Would I be in if I was instate?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Virginia
1

<p>Hey, I'm doing this for fun just to see how much better my life would be if I lived in Virginia :( But anyways, would I get in to UVa if I was a resident of Virginia? Btw, just for fun (I know what 99% of the answers will be), what are my chances as an OOS? </p>

<p>Stats:
demographics:
*I am an Asian Indian Male
*From a competitive public high school in Oregon: Beaverton High School, which was also rated the best AP school in Oregon, so yeah, its a smart school. (On top of that, our graduating class is rumored to be the best class of all time, and we were ranked 704 by newsweek putting us in the top 2.5% of all high schools or something like that!! This was before our class started taking APs, so that number will probably raise even more by next year because our class is that good)
*student body at school = 500+</p>

<p>The Numbers/ECs
*ACT Composite 30 (8/12 on essay :( )</p>

<p>-English 30 (Usage/Mechanics 15 Rhetorical Skills 16)
-Science 24 (ouch)
-Reading 31 (Social Studies/Science 17 Arts/Literature 15)
-Mathematics 34
(Pre-Algebra/Elementary Algebra 18
Int.Algebra/Coord.Geometry 16 (ouch)
Plane Geometry/Trigonometry 18)</p>

<p>*Freshman year:
Language Arts (Honors): A/A
Social Studies 9: A/A
Advanced Algebra 2: A/A
Bio/Chem/Phys 10 (Honors): A/A
SAT Math Prep: A
SAT Verbal Prep:A
Spanish 1:A/A
Team Sports:A
Health 1:A
Web Design:A
Computer Programming:A</p>

<p>*Sophomore Year:
AP Chem: B/A
Lit Comp 10 (Honors): A/A
Physics 2: A/A
Pre-Calc: A/B
Social Studies 10 :B/A (can explain this B)
Spanish 2:A/A
Symphonic Band: A/A
Team Sports: A
Health 2: A</p>

<p>*Junior Year
Human Anatomy: A/A
IB Biology: A/A
Spanish 3: A/A
IB Calculus: A/A
IB Psychology: A/B
Team Sports: A
IB Seminar: P
IB English: A/B
IB TOK 1: B</p>

<p>In summary: I currently have a 3.869 UW GPA, 4.109 W GPA...n oidea about rank besides that its top 10%, possibly top 7% weighted.</p>

<p>*My class rank is somewhere in the top 10%
*IB Diploma Candidate
*NHS (2 years)
*Might get internship at OHSU during this summer
*Varsity tennis 4 years (will have 4) (possibly captain next season)
*Science Team 4 years (will have 4)
*World Quest Trivia 4 years (will have 4)
*Science Club Treasurer (1 year)
*Science Club VP (2 years)
*Math Club (4 years) (VP 2 years)
*Portland Youth Philharmonic (2 years)
*Mathfest Algebra 2 1st place freshman year
*Oregon Invitational of Mathematics Tournament Participant Fresh Year
*Mathfest Participant (will have 4 years)
*6th Place at World Quest out of 32 10th grade
*Oregon Museum of Science and Industry Rising Star Program (will have 150-175 volunteer hours done)
*Mathcounts Tutor (about 50+ volunteer hours)
*Model UN (1 year, but should be able to get leadership position in it)</p>

2

<p>Hey you'd definately be in for in-state that's for sure, your stats are great! I actually think you have a good shot OOS, your grades are stellar! Your extra-curriculars are definately a plus too. If you really want to go to UVA then you can do it. Your ACT isn't a bad score at all, take it again if you don't think it accurately represents your skills. Try the SAT too and pay the extra money to send to UVA AFTER you get the score lol. Write awesome essays (they have the essay questions up on their site so maybe start thinking about what to write now!)...maybe you could write about math if you plan to major in it or something, your calculus grade is really good and you could emphasize your extracurriculars dealing with it. Good luck, and don't be so hard on yourself!</p>

3

<p>If you were in-state I would say you'd have an excellent shot of getting in. At my school just about everybody in the top 10% and a 1950+ SAT score got in. I think a 30 on the ACT is about the same as a 1950 on the SAT.</p>

