Profiles in Admission: The University of Virginia

Feel and Setting

The University of Virginia is located in the north-west corner of Charlottesville, a small city in central Virginia. Its campus is known for its stately colonial architecture and sprawling green lawns, features that have remained virtually unchanged since the school was founded in 1819. If you are attracted to a college with lots of history and traditions, then UVA makes a great fit; guys wear ties to football games, there are several secret societies on campus, and certain events (such as the Lighting of the Lawn) have been held every year for decades.

 

“If you’re attracted to a college with lots of history and traditions, then UVA makes a great fit…”

 

Although The University of Virginia has enough students to allow for cultural diversity–over 15,000 undergraduates–most of its groups have a common tone that’s shaped by a shared goal: achievement. People focused on finding success tend to thrive on its active campus where you can find fellow students exercising, socializing, and studying at all hours of the day and night. Walking between classes on any given day, you might hear a conversation about business strategies in China, a fervent discussion on the efficiency of different study tactics, or a recap of a wild party the previous weekend. However, you probably won’t hear much chatter about performance art or yogic science. UVA is not particularly artistic or “crunchy granola” in tone.

 

“You probably won’t hear much chatter about performance art or yogic science. UVA is not particularly artistic or crunchy…”

 

UVA is also known for its Greek life: about 30% of all students are members of fraternities or sororities, and the preppy aesthetic of its members extends across campus. Polos, Ray Bans, and pastel colored pants are common among all its social groups. But even if you don’t like to dress like you’re sailing a yacht around Nantucket, UVA still has lots to offer: the relatively large size of the school and its sizable endowment allow for a wide array of student-run organizations, which range from tech entrepreneurship to rural healthcare, from organic farming to slam poetry.

 

“…Even if you don’t like to dress like you’re sailing a yacht around Nantucket, UVA still has lots to offer…”

 

UVA has an undeniable vibe, a drivenness and clean-cut appearance that makes it a great fit for students who are goal-oriented and comfortable in an environment that sometimes feels like an enormous preparatory school. However, it’s large enough for any person to find his or her niche, and its emphasis on student diversity increases the variety of people who enter as freshmen every year.

 

Getting Accepted

Admission to The University of Virginia is highly competitive, and students who get accepted tend to be well-qualified. We broke down a few of the most important statistics on admitted students below.

 

SAT Scores

Bottom line — you have to have high scores in all three sections. Of all the students who entered as freshmen in 2014, 75% fit into the blue and tan blocks in the graph below, earning between a 620 and 800 in every section:

 

GPA

The vast majority of incoming 2014 freshmen were in the top of their class:

 

However, its worth noting that having a high GPA from easy classes is not enough to guarantee acceptance. The UVA Admissions Department says this on the subject: “Take the best program available to you in your core subjects — Make sure that your class schedule demonstrates that you are taking advantage of all that your school offers.” In other words, take challenging classes (Honors and AP) and do well in them.

 

Residency

Because The University of Virginia is a public university, in-state residency is a significant advantage to applicants:

 

Applicants should note, however, that admissions at UVA is highly competitive, both in-state and across the country

 

Extracurriculars

UVA looks for students who have leadership positions in their communities, whether those positions are on sports teams, in high school clubs, or religious groups. We recommend that students pick one or two activities that they find interesting and invest as much as they can into those organizations throughout high school. It is better to show passion and commitment to a limited number of projects than mediocre investment in several.

 

Summing It Up

If you’re interested in The University of Virginia, you’ll need to be strategic about how you prepare for college through every step of high school. If you need help studying for standardized tests, navigating high school’s academic demands, or putting the final touches on your admissions essay, give us a call! We can help every step of the way.

 

Matt Mason
Senior Associate Director
Georgetown Learning Centers