UVA - Holistic Review
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Anonymous
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Look, it’s really not that complicated. UVA has made clear literally for generations that the most important part of the application is the grades and rigor of the course work. They’ve also always made clear—and the data confirms—that after that it’s test scores but they don’t matter nearly as much.
Then it’s the other stuff. Holistic doesn’t mean Larla gets in just for being nice. Holistic also doesn’t mean that it’s all about the grades. |
Anonymous
And she's crazy active on Reddit |
Anonymous
| Holistic = curve. All the elites do this. They want students that excel in adverse settings more than they want perfect students from well heeled settings b/c the latter are a dime a dozen vs the former. |
Anonymous
I don't think this is right for the vast majority of the admitted students. I have tracked UVA data for the last 6 years pretty closely. Have a recent UVA grad, another kid there now, and another who just applied ED. I've seen Naviance and SCOIR data from two different high schools. By and large, UVA seems to be a pretty stats driven admissions process. GPA/Rigor is the most important factor. Test scores, if high enough (50% percentile or higher), are helpful, and really high test scores seem to be a driver for Echols/Rodman. After that, it is everything else. They can use holistic review to let in students who otherwise do have high enough GPA and test scores to round out the class. But if your kid is just a normal DMV kid without some amazing tale of overcoming the odds, best bet is to get good grades taking the hardest classes offered. |
Anonymous
Edit - do not have high enough GPA |
Anonymous
As others have noted it is a holistic admission using successive hurdles to gate keep. Not in the top n% of your class with the most rigorous schedule, you don’t make it past the first hurdle. Further selective screening measures to get past hurdle(s) 2-n. Then holistic evaluation of those left standing to shape the class. |
Anonymous
Only Virginia residents who are waitlisted for the College of Arts & Sciences are offered the Year in Wise option. DD was given that option, but chose another school where she is very happy and involved. In hindsight, UVA (although a great school) probably wouldn’t have been as good a fit socially as where she is now. DD isn’t into Greek life and prefers creative/artsy activities. Trust the process that your kid will end up where they are meant to be. |
Anonymous
Is she active on here? |
Anonymous
I don't think so. When she posts, she usually identifies herself. |
Anonymous
Yes! If you look at the Naviance data…. It’s about as holistic as my aunt Fanny. All top 5% and a smattering of clearly lower that make me think sport or URM. “Holistic” allows them to explain the discrepancy. Wonder what it will look like in this and future years. I have wondered if they even care about ECs. For example: if you have a 4.5 GPA and 1500 SAT and were in top 5% of your class but with unimpressive ECs… do they take this student? Most of the students at that level have a good enough EC resume… but I’m wondering for my kid who while plays music and club sport and part time job… doesn’t exert an extraordinary amount of time in school stuff or leadership opportunities…. The Naviance is very consistent at the top end of applicants and of course I’m not privy to their resumes but high GPA and the corresponding (in most cases) test scores… all admitted. What about if unimpressive ECs? |
Anonymous
Our school data showed some rejections in that range, and my son's friend did not get in with those numbers. Above 4.5 GPA 1540 SAT though, everyone got in. Like others have said, there seems to be a line, and it probably varies from school to school. Above the line, you are good. Around or below the line, they start to consider all of the other stuff. |
Anonymous
There are plenty of students with that profile who are admitted to UVA. There are plenty of students with that profile who aren’t. Your kid can apply if it’s an appealing school for them, but they should also apply to likely schools. If they really love it more than all other schools, they can/should apply ED. It’s not complicated, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. |
Anonymous
4.4 out of 4? How is that even possible? |
Anonymous
It really depends on the school and the grading scale. FCPS gives a .5 GPA boost for AP classes, no boost for honors. I think MCPS gives a 1.0 boost for honors or AP. I think some of the privates do .5 for honors and 1.0 for AP. |
Anonymous
| At least from our public HS, it’s a pretty clear line for admits just looking at SAT and GPA. There aren’t any outlier high stats kids who did not get in in the past 5 years (all the date we can see.) |