VA residents - how do you know if UVA is the right fit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our NOVA public, UVA is seen as the be-all, end-all.

My kid is already getting subtle pressure from his alumni parent to do early decision next year. He's rebelling a little bit because he feels like it would be like all the teachers' pets, super-striving people from his high school and other northern Virginia high schools in one place (in his words).

At the same time, it's apparently a great school and it's in-state tuition, etc etc. How does a kid figure out if it's the right fit? Go stay overnight with a friend who is there?

We've been on campus plenty over the years and did a formal tour last spring. My son says right now it's below other schools he's toured, including some big west coast schools and east coast Jesuit/Catholic schools like BC and Villanova. But some of that may be normal teen pushback to the conventional wisdom.

FWIW he is a mainstream, extremely extroverted and social person who does well in school but is not a super-academic intellectual. He loves to play and watch sports.

Simple yes/no fit questions for UVA
1. One of the popular kids?
2. Likes to party?
3. Grinds for grades?
4. D1 sports matter?

Every HS is different. But at our exurban public, the athletes/popular kids don’t have the grades for UVA. They are the Tech/JMU or if OOS USC/Tennessee type kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The "Please" poster is always so obnoxious

So is claiming you know intimately the culture of every college mentioned on this board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVA insiders know there is a two tier social system. The top tier is the popular, rich kids that come to UVA because it feels like an Ivy. There is a second tier that doesn’t really fit in that are the Nova strivers and kids from rural parts of VA that tend to be nerdier and honestly didn’t know what they were getting into when they enrolled at UVA. It’s sad, but the exclusive two tier system is real. Not all high stat kids should choose UVA if the social fit isn’t right.

It does not feel like an Ivy. wtf?

My Ivy had 6,000 total students. UVA feels like a big state school.

[Anonymous]

The bars on the Corner have been confiscating fakes this year. Don't mess around with that.

[Anonymous]

OP, take the responses here with a grain of salt. DCUM is notoriously anti-UVA. Most posters here did not attend and do not have children there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid says that the bar managers at The Corner tell the bouncers to pretty much let any kid with a fake ID in.

My DD is in a “mid-tier” sorority, and has many greek and non-greek friends. I would not say she was in the super popular high school crowd, but played varsity sports. Her NOVA high school is still rated pretty low (high FARMs percentage). UVA has been the perfect place for her. Doing well academically. She apppied ED.

This describes my DD exactly, including the high Farms HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA insiders know there is a two tier social system. The top tier is the popular, rich kids that come to UVA because it feels like an Ivy. There is a second tier that doesn’t really fit in that are the Nova strivers and kids from rural parts of VA that tend to be nerdier and honestly didn’t know what they were getting into when they enrolled at UVA. It’s sad, but the exclusive two tier system is real. Not all high stat kids should choose UVA if the social fit isn’t right.

It does not feel like an Ivy. wtf?

My Ivy had 6,000 total students. UVA feels like a big state school.

Somebody has a fragile ego lol the point stands regardless. UVA has a two tier system that is very exclusive

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First you have to figure out if he has the stats to get in. Look it up on your HS scatterplot. But I personally think every high achieving VA high school student should visit UVA and W&M, and also Tech if they are interested in Engineering.

I also think you and your spouse need to have a frank discussion without your son present about whether or not you are willing to pay for somewhere like Villanova if he gets into UVA or W&M. The price difference is quite substantial and only you know if that matters to you: but don’t act like you are indifferent on cost to your child if that is not accurate.

We let our kids know that we thought UVA AND W&M were both excellent values and that if possible they should pick the one that better suited them. We were open to arguments against this, but thankfully our kids both felt drawn to one of them.

+1

Cost should be one of the first things discussed when considering colleges. If you can only afford in state costs, then let your kid know that upfront. So they can apply accordingly to instate as well as privates/OOS that are known for giving merit for kids with your stats. Don't apply to $90K schools that don't give much merit if you are only willing to pay $40-45K/year. Simply don't let them focus on those schools, because it's pointless and there are plenty that will be affordable. You want to find the ones they like and apply there

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The "Please" poster is always so obnoxious

So is claiming you know intimately the culture of every college mentioned on this board.

OkAy KaReN

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A little scary as every post from parents whose child attends references drinking and frats.

Uh, because people brought up the frats. I could talk about any other aspect of the school but I addressed the frat culture because that was what is being talked about.

It's a big part of culture for mainstream kids at ANY state school. My kid's best friend is at Michigan and the entire social scene there for the mainstream kids revolves around drinking and game days. My UVA kid was shocked when visiting MI this fall because the drinking started at 7am in the dorm for an afternoon game which is something they had never seen happen at UVA. And of course, there are kids who don't drink at all too.

This is not reflective of the culture of the school. This is reflective of what that kid chooses to do. DC's best friend is at UVA and goes out drinking 3-4 nights a week, mostly to frats, with other kids from their HS. None of these girls were partiers in high school. I have another friend with a DD at UVA and she barely ever goes out. There's all types of partiers and all types of schools.

[Anonymous]

My NOVA UVA kid has friends that are OOS, Rural VA and non NOVA. She is outgoing, involved, yes, parties, but also makes it to class and is getting good grades. Great fit for them!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My NOVA UVA kid has friends that are OOS, Rural VA and non NOVA. She is outgoing, involved, yes, parties, but also makes it to class and is getting good grades. Great fit for them!

This describes most of the UVA kids I know IRL. The posters on this thread know a lot less than they claim to.

[Anonymous]

There were a lot of kids from DC's HS that went there. Most of them were preppy high achievers who loved to party. That hasn't changed from what DC had shared. There is a lot more partying that before, but that's likely a result of the freedom and not needing to get rides home. It sounds like the kids are enjoying the school, but there is still a lof of interaction with HS people (a lot!!). If your kid is from our area and is OK with that, great. If they want a fresh start, that's a little harder to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My NOVA UVA kid has friends that are OOS, Rural VA and non NOVA. She is outgoing, involved, yes, parties, but also makes it to class and is getting good grades. Great fit for them!

This describes most of the UVA kids I know IRL. The posters on this thread know a lot less than they claim to.

DP. It sounds like many posters are basing their impressions on what their kids tell them, so I’m not sure why you think your anecdotal info is any more valid than someone else’s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My NOVA UVA kid has friends that are OOS, Rural VA and non NOVA. She is outgoing, involved, yes, parties, but also makes it to class and is getting good grades. Great fit for them!

This describes most of the UVA kids I know IRL. The posters on this thread know a lot less than they claim to.

That was me when I went there (early 2000s) and completely agree with a lot of bogus info here. I had HS friends in the frats and saw them a lot the first year or two, but eventually found my own group (that yes still partied, but not beholden to the frats or solely peers from HS).