<p>On January 21st, I received an email saying my Early Action Admission results were available online. Slightly skeptical, I logged into my account and discovered that I was not offered admission. Can someone tell me why? I thought I had a good shot. </p>
<p>WGPA: 100.4 (4.2)
Unweighted GPA: 93.6 (3.8)
Rank: 49/643
ACT: 31
SAT: 1940
I've taken a total of 9 AP & 11 Honors classes.
I'm the president & co-founder of a music club at my school that goes to nursing homes & hospitals to play for the residents & patients.
I've been in the top concert band (Symphonic Band) at my school all 4 years.
I've been on the school golf team all 4 years and was senior girl's captain.
I've volunteered at a local hospital for two summers, totaling over 100 hours.
I'm in NHS & National Foreign Language Honors Society.
I'm also in other minor extracurricular clubs & I've been working at a part-time job since last summer. </p>
<p>My main CommonApp essay was pretty strong, but I'll admit I didn't spend as much time on my supplementary essays (I thought they were a minor part of the admissions consideration). Also, I didn't take any SAT Subject Tests, which were strongly recommended.</p>
<p>I think essays are more important than you think, as well as submitting SAT 2 scores…I think with the “strongly recommended” they’re looking for people to submit them to not only show they did well, but that they researched what UVA wants and are seriously interested in the school.</p>
<p>jaykay27, sorry, I know that stings. UVA is crazy competitive these days. I’m in state and I can’t tell you how many highly qualified amazing, talented students I know who got rejected. It could have been the essays, or the fact that you didn’t have a perfect UW 4.0. But you know, go with the college that really wants you and offers you scholarships and honors college placement. Heck with UVA. I’m sure lots of other colleges will be rolling out the welcome mat.</p>
<p>Sorry you got denied. Out of state admission is extremely competitive for UVA, and many qualified candidates don’t make it. That being said, I think your test scores really hurt you here, and not submitting subject test scores probably didn’t help either. The class rank isn’t all that impressive either.</p>
<p>I read the thread the first time thinking “an IS candidate with these stats getting rejected…wow”, but now that I know you’re OOS…I won’t sugarcoat it, OOS is extremely competitive. You had a good shot, but with the lower test scores, the extremely selectivity in the OOS pool, and the fact that you didn’t take SAT II’s…UVA was already a low reach. Best of luck to you for the school you choose to go to.</p>
<p>Though numbers are not everything, the ACT middle 50% range is 31-34. An unhooked applicant at the low end of that range, particularly OOS, needs to keep odds in perspective throughout the process, and maximize their essays, recs, and other opportunities to shine.</p>
<p>I’ve seen IS applicants with similar stats receive deferrals so I don’t think the decision was based solely upon the OP being OOS. I agree with the OP that he had a decent shot of acceptance at UVA. However, I don’t think anyone can say that acceptance was likely. UVA receives more applications from highly qualified students than it can admit.</p>
<p>This may be one of those occasions where an essay can make or break you. But keep in mind that reading essays is a subjective business. Something that wows one reader might bore another. You can’t let it get to you.</p>
<p>I got deferred with a 33 so makes sense to me. OOS is incredibly tough! Hang in there, though, I’m sure you’ll get in somewhere great with your stats. </p>
<p>My daughter was OOS… she was ranked 5th of 360… SATs were 2080… Straight A student all 4 years with an UWGPA 4.0 and Weighted 4.7 ( jr year). She got a 4.8 first marking period this year and just rocked a 4.92 in her mid semester grades. She is taking 4 AP classes this marking period as well. She got denied. At first we were shocked but now we realize it wasn’t meant to be and there’s something better out there for her. </p>
<p>UVA is too big for their britches sometimes. I know a lot of seniors this year who got into schools like U of Penn and Georgetown and got denied from UVA, and I live in Virginia.</p>
<p>Kind of sucks for Virginians. If you can’t afford OOS and just miss UVA, then you’re stuck with… <em>shudders</em> Tech…</p>
<p>BG – I doubt there are “a lot” of VA resident kids who got accepted to Penn (12.25% admit rate) who got rejected by UVA (IS admit rate 41%). Especially since admissions for “this year” are still a work in process for another couple of months.</p>
<p>Yes, wonder what “a lot” means to BG. And you could do a lot worse than getting “stuck” with Virginia Tech , kidding or not. Virginia Tech is ranked higher than the actual flagships in many other states. And of course, William & Mary is another great instate option.</p>
<p>I’m not sure why everyone on this forum thinks test scores are such a big deal. At every ivy/ivy-caliber college fair I’ve been to, the representatives have stated that standardized test scores are taken with a grain of salt - all they show is how hard you work. @ the OP, your AP’s seem to show how hard you can work. Scores don’t show the person behind the paper; essays do. Essays are the only part of the application that lets AO’s see who YOU are. An ACT score difference of 2-3 points is at best marginal. With regards to higher-ranked schools, people with perfect scores are rejected either because their essays weren’t up to par or simply because they were unlucky (those schools receive applications from qualified students than they can accept).
TL;DR lackluster essays are much harder to overcome than lackluster scores. </p>
<p>Also, many people blow off applications to lower-ranked schools, even if they are public universities. I know several people who have done so. Not sure if this is the case with your friends @BassGuitar.</p>
<p>I have to agree with sevmom’s spot on comments about tech. Tech is a great school, the wacky snobbiness at UVA is insane. All that matters is where you wind up after college. Not getting into UVA is hardly the end of the world…if you are a good student with INTERPERSONAL skills, you will do well no matter where you go. As the mother of a UVA sophomore, I am somewhat dumbfounded at the ego of many students at UVA…most of which have limited interpersonal skills…you can get a degree from McIntire but you won’t go anywhere without presence, poise and interpersonal ability. My son is at tech and I find the kids there tend to be better in the interpersonal category.</p>
<p>IN GENERAL, the Virginia Tech kids do seem more laidback and down to earth, very relatable . But I do think that many of the UVa kids do quite well and most that I have been in contact with have good interpersonal skills. </p>