Sky-High GPAs at Virginia State Schools? Time to Ground Expectations and Open Doors

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In order to increase capacity, they have to also increase faculty. They would have to increase dorms and also the surrounding town would need more apartments, grocery stores, and other businesses suited for college students (I think the local residents are already not pleased with the growth that has already happened. They'd need to increase the food services on campus. So many things would need to be increased and it's not just as simple as "just admit more students."

Exactly, this is why UVA can't grow further (although it does buy real estate when it can), same as other land-locked older schools like Harvard and Yale. That is why the legislature is pumping money into GMU, JMU, etc. etc. and not UVA. UVA is almost entirely self-funded now.

Look at the state budget. UVA gets higher general fund appropriations per in state student than GMU or JMU. What you said is a common misconception.

False, UVA receives less than 6 percent of its budget from the state:

As of 2013, UVA's $1.4 billion academic budget is paid for primarily by tuition and fees (32%), research grants (23%), endowment and gifts (19%), and sales and services (12%).[107] The university receives 10% of its academic funds through state appropriation from the Commonwealth of Virginia.[107] For the overall (including non-academic) university budget of $2.6 billion, 45% comes from medical patient revenue.[107] The Commonwealth contributes less than 6%.[107]

It isn't false. UVA gets significantly more state general fund appropriations per Full Time equivalent in state student than GMU or JMU. What you cited had nothing to do with that.

True. UVA gets 43% more in state general fund appropriations (state money) than JMU and and 40% more per FTE than GMU.

https://research.schev.edu/rdPage.aspx?rdReport=finance.FP01_Report&rdRequestForwarding=Form

SCHEV Home > Higher Ed Data > Appropriations

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In order to increase capacity, they have to also increase faculty. They would have to increase dorms and also the surrounding town would need more apartments, grocery stores, and other businesses suited for college students (I think the local residents are already not pleased with the growth that has already happened. They'd need to increase the food services on campus. So many things would need to be increased and it's not just as simple as "just admit more students."

Exactly, this is why UVA can't grow further (although it does buy real estate when it can), same as other land-locked older schools like Harvard and Yale. That is why the legislature is pumping money into GMU, JMU, etc. etc. and not UVA. UVA is almost entirely self-funded now.

Look at the state budget. UVA gets higher general fund appropriations per in state student than GMU or JMU. What you said is a common misconception.

False, UVA receives less than 6 percent of its budget from the state:

As of 2013, UVA's $1.4 billion academic budget is paid for primarily by tuition and fees (32%), research grants (23%), endowment and gifts (19%), and sales and services (12%).[107] The university receives 10% of its academic funds through state appropriation from the Commonwealth of Virginia.[107] For the overall (including non-academic) university budget of $2.6 billion, 45% comes from medical patient revenue.[107] The Commonwealth contributes less than 6%.[107]

It isn't false. UVA gets significantly more state general fund appropriations per Full Time equivalent in state student than GMU or JMU. What you cited had nothing to do with that.

True. UVA gets 43% more in state general fund appropriations (state money) than JMU and and 40% more per FTE than GMU.

https://research.schev.edu/rdPage.aspx?rdReport=finance.FP01_Report&rdRequestForwarding=Form

SCHEV Home > Higher Ed Data > Appropriations

I think a big chunk of that goes to UVA’ s Medical Center, no?

[Anonymous]

I have heard UVA wants top 10% of class with rigor. At our high school, that would be around a 4.4. An AP A is a 5. An honors A is a 4.5. If your kid took all honors and APs and got all A’s, you would end up with a 4.5. Have a B or 2 in rigorous classes or take a few non AP classes and you will get a 4.3.

The grades required for UVA is on par with Ivy schools. Can’t say the same for VT or JMU. I feel like good students go to VT but they are definitely a step down from UVA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In order to increase capacity, they have to also increase faculty. They would have to increase dorms and also the surrounding town would need more apartments, grocery stores, and other businesses suited for college students (I think the local residents are already not pleased with the growth that has already happened. They'd need to increase the food services on campus. So many things would need to be increased and it's not just as simple as "just admit more students."

Exactly, this is why UVA can't grow further (although it does buy real estate when it can), same as other land-locked older schools like Harvard and Yale. That is why the legislature is pumping money into GMU, JMU, etc. etc. and not UVA. UVA is almost entirely self-funded now.

Look at the state budget. UVA gets higher general fund appropriations per in state student than GMU or JMU. What you said is a common misconception.

False, UVA receives less than 6 percent of its budget from the state:

As of 2013, UVA's $1.4 billion academic budget is paid for primarily by tuition and fees (32%), research grants (23%), endowment and gifts (19%), and sales and services (12%).[107] The university receives 10% of its academic funds through state appropriation from the Commonwealth of Virginia.[107] For the overall (including non-academic) university budget of $2.6 billion, 45% comes from medical patient revenue.[107] The Commonwealth contributes less than 6%.[107]

It isn't false. UVA gets significantly more state general fund appropriations per Full Time equivalent in state student than GMU or JMU. What you cited had nothing to do with that.

True. UVA gets 43% more in state general fund appropriations (state money) than JMU and and 40% more per FTE than GMU.

https://research.schev.edu/rdPage.aspx?rdReport=finance.FP01_Report&rdRequestForwarding=Form

SCHEV Home > Higher Ed Data > Appropriations

I think a big chunk of that goes to UVA’ s Medical Center, no?

