<p>Unfortunately I have a tragically low GPA, so yes I am aware UVA is a long shot; however, I have a big upward trend that may be able to carry me (3.85 UW without freshman year). Anyway, I'm wondering if at UVA it would be of an advantage to apply RD, rather than EA, once my senior 1st semester grades are out so that I can have that 3.7 which may be more "mentally comforting" to the adcom lol. Or is that 0.03 really so trivial that I shouldn't hurt my statistical chances and way of showing interest/beating other classmates to the punch? (33 ACT; OOS). Thanks!</p>
<p>None of us here, with the exception of Dean J, can answer this question definitively for you. But I would be very hard pressed to believe that 0.03 in gpa would matter when there are so many other factors in play for admission to UVa.</p>
<p>I think your best option would be to apply EA. UVa looks at the application holistically, so GPA is only one of many parts that result in an ultimate admissions decision. If the committee feels like they want to see your senior year grades to make a final decision, they would defer you to regular admission so that they can see those grades.</p>
<p>I don’t really see any benefit of applying under regular admission unless you are planning on applying early decision to another school. EA will at least get you a decision earlier and (maybe?) show that you were interested enough in UVa to fill out an application earlier than you needed to.</p>
<p>[Common</a> Data Set: Institutional Assessment and Studies, University of Virginia](<a href=“http://web.virginia.edu/iaas/cds/Cadmission.shtm]Common”>http://web.virginia.edu/iaas/cds/Cadmission.shtm)</p>
<p>According to UVA’s Common Data Set, 93% of admitted students were in the top 10% of their class. </p>
<p>Are you currently in the top 10% of your graduating class? Would a .03 boost put you into the top 10%?</p>
<p>@gibby my school does not have ranks. was that percentage generated only from students that submitted ranks, or was that an assumption based on other data? </p>
<p>I, too, find it hard to believe the 0.03 would make a difference, but who really knows. @chemundergrad, I think what you said makes a lot of sense. I might as well apply EA and then just let them decide and defer me if necessary. (hopefully it just wouldn’t be a rejection lol).</p>
<p>also does it change anyone’s opinion to know that UVA will be able to see my 1st quarter grades, but they just won’t be factored into the GPA?</p>
<p>^^ Although your school may not rank, I bet you have a sense if you fall within the top 10% of your graduating class. And if you don’t know, I’m sure your guidance counselor knows, as most high schools that don’t publicly rank, do so internally, if only to keep track of which students are the valedictorian and salutatorian. So, you (and the OP) should ask your GC whether you are in the top ten percent of your graduating class, as it will help focus your list of safety, target and reach schools.</p>
<p>BTW: If your high school does not rank, colleges can find out your ranking in a number of ways. See: <a href=“Schools Avoid Class Ranking, Vexing Colleges - The New York Times”>Schools Avoid Class Ranking, Vexing Colleges - The New York Times;
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<p>So my school doesn’t rank, but it does provide the bar graphs you speak of. Based on the bar graphs I am not in the top 10%. I would need a 3.8 to do so; however, I would hope colleges don’t actually consider these bar graphs as my school does not weight GPAs either. Is this a valid point?</p>
<p>^^ Colleges most certainly do consider the bar graphs provided by high schools, especially when trying to figure out a student’s ranking. (Colleges can also simply rank-order all the applications from a high school to obtain a ranking of student’s applying to the college.)</p>
<p>If you are not in the top 10% of your high school, schools like UVA and UPenn (where I know you are also applying) are high-reach schools for you. You should apply, but focus your thoughts and energies on schools that take a considerable amount (50%) of students with your ranking.</p>
<p>It probably does not make much difference. If you are otherwise ready to go, apply early. If UVA is going to work out for you, you’ll be accepted or deferred. Deferred means you will wind up in the RD pool and UVA will see another semester of grades from you. If you are flat out rejected at the EA stage, a slight bump in your GPA probably was not going to vault you all the way past all those deferred kids up to an acceptance.</p>
<p>If you are not otherwise ready to go or don’t care about getting feedback from UVA earlier vs later, then apply RD.</p>
<p>My in-state DD was accepted with a ~3.8 weighted GPA. She was not in the top 20% of her class (very close though - 21st/22nd in a class of 100). No other hooks - not recruited athlete, not legacy, not URM. She is living proof that UVA doesn’t just look at the numbers - she held an elected schoolwide leadership position in an activity in which she was deeply involved for all four years, and I think that helped them to see a few Bs and B+s in the broader context of her HS achievements. (She was deferred from EA to RD and was accepted.) There’s no downside to applying EA. Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>However, don’t confuse In-state examples with OOS examples. UVa is MUCH harder to get into for an OOS student. Offer rate (i.e. acceptance) for OOS was 24% compared to 41% for In-state. For reference see:</p>
<p><a href=“http://alumni.virginia.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Admitted-Student-Profile_Admission-Office.pdf[/url]”>http://alumni.virginia.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Admitted-Student-Profile_Admission-Office.pdf</a></p>
<p>Yeah I mean I’m pretty sure I don’t really stand a chance at UVA (and especially Penn for that matter), but you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take so there’s only one way to find out for sure! 
And fortunately I do have some other things going for me. Also, based on my school’s naviance, UVA has accepted some (albeit few) students from my school who, based on that BS bar graph, fall in the same “rank” (3.5-3.75) category as me. </p>
<p>This year, a kid at my school was accepted EA with a 3.75ish and 33 ACT. I, too, have a 33 ACT. This is why I’m wondering if I should wait to have that 3.7 as well. However, I think I have been convinced to just go with EA and let the adcom take control of the rest. Thanks for the opinions everyone!</p>
<p>No downside for you applying EA, and you’ll get feedback sooner which will help you move through the process.</p>
<p>Last year, UVA got 9685 OOS EA applications. 2146 offers, 2453 defers, 5086 rejects. If all other parts of your application are equal, if your 3.67 GPA isn’t enough to get you at least an EA defer, I’d doubt that your 3.7 would get you an offer come RD time. Good luck.</p>
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<p>IMHO, that statement is statistically pointless and irreverent.
That would be just like saying, without counting my abdomen, I am at the perfect weight for my height and age.</p>
<p>Though an upward trend is certainly helpful – all hs years count toward the gpa.</p>
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<p>Yes, 3.8 W is within the area of possibility.
What part of the state?</p>
<p>"Yes, 3.8 W is within the area of possibility.
What part of the state? "
Northern VA (Arlington). Went to private religious-affiliated high school. 9 people from her class were accepted, most from NoVa.</p>
<p>^^^^</p>
<p>Cool! Congrats.</p>