What is UVA Like? Convince Me to be a Cavalier (or Wahoo)!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Virginia
1

<p>Exactly one month from now, I will be attending my first class at community college. Recently, I've been looking for extra colleges to add to my transfer institutions list, which includes Penn State, Maryland, UGA, UNC-CH, and UCLA, so that I know exactly which courses to take for these universities. Recently, I rediscovered UVA, a college I wasn't interested in during my senior year college search since there was no way I would've gotten in. Now, I'm interested in UVA! Since I won't be traveling to Charlottesville for some time, I was hoping that some of you could answer some of my questions about UVA:</p>

<p>-What, in general, is it like to attend UVA?
-How big is football on campus?
-Is UVA a party school?
-How diverse, and tolerant to diversity, is the student body? I'm not the slightest bit racist and have never experienced racism, so, hopefully, a college campus won't be the site of my first experience. I am black, by the way.
-I'm a northern boy, specifically from the Philadelphia area in Pennsylvania. How difficult will it be to transition into southern culture? Will I be looked down upon for being northern?
-How big is the alumni network?
-How good is the marching band? If I do attend UVA, hopefully I'll be able to land a spot on the Cavalier Drumline!
-Is it true that UVA meets 100% of financial need?
-I heard the school has an extremely preppy student body? Is this true?
-Will I be at a disadvantage socially since I would be going in as a transfer student?
-What kind of college GPA will be competitive for an OOS CC transfer? Do they want to see SAT scores and high school GPA?</p>

<p>Thank you in advance for the answers!</p>

2

<p>As an old alum and parent of a current student, I can’t answer all your questions, but here’s a couple thoughts.</p>

<p>Yes, UVa meets 100% of proven financial need, based upon UVa’s formulas. For most students, that still means you need to work during the summer, do work study during the school year and take out federal loans. You can turn down work study, but then you have to find some other way to pay that amount.</p>

<p>UVa has extremely loyal alums, including idiots who spend their Saturday night answering questions online.</p>

<p>The least difficult way into UVa is to transfer from the Va. Community College system. I don’t know about how the system works from other states.</p>

<p>UVa used to have a joke-based very informal Pep Band. Then a rich alum offered millions to start a traditional marching band and build a big new HQ for the band.</p>

<p>There are many transfer students. However, you should find some clubs, intramural sports, activities or something to build a group of friends.</p>

<p>Large parts of Virginia are full of transplants from other parts of the country and other countries. As a fellow eastern Pennsylvanian, I’ll assure you that you will find many people at UVa who are not southern. In fact, you may meet more South Koreans than Southern Belles. </p>

<p>Of your list, UNC Chapel Hill is one of the toughest because they have a strict quota on out of state students.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for your thoughts! They definitely do give me a better picture of what UVA may be like!</p>

4

<p>I would also add UW- Madison to your list. You seem to big on football and social life (party) and both of those are huge in Wisconsin. </p>

<p>[Power</a> Ranking the Top 25 College Football Towns in America | Bleacher Report](<a href=“Power Ranking the Top 25 College Football Towns in America | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors | Bleacher Report”>Power Ranking the Top 25 College Football Towns in America | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors | Bleacher Report) : [Top</a> Party Schools and Universities 2012-2013 School Year](<a href=“HugeDomains.com”>HugeDomains.com)</p>

<p>Also, from your name I can tell your interested in medicine so you will be taking a lot of life science classes. Wisconsin is known for their sciences, specifically life sciences. </p>

<p>Here is a bio ranking: [Top</a> 20 Biology Programs in America](<a href=“http://www.america.edu/top__20_biology_programs_in_america_.html]Top”>Top 20 Biology Programs In America - America Education)</p>

<p>Wisconsin is very diverse, they are one of the public school with a huge out of state population. You will not be looked down upon. I have been on many forumss about Wisco andd many always mention how nice the people up there are. As long as you know football or hockey, you will make many friends. </p>

<p>Here are some extra pluses: [The</a> 10 Best Places To Go To College: Unigo List](<a href=“The 10 Best Places To Go To College: Unigo List | HuffPost College”>The 10 Best Places To Go To College: Unigo List | HuffPost College)</p>

<p>[Unigo:</a> Top 10 Colleges with the Happiest Students](<a href=“Top 10 Colleges with the Happiest Students | HuffPost College”>Top 10 Colleges with the Happiest Students | HuffPost College)</p>

