How is UVA overrated?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cheating

We know honest kids who go there, but we also know of a good number of kids who cheated their way through high school that are also going there. But, that's probably b/c we are in Nova.

I think this is the key to UVA's "overrating." Northern Virginia.
Northern Virginia likes to think UVA is a bargain Yale or Harvard or Princeton or Brown. UVA is an excellent school, but it's very competitive particularly for northern Virginia students. So it evokes the impression of being more elite and prestigious in this geographical area than it warrants. I'm sure if you ask people in California to name the top public universities in the country, UVA would not come to mind.

I’m actually fairly sure they would, because UVA has been a top public for decades. I’m always amazed when people don’t realize this (and that’s coming from someone who didn’t go there, doesn’t have kids there, and only moved to Virginia in the last five years).

Law school perhaps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Lots of classes taught by grad students.

DD is a 1st Yr and hasn't had a single class taught by a TA. They lead discussion sections for large classes, offer study sessions, proctor and grade exams. But, professors teach the classes and have been easy to communicate with via office hours or email. Flame UVA all you want, but at least post the truth for people genuinely doing their research.

Same is true for my first year student.

My kid at UVA has also experienced large classes with TA taught sections. But let’s be a real, the TAs are doing the grading and teaching the discussion sections. The profs are just lecturing. My DD had a prof who said any questions about the class or material should go to the TA. He will
Meet with kids in office hours to discuss only the general topic (not related to the class coverage) and careers in that subject area. The TAs have a significant impact on the teaching (and one of my kid’s TAs got a D+ in the class when the TA took it—ridiculous!). That said, I think that is the experience at any large university. My other kid is a grad student and TA at another university and it sounds very similar.

I do have issues with class sizes. Last semester my kid had a 400 and a 500 person lecture class and a 700 person online class!! The o line one is being changed next year, though, to smaller in person sections, so the school realizes that was a disaster.

I would also say cheating is rampant, but I also think that is not unique to UVA. My TA kid has also seen a bit of that at their university. I think some of these kids cheat in high school because the expectations are insane and they never stop.

Overall, UVA has been really good for my kid (who has found it challenging and does not have a perfect record there). I would not say it is overrated. It’s not perfect, but for the most part, what we expected.

If this is true, then this is clearly a very stark difference with JMU where "teaching" is prioritized, relationships with professors encouraged. There's even a dorm with professors living in quarters to foster more proximity for academic collaboration with students. (Personally, I think that's a bit weird, but obviously demonstrates interest in teaching by professors rather that TAs) JMU's grad school is pretty small. Professors need to take the primary responsibility for teaching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cheating

We know honest kids who go there, but we also know of a good number of kids who cheated their way through high school that are also going there. But, that's probably b/c we are in Nova.

I think this is the key to UVA's "overrating." Northern Virginia.
Northern Virginia likes to think UVA is a bargain Yale or Harvard or Princeton or Brown. UVA is an excellent school, but it's very competitive particularly for northern Virginia students. So it evokes the impression of being more elite and prestigious in this geographical area than it warrants. I'm sure if you ask people in California to name the top public universities in the country, UVA would not come to mind.

I’m actually fairly sure they would, because UVA has been a top public for decades. I’m always amazed when people don’t realize this (and that’s coming from someone who didn’t go there, doesn’t have kids there, and only moved to Virginia in the last five years).

Some Californians known UVA is a top school but many don't. More interest in Michigan and Texas Austin than UVA because STEM.

Outside the DMV, most people consider UVA on par with U of Florida. It doesn’t register along with Michigan, UCLA, UCSD, Berkeley, or even UT Austin. It is just pretty average.

That's not true. I think most people regard UVA as a very good school. Nationally, people's perception of public universities would be -

Berkeley
Michigan
Texas
UCLA
UVA
UNC

I think UNC's prestige has declined somewhat over the past 20 years. Probably because they take 90 percent of their students instate. Which might be similar to Texas and the UCs but Texas and California have 70 million people between them. There is more than enough talent in those two states to fill Berkeley and Texas-Austin ten times over with great students. Whereas OOS students to UNC are often much stronger than the instate students because NC has a relatively small base of really strong students. Michigan solves the problem by being 50 percent OOS. And UVA manages a good mix of OOS and a larger pool of strong instate students to choose from. In any event, UVA is well above "pretty average."

I'd agree with this. But being regarded as a very good school is not the same as being over-rated...which around here, UVA does seem to be. At least for undergrad. Law school is certainly well-recognized and deserving; but does it get the same eyebrow-raises as Harvard or yale law?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:If you are using USNWR as your standard, then either UVA is overrated or W&M is underrated. UVA and WM have almost identical GPA and SAT/ ACT scores at 25%/50%/75%. In some cases WM has higher stats. There used to be about 10 spots difference between the two in USNWR. But when USNWR started emphasizing things like FGLI/pell grant %, and stopped considering things like the quality of undergrad teaching, the spread went from 10 places to 30 places— in one year.

