVA they will be able to reach their full potential. Parents also make the choice to send their students to TJ. Why not stay in the regular high school and have your student be the Valedictorian instead of just average at TJ. Maybe that is the better choice if parents are worried about the TJ disadvantage. I am sure TJ also gets many more students in IVY league schools each year then other schools in the state. Sorry for the long rant.
Well, I think my point is that it is just unfair to point the blame at TJ kids. By saying “Why not stay in the regular high school and have your student be the Valedictorian instead of just average at TJ.”, I can also ask you why not just send your kids to TJ if you think it provides so much advantages? TJ is a magnet school and anyone can apply to it, and I would say the admission process is probably more fair than most of the college applications.
Why can’t people just be fair to TJ kids? What I am trying to say is that it provides an option for kids especially who want to be in the field of STEM. Like you said, it’s a choice, but there is not much a choice if there is no options. I agree that there are smart kids all over the state, and I am all for anyone with high achievements get into good colleges, including TJ kids.
You have to live in certain county’s to attend TJ so most of the state does not have the opportunity to apply. You have to live in Arlington County
Fairfax County (includes City of Fairfax)
Falls Church City
Loudoun County
Prince William County