I got deferred from UVA early action. I was wondering how likely it is that I will get in Regular Decision.
I had a 4.7 GPA (all As) by the end of junior year but was not top 10% in my class. I took 3 AP and 3 Honors classes.
This year I have made all Bs and only 1 A, but took 4 AP and 2 Honors classes.
Also, I am in-state and a legacy, but I don’t know how much that will influence the decision. I have a 1350 SAT.
Since my grades indicate a “downward trend”, will I most likely not get in?
As a rule, being a legatee is not supposed to make any difference for IS. UVA is on record as saying they hold OOS legatees to a standard comparable to IS applicants, for admission decisions purposes. IS applicants already have that advantage, obviously.
It would be grossly unfair, and possibly illegal, to provide some IS applicants an advantage over other IS applicants because their parents went to UVA. It would perpetuate the kind of inequalities in the state that they hope to eradicate.
If your SAT is 1350/2400, you should probably be prepared to attend college elsewhere - but in that case, I would expect an outright rejection, not a deferral. If your SAT is 1350/1600 (M+CR), you might have reason to be more optimistic.
What is your cumulative GPA, weighted and unweighted? If above 3.7 unweighted/4.1 weighted (and your SAT is 1350/1600), then you are probably still competitive IS.
Numbers for 2014
http://admission.virginia.edu/sites/www.admission.virginia.edu/files/Defer%20Chart.jpg
Thanks for the reply. My SAT score is out of 1600; sorry I forgot to specify. My weighted GPA was a 4.7 and unweighted was a 3.9 (by the end of junior year). Final grades for this semester have not come out yet, but I will probably end up getting all B’s and only 1 A. So for Senior year (not including past years) my GPA would be around a 3.38 unweighted & a 4.403 weighted. Hope this helps.
Every school will say they like an upward trend. Lower (midyear) grades this year than last year does not a trend make; grades normally go up or down a little year to year. If they go up F < S < J, that’s an upward trend. If they go F < S > J < S(midyear), that’s no trend at all.
My personal opinion is that taking harder courses senior year and getting fewer A’s, but still all A’s and B’s, should not kill your chances. But I am not an admissions dean, so my opinion is worth what you paid for it.
UVA definitely requires writing and takes it into account when reading your app, so your /2400 SAT score matters there.
It’s not really possible to say what the majority of RD applications will be like, or how you will compare to them. I think your chances are still very much alive, but far from secure. Basically, you’re not yet clearly better or worse than the majority of applications they’ve seen so far. Probably the best thing you could do is really rock your midyear grades, but then again those are probably set in stone by this point.
At some point you basically have to put down your #2 pencil and say, I put together the best application I could; now it is just waiting to see whether it was enough. I suspect you have reached that point.
Best of luck to you in the coming months. Have a backup plan ready, but don’t put down any housing deposits anywhere just yet.
Thank you so much this helped a ton!
DD was IS, had a 3.8 W GPA from a very competitive private HS, non-leg, 31 ACT. Was deferred, then accepted RD. Keep working hard, and if it’s definitely your first choice then let them know via a letter - that if accepted you will definitely attend. Best of luck.
Uva does not track interest, so the letter will not help. At least that’s what Dean J says.
I really don’t think a letter can hurt…
No, it won’t hurt you, but you probably have a lot on your plate right now and spending time and energy on things that won’t “move the needle” isn’t necessary. Work on your school work. Study for the next exam. That makes more sense to me.
@Dean J My daughter is afraid to open her decision. Will anything ultimately arrive snail mail? I know UVA has gone green and tries to do most everything online.
Thanks so much for all the replies! It’s helped a ton!
@va2222 you look like such a strong applicant to me. Good Luck! Perhaps they are waiting for your next set of grades. I hope they see the difficult classes you challenged yourself with because my D is in the same boat.
@bsalum thank you! Yes my classes this year have been very challenging but hopefully the slight drop in grades won’t affect me too much. Good luck to your daughter!
@bsalum, I believe that UVA only mails acceptance letters. If your daughter is deferred or denied the only way she will learn that info is through the SIS. My older daughter was nervous too. Her admission year, a father posted about his high-stat daughter being waitlisted, so it took several hours for her to overcome her anxiety. We told her that being accepted to a college (or not) does not define who she is or what she accomplished, which helped. She opened her sis and it was happy news:). Good luck to your daughter!
We send a welcome mailing to admitted students, but everyone gets their decision in SIS these days.