Maybe UVA is overrated by USNWR. Maybe WM is underrated. But, these school attract the same caliber students. And IMO the quality of undergrad teaching is very important for undergrad students. They should have a similar ranking. Up to you to decide if that ranking should be in the 20s, early 40s or mid 50s.

I love how the insecure W&M booster ALWAYS pushes their way into these discussions to make sure they're not left out.

So true. Most kids at UVA didn’t even apply to W&M. It is such a different vibe. Very, very nerdy at W&M.

Most top stats kids in Virginia only apply to UVA as a safety.

This reflects the impression I get. UVA is pseudo-elite because the parents particularly, but also the students, think they're "all that." They can all feel good about themselves being at their "safety" school because it's UVA. UVA is over-rated because the student body/parents/alumnae all think very highly of themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are using USNWR as your standard, then either UVA is overrated or W&M is underrated. UVA and WM have almost identical GPA and SAT/ ACT scores at 25%/50%/75%. In some cases WM has higher stats. There used to be about 10 spots difference between the two in USNWR. But when USNWR started emphasizing things like FGLI/pell grant %, and stopped considering things like the quality of undergrad teaching, the spread went from 10 places to 30 places— in one year.

Maybe UVA is overrated by USNWR. Maybe WM is underrated. But, these school attract the same caliber students. And IMO the quality of undergrad teaching is very important for undergrad students. They should have a similar ranking. Up to you to decide if that ranking should be in the 20s, early 40s or mid 50s.

I love how the insecure W&M booster ALWAYS pushes their way into these discussions to make sure they're not left out.

So true. Most kids at UVA didn’t even apply to W&M. It is such a different vibe. Very, very nerdy at W&M.

No, just no. Most VA kids go in-state and most apply to UVA, WM, VT, JMU and GMU, VCU or CNU as back up.

Huh? Most apply to all of them? As a back-up to what?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:it is overrated for 2 reasons:

1) STEM staff and curriculum is like any other T50-100 school

2) Outcomes - lack of fortune 500 companies in and around DMV makes hiring very hard.

No idea what you are talking about on 2. UVA is on every list of banking and consulting placement, plus placement at top law schools, med schools, etc.

I hear Capitol One is a main recruiter there. How impressive.

CapOne has 12,500 employees in Tysons and 12,500 in Richmond. Of course it is going to recruit heavily from the nearby Flagship. I don’t see why that’s a ding.

I believe it is the #1 employer for UVA, W&M, VT, JMU . . .

[Anonymous]

If someone is trying to assert it is at the same level as Stanford, it is being overrated. If someone is asserting it is just like any other state school, it is being underrated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Lots of classes taught by grad students.

DD is a 1st Yr and hasn't had a single class taught by a TA. They lead discussion sections for large classes, offer study sessions, proctor and grade exams. But, professors teach the classes and have been easy to communicate with via office hours or email. Flame UVA all you want, but at least post the truth for people genuinely doing their research.

Same is true for my first year student.

My kid at UVA has also experienced large classes with TA taught sections. But let’s be a real, the TAs are doing the grading and teaching the discussion sections. The profs are just lecturing. My DD had a prof who said any questions about the class or material should go to the TA. He will
Meet with kids in office hours to discuss only the general topic (not related to the class coverage) and careers in that subject area. The TAs have a significant impact on the teaching (and one of my kid’s TAs got a D+ in the class when the TA took it—ridiculous!). That said, I think that is the experience at any large university. My other kid is a grad student and TA at another university and it sounds very similar.

I do have issues with class sizes. Last semester my kid had a 400 and a 500 person lecture class and a 700 person online class!! The o line one is being changed next year, though, to smaller in person sections, so the school realizes that was a disaster.

I would also say cheating is rampant, but I also think that is not unique to UVA. My TA kid has also seen a bit of that at their university. I think some of these kids cheat in high school because the expectations are insane and they never stop.

Overall, UVA has been really good for my kid (who has found it challenging and does not have a perfect record there). I would not say it is overrated. It’s not perfect, but for the most part, what we expected.

weird since they don’t have a lecture hall with 500 seats.

Okay. Rice 130 and McLeod 1020 are both 475. So the kid didn’t have a 500 person class - but easily could have had a 400 and a 475 person class with 700 online.

mcLeod is the med school’s auditorium. No undergrad classes there.