<p>[The</a> 19 Most Fun-Loving Colleges](<a href=“The 19 Most Fun-Loving Colleges | HuffPost College”>The 19 Most Fun-Loving Colleges | HuffPost College)</p>

<p>[America’s</a> Most Beautiful College Campuses- Page 22 - Articles | Travel + Leisure](<a href=“http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-most-beautiful-college-campuses/22]America’s”>http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-most-beautiful-college-campuses/22)</p>

<p>[Scott</a> Van Pelt Declares Madison, Wisconsin America’s Greatest College Sports Town - YouTube](<a href=“Scott Van Pelt Declares Madison, Wisconsin America's Greatest College Sports Town - YouTube”>Scott Van Pelt Declares Madison, Wisconsin America's Greatest College Sports Town - YouTube)</p>

<p>[Academic</a> Ranking of World Universities - 2012| Top 500 universities | Shanghai Ranking - 2012 | World University Ranking - 2012](<a href=“http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2012.html]Academic”>http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2012.html)</p>

5

<p>Thank you! I will definitely look into UW-Madison!</p>

6

<p>I’ll take a shot at answering a few of your questions.</p>

<p>-How big is football on campus?</p>

<p>Student tickets are free (i.e. included in tuition with ID), but the stadium is rarely more than half full. We do have the (ESPN) #1 DT, #1 S, and #2 K committed in our incoming class of 2014, but on the other hand, both of our starting QBs from last year are transferring. Kind of a mixed bag there. </p>

<p>-I’m a northern boy, specifically from the Philadelphia area in Pennsylvania. How difficult will it be to transition into southern culture? Will I be looked down upon for being northern?</p>

<p>Southern people are much more open and friendly. You won’t be looked down upon, but you might just act more distant than other people at first, and they might notice. It’s not like UVA so southern that everyone gets sweet tea everywhere, though.</p>

<p>-How good is the marching band? If I do attend UVA, hopefully I’ll be able to land a spot on the Cavalier Drumline!</p>

<p>The marching band is pretty good compared to the other ACC bands. Our musicality is excellent considering the number of people marching on secondary instruments, but the drill and precision aren’t that exciting. For some perspective, Penn State’s Blue Band is over a century old. The Cavalier Marching Band is turning 10 this year.</p>

<p>-I heard the school has an extremely preppy student body? Is this true?</p>

<p>Yes.</p>

7

<p>Are there hot girls compared to Tech and JMU</p>

8

<p>^^^^ Seriously? Grow up.</p>

9

<p>yupp its definitely worth to look into! Also, MichiganStick nailed most of the questions, however football should get a bit more popular especially with the successful recruiting they Cavaliers are currently doing. Also, let me not forget to mention UW- Madison has won the BIG10 Championship the last 3 years!</p>

10

<p>I’ll give this a try…keep in mind, I’m an administrator and I’ve been here nine years. My take might be a tad different.</p>

<p>

First of all, I think it’s really hard to pin down a dominant style when you’re talking about a student body of 14,000 students. I spend part of my year visiting students all over and these days, students in Denver don’t look all that different from students in Atlanta. </p>

<p>[I&lt;/a&gt; made some *highly scientific* observations of student appearances a couple years ago on my blog](<a href=“http://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/2010/12/fitting-in-at-uva.html]I”>Notes from Peabody: The UVA Application Process: Fitting in at UVa). Almost every male walking by my window when I was really paying attention was wearing jeans. The women were either wearing jeans or black leggings. Most of the guys were wearing sneakers. </p>

<p>If you’re really into style, [check</a> out this group called HOOS gotStyle](<a href=“https://www.youtube.com/user/HOOSgotstyle]check”>https://www.youtube.com/user/HOOSgotstyle). They’re an interesting bunch. They started a club dedicated to sneakers. :)</p>

<p>

The students don’t worship the football players here, but there is a lot of school spirit. </p>

<p>Charlottesville doesn’t “shut down” on game day. If you go, you’ll see tons of tailgating and crowds streaming towards the stadium. If you don’t, you’ll see people out doing other things, too.</p>

<p>

After spending time on many college campuses, my take is that this is not a party school. </p>

<p>

There are statistics about diversity on the website, if you want to see some numbers. :)</p>