4

<p>Yea, you'd probably get in.</p>

5

<p>grrrr I hate my life. It sucks so badly to know that if I had lived in a particular state I would be able to go to one of my dream schools, but oh well. Such is life I guess :( how hard is it to transfer in?</p>

6

<p>Our school system just purchased software that shows scattergrams for each schools results for all colleges applied to. It shows acceptance and rejection base on GPA and SAT. I checked your numbers against 2 schools. One top 20 in newsweek rankings, the other #60. In state you would be at the low end of the acceptance cluster. The bulk of folks accepted had higher stats. Please note that this is Northern Virginia where the competition is tough for UVa. It is a bit easier elsewhere in the state so while this should give you an indication it is hardly the last word. Also these are 2006 acceptance/rejection data. The 2007 info should be online soon. I printed out the 2006 info, so when it is replaced I will be able to compare 2006 to 2007. I have a feeling it won't be good news (tougher stats) based upon what I am hearing on the street.</p>

7

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>Just to give you some insight on my experience.</p>

<p>Jewish Male from most competitive public high school in Boca Raton, FL
ACT-28
SAT-1910
AP Courses:
AP Psychology
AP European History
UW GPA: 3.74
WGPA: 4.12</p>

<p>ECs
Key Club(3 years)
Jewish Forum(4 years)
Push For Peace(1 year)
Raise The Cure(1 year)
National Honors Society( 2 years)
Chorus(2+years)
Drama(2+yearS)
Numerous community service; counseling center, temple, hospital, teacher volunteer work, and nursing home (500+)</p>

<p>Good Explanation:
One week before starting junior year, I had been diagnosed with stage 1 Hodgkin's Lymphoma. I thought I would be able to go to school, so I decided to go to school for the first two days, and that Friday I had to go get minor surgery(get my port installed for chemo). On Monday, I started chemo, and it was much more then I expected. Immediately, I was withdrawn from my local public high school, which meant I dropped all my AP courses and honor courses for one semester(about 5.5 months). I was enrolled in a special program for children in my situation, and I found that work way easy but I had no choice they only offered regular level courses via internet and telephone. I received a 4.0, and then returned to my regular public high school from late January-early June(2nd semester). I could not enroll in my APs, because I already missed a load of information from 1st semester, but I got to take my Honor courses. About 4 honors and 2 regular courses, and I received a 4.0 GPA for my whole junior year, with a 4.3 weighted GPA. This year, I enrolled in two APs, and received A's in both courses, and am certain I got a 3-5 on all AP test. On top of that, I had started a club in order to help raise money for cures for childhood cancers, and plan to continue my club at the college I will be attending next year. I've shaved my head and plan to do that every year and raised $1500 in the process, did numerous cancer and diabetes walks, and have educated numerous people about cancer and its effect and how it needs to be stopped. I had to apply to UVA at the last minute, because I was robbed of SAT time last year and only had Sept-Nov to take them and prep briefly. At first I was placed on the wait list, and then in early June, I was notified that I had not been taken off the wait list. </p>

<p>Hope this helps!</p>

<p>UVA was my 2nd choice school, UCLA 1st choice.</p>

8

<p>jeez sorry to hear about your illness bruins. I'm surprised they didn't accept you because of your hardships. But are you saying that bascially its a crapshoot for me, since we are in a similar boat?</p>

9

<p>No,</p>

<p>I'm saying that many top schools, admission is totally random. People really could not tell you if your definitely going to get in, even if your instate. My state university, University of Florida, accepted applicants with minimal stats and minimal ECs, and rejected kids who held leadership positions with 1260-1380 on their SATs. Not one applicant at my school got into Harvard, Princeton, or Yale, even the #1 student of my class, and Asian male with a 1580 and 5.4 W GPA. He got denied from Duke, Cornell, Harvard, etc. And he had numerous art awards, academic scholarships, etc. College admissions is really a crapshoot for everyone, instate or out of state. No one knows what goes through the minds of admission officers.</p>

