UVA info session today said “most rigorous in ALL 5 core subjects.”

[Anonymous]

On state tuition discounts need to end.

It's awful to have these taxpayer funded university educations given out on a lottery or biased basis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree to model is outdated. My son made it to Spanish 4 in 10th grade.


This year he’s taking Physics C, MV Cal, AP Research. He’s only taking Honors English one of the easier AP SS.

If that’s not rigorous enough for some schools oh well. I know he’ll be well prepared for his major in engineering and that’s most important to us.

My kid from 23, stopped at Spanish 4 after 10th AND honors English only. Took BC, Calc 3/Linear, Physics C Mech and E&M, Stats, Gov, world, CS. 3.98/4.5, 1560 NMSF. WAITLISTED UVA engineering applicant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn't it be nice if counselors asked your child where they want to go in 9th grade and helped them get there? So frustrating that they get to senior year and they are like oh sorry, you didn't take a foreign language senior year so it's not an option for you.

[b]Many schools[b] tell the students and parents in 9th grade and again in 10th to pay attention to what schools want, and specifically recommend taking all 5 core areas every year especially if they want UVA and better. On top of that they encourage the best students to take the hardest level of each, and encourage students who are bright but not top to “right size” the rigor. We have experience going through a test-in public magnet and a private school. The top kids were steered correctly at both. There were some middle of the pack kids not pushed whose parents were surprised Uva was off the table end of junior year. They were not paying attention to the trajectory their kid was on, and did not understand the level of rigor that was “above average”(5-6 APs with DE too, not maxed in all core subjects) versus top (10-12 no DE other than vector calc). The key is to know the kod you have and understand where they are in the context of the school.

The comedian has entered the forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On state tuition discounts need to end.

It's awful to have these taxpayer funded university educations given out on a lottery or biased basis.

Huh? How about applying to Radford or Towson?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, and you have to get all A’s in these classes.

And a 34+/1500+

And awesome EC’s.

Good luck. No pressure.

This is just not true. Stop the BS.

They are not lying. Go look at the SCHEV report. Last year's inciming class reported a 34 at the 75th percentile: 33 at the median. SAT scores were 1510 at the 75th percentile; 1470 at the median. GPA is 4.51 at the 75th percentile.

If unhooked, your student should be aiming for 75th percentile or higher, especially if from NOVA, where where is the most competition is from.

also top 6% of class

also national awards.

also many top ECs.


Go to Reddit or College Confidential and look at the stats of applicants who were waitlisted or denied

Again, this is all school/region specific.

It is definitely harder to get in from NOVA than from the Tidewater or Bristol areas, no doubt about it.

Your DC's competition for UVA (and most schools) is not those folks, but the other DCs in their HS.

But you do not need all As, and 1600 SAT to get in.

My DC is a first year at CAS. They had 4.3 wGPA (with 3 Bs) at their FCPS high school, 1500 SAT, 5 years of foreign language (3 in one including middle school + 2 of another, no AP), "only" APES for science, "only" Calc AB and Stats for math, AP Lang, and 8 APs in social sciences, and average ECs, no awards.

And we are Asian (with an Asian name, so no hiding it).

I post this to give hope to those with DCs who have "blemished" credentials. Your DC can make it. But it is definitely not guaranteed at all. DC got in last year. Would DC get in this year? Who knows? That's the mystery/frustration of this process.

Glad we're done with this.

Good luck to y'all.

Your kid sounds great, PP. But 12 APs in high school is not blemished.

[Anonymous]

Without 4 years of Spanish, how can you function in a world where every service provider only speaks Spanish?

[Anonymous]

Does Computer Science all 4 years count as a World Language core subject?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does Computer Science all 4 years count as a World Language core subject?

No

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, and you have to get all A’s in these classes.

And a 34+/1500+

And awesome EC’s.

Good luck. No pressure.

This is just not true. Stop the BS.

They are not lying. Go look at the SCHEV report. Last year's inciming class reported a 34 at the 75th percentile: 33 at the median. SAT scores were 1510 at the 75th percentile; 1470 at the median. GPA is 4.51 at the 75th percentile.

If unhooked, your student should be aiming for 75th percentile or higher, especially if from NOVA, where where is the most competition is from.

also top 6% of class

also national awards.

also many top ECs.


Go to Reddit or College Confidential and look at the stats of applicants who were waitlisted or denied

Again, this is all school/region specific.

It is definitely harder to get in from NOVA than from the Tidewater or Bristol areas, no doubt about it.

Your DC's competition for UVA (and most schools) is not those folks, but the other DCs in their HS.

But you do not need all As, and 1600 SAT to get in.

My DC is a first year at CAS. They had 4.3 wGPA (with 3 Bs) at their FCPS high school, 1500 SAT, 5 years of foreign language (3 in one including middle school + 2 of another, no AP), "only" APES for science, "only" Calc AB and Stats for math, AP Lang, and 8 APs in social sciences, and average ECs, no awards.

And we are Asian (with an Asian name, so no hiding it).

I post this to give hope to those with DCs who have "blemished" credentials. Your DC can make it. But it is definitely not guaranteed at all. DC got in last year. Would DC get in this year? Who knows? That's the mystery/frustration of this process.

Glad we're done with this.

Good luck to y'all.

That's UVA but not UVA Engineering.

How do you take 8 APs in Social Science?

USH, Gov, World, Euro, double count Mico/Macro, then what?
Stats? Seminar/Capstone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What percentage of Americans or for that matter UVA grads actually use the foreign language they took in high school?

4%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They want four years in HS, not just four years. I posted above about my daughter (a senior) taking AP French. This is her fifth year of language and she is only taking it because UVA wouldn’t count her first year which was taken in 8th grade.

To the PP who says colleges get to set their criteria, yes, that’s true. But this rigid foreign language criteria for a public flagship versus a private school is frustrating.

But UVA has to set bright lines. It is a state school with a small (compared to privates) admissions office. As explained above, UVA wants to see those kids who can tough it out even in a course they don't like and still get an A because that demonstrates a love of learning or grit. Those are the students who will succeed at UVA. Also UVA sees itself as training citizens of the world (like Jefferson) who will increasingly need to communicate in many languages in order to succeed in a future business and social world dominated less by English (hint!! Take Chinese! now! Get fluent!)

+1. To the point about UVA needing to set firm guidelines because it us a public school with relatively fewer dollars spent on atteacting and selecting students, note that UVA received almost 60,000 applicatioms last year for only 4,400 seats. It takes money to process that many applications so priorities must be set. All of the top flagship publics have rules, guidelines, cut-offs, etc to help them balance out in-state from OOS, URM (yes they are still doing that to get around the scotus decision), full freight vs scholarship, whatever Asian-American goals/limits it wants to reach, and so in, so that the University can arrive at 4,400 students fitting all of its goals. Not an easy task.

But this isn’t a firm line. UVA takes tons of kids OOS and from urban and rural Virginia without four years of language in high school/AP language. It’s only a few high schools in NOVA where kids have to meet this standard.

Thats not true and you know it. Plenty of examples on this forum and in our school.

I’m not sure what you think I’m wrong about. Our OOS high school only offers 3 years of language, and kids get into UVA. Maybe you think I’m wrong that there’s a higher standard for students from better-resourced high schools? Either way, the PP who said UVA has a “bright line” on this question is wrong.

If your high school truly offers only 3 years of all languages and kids get into UVA then these kids are hooked, in ways you may not be aware of . ( or have super excelled in Stem related courses in high school and have explained that in the essay)

What are you confused about?

Going to a school that only offers 3 years of FL *is* a hook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, and you have to get all A’s in these classes.

And a 34+/1500+

And awesome EC’s.

Good luck. No pressure.

This is just not true. Stop the BS.

They are not lying. Go look at the SCHEV report. Last year's inciming class reported a 34 at the 75th percentile: 33 at the median. SAT scores were 1510 at the 75th percentile; 1470 at the median. GPA is 4.51 at the 75th percentile.

If unhooked, your student should be aiming for 75th percentile or higher, especially if from NOVA, where where is the most competition is from.

also top 6% of class

also national awards.

also many top ECs.


Go to Reddit or College Confidential and look at the stats of applicants who were waitlisted or denied

Again, this is all school/region specific.

It is definitely harder to get in from NOVA than from the Tidewater or Bristol areas, no doubt about it.

Your DC's competition for UVA (and most schools) is not those folks, but the other DCs in their HS.

But you do not need all As, and 1600 SAT to get in.

My DC is a first year at CAS. They had 4.3 wGPA (with 3 Bs) at their FCPS high school, 1500 SAT, 5 years of foreign language (3 in one including middle school + 2 of another, no AP), "only" APES for science, "only" Calc AB and Stats for math, AP Lang, and 8 APs in social sciences, and average ECs, no awards.

And we are Asian (with an Asian name, so no hiding it).

I post this to give hope to those with DCs who have "blemished" credentials. Your DC can make it. But it is definitely not guaranteed at all. DC got in last year. Would DC get in this year? Who knows? That's the mystery/frustration of this process.

Glad we're done with this.

Good luck to y'all.

That's UVA but not UVA Engineering.

How do you take 8 APs in Social Science?

USH, Gov, World, Euro, double count Mico/Macro, then what?
Stats? Seminar/Capstone?

Comparative Gov, Modern World History, Psychology, Human Geo, Art History are others

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The details of the transcript are reviewed for rigor, but the designation for a given applicant seems to be a big-picture one.

My kid is at a T10 with only 3 years of foreign language - thru Spanish 3 - and no DE/AP English. He did have multiple social studies APs with 5s (he can write), had multivariable calc and is a STEM major. I doubt his counselor checked the most rigorous box, though I never asked.

If UVA wanted, they could indicate on their admissions site that APs in all five core subject areas are required. That would also cut in half their application numbers overnight. The website does not state this.

The website states:

1. 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. Talk to your counselor and parents to help determine the right program for you. Colleges will want to see that you are pursuing a strong schedule, but they will also want to see good grades.

What do we mean by the core subjects? Those are English, math, foreign language, social studies, and science.

https://admission.virginia.edu/i-am/high-school-student

From DeanJ's instagram, albeit a few years ago, 10th slide in the post https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3ODU3MjE4NzgyMjA1ODE3?igshid=krlux6ebg4wg&story_media_id=2410571039632223712

"To summarize:

1. There is no foreign language requirement for admission to UVA"

The linked video is helpful. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What does a full schedule look like that doesn't include AP language?

If you take orchestra but not AP Spanish, is that really better than AP Spanish and no orchestra?


The real pinch is that colleges want all these high achievements, but high schools hold the kids back by watering down the courses and adding prerequisitea and going double period.

Which HS? What classes are they watering down?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA is not the be all, end all. Hell my kid had the stats two years ago but was waitlisted. Loving his OOS flagship. Couldn't imagine attending anywhere else. Plus they whopped the Cavs butt in football on national TV this year.

Of course it’s not but a lot of us are only able to do instate for our kids. OOS is not an option.

DP and UVA alum. It’s not even the be all, end all in the state of Virginia. Lots of happy, hard-working, career-bound kids spread thoughout our in-state options.

Seriously! Yes!