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

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

As with any ED, it really has to be his decision, his alone. Probably no harm in having him spend a weekend there, if you can arrange something, Sure. Do it and hope it matters. Maybe he'll have a great time.

Otherwise sorry, no magic to make him want it.

[Anonymous]

I think your DS has formed an accurate assessment. You could do an overnight, which I suspect would make him like it more. But sounds like not enough to ED.

[Anonymous]

First you have to figure out if he has the stats to get in. Look it up on your HS scatterplot. But I personally think every high achieving VA high school student should visit UVA and W&M, and also Tech if they are interested in Engineering.

I also think you and your spouse need to have a frank discussion without your son present about whether or not you are willing to pay for somewhere like Villanova if he gets into UVA or W&M. The price difference is quite substantial and only you know if that matters to you: but don’t act like you are indifferent on cost to your child if that is not accurate.

We let our kids know that we thought UVA AND W&M were both excellent values and that if possible they should pick the one that better suited them. We were open to arguments against this, but thankfully our kids both felt drawn to one of them.

[Anonymous]

Has he thought about any of the other in state publics? W&M, Tech, JMU, GMU, VCU - all good depending on the program

Would he be up for any assistance or scholarships at the other schools?

[Anonymous]

My DC knew from the get-go (after visiting all) that he MUCH preferred VT over UVA and W&M. Not a STEM major.

[Anonymous]

RD, I think you can ask nicely that they do it. Some things can be a favor to you. Throw-in an application just in case they change their mind later and want to go.

DD had friends who went to Ivys but at the time, I thought it likely they would all end up at UVA. If others had gone, I thought DD would be sorry she didn't apply.

Ultimately of course it's their decision.

[Anonymous]

Both my sons did not like UVA. They preferred the midsize Catholic/jesuit colleges and Ivies, Slacs.

[Anonymous]

I’m a UVA alum and I am quick to point out to everyone who really cares to ask or my kids that while it had its pluses, there were definitely things that were not a good fit for me, but that wasn’t even something that was really talked about a lot in the 1990s.

So many 17-18 year olds don’t really even understand fit, and it’s hard for them to do so without having been to college, ironically. Also they are just inherently immature and overly influenced by their friends and rankings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both my sons did not like UVA. They preferred the midsize Catholic/jesuit colleges and Ivies, Slacs.

I would directed mine to W&M in this case.

[Anonymous]

My kids attended and they were high achieving People but what shocked them most is how social of a school it is and very fun sports scene, especially this year. Mine are from nova but over four years, none of their friends are from nova. They are from CO, CA, MA, NY etc etc. the point being that there are 16k students and they cannot be labeled. But if your kid is feeling pressured then no amount of convincing will change his mind. Sounds like his mind is made up.

[Anonymous]

Keep in mind that per SCHEV stats, about 80 freshman students at UVA scored above a 1550 on the SAT so you will encounter quite a few bright kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both my sons did not like UVA. They preferred the midsize Catholic/jesuit colleges and Ivies, Slacs.

I would directed mine to W&M in this case.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind that per SCHEV stats, about 80 freshman students at UVA scored above a 1550 on the SAT so you will encounter quite a few bright kids.

No. 80/3900 freshman is 2%. That means quite unlikely a 1550+ will meet another similar kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a UVA alum and I am quick to point out to everyone who really cares to ask or my kids that while it had its pluses, there were definitely things that were not a good fit for me, but that wasn’t even something that was really talked about a lot in the 1990s.

So many 17-18 year olds don’t really even understand fit, and it’s hard for them to do so without having been to college, ironically. Also they are just inherently immature and overly influenced by their friends and rankings.

Same exact. My DD is applying and I’m keeping my mouth shut because I don’t want to encourage nor dissuade her.

In my large NoVa public high school, UVA was kind of held up as the ultimate, but it’s really just a single place among many. Some will have an amazing experience there and some won’t.