UVA - Holistic Review

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD is struggling with what to do on science next year. AP Biology and AP Chemistry take up two class periods at her high school. She’s taken honors biology, chemistry and physics. She knows she should take AP Bio or AP Chem but it will mean she cannot be in orchestra.

Other option is to take AP environmental science but she knows that probably won’t be enough to UVA.

I don’t see why APES isn’t sufficient, but more importantly, if she has to give up orchestra to check certain boxes on UVA’s admissions checklist, is it the right school for her? There are lots of good colleges - I wouldn’t give one school this power.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is struggling with what to do on science next year. AP Biology and AP Chemistry take up two class periods at her high school. She’s taken honors biology, chemistry and physics. She knows she should take AP Bio or AP Chem but it will mean she cannot be in orchestra.

Other option is to take AP environmental science but she knows that probably won’t be enough to UVA.

What? Of course APES is enough for UVA.

My UVA kid took APES and AP Bio. Got in ED in-state. I would say at least one AP in each core subject area (including FL) plus a few extras, GPA above 4.3 (public high school) SAT 1450+, Leadership in jobs, clubs, athletics or volunteering, an amazing essay, and applying in-state ED gives kids a shot at UVA. No guarantees for sure.

At end of junior year, with all honors and 7 APs, the highest GPA my daughter could have is 4.25. Why don’t people just say what the UW GPA is and how many APs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is struggling with what to do on science next year. AP Biology and AP Chemistry take up two class periods at her high school. She’s taken honors biology, chemistry and physics. She knows she should take AP Bio or AP Chem but it will mean she cannot be in orchestra.

Other option is to take AP environmental science but she knows that probably won’t be enough to UVA.

What? Of course APES is enough for UVA.

My UVA kid took APES and AP Bio. Got in ED in-state. I would say at least one AP in each core subject area (including FL) plus a few extras, GPA above 4.3 (public high school) SAT 1450+, Leadership in jobs, clubs, athletics or volunteering, an amazing essay, and applying in-state ED gives kids a shot at UVA. No guarantees for sure.

At end of junior year, with all honors and 7 APs, the highest GPA my daughter could have is 4.25. Why don’t people just say what the UW GPA is and how many APs?

Our school doesn’t even provide an unweighted GPA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is struggling with what to do on science next year. AP Biology and AP Chemistry take up two class periods at her high school. She’s taken honors biology, chemistry and physics. She knows she should take AP Bio or AP Chem but it will mean she cannot be in orchestra.

Other option is to take AP environmental science but she knows that probably won’t be enough to UVA.

What? Of course APES is enough for UVA.

My UVA kid took APES and AP Bio. Got in ED in-state. I would say at least one AP in each core subject area (including FL) plus a few extras, GPA above 4.3 (public high school) SAT 1450+, Leadership in jobs, clubs, athletics or volunteering, an amazing essay, and applying in-state ED gives kids a shot at UVA. No guarantees for sure.

At end of junior year, with all honors and 7 APs, the highest GPA my daughter could have is 4.25. Why don’t people just say what the UW GPA is and how many APs?

4.1798 GPA and 7.279 AP's

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is struggling with what to do on science next year. AP Biology and AP Chemistry take up two class periods at her high school. She’s taken honors biology, chemistry and physics. She knows she should take AP Bio or AP Chem but it will mean she cannot be in orchestra.

Other option is to take AP environmental science but she knows that probably won’t be enough to UVA.

What? Of course APES is enough for UVA.

My UVA kid took APES and AP Bio. Got in ED in-state. I would say at least one AP in each core subject area (including FL) plus a few extras, GPA above 4.3 (public high school) SAT 1450+, Leadership in jobs, clubs, athletics or volunteering, an amazing essay, and applying in-state ED gives kids a shot at UVA. No guarantees for sure.

At end of junior year, with all honors and 7 APs, the highest GPA my daughter could have is 4.25. Why don’t people just say what the UW GPA is and how many APs?

UVA will evaluate your child within the context of her school. I am the PP, and this is why I specified that she had gone to a public high school. She graduated from an FCPS HS, and it was one of the of the lower ranked ones (high FARMS rate). There is no gpa cut off. Many do compare gpa among NOVA publics though. Private school GPAs are evaluated differently.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This language requirement is a bit unclear.
My DS applied to CAS. He completed the highest level of his language in his sophomore year of high school and then did not take any additional language courses in his junior or senior year. Will this be an issue?
His other subjects are also at the highest level of rigor.

It is important that in such cases that his school noted that he completed the highest FL level available. Hope they did that. This is where "holistic" might play a role.

Same scenario here. Counselor didn’t mention language requirements for some schools after Sophomore year. Ds doesn’t have any … only the rigor.

IT's mentioned in every elite college admissions page.

Yes. But there are many parents not checking those pages when kids are selecting courses in 10th grade. Honestly, we weren’t. Naively relied on our (very nice) counselor with a huge load of students at a huge public.
Now we know!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dean J clearly lists the 4 years of foreign language is something they definitely look for.

Anecdotally at our public high school, we know several students who were admitted without foreign language senior year.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Dean J keeps stressing that UVA does a holistic review.

But in reality all they look at is course selection ( did u take the hardest courses) and what grades did u get.

So is the “holistic” part just an act to be like a more “elite” school?