<p>For sure, I'd thought I would get into UVA or UCLA, but I am settling for my 3rd choice.</p>

<p>Just make sure you apply to a lot of other schools. By the way, what is your major or undecided.</p>

10

<p>uhhh 1580 isn't exactly a Harvard SAT score...</p>

<p>But I think I'm going to apply as Engineering unless that will only make it harder. If it makes it harder for me to get in, then I'll probably apply as an econ major since I want to double major in biz/engineering I think.</p>

11

<p>My advice is to apply to any school (even UVa) that you're seriously interested in. </p>

<p>I'm cutting and pasting this from another thread, hoping to give you - and those other OOS students - some advice about UVa admissions. Not trying to brag about my son, just trying to give a real-life example showing that it's not impossible to get in to UVa from OOS.</p>

<p>My son was accepted to two schools - UVa and UNC, both as an OOS student - and we were very worried he wouldn't get into either. And though we're VERY proud of him, he is not a superstar. </p>

<p>His stats: All A's in all honors and AP classes (so, a 4.0 UW, 4.3 W - they only weight AP's at his school), toughest courses available, ended up #2 in his class (at arguably the best public school in San Diego), but was only estimated as top 5% when he applied, 1360/2050 SAT (yes, that's right), 4's and 5's on AP's, mid 700's on SAT II's, good EC's (Varsity soccer 4 yrs, lots of regional and area awards; class VP twice; NHS VP, very involved and visible in his school and student gov't), strong recs from teachers, counselor, and Dean of students at his first hs (we moved b/w his soph/jr year). All good, but we'd heard how impossible OOS admission is at both UVa and UNC, and feared his SAT scores would keep him out at both.</p>

<p>Thankfully, we (and the pundits on CC) were wrong :). </p>

<p>I have a friend who's fond of saying that college admission is nothing more than eeny, meeny, miny, mo. I don't think I'd go that far, but I will say it's not always consistent - and certainly not predictable. Which is why I suggest you apply wherever you're seriously interested...because you honestly never know. </p>

<p>As far as what I've seen the past two years at UVa, they seem to be true to their word. Over and over again, the admissions office stresses the importance of a strong transcript (i.e. great grades in tough classes) over SAT scores, and the acceptances I've seen bear that out. Class rank also seems to be very important, with most of the OOS acceptances being in the top 5%. Again, having those things doesn't guarantee admission in any way, but most kids who've offered their stats here have those two things in common. Then again, I know of a friend of my son (same high school) who had those two things and didn't get in. She did get into W&M as a Monroe Scholar and will be going there next year. The funny thing is that, on paper, she and my son looked pretty similar - although his grades were slightly better, while her scores were slightly better. But we really have no idea why he got in, while she didn't. I guess none of us here can account for the intangibles we don't see that the admissions office does... </p>

<p>So my advice as a mom - and you know how we love to give advice - is hang in there, apply to any school you really love...and good luck!</p>

12

<p>if i were instate ;-)</p>

13

<p>Cganyard gave excellent advice for any school. You just don't know. Some stellar in state students were rejected this year, while others that you'd least expect were accepted. Every college is looking to build a diverse class. State universities are always a little harder to get into for the OOS student because they must take a certain % of in staters. That's a given. It sometimes helps to go for an interview and /or a campus visit ("demonstrated interest"). Check the common data set for any school in which you're interested - including UVA - and that'll give you a good idea of the profile of the applicants. (You can usuallly find this under a heading like "institutional research.") Good luck!</p>

14

<p>LBP makes an excellant point that I had forgotten. Right now college admissions is facing a baby boomlet. According to what I've read it peaks this coming cycle, class of 2008, and then sloowwly trends down. I've read over and over that one of the reasons for ridiculously long waitlists is to signal to the student that they "made the grade" relative to admissions but there aren't enough spots.<br>
What I'm hearing is that folks to apply to approx 10 schools with emphasis on match/ safety.</p>

15

<p>california_love 8,</p>

<p>What do you mean a 1580 is not exactly a Harvard score. It's near perfect. 1580/1600 and 2380/2400.</p>

