University of Virginia

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ask after you get accepted. You can always Google. Don’t be lazy.

So kid should apply?

Yes! No supp essays. Easy peasy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a third year there and that’s about right. The other day he remarked how students wear quarter zips to class as their regular daily wear. I agree that there is a level of elitism and he’s not white, so kind of on the outside looking in and trying to fit in?

What does a quarter zip have to do with anything? Because the kids don’t wear pajamas to class? I guess it is a social class thing. My high schooler wears quarter zips to school from October until May and has since 9th grade. So do all his friends. They have a dress code at their private school, so for them these clothes are a habit.

It doesn't. Ignore. OP, there ARE thousands of threads on UVA because it is a great economic benefit IF your kid can get in. Do you need to know the admission stats? UVA is plenty diverse with Black or African American at 12.6%; hispanic 3.45%; Two or three more races 3.25%; Asian 17.1% and white at 57.9%. And also 30% OOS and international. My kid had the best four years of her life there, but found her people in the debating societies. I met all of her friends and they were all lovely. She says the charge of "elitism" is ridiculous because it is, after all, a public. That phrase is repeated by those who can't get in or aren't even contenders to apply. And, as to dress, she dressed just the way she wanted to - only the Greek kids cared about what they wore, and they are only 26% of the student body. You can have a great four years without ever stepping into Greek house.

Just google DCUrbanmom UVA and start reading.

That is not nearly the diversity of top 10/ivy.

It's a state public school and serves the diversity needs of the state. You never compare state schools to private schools or even state public schools to other state's public schools because each system set up by the state legislature is different.

[Anonymous]

It was built by enslaved people. Really prestigious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It was built by enslaved people. Really prestigious.

Maybe you should educate yourself before posting next time. Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, Yale, and almost all southern universities were built upon the slave industry. https://www.apmreports.org/episode/2017/09/04/shackled-legacy#:~:text=Profits%20from%20slavery%20and%20related,and%20served%20faculty%20and%20students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It was built by enslaved people. Really prestigious.

Sounds like someone, or their spawn, wasn't admitted.

[Anonymous]

My child went to a very preppy, very wealthy private high school and was in the cool crowd. Matriculated at UVA and has left this entire world behind and hangs out with a non-Greek, non partier, non-elitist crowd. They were tired of this scene and determined to reinvent themselves in college and they did. 18 months later and they're happier than they've ever been. Their friends are a mix of public and private school kids from VA and all over. They barely drink, they're top students, they're interesting people and are having a great time. They have almost no interaction with the Greek scene.

There are literally many thousands of kids who are like this and bypass all of the frat/bro/party girl preppy culture for all 4 years at UVA. It's not like a private high school where this may be the predominant culture and if you're not cut from this cloth then you're isolated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child went to a very preppy, very wealthy private high school and was in the cool crowd. Matriculated at UVA and has left this entire world behind and hangs out with a non-Greek, non partier, non-elitist crowd. They were tired of this scene and determined to reinvent themselves in college and they did. 18 months later and they're happier than they've ever been. Their friends are a mix of public and private school kids from VA and all over. They barely drink, they're top students, they're interesting people and are having a great time. They have almost no interaction with the Greek scene.

There are literally many thousands of kids who are like this and bypass all of the frat/bro/party girl preppy culture for all 4 years at UVA. It's not like a private high school where this may be the predominant culture and if you're not cut from this cloth then you're isolated.

+1. There are 26,000 students at you from
varying walks of life, schools, states and countries. And over 709 clubs. If you can’t find your people there and get hung up on quarter-zips then the problem is you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ask after you get accepted. You can always Google. Don’t be lazy.

So kid should apply?

Are you aware of the GOA and test scores needed?

[Anonymous]

^GPA

[Anonymous]

UVA is test optional and with grade inflation, every kid has a chance with “holistic” eval

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a third year there and that’s about right. The other day he remarked how students wear quarter zips to class as their regular daily wear. I agree that there is a level of elitism and he’s not white, so kind of on the outside looking in and trying to fit in?

What does a quarter zip have to do with anything? Because the kids don’t wear pajamas to class? I guess it is a social class thing. My high schooler wears quarter zips to school from October until May and has since 9th grade. So do all his friends. They have a dress code at their private school, so for them these clothes are a habit.

[Anonymous]

My good friend graduated from UVA in the late nineties. She’s a Black woman and said she doesn’t have a single white friend from UVA and managed to never socialize with white kids. I think that’s quite a feat and speaks to the diversity. I’m sure y’all will now jump
All over this but I thought it was incredible in a good way—she was able to make this choice because of the number of Black kids on campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My good friend graduated from UVA in the late nineties. She’s a Black woman and said she doesn’t have a single white friend from UVA and managed to never socialize with white kids. I think that’s quite a feat and speaks to the diversity. I’m sure y’all will now jump
All over this but I thought it was incredible in a good way—she was able to make this choice because of the number of Black kids on campus.

On the flip side, my kid is Hispanic, and her group of friends is very mixed, mostly in Greek system.

Are there very wealthy and White friend groups? I am sure.

Are they exclusive? Probably.

Are they exclusive because of race or income? Who knows.

We cannot afford their lifestyle, so my kid does not feel like she is necessary excluded because of her ethnicity. She is friends with some very wealthy people, but for the most part, her friends are public high school grads. She hasn’t complained at all about the racial balance at UVA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a third year there and that’s about right. The other day he remarked how students wear quarter zips to class as their regular daily wear. I agree that there is a level of elitism and he’s not white, so kind of on the outside looking in and trying to fit in?

Interesting because this is the trend with high school boys right now. The quarter zip is more popular than the hoodie now.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/style/quarter-zip-sweater-men-tiktok.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My good friend graduated from UVA in the late nineties. She’s a Black woman and said she doesn’t have a single white friend from UVA and managed to never socialize with white kids. I think that’s quite a feat and speaks to the diversity. I’m sure y’all will now jump
All over this but I thought it was incredible in a good way—she was able to make this choice because of the number of Black kids on campus.

I went to UVA in the late 90s and can attest that there was virtually no mixing between Black and white students back then, and it feels really shameful to me now. I think (hope) that things have changed for the better since then. Just one of many reasons that I’m sick about Jim Ryan being forced out for his commitment to DEI. It was sorely needed, and there’s much more work to be done.