<p>I currently attend St. Joesph's University, my HS GPA was a 3.46 unweighted and 3.67 weighted. I did more poorly at the beginning of HS but then turned myself around and started doing much better, my unweighted GPA for my last semester was 3.74 while my weighted was 4.14. I now am at St. Joe's and have a 3.9 (only one A- and the rest are A's) and I am currently striving my hardest to get into UVA. Any suggestions at all? I am the News Editor of my school paper as a Freshman, a member of the Senate here, I've been in a play and done a bunch of community service. I have worked my ass off and while I know that St. Joe's is a more regional school, I have heard of some kids getting in from Community College and I would really love to know if I even have a shot. I did Journalism for 2 years in HS, Speech and Debate, a lot of service and theater too. I think I am showing ambition but I'd really love to know if I have a shot.</p>
<p>Also, I was Editor-in-Chief of my paper back in HS…If that helps. And won many state awards for Journalism.</p>
<p>Diablo737, I rarely answer these threads, but I’m in a good so I figured this time, why not? I don’t think it matters if Saint Joseph is a regional school. I think it matters more that you really apply yourself to make the most of the opportunities there at St. Joe’s and do well both in and outside the classroom. (As the saying goes: you’re only as good as your last thing. That said, I think what you do in college will weigh more than what you did in high school.) I feel based on what you’ve said, you’re in a good place. I’m assuming that you’re out of state, right? If that’s true, it’s such a toss up since OOS are scrutinized more. Nonetheless, I believe you have a shot. I’d love to hear the final outcome.</p>
<p>I am OOS, I am from Arizona and went to a very rigorous High School. I turned in my Mid Term Reports and every grade was listed as an A. I also have three strong teacher recs, two from college professors and one from a HS professor. (He had his doctorate from Harvard as well if that helps…doubt it does). Anyways, the real thing that frightens me is the fact that my SAT scores were 1850. I didn’t do too hot. I really do hope I have a chance though, the CogSci program at UVA really entices me and I wrote about joining that in my essay.</p>
<p>I’m not 100% sure about this…(Dean J would give you a better answer)…but I think your college grades will weigh more in their admissions decision than your SAT score. If you’ve taken a challenging college course load, and you still manage to do very well, that is a better indicator that you’ll succeed at UVa.</p>
<p>Think I should try and contact Dean J somehow? I really would do whatever it takes to try and get in but at the same time I don’t want to be sounding needy or like I’m trying to get an advantage here… It’s just hard when much of it is up in the air.</p>
<p>I think it’s best just to wait and see. Dean J is swamped reading everyone’s applications. You’ve done all you can at this point.</p>
<p>Okay, well thank you very much. I would love to get one of those “Love Letter’s” from UVA however I really doubt I will, I’ll just keep my head high but not expect too much. I just hope I stand out a bit more than others, though I hear activities don’t help too much. Is it harder to get in OOS than IS?</p>
<p>I think being involved in activities can help your admissions chances esp. if you still do very well in your classes. That shows that you contribute to the overall college environment while still maintaining academics as a high priority. </p>
<p>Yes, OOS is a lot harder than IS. I would say twice as hard to get in based on the average acceptance rates for incoming 1st years: 40+% in-state vs. 20+% out-of-state. I don’t know what is for transfers though.</p>
<p>Hrm, yeah understandable. I guess it sucks that OOS kids have it a bit tougher but what can you do? I guess I’ll just sit tight now, not get my hopes up too high and see what happens. Thank you very much for answering my question!</p>
<p>Diabo737 - I don’t believe transfer students receive likely letters. We just have to stick it out and see come May 1 :)</p>
<p>What I haven’t seen mentioned is the fact that you’re still a freshman in college. This typically means your high school grades will still have some influence, mostly because it can be hard to tell if someone’s really turned around or just had a good semester. Additionally, it depends what classes you’ve taken at your current school. Universities (in general, not just UVA), want students that are transferable - i.e., they’ve taken most if not all of their gen-eds and can go right into their major coursework.</p>
<p>Good luck, and hopefully we’ll see each other there next year!</p>