University of Virginia

[Anonymous]

I am upset that UVA makes it so competitive for NoVA kids. They should admit based off merit. It is insane that high GPA, high test score kids get rejected, but then weaker profiles from other parts of the state get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am upset that UVA makes it so competitive for NoVA kids. They should admit based off merit. It is insane that high GPA, high test score kids get rejected, but then weaker profiles from other parts of the state get in.

That’s a myth. More than 1/2 of the in state students are from NOVA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am upset that UVA makes it so competitive for NoVA kids. They should admit based off merit. It is insane that high GPA, high test score kids get rejected, but then weaker profiles from other parts of the state get in.

Go ahead and move your family to Portsmouth or Galax or wherever it is you think the kids have it so easy and let us know how that works out for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look, I’m not gonna say everybody is jealous and annoyed when your in state kid gets into UVA and theirs doesn’t. But many are. It’s just a fact. I’ve experienced it first hand.

Yeah, my daughter is there (1520 SAT, highest rigor, 4.0 UW, good ECs) but I do find myself saying “oh yes UVA is a lottery for nova girls”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am upset that UVA makes it so competitive for NoVA kids. They should admit based off merit. It is insane that high GPA, high test score kids get rejected, but then weaker profiles from other parts of the state get in.

That’s a myth. More than 1/2 of the in state students are from NOVA.

+1.

I went to UVa and found it was really NoVA HS v2.0. More than half the students in my dorm building were from Fairfax County, Arlington, or Alexandria. If one added in PW, Loudoun, it would be even more. And that still is not counting the numerous students from Montgomery County or NW DC.

People hear flagship public and think large. For a flagship public, UVa is pretty small by undergrad student numbers, despite having grown repeatedly since the first big expansion in roughly 1969-1970…. I think VT might have roughly double the number of undergrad students as UVa at this point.

[Anonymous]

We were thrilled to send two kids in state UVA. All the prestige for half the price and so easy to get to. I don’t blame people for being jealous. I’d be too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am upset that UVA makes it so competitive for NoVA kids. They should admit based off merit. It is insane that high GPA, high test score kids get rejected, but then weaker profiles from other parts of the state get in.

That’s a myth. More than 1/2 of the in state students are from NOVA.

+1.

I went to UVa and found it was really NoVA HS v2.0. More than half the students in my dorm building were from Fairfax County, Arlington, or Alexandria. If one added in PW, Loudoun, it would be even more. And that still is not counting the numerous students from Montgomery County or NW DC.

People hear flagship public and think large. For a flagship public, UVa is pretty small by undergrad student numbers, despite having grown repeatedly since the first big expansion in roughly 1969-1970…. I think VT might have roughly double the number of undergrad students as UVa at this point.

Yes, this is confirmed by SCHEV figures, https://research.schev.edu/rdPage.aspx?rdReport=Enrollment.E02_Report

UVA went from 12,614 undergraduates in 1992-93 to 17,835 undergraduates in 2025-26, a 41% increase over 30+ years

VT went from to 18,860 undergraduates in 1992-93 to 31,536 undergraduates in 2025-26, a 67% increase over 30+ years

The commonwealth's population went from 6,187,358 in 1990 to about 8,800,000 in 2024, a 42% increase over 34 years, according to Google.

For comparison, overall enrollment at public universities in the commonwealth went from 139,278 in 1992-93 to 179,249 in 2025-26, a 29% increase over 30+ years.

So you could say that UVA grew proportionally with the growth in the commonwealth's population, and even exceeded growth for overall undergrad enrollment in commonwealth public universities.

However, NOVA's population went from 1,466,350 in 1990 to an estimated 2,556,143 in 2023, a 71% increase of 33 years according to Google.

Hence when NOVA folks complain about inaccessibility to UVA, they have a point because of the differential rates of growth. The powers that be want that relative excess of NOVA students to go to VT, GMU (which almost tripled in size) and JMU (which more than doubled); by comparison, the growth rate at UVA, W&M, and VCU roughly match the overall growth rate in the commonwealth's population but did not match NOVA population growth.

In other words, the available supply of seats available at W&M and UVA to NOVA students is becoming smaller relative to the NOVA population, and the commonwealth's reaction is to tell those students to go to VT, GMU and JMU. That's not what NOVA parents want to hear, and so it leads to the wailing and lamentations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were thrilled to send two kids in state UVA. All the prestige for half the price and so easy to get to. I don’t blame people for being jealous. I’d be too.

+ we’re very glad to be in Virginia with all of its options

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am upset that UVA makes it so competitive for NoVA kids. They should admit based off merit. It is insane that high GPA, high test score kids get rejected, but then weaker profiles from other parts of the state get in.

That’s a myth. More than 1/2 of the in state students are from NOVA.

+1.

