Why deny UVA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are not a Virginia resident, then there are scores of options that are better. I get it if you are in state, though you have to be down with the whole VA Gentleman veneer the campus projects.

This.

UVA is not prestigious. Strong flagship, yes...but no prestige.

[Anonymous]

Why is it UVA grads don't understand the concept of prestigious.

It's as prestigious as the University of Florida. Now do you understand?

[Anonymous]

A university with a 26% acceptance rate isn't considered prestigious.

[Anonymous]

Prestige is a relative term, OP. For some people, prestigious schools are ranked in the top 24. UVA is ranked #25, thus, not prestige. Capisce?

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA is the most prestigious "public ivy" offering a far better experience than any of the Ivy League schools.





(happy now? )

You’re missing my point. I’d like to hear folks insist that it isn't when we all know that it is. What’s the psychology behind that?

OK, I'll bite. UVA and 3rd tier when it comes to recruiting in top banks, startups, and top consultant companies. It's still a state school.

[Anonymous]

Take the word of former UVA President Teresa Sullivan. When she was president, she wrote a highly critical memo to the UVA Board diagnosing the university's ills:

She called out the "reputation gap" -- “In a number of critical areas we are reputed to be better than we actually are,” she wrote.

“The more recent emphasis on science and engineering is interpreted in some quarters as a sign that we will no longer cherish our traditional strengths, and recent political attacks on universities reinforce this fear. Meanwhile, our need to improve [science, technology, engineering and math] fields persists.

“It must be candidly admitted that some of the fields that bring us the greatest distinction are not those in which most people would today invest (e.g., Spanish, English, Religious Studies),” Sullivan wrote.

“In some of these units, our reputation is derived from a small number of faculty, rending the reputation of those units particularly vulnerable to the outside recruitment of a single person or a few departures of senior leaders.”

“It is true that we have some international ‘star’ quality faculty, but many fewer than most of our peer institutions,” Sullivan wrote.

https://www.dailyprogress.com/news/sullivan-saw-reputation-gap-at-uva/article_3dcc495b-fdfb-5e52-b27f-0029288c8e7a.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/is-university-of-virginias-reputation-gap-growing/2012/06/17/gJQAi8kVjV_blog.html?utm_term=.fd3311e4897a

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Take the word of former UVA President Teresa Sullivan. When she was president, she wrote a highly critical memo to the UVA Board diagnosing the university's ills:

She called out the "reputation gap" -- “In a number of critical areas we are reputed to be better than we actually are,” she wrote.

“The more recent emphasis on science and engineering is interpreted in some quarters as a sign that we will no longer cherish our traditional strengths, and recent political attacks on universities reinforce this fear. Meanwhile, our need to improve [science, technology, engineering and math] fields persists.

“It must be candidly admitted that some of the fields that bring us the greatest distinction are not those in which most people would today invest (e.g., Spanish, English, Religious Studies),” Sullivan wrote.

“In some of these units, our reputation is derived from a small number of faculty, rending the reputation of those units particularly vulnerable to the outside recruitment of a single person or a few departures of senior leaders.”

“It is true that we have some international ‘star’ quality faculty, but many fewer than most of our peer institutions,” Sullivan wrote.

https://www.dailyprogress.com/news/sullivan-saw-reputation-gap-at-uva/article_3dcc495b-fdfb-5e52-b27f-0029288c8e7a.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/is-university-of-virginias-reputation-gap-growing/2012/06/17/gJQAi8kVjV_blog.html?utm_term=.fd3311e4897a

Sullivan came from Michigan and had worked at the University of Texas. She was probably using schools like that and Berkeley as a reference. There are a number of schools, usually significantly larger, that are stronger across the board in graduate education and research than UVA (UVA is strong in professional fields like law and business, but not as strong in areas in STEM, that get a lot of focus at these schools). While some of her points are certainly valid (the focus is shifting to STEM), I thought it was the wrong comparison. Schools like Brown and Dartmouth can't go toe-to-toe with these schools at a graduate or research level either, but a lot of people would argue they provide a better undergraduate experience. A lot of state schools are really indifferent to undergraduates in my view (particularly if they are outside of favored areas). If UVA has an advantage over those schools, it will be in that undergraduate experience. She was worrying that this sounds subjective rather than objective, but really it is what is perceived to distinguish the Ivy experience and an LAC experience.

[Anonymous]

It’s great for an in state school, but if funding permits, there are much better options out there. We toured it, just like we toured the other 20 schools we visited. It was nice, but over hyped and not really unique in any way. It doesn’t offer anything you can’t get anywhere else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A university with a 26% acceptance rate isn't considered prestigious.

A university that bends over backwards to trumpet its diversity yet has 70% of its student hailing from the “great” state of Virginia is a bit of a joke. Plus I would never want my DC to attend a public state school.

[Anonymous]

One thing you can't deny...

UVA owned Yale like a bitch in the NCAA lacrosse championship this weekend.

#WINNING

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A university with a 26% acceptance rate isn't considered prestigious.

As an academic I think UVA is a good school and a solid choice for my child. However, UVA is not a prestigious university or a research powerhouse. Therefore, it was not on my list of desirable institutions to pursue a Tier 1 tenure track job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A university with a 26% acceptance rate isn't considered prestigious.

A university that bends over backwards to trumpet its diversity yet has 70% of its student hailing from the “great” state of Virginia is a bit of a joke. Plus I would never want my DC to attend a public state school.

What’s good enough for Sasha Obama isn’t good enough for your kid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A university with a 26% acceptance rate isn't considered prestigious.

As an academic I think UVA is a good school and a solid choice for my child. However, UVA is not a prestigious university or a research powerhouse. Therefore, it was not on my list of desirable institutions to pursue a Tier 1 tenure track job.

That’s cute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing you can't deny...

UVA owned Yale like a bitch in the NCAA lacrosse championship this weekend.

#WINNING

But the Yale lax players graduate from Yale.

[Anonymous]

In the 2019 US News reputation survey of 25,000 high school counselors across the country UVA ranked 23rd, tied with Tufts, Emory, NYU, Michigan, etc. I’d say that’s pretty good company - And remember that this is a national survey, not a regional one.

No, it’s not Ivy League, but there aren’t that many schools ahead of it, and I bet the large majority of parents on this board could not get their kids in.