<p>Lee:
I apologize if I offended you with my post. I was only seeking additional information to offer a more informed opinion to your question. Please forgive me, I did not intend to create a personal offense with any of my questions, especially the last one.</p>
<p>I don’t normally do “chances threads” because the most folks like me can offer is our opinion, and sometimes in doing so we might give someone like you bad advice and/or the wrong hope regarding admission to UVa. I have no unique information about UVa admissions, only what my son and I learned last year when he applied to the University ED and was later accepted RD. There are lots of excellent resources available to students like you who are interested in applying; I encourage you to take full advantage of them. A great place to begin, IMO, is Dean J’s UVa Admissions Blogs (she has two of them). You would be amazed at what you can learn about the admissions process at competitive colleges like UVa if you simply study and surf them, and soak up the information they offer. But don’t just scratch the surface when you study them; you must drill down to discern the really helpful information and insights into the process and procedures associated with applying to and being accepted by competitive colleges like the University. </p>
<p>Vistany:
I also did not mean to imply (in the question I asked about grades) that UVa will not offer admission to an applicant with a C or below on their high school transcript. In fact, on a recent blog post, Dean J addressed this issue very specifically:</p>
<p>Question (from a nice young lady named Victoria):
“This doesn’t really pertain to the blog but I was told that to expedite the application process UVA admission officers eliminate any applicant with a ‘C’ anywhere on their transcript. Is this true? If so, why?”</p>
<p>“I know that I have grades worse than a ‘C’ on my transcript but I have made tremendous improvement since then and I have also included my explanation for them in the last essay question. Is that taken into consideration? I hope so.” [Posted on January 19, 2008 at 4:14 PM]</p>
<p>In her response, Dean J said…
“Victoria, who told you this? A good rule of thumb when it comes to information about the application review process: If you don’t hear it from an admission officer, don’t believe it.” </p>
<p>“The statement you posted is completely untrue. I’m really interested in hearing the source.” [Posted on January 19, 2008 at 6:51 PM]
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<p>UVa receives 18,000+ applications a year, makes about 6,000+ offers, and enrolls just over 3,000 students in their incoming first year class. I think the Admissions Officers do everything they can to provide a level playing field for young people who want to attend Virginia. One of the ways they do this is by looking at each student’s application in its entirely, to get a real sense of the applicant’s academic and non-academic life history, qualifications and potential. In the course of looking at each individual applicant in this holistic manner, I’ve no doubt that they sometimes make offers to students who have one or more blemishes on their transcripts, but who have a compelling explanation and/or life story. That’s laudable, IMO.</p>
<p>Going to what Guillaume wrote about the advice the UVa Legacy Office gave her daughter, that tracks with what Dean J has also mentioned previously either on her blog and/or in comments on forums like this, which is that the Admissions Counselors don’t like to see transcripts with high school grades of “C” or below.</p>
<p>These two comments are not really contradictory if you think of them in the combined context of how competitive the UVa admissions process is (based on the number who apply and the typically outstanding records they bring to the table), and the fact that for someone to have the best possible chance to be offered by UVa, it’s best that they don’t start the application consideration part of the process with one arm tied behind their back as it were because of a transcript with one or more flawed grades.</p>
<p>I asked Lee the question about any grade(s) below a “B” because, in looking at his unweighted GPA in his Freshman (and to a lesser extent Sophomore) year(s), I was concerned that he might have one or more grades below a “B”, and I was going to suggest that if he did, it would be wise to make sure he gave a clear rationale for them somewhere in/on his application.</p>
<p>Based on the UVa Admissions Officers that I have met, including Dean J and Dean Blackburn, as well as several others, I honestly believe the UVa Admissions folks NEVER look to “expedite the admissions process” using a means as arbitrary and capricious as eliminating from consideration any applicant with a grade of “C” or below on their transcript, despite the time constraints and many other pressures that are unavoidable with their job.</p>
<p>Rather, I suspect that the UVa Admissions Officers hope, every time they pick up a young person’s application file and begin the process of getting to know him/her, that this applicant and application will be the best one they’ve ever met/read. In that sense and with that approach, they become each student’s best advocate for an offer of admission from UVa. I suspect that folks like Dean J who have chosen College Admissions as their life work really have a heart for the young men and women whose futures are impacted by their decisions. At least that’s what I sense when I read what they write, and when I talk to them in person.</p>
<p>That’s just one more reason why I have such high regard for the University, and why I believe it is an honor to attend UVa.</p>
<p>Lee, I wish you all the best with your application. KK, PP and JJ, thanks for taking up for me, and for all your kind words. I really appreciate them.</p>