Declining UVA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has nobody mentioned it’s high school 2.0 for some students? Or some people just want to experience a different part of the country?

I'm not addressing HS 2.0, but I know several kids from went elsewhere b/c they wanted to experience life outside of this area. One is happy in Athens and another in Ann Arbor.

Athens and Ann Arbor are both top flight. DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many people on DCUM are prestige seekers. Kid will have submitted to UVA and higher and lower ranked schools. Get admitted to one or more schools higher ranked than UVA and they decline at UVA.

Come on, it’s not prestige hunting when your kid does not want a 17k undergrad, doesn’t like Charlottesville (wants to get out of VA) and has better opportunity at a higher ranked school. We also didn’t like you had to move off campus after 1 year, etc

My kids choose on fit not rankings. They did not go to their highest ranked acceptance (#6) and chose something just beyond T10

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC chose CNU over UVA. He liked the fit better and the vibe. UVA was larger than he wanted as well. 10K was his goal but other than Radford and WM not many schools in that range. He is thriving at CNU and (from my biased view) is a big fish there. He made a great decision. He also wants to be closer to the beach than the mountains.

What a bizarre decision, sorry.

You’re a jerk, sorry. DP

DP

The average GPA at CNU is about 1200 with an acceptance rate over 80%. If your kid got into UVA, then your kid isn't a big fish in a little pond, your kid is a whale in a fishtank. This does seem a little bit unusual.

DP. My kid is truly torn between UVA and VCU, which has a 92% acceptance rate.

I had kids attend both. One of my VCU kid’s BFF was a UVA transfer, and one of my UVA kid’s BFFs also transferred to VCU after the first year at UVA. In both instances the kids were artsy types with interests in the kind of majors that made them natural fits for VCU from the get go but who were also very high achievers in high school who felt pressure from parents and peers and themselves to try UVA because it’s UVA.

VCU is a totally different vibe and attracts a totally different type of student than UVA, though. So you can see how for a discrete subset of student going there over UVA makes complete and total sense.

But CNU over UVA makes no sense at all.

Also, notwithstanding its higher acceptance rate, VCU is a much better school than CNU in its own right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC chose CNU over UVA. He liked the fit better and the vibe. UVA was larger than he wanted as well. 10K was his goal but other than Radford and WM not many schools in that range. He is thriving at CNU and (from my biased view) is a big fish there. He made a great decision. He also wants to be closer to the beach than the mountains.

What a bizarre decision, sorry.

You’re a jerk, sorry. DP

DP

The average GPA at CNU is about 1200 with an acceptance rate over 80%. If your kid got into UVA, then your kid isn't a big fish in a little pond, your kid is a whale in a fishtank. This does seem a little bit unusual.

DP. My kid is truly torn between UVA and VCU, which has a 92% acceptance rate.

I had kids attend both. One of my VCU kid’s BFF was a UVA transfer, and one of my UVA kid’s BFFs also transferred to VCU after the first year at UVA. In both instances the kids were artsy types with interests in the kind of majors that made them natural fits for VCU from the get go but who were also very high achievers in high school who felt pressure from parents and peers and themselves to try UVA because it’s UVA.

VCU is a totally different vibe and attracts a totally different type of student than UVA, though. So you can see how for a discrete subset of student going there over UVA makes complete and total sense.

But CNU over UVA makes no sense at all.

Also, notwithstanding its higher acceptance rate, VCU is a much better school than CNU in its own right.

Do you have a cite?

[Anonymous]

My daughter has a few friends at UVA who wish they had gone elsewhere. It has a great academic reputation, but can be hard socially if you don’t fit the rich, preppy, Greek mold.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter has a few friends at UVA who wish they had gone elsewhere. It has a great academic reputation, but can be hard socially if you don’t fit the rich, preppy, Greek mold.

This. Nobody is disputing UVA’s academic reputation. But that doesn’t mean it’s the right fit for everyone, and even kids that apply and are accepted can justifiably decide it’s not the right social fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For some kids attending UVA is a lifelong dream, for some kids it is a target and for others a safety.