<p>

I am from NYC/Boston and had my doubts when I was visiting, but Charlottesville has a nice mix of people from different regions. Remember, we’re two hours from DC. This is not the deep south. </p>

<p>

It goes back to the early 1800s. :)</p>

<p>

I am not an expert critic of marching bands, but I think they are wonderful! They’re having more fun at games than anyone else in the venue. If I had to choose between a ticket in one of the fancy boxes or sitting in the middle of the band, I’d sit with the band. </p>

<p>

Yes, your FAFSA and CSS Profile will determine your need.</p>

<p>

Nope! There are plenty of transfer students here.</p>

<p>

We want your entire academic record, which includes testing and HS work. However, your college work will be first in our mind when considering you for transfer. The transfer agreements we have for the College, Engineering, and Nursing schools should give you an idea about GPAs. </p>

<p>Hope that helps!</p>

11

<p>In my mind, having fun on the weekends does not make a place into a party school. It just means you are young. If large numbers of students are out partying on Tuesday and Wed. nights, then THAT is a party school.</p>

12

<p>Do transfers and regular students hang out together? Like do they get invited to the same parties and events? Or are they to themselves?</p>

13

<p>Thanks for the answers everyone! It was a great surprise to come home from work and find all these great answers to my question!</p>

<p>@Dean J Your answers helped a lot! Thank you! I’m scared now, however. Even though my high school GPA was a 3.8, my SAT score was a 1570 superscored (M:440, CR:620, W:510). That’s why I didn’t get into Maryland and Penn State-University Park (I was accepted into their Altoona campus, however.). Also, I took honors and college-prep courses, but no AP courses. Will I need to retake the SAT to be competitive? Also, I will try to maintain a 3.5+ GPA since that is the prerequisite to stay in the honors program, which I’m in.</p>

14

<p>Most importantly, you should review this page: </p>

<p>[Transfer</a> Students Frequently Asked Questions | Office of Undergraduate Admission](<a href=“http://www.admission.virginia.edu/transfer/faq]Transfer”>http://www.admission.virginia.edu/transfer/faq)</p>

<p>Secondly, it’s important to note that UVa makes offers to only about 35% of transfer applicants and that UVa takes 50% of their transfers from within the Virginia Community College system. As an OOS student, your competition will be high. </p>

<p>Lastly… I don’t want to sound negative, but I think there is some reality you need to be aware of (and this is something I would be telling my own son): Your SAT scores and high school record are honestly very weak. Your 3.8 (weighted?) is low (by incoming 1st year standards) and from a less-rigorous schedule with no AP classes, and your SAT scores are extremely low for UVa. I don’t know if you have other bug hooks to make you stand out, but as an OOS student, where UVa accepts a very small percentage of students, your academics simply do not hold up.</p>

<p>I’m telling you this because you’re in a position to do something about it this year. While you can’t change your high school record, you CAN retake the SAT/ACT to bring those scores up and you CAN buckle down and perform at your CC - and I’d suggest striving for better than that 3.5 you mentioned. With hard work you have the ability to prove to the admissions team that your high school stats aren’t nearly as important as your most recent CC stats, but you do have your work cut out for you if you’re serious about transferring. Best of luck to you!</p>

15

<p>Thank you for that reality check! You did it in a way that encouraged me, rather than discouraging me. I am willing to work hard in CC for a chance at UVA. I know that my high school record isn’t top-notch, but I’ll try my best and hardest for my college record to outshine my high school record. Here are a few answers to some of the points that you brought up:</p>

<p>-My 3.8 GPA was unweighted.
-My only hooks are that I’m a first-generation, African American male.
-I will most definitely retake the SAT. I might even try the ACT out.</p>

<p>Thanks again for your answer! You helped reinforce the notion that I’ll have to work extremely hard for admission into UVA (UNC-CH, Maryland, and UCLA would probably be reaches, as well. Penn State, UGA, and possibly Delaware would most likely be matches.)!</p>

16

<p>I’d also add U. of Pitt to your list. It is a great university in a great city, and they also have a high number of transfers. You can also take Amtrak back and forth from Philly to Pburgh, which is convenient. </p>

<p>U. Delaware is also a great place to go to college, and it is 2/3rds out of state students. I recommend it a back-up for UVa. It is a similar size, with similar academic offerings, in a similar town, and with a similar campus.</p>