No. There are NO state appropriations for the UVA Medical Center for operations. It is funded almost entirely from patient services revenue (government programs like Medicaid/Medicare, private insurance, out of pocket). Patient services, at 57%, is by far the largest component of UVA's overall budget. This is typical of University-associated medical centers.

Again, UVA gets significantly more in state general fund appropriations per student than JMU or GMU. It is a misconception that UVA gets little or no money from the state to support its academic division.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Colleges use their average GPA for admission to put your child in the best possible place for them to thrive. You do not want your 3.5 gpa kid going to UVA because they will struggle to succeed. Same for VT engineering or some challenging majors at W&M.

Disagree with this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Having read the first ten responses or so I can’t believe no one has said the GPA requirements have moved up with grade inflation in the public schools.

OP, without retakes and grade inflation your kid would not get a B+ in their class, they’d get a C or low B. Ten years ago your kid still would not have received an offer from tech or UVA. The school is not inline with their abilities and/or academic performance.

Agree, it’s a reflection of the grade inflation and retakes in public. My kids all went to different private schools in VA that did not offer all the weighting and retake options. All got into VA colleges with GPAs below the 25% ranges for GPA, and lower test scores now that those are also skewed.

The GPAs are so misleading at this point. Parents thing their kid with a 4.0 is a top student, but they don’t realize there’s a kid with a 4.8 in the same class as their kid.

Just wanted to put in some context.

The GPA ranges cited by OP sound like our FCPS school (Mclean/Langley) for weighted GPAs of accepted students. If you max out on APs in FCPS, you can get a 4.5 weighted GPA at the max, not including DE courses. LCPS and other systems have different ways to calculate weighted GPA so the max rates are higher.

Our dingbat FCPS school counselor told us that with a weighted GPA of 4.3 and an SAT of 1500+, DC was guaranteed to get into UVA. From past experience with previous DC, we didn't believe her at all. But DC did get in. DC had 4 Bs on their transcript when they applied.

Anyhow, at our school, about 25% of the graduates had weighted GPA of 4.0 or above, at least according to this year's graduation program listing the honors graduates (wGPA 4.0 or higher).

The University of Virginia (UVA) doesn't have minimum GPA or SAT score requirements for admission, but the average GPA of admitted students is around 4.31.

The average GPA at Virginia Tech is 4. This makes Virginia Tech Extremely Competitive for GPAs.

[b]The average GPA at JMU is 3.55.

This can’t be true. I know kids with GPA’s higher then this who were rejected.

For which major? I imagine CS/engineering is much more selective than psychology

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't wrap my head around why Virginia state schools like UVA, Virginia Tech, and JMU are setting their GPA requirements so high. For instance, UVA wants a 4.3, Virginia Tech a 4.0, and JMU a 3.5. It feels like they're trying to compete with Ivy Leagues, which might make sense for private schools that thrive on exclusivity, but for public universities funded by taxpayer dollars? That just doesn’t sit right with me.

My own kid, who is gifted in math and computers and two grade levels ahead in these subjects, is looking at Virginia Tech because of its strong emphasis on tech and computer programs. Yet, he might have to reconsider his top choice because he faces challenges in foreign languages and English, and those could drag his GPA down. It's absurd that a student who excels in the exact fields a school specializes in might miss out because of a few lower grades in unrelated areas. I also have to tell him that getting a B or B+ isn't good enough, which to me seems absurd.

Also, why not increase their capacity? More seats would mean more students getting a good education without the crazy pressure of scoring more than a perfect GPA. Another idea could be to limit the number of out-of-state or international students to free up more spots for in-state students, ensuring that Virginia's own have better access to these educational resources.

Isn’t it time we reassess these academic expectations to make higher education more accessible and relevant to what students are actually studying and excelling in? Shouldn't state schools focus on educating more students rather than acting like they're something they’re not? Let's hear some opinions on this!

They aren't "setting" the requirements that high. . The students have those GPAs and much higher. Due to grade inflation and test optional, the best schools are inundated with students with 4.51 (UVA's 75th percentile GPA) plus GPAs. I know of one UVA student had a 6.0 - she had been taken college courses since sophomore year through the Governor's program. These kids have incredibly resumes. Do you expect the top publics to turn away the top state students? Meanwhile, they are under pressure to increase first generation and URM numbers so something has to give. This is why the Commonwealth is pouring money into all of the other 30 public colleges and universities in Virginia - to make something accessible to everyone.

Even if the school weighs college courses out of 6, that doesn't matter since colleges reweigh them out of 5, and having even a single non-college/AP course would bring their GPA below 5.

[Anonymous]

It’s crazy here. We are looking at less competitive OOS schools because my hardworking athlete A/B student had a 4.0 but prob can’t even get into his top two choices in VA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s crazy here. We are looking at less competitive OOS schools because my hardworking athlete A/B student had a 4.0 but prob can’t even get into his top two choices in VA.

Because if they have a mix of A and B , or a weighted 4.0, there are between 40&80% of their HS who have higher GPAs. Shouldnt the top colleges in Virginia take the top high school students in VA? At some high schools a w4.0 in Virginia is near the bottom quarter. The top VA schools such as UVA and WM take from the top 10-20% (they go deeper into the class for better high schools).