Kids apply to a number of schools, and in most cases get acceptances from more than one school but in the end can only attend one school. So yield won’t be 100%.

Fit matters and believe it or not UVA may not be the best fit for everyone.

Nice subtle dig. UVA isn't a "safety" for any kid, almost by definition.

It was a safety for me 30 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC chose CNU over UVA. He liked the fit better and the vibe. UVA was larger than he wanted as well. 10K was his goal but other than Radford and WM not many schools in that range. He is thriving at CNU and (from my biased view) is a big fish there. He made a great decision. He also wants to be closer to the beach than the mountains.

What a bizarre decision, sorry.

THIS is why people think UVA grads are such douches.
That they went to UVA is the first thing you learn about them . . . as if anyone cares.

FYI, my DC turned down a top 15 school in the NE for a small VA school, akin to CNU. Part was costs (we COULD have paid the big bill but DC chose to grad debt free with money for grad school). Part was location. Part was feel of the campus/vibe. On paper, the choice looks crazy but, in reality, it was the perfect decision and DC is thriving.

Not everyone is a wanna-be striver, PP.

o

I didn’t go to UVA and I think choosing CNU over UVA is weird and questionable. It’s the kind of thing people say when their kid didn’t actually get into UVA “oh yeah he just preferred the vastly inferior school, he liked the vibe better.” Uh huh.

+1 I just admit I think that too. Who chooses CNU over UVA???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC chose CNU over UVA. He liked the fit better and the vibe. UVA was larger than he wanted as well. 10K was his goal but other than Radford and WM not many schools in that range. He is thriving at CNU and (from my biased view) is a big fish there. He made a great decision. He also wants to be closer to the beach than the mountains.

What a bizarre decision, sorry.

You’re a jerk, sorry. DP

Preferring the beach to the mountains? Sorry, that's one bizarre reason for picking CNU over UVA.

That’s your opinion.

It’s ridiculous. That’s what it is. Who turns down one of the top universities in the country in favor of a no name school based on proximity to Virginia Beach?

Holy smokes. In all honesty, step back for a minute and try to understand that your posts are the type that make UVA look bad. Seriously.

I am a new poster but I totally hear where others are coming from. I can fully understand why a student would pick W&M or VT over UVA, but I am having a really hard time understanding the CNU over UVA decision. Barring a cost factor (not sure if CNU is materially less expensive), 99.9% of people would not choose CNU. I always considered it similar to a community college. The academic experience and outcomes are very different from the other Virginia schools. I do not think this is snobby at all. It is just a realistic assessment of the differences in the quality of the education.

DP. I have worked for several different universities in Virginia and attended the one in question myself, and I really believe a highly capable and motivated student can get the same quality education at any of them. Better outcomes are often associated with socioeconomic factors that students at UVA arrive with on day one. Some very bright kids just won’t thrive there, though.

I think it’s much more about readiness for a high-ranking college. So if you go to a mediocre high school (much more likely for low socioeconomic kids), the same AP classes may be dumbed down a lot to adjust for the average quality of students (vs. a selective magnet, where they teach much deeper than what’s needed for a 5 in AP). The benefit of going to a much higher-ranking college is the quality of your peers, in addition to the quality of faculty/grad students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC chose CNU over UVA. He liked the fit better and the vibe. UVA was larger than he wanted as well. 10K was his goal but other than Radford and WM not many schools in that range. He is thriving at CNU and (from my biased view) is a big fish there. He made a great decision. He also wants to be closer to the beach than the mountains.

What a bizarre decision, sorry.

You’re a jerk, sorry. DP

DP

The average GPA at CNU is about 1200 with an acceptance rate over 80%. If your kid got into UVA, then your kid isn't a big fish in a little pond, your kid is a whale in a fishtank. This does seem a little bit unusual.