I went to UVa and found it was really NoVA HS v2.0. More than half the students in my dorm building were from Fairfax County, Arlington, or Alexandria. If one added in PW, Loudoun, it would be even more. And that still is not counting the numerous students from Montgomery County or NW DC.

People hear flagship public and think large. For a flagship public, UVa is pretty small by undergrad student numbers, despite having grown repeatedly since the first big expansion in roughly 1969-1970…. I think VT might have roughly double the number of undergrad students as UVa at this point.

There’s not a dorm at UVA where more than half the students are from Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria. You are either lying or mistaken.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am upset that UVA makes it so competitive for NoVA kids. They should admit based off merit. It is insane that high GPA, high test score kids get rejected, but then weaker profiles from other parts of the state get in.

That’s a myth. More than 1/2 of the in state students are from NOVA.

+1.

I went to UVa and found it was really NoVA HS v2.0. More than half the students in my dorm building were from Fairfax County, Arlington, or Alexandria. If one added in PW, Loudoun, it would be even more. And that still is not counting the numerous students from Montgomery County or NW DC.

People hear flagship public and think large. For a flagship public, UVa is pretty small by undergrad student numbers, despite having grown repeatedly since the first big expansion in roughly 1969-1970…. I think VT might have roughly double the number of undergrad students as UVa at this point.

There’s not a dorm at UVA where more than half the students are from Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria. You are either lying or mistaken.

+1. My Langley kid never saw the few others from her class who got on. Off the top of my head I think 15 got in and four went, the others going Ivy or SLAC. My private kid never saw the other two from his private. There ARE 26,000 students down there, including grad students. My kids’ roommates were from Alaska, Texas, Newport News, Georgia. Three international. Not one from NOVA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am upset that UVA makes it so competitive for NoVA kids. They should admit based off merit. It is insane that high GPA, high test score kids get rejected, but then weaker profiles from other parts of the state get in.

You know the AP curriculum is available across the country, even outside of nova, right? And the dual enrollment is done by all the community colleges, not just nova.

This idea that people outside of nova aren’t capable of performing at the same level as kids in nova is silly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am upset that UVA makes it so competitive for NoVA kids. They should admit based off merit. It is insane that high GPA, high test score kids get rejected, but then weaker profiles from other parts of the state get in.

That’s a myth. More than 1/2 of the in state students are from NOVA.

+1.

I went to UVa and found it was really NoVA HS v2.0. More than half the students in my dorm building were from Fairfax County, Arlington, or Alexandria. If one added in PW, Loudoun, it would be even more. And that still is not counting the numerous students from Montgomery County or NW DC.

People hear flagship public and think large. For a flagship public, UVa is pretty small by undergrad student numbers, despite having grown repeatedly since the first big expansion in roughly 1969-1970…. I think VT might have roughly double the number of undergrad students as UVa at this point.

There’s not a dorm at UVA where more than half the students are from Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria. You are either lying or mistaken.

+1. My Langley kid never saw the few others from her class who got on. Off the top of my head I think 15 got in and four went, the others going Ivy or SLAC. My private kid never saw the other two from his private. There ARE 26,000 students down there, including grad students. My kids’ roommates were from Alaska, Texas, Newport News, Georgia. Three international. Not one from NOVA

Now bullshit in the opposite direction. Way more than 15 a year get into UVA from Langley and way more than 4 go. Cmon guys keep it honest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.instagram.com/reel/DP6fztKjiW9/?igsh=OThlaWx0cmV2emMz

Polished and switched-on people like this are at UVA more than almost any other public schools.

This is basic finance. And why is it on Instagram?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous[b wrote:]Look, I’m not gonna say everybody is jealous and annoyed when your in state kid gets into UVA and theirs doesn’t. But many are. It’s just a fact. I’ve experienced it first hand.

[/b]


It's not only that. Imagine not being familiar with the Virginia public system and going in to meet your high school college counselor and asking about UVA for your kid and see them tamp down the laugh and then pull out the Naviance and shev stats to show you that your kid doesn't have a chance in hell. IT is what it is. But some parents never get over that and mock and deride - it's an immature reaction to a face of life: UVA is smaller than most flagships and very tough to get into. My kid was not a contender. But I wish the parents and students on here were more mature.

But why a UVA-only focus? I have known many UVA, VT, JMU ans W&M grads and can't really think of any that didn't have good things to say about their experience. VT is more comprehensive and ranks higher in engineering than UVA. W&M is the second oldest college in the U.S. and is the rare public that is similarly sized compared to selective privates. VCU is one of the best public art schools in the U.S. GMU has numerous majors UVA doesn't have and is a great option for those that need to go to school near home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were thrilled to send two kids in state UVA. All the prestige for half the price and so easy to get to. I don’t blame people for being jealous. I’d be too.

+ we’re very glad to be in Virginia with all of its options

And not discussed enough here on DCUm is the great guaranteed transfer program from the Commonwealth's community colleