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

[Anonymous]

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.

It's like how you know if any other school is the right fit. Is it the size, location he wants? does it have his academic program? And the harder and more subjective one - is the campus culture what he wants? Visiting and spending time with students are good ideas.

We are an alum family too, older kid visited and decided UVA was not her vibe "too preppy." Younger kid wants a smaller school in a more remote colder location with lots of snow.

If your kid doesn't want to ED there, don't force it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The DCUM college forum has been taken over by our grandmothers. All the talk about drinking is laughable. Kids drink in college. Period. They always have. UVA is no different.

Do they do big time coke at all colleges?

Back in the 80s, it was mainly private colleges in VA and UVA. I couldn't afford coke

I think UVA is a good school, it's just not for everyone. William & Mary and VA Tech are also good as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes schools aren't a great "fit". Work through it. Get your degree and get out. Its only 4 years.

That sounds freaking miserable. Why do this to yourself?

Means to an end.

There are quite a few VA public universities AND quite a few other good schools that a student could attend that give merit to bring costs down to a reasonable level.

Doesn’t make sense to force a kid to go somewhere they don’t like in this scenario.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of posters are salty because UVA doesn't get the all the top Virginia students so somehow that makes it a lesser college. It's fine if your child grew up not wanting to attend your state's flagship. For those who say UVA doesn't get all top students, 46% submit an SAT score. While the 25% score is 1410 (so about 40% of freshman have below a 1430 or so) that SAT is still 95%.

It isn't the super high SATs of Ivies or near Ivies, but it is better than most schools.

I think there is a poster that sits around waiting to reference their spreadsheet of SAT stats. It's comical. I had suspected they were a UVA booster and now it is confirmed. They love to talk about the % that submit and they probably have a formula at the ready on excel.

[Anonymous]

It's fine not to love UVA, even if you are from Nova, even if your kid has high stats, even if they are a legacy, even if your neightbor is convinced it is the best university that ever existed. A lot of kids who could go there chose not to and that's great. That leaves room for kids who want to go there. Don't force a kid to apply ED if they aren't sure they would want to attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot of posters are salty because UVA doesn't get the all the top Virginia students so somehow that makes it a lesser college. It's fine if your child grew up not wanting to attend your state's flagship. For those who say UVA doesn't get all top students, 46% submit an SAT score. While the 25% score is 1410 (so about 40% of freshman have below a 1430 or so) that SAT is still 95%.

It isn't the super high SATs of Ivies or near Ivies, but it is better than most schools.

I think there is a poster that sits around waiting to reference their spreadsheet of SAT stats. It's comical. I had suspected they were a UVA booster and now it is confirmed. They love to talk about the % that submit and they probably have a formula at the ready on excel.

Similar to the “self-select” troll and SCHEV granny

[Anonymous]

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.

I haven't read all the replies but I have to say, this isn't the vibe at UVA at all. Of course there are very bright kids there but it has a very social, somewhat fratty feel. I am not trying to convince your kid about UVA. I just don't see this at all. I think the intellectual, ambitious types are the ones who have to work a little harder to find their people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The DCUM college forum has been taken over by our grandmothers. All the talk about drinking is laughable. Kids drink in college. Period. They always have. UVA is no different.

Do they do big time coke at all colleges?

Nope, and they don't at UVA either. There are cokeheads at every single college, but that is definitely not the norm at UVA. Sorry you had cokehead friends or are just making **** up.

[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.

I haven't read all the replies but I have to say, this isn't the vibe at UVA at all. Of course there are very bright kids there but it has a very social, somewhat fratty feel. I am not trying to convince your kid about UVA. I just don't see this at all. I think the intellectual, ambitious types are the ones who have to work a little harder to find their people.

W&M is better for the nerds

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The DCUM college forum has been taken over by our grandmothers. All the talk about drinking is laughable. Kids drink in college. Period. They always have. UVA is no different.

Do they do big time coke at all colleges?

Nope, and they don't at UVA either. There are cokeheads at every single college, but that is definitely not the norm at UVA. Sorry you had cokehead friends or are just making **** up.

Maybe you didn’t get out much.

[Anonymous]

I still don't understand why people who didn't go to UVA and don't have a kid at UVA care so much about convincing other people to hate UVA.

It's weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's fine not to love UVA, even if you are from Nova, even if your kid has high stats, even if they are a legacy, even if your neightbor is convinced it is the best university that ever existed. A lot of kids who could go there chose not to and that's great. That leaves room for kids who want to go there. Don't force a kid to apply ED if they aren't sure they would want to attend.

+1

I’m a Hokie and was prepared to hate on it when we took my two sons to visit. It was a crazy Thursday night- weekend. It was much better than the early 90s. But my kids weren’t fans. They don’t drink and felt it was too big. There was a sorority mixer pre-party at our hotel so I thought that would do it. Nope. In-state would have saved me $70k each per year.

[Anonymous]

DS has seen abundant alcohol and weed use at UVA but hasn’t mentioned anything else, like coke. I suspect if you want that you have to go looking for it. But I doubt it’s different at any other school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes schools aren't a great "fit". Work through it. Get your degree and get out. Its only 4 years.

That sounds freaking miserable. Why do this to yourself?

Means to an end.

+1

Much smarter to go to a good school, even if it's not the "top fit" and graduate debt free (or minimal debt) than spend the next 10 years paying back massive debt. That is literally what most kids attending college do---they attend where they can afford, which is often in-state at the best option their state offers and they can gain admission to

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I still don't understand why people who didn't go to UVA and don't have a kid at UVA care so much about convincing other people to hate UVA.

It's weird.

I had the same thought. It is very obvious so many of these commenters are just making things up. Why bother?