DP. My kid is truly torn between UVA and VCU, which has a 92% acceptance rate.

I had kids attend both. One of my VCU kid’s BFF was a UVA transfer, and one of my UVA kid’s BFFs also transferred to VCU after the first year at UVA. In both instances the kids were artsy types with interests in the kind of majors that made them natural fits for VCU from the get go but who were also very high achievers in high school who felt pressure from parents and peers and themselves to try UVA because it’s UVA.

VCU is a totally different vibe and attracts a totally different type of student than UVA, though. So you can see how for a discrete subset of student going there over UVA makes complete and total sense.

But CNU over UVA makes no sense at all.

Also, notwithstanding its higher acceptance rate, VCU is a much better school than CNU in its own right.

PP here and this describes my kid in a nutshell. Not getting pressure from parents, but in general, there’s an assumption from others as to which should be the obvious choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC chose CNU over UVA. He liked the fit better and the vibe. UVA was larger than he wanted as well. 10K was his goal but other than Radford and WM not many schools in that range. He is thriving at CNU and (from my biased view) is a big fish there. He made a great decision. He also wants to be closer to the beach than the mountains.

What a bizarre decision, sorry.

You’re a jerk, sorry. DP

Preferring the beach to the mountains? Sorry, that's one bizarre reason for picking CNU over UVA.

That’s your opinion.

It’s ridiculous. That’s what it is. Who turns down one of the top universities in the country in favor of a no name school based on proximity to Virginia Beach?

Holy smokes. In all honesty, step back for a minute and try to understand that your posts are the type that make UVA look bad. Seriously.

I am a new poster but I totally hear where others are coming from. I can fully understand why a student would pick W&M or VT over UVA, but I am having a really hard time understanding the CNU over UVA decision. Barring a cost factor (not sure if CNU is materially less expensive), 99.9% of people would not choose CNU. I always considered it similar to a community college. The academic experience and outcomes are very different from the other Virginia schools. I do not think this is snobby at all. It is just a realistic assessment of the differences in the quality of the education.

DP. I have worked for several different universities in Virginia and attended the one in question myself, and I really believe a highly capable and motivated student can get the same quality education at any of them. Better outcomes are often associated with socioeconomic factors that students at UVA arrive with on day one. Some very bright kids just won’t thrive there, though.

I think it’s much more about readiness for a high-ranking college. So if you go to a mediocre high school (much more likely for low socioeconomic kids), the same AP classes may be dumbed down a lot to adjust for the average quality of students (vs. a selective magnet, where they teach much deeper than what’s needed for a 5 in AP). The benefit of going to a much higher-ranking college is the quality of your peers, in addition to the quality of faculty/grad students.

I never think it’s such a great idea to push a kid not academically ready to a top school. It can do them a lot of harm. Ask me how I know 😉

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC chose CNU over UVA. He liked the fit better and the vibe. UVA was larger than he wanted as well. 10K was his goal but other than Radford and WM not many schools in that range. He is thriving at CNU and (from my biased view) is a big fish there. He made a great decision. He also wants to be closer to the beach than the mountains.

What a bizarre decision, sorry.

THIS is why people think UVA grads are such douches.
That they went to UVA is the first thing you learn about them . . . as if anyone cares.

FYI, my DC turned down a top 15 school in the NE for a small VA school, akin to CNU. Part was costs (we COULD have paid the big bill but DC chose to grad debt free with money for grad school). Part was location. Part was feel of the campus/vibe. On paper, the choice looks crazy but, in reality, it was the perfect decision and DC is thriving.

Not everyone is a wanna-be striver, PP.

o

I didn’t go to UVA and I think choosing CNU over UVA is weird and questionable. It’s the kind of thing people say when their kid didn’t actually get into UVA “oh yeah he just preferred the vastly inferior school, he liked the vibe better.” Uh huh.

+1 I just admit I think that too. Who chooses CNU over UVA???

Someone that thinks CNU is a better fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For some kids attending UVA is a lifelong dream, for some kids it is a target and for others a safety.

Kids apply to a number of schools, and in most cases get acceptances from more than one school but in the end can only attend one school. So yield won’t be 100%.

Fit matters and believe it or not UVA may not be the best fit for everyone.

Nice subtle dig. UVA isn't a "safety" for any kid, almost by definition.

UVA was a safety for my kid. She did two years at NVCC and got a perfect GPA. SAT of 1550. She had guaranteed admissions to UVA, W&M and VT.

She chose a selective SLAC. Wanted a smaller campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC chose CNU over UVA. He liked the fit better and the vibe. UVA was larger than he wanted as well. 10K was his goal but other than Radford and WM not many schools in that range. He is thriving at CNU and (from my biased view) is a big fish there. He made a great decision. He also wants to be closer to the beach than the mountains.

What a bizarre decision, sorry.

THIS is why people think UVA grads are such douches.
That they went to UVA is the first thing you learn about them . . . as if anyone cares.

FYI, my DC turned down a top 15 school in the NE for a small VA school, akin to CNU. Part was costs (we COULD have paid the big bill but DC chose to grad debt free with money for grad school). Part was location. Part was feel of the campus/vibe. On paper, the choice looks crazy but, in reality, it was the perfect decision and DC is thriving.

Not everyone is a wanna-be striver, PP.

o

I didn’t go to UVA and I think choosing CNU over UVA is weird and questionable. It’s the kind of thing people say when their kid didn’t actually get into UVA “oh yeah he just preferred the vastly inferior school, he liked the vibe better.” Uh huh.

+1 I just admit I think that too. Who chooses CNU over UVA???

Someone that thinks CNU is a better fit.

Someone who is smart enough to not be a sheep. The kid who chooses CNU is likely very mature for their age and is looking for close mentoring relationships that a smaller school can provide. I’m a proud Mary Washington grad so I understand. Not everyone chases prestige.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC chose CNU over UVA. He liked the fit better and the vibe. UVA was larger than he wanted as well. 10K was his goal but other than Radford and WM not many schools in that range. He is thriving at CNU and (from my biased view) is a big fish there. He made a great decision. He also wants to be closer to the beach than the mountains.

What a bizarre decision, sorry.

You’re a jerk, sorry. DP

Preferring the beach to the mountains? Sorry, that's one bizarre reason for picking CNU over UVA.

That’s your opinion.

It’s ridiculous. That’s what it is. Who turns down one of the top universities in the country in favor of a no name school based on proximity to Virginia Beach?

Holy smokes. In all honesty, step back for a minute and try to understand that your posts are the type that make UVA look bad. Seriously.

I am a new poster but I totally hear where others are coming from. I can fully understand why a student would pick W&M or VT over UVA, but I am having a really hard time understanding the CNU over UVA decision. Barring a cost factor (not sure if CNU is materially less expensive), 99.9% of people would not choose CNU. I always considered it similar to a community college. The academic experience and outcomes are very different from the other Virginia schools. I do not think this is snobby at all. It is just a realistic assessment of the differences in the quality of the education.

DP. I have worked for several different universities in Virginia and attended the one in question myself, and I really believe a highly capable and motivated student can get the same quality education at any of them. Better outcomes are often associated with socioeconomic factors that students at UVA arrive with on day one. Some very bright kids just won’t thrive there, though.

I think it’s much more about readiness for a high-ranking college. So if you go to a mediocre high school (much more likely for low socioeconomic kids), the same AP classes may be dumbed down a lot to adjust for the average quality of students (vs. a selective magnet, where they teach much deeper than what’s needed for a 5 in AP). The benefit of going to a much higher-ranking college is the quality of your peers, in addition to the quality of faculty/grad students.

You’re forgetting that high-ranking colleges admit athletes, donor kids, legacy kids, kids of famous people, political VIP kids, etc all the time. I wouldn’t assume the teaching at selective colleges is different being under qualified kids are in those classes.