They are serious about rigor. Engineering applicant from NOVA with 4.5 and 1560 was waitlisted. Maxed out on math, history and science APs but did not bother to take Lang or lit. I warned him! Thats okay. 3rd year at UMD with a Google internship summer of 26.

This is where I get really annoyed with UVA admissions. I say that as an alum and as a parent of a kid who just applied. Your kid sounds great and it's UVA's loss. My kid also maxxed out on AP classes in most subjects, BUT he stopped taking a foreign language to do it. The classes he wanted to take wouldn't all fit if he took it so he made a choice. We supported him following his interests. We'll see what UVA does.

They say what they want and then you get mad when their decision reflects that? We all know they consider language a core subject.

No I don't know what their decision is yet. I disagree with their formulaic focus on a foreign language in admissions, no matter what the kid's interests. I think they should consider the transcript more broadly in light of its rigor and the student's interests, not one particular subject. It seems ludicrous to penalize a STEM kid for taking a two-period AP science course instead of continuing with a foreign language.

UVA is far from the only top school for which four years of a language is recommended. At any of these schools you will be competing for admission against students who took an equally rigorous curriculum as you AND also did four years of a language. That includes other “STEM kids”. You may disagree with this, but it’s a fact and it won’t change. Any student who wants to be competitive simply has to do that instead of “following their interests”. If you advised your kid otherwise you did your kid a disservice.

They are telling you very very clearly that if you are that interested in STEM and only in STEM, UVA is not the right school for you. V Tech is a better fit.

They did not tell that to the kids who applied to the UVA engineering school. Every kid I know who is there took four years of FL in high school.

[Anonymous]

If kids can’t calculate unweighted GPA given weighed GPA and vice versa, not sure how they passed algebra. Grade inflation. All fake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dean J is just saying 4 years of FL just for giggles.

As the above 3 posters experience conclusively and definitively shows, FL is optional and no need to bother.

https://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/2025/10/uva-language-requirements.html

[Anonymous]

UVA foreign language is recommended. 4 years. Student had a similar conundrum regarding the UC requirement for fine arts which didn’t have However explained in the additional section and was admitted into all UC’s. So just explain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This language requirement is a bit unclear.
My DS applied to CAS. He completed the highest level of his language in his sophomore year of high school and then did not take any additional language courses in his junior or senior year. Will this be an issue?
His other subjects are also at the highest level of rigor.

It is important that in such cases that his school noted that he completed the highest FL level available. Hope they did that. This is where "holistic" might play a role.

Same scenario here. Counselor didn’t mention language requirements for some schools after Sophomore year. Ds doesn’t have any … only the rigor.

Hmm, I don’t think the counselor would mention that, but the transcript should show all the language classes he has taken since 6th grade.
I guess I just have to hope they notice that.

PP with McLean/Langley DC. HS counselor noted that UVA does know about the credits for middle school language courses. It shows up on the transcript.

Our DC had 3 years of one language, stopped short of the 4th year for that language, and then took 2 years of another language. DC also did not take any AP science courses other than AP Environmental Science, and had Bs and B+s in that course, as well as in APs in English lang, government, calc AB and stats, and a B+ in the 3rd year of the first foreign language.

DC is now a 2nd year at CAS.

I provide this information to respond to the posters who keep repeating that one "must get all As, take all APs and get a 1600 SAT" to get into UVA, inclusive of 4 years of a foreign language culminating in AP. You don't. If your DC has the grand slam of qualifications, that's great; your DC will get into UVA and a lot of good schools.

Mine didn't. That's where the holistic part comes in. DC took courses of highest rigor for CAS (I think a STEM DC should probably take more AP sciences and do better in them than my DC, LOL), with Bs in many of them, with a probable minor ding for not getting to the 4th year of the initial foreign language, which I guess taking the 2 years of the other foreign language helped.

So is my DC an anomaly in the statistically driven approach of UVA? I guess so, but that's where the holistic part came in. For my DC, the holistic factors kicked in and UVA accepted the DC.

What major did your kid list?
Any national accolades?

PP here. DC listed politics, philosophy and law.

No national accolades. Hello, DC had no state or local accolades, LOL.

[Anonymous]

Is law a major?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This language requirement is a bit unclear.
My DS applied to CAS. He completed the highest level of his language in his sophomore year of high school and then did not take any additional language courses in his junior or senior year. Will this be an issue?
His other subjects are also at the highest level of rigor.

Last cycle, my DC got into UVA arts and sciences and only took 2 years of language in high school (3rd level and AP).

AND hooked, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is struggling with what to do on science next year. AP Biology and AP Chemistry take up two class periods at her high school. She’s taken honors biology, chemistry and physics. She knows she should take AP Bio or AP Chem but it will mean she cannot be in orchestra.

Other option is to take AP environmental science but she knows that probably won’t be enough to UVA.

What? Of course APES is enough for UVA.

My UVA kid took APES and AP Bio. Got in ED in-state. I would say at least one AP in each core subject area (including FL) plus a few extras, GPA above 4.3 (public high school) SAT 1450+, Leadership in jobs, clubs, athletics or volunteering, an amazing essay, and applying in-state ED gives kids a shot at UVA. No guarantees for sure.

At end of junior year, with all honors and 7 APs, the highest GPA my daughter could have is 4.25. Why don’t people just say what the UW GPA is and how many APs?

Becayse SCHEV provides weighted