16

<p>ohhhh I was thinking of the 2400 scale LOL. I was like, well 1580 out of 2400 is barely enough to get into a state school.</p>

17

<p>yeah,</p>

<p>i thought thats what you were thinking, LOL. but no, he only got denied b/c he did not have many EC's. Academics alone is not going to get into the ivy leagues and top-tier schools.</p>

18

<p>UPDATE:</p>

<p>I just got my grades back, and it looks like I pulled out As in ToK and English, will that help my chances at all from OOS? This will probably bump up my class rank (well it will go down since I didn't get all As, but it wont go down drastically if I had gotten 3 like I originally thought I would.</p>

19

<p>recalulate your GPA and let us know. FWIW, UVa does not love the IB like some other colleges do. It pains me to say that since my son is doing it too.</p>

<p>That ToK looks like a pain in the neck. So many people get B's in that course, I'd appreciate your thoughts as to why strong students don't do well in it.</p>

<p>BTW, is ToK weighed like an HL or just regular?
Thanks.</p>

20

<p>
[QUOTE]
recalulate your GPA and let us know. FWIW, UVa does not love the IB like some other colleges do. It pains me to say that since my son is doing it too.

[/QUOTE]

My recalculated UW GPA is now 3.913 or so. I think that although UVa doesn't LOVE IB like USC does, they still recognize it. I remember seeing somewhere that UVa accepts a significantly larger portion of IB diploma students than non diploma (which was one of the reasons I did it actually).

[QUOTE]
That ToK looks like a pain in the neck. So many people get B's in that course, I'd appreciate your thoughts as to why strong students don't do well in it.</p>

<p>BTW, is ToK weighed like an HL or just regular?

[/QUOTE]

It really depends on the school for both of these items. On one forum (I think Notre Dame) when I said that I was predicting a B in ToK, the guy ridiculed me because at some schools its literally like an IB version of PE (still a lot of work since its IB, but not necessarily as tough as a normal IB courses to get an A in), but at my school, its probably THE hardest IB to get an A in. Our teacher is really passionate about the topic, which is why he grades hard and expects a lot (which could be the case at your school), while at those other schools since there is no IB test (I'm pretty sure at least) and its basically extra credit, people don't worry about it as much, and thus its seen mostly as a joke. The fact that what you learn is so abstract and so unfalsifiable (which is why I personally believe that class is a bit pointless) could make it difficult as well. Also, at least our teacher, expected us to relate to past experiences a lot and explain how that influenced who you are, which people like me (and even this really smart kid who got a 35 on the ACT and all "A"s) can have problems with. </p>

<p>If your S or D is about to take ToK, I'd say this:
1. If your teacher is like ours, know yourself enough so you can talk about significant events that influenced you and how they AFFECT HOW YOU PERCEIEVE THE WORLD/ACQUIRE KNOWLDEGE, ETC. (last part capitalized for emphasis because that is the key. Going through picture albums and telling your life story is useless, but applying those events is central.)
2. Within a week, figure out what the teacher looks for and what side he or she is on during discussions (since its highly discussion based class, if not purely). Our teacher is notorious for picking on people who argue or disagree with him, and knowing that could be key, but also, I learned in the first week that he wants to see people who take it seriously and always ask how to improve, which caused him to bump many people's grades up. So similarly, find out what his or her teacher wants (past takers of the course are best resources)
3. Most of all though, even though much of what they teach could be nonsense, enjoy the fantastical, yet thought provoking ideas these people come up with and do each piece of work as if it was an important to your own decoding of your self image. If you don't, or at least don't know literally how to bs, or make yourself wonder about certain ideas, that class will be a challenge becauyse it will be so boring and you'll struggle to write those 6 page essays.</p>

<p>I doubt your child will have as much problems as our school (I'm not being elitist about our school, but with our teacher, if you get an 89-90, thats considered excellent (only a few get such high grades), and getting 91-92 on assignments is essentially as good as it gets, so yeah enough said.), but just tell him or her to enjoy it and I'm sure he or she will be fine.</p>