Rice 130 capacity is 138 (I just googled it). Maybe you’re confusing it with Chem Auditorium. That’s the big lecture hall. Gilmer is another one, a little smaller.

You can see the class sizes on Lou’s list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Lots of classes taught by grad students.

DD is a 1st Yr and hasn't had a single class taught by a TA. They lead discussion sections for large classes, offer study sessions, proctor and grade exams. But, professors teach the classes and have been easy to communicate with via office hours or email. Flame UVA all you want, but at least post the truth for people genuinely doing their research.

Same is true for my first year student.

My kid at UVA has also experienced large classes with TA taught sections. But let’s be a real, the TAs are doing the grading and teaching the discussion sections. The profs are just lecturing. My DD had a prof who said any questions about the class or material should go to the TA. He will
Meet with kids in office hours to discuss only the general topic (not related to the class coverage) and careers in that subject area. The TAs have a significant impact on the teaching (and one of my kid’s TAs got a D+ in the class when the TA took it—ridiculous!). That said, I think that is the experience at any large university. My other kid is a grad student and TA at another university and it sounds very similar.

I do have issues with class sizes. Last semester my kid had a 400 and a 500 person lecture class and a 700 person online class!! The o line one is being changed next year, though, to smaller in person sections, so the school realizes that was a disaster.

I would also say cheating is rampant, but I also think that is not unique to UVA. My TA kid has also seen a bit of that at their university. I think some of these kids cheat in high school because the expectations are insane and they never stop.

Overall, UVA has been really good for my kid (who has found it challenging and does not have a perfect record there). I would not say it is overrated. It’s not perfect, but for the most part, what we expected.

If this is true, then this is clearly a very stark difference with JMU where "teaching" is prioritized, relationships with professors encouraged. There's even a dorm with professors living in quarters to foster more proximity for academic collaboration with students. (Personally, I think that's a bit weird, but obviously demonstrates interest in teaching by professors rather that TAs) JMU's grad school is pretty small. Professors need to take the primary responsibility for teaching.

They are definitely exaggerating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of classes taught by grad students. Students are smart but not known for being intellectually curious. Not known for strong student/faculty relationships. Fine school. Maybe just not as fine as its alumni think it is in academics.

Did you attend?
Did you have a child attend recently?

Anyone can say anything. Just curious, thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those that say UVA is overrated, please list the reasons you believe this. Looking for substantive reasons. My kid is about to decide between UVA and another school.

You’re going to base a crucial decision on posts from DCUM. Okaayyy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cheating

Second this. Certain demographic promotes cheating. It’s their way of living.

which demographic?

None. The people making these comments are morons and don’t know anything about how rampant cheating is in college across the board.

It’s rampant because of a certain demographic that is clogging up all of these schools. The boba crew is why we got here.

Studies over three decades have consistently found between 50 and 80% of college students admit to having cheated in college. There is no cheating “demographic.”

This is all just another form of white supremacy. They can't reconcile the Asian academic advantage with their white supremacists beliefs so they chalk it up to cheating and call it a day.

[Anonymous]

UVA is not a top 5 public university but it is certainly top 25.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cheating

We know honest kids who go there, but we also know of a good number of kids who cheated their way through high school that are also going there. But, that's probably b/c we are in Nova.

I think this is the key to UVA's "overrating." Northern Virginia.
Northern Virginia likes to think UVA is a bargain Yale or Harvard or Princeton or Brown. UVA is an excellent school, but it's very competitive particularly for northern Virginia students. So it evokes the impression of being more elite and prestigious in this geographical area than it warrants. I'm sure if you ask people in California to name the top public universities in the country, UVA would not come to mind.

I’m actually fairly sure they would, because UVA has been a top public for decades. I’m always amazed when people don’t realize this (and that’s coming from someone who didn’t go there, doesn’t have kids there, and only moved to Virginia in the last five years).

Some Californians known UVA is a top school but many don't. More interest in Michigan and Texas Austin than UVA because STEM.

Outside the DMV, most people consider UVA on par with U of Florida. It doesn’t register along with Michigan, UCLA, UCSD, Berkeley, or even UT Austin. It is just pretty average.

This is just not true for anyone that’s actually familiar with academia (i.e., not this forum).

Nope, this is accurate. Keep up with the changes.

I have because I work in academia. This forum is like an alternate reality. I actually think people who don’t know any better end up less well informed from where they started.

I am a college professor. 20 years ago I would not put U of Florida in the same sentence as UVA. However, now they are solid peers academically. For a lot of departments, U of Florida is ahead in terms of faculty quality and research output.

Really? I thought Florida was having trouble because of how much the governor was interfering with stuff in the name of over killing DEI.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVA is not a top 5 public university but it is certainly top 25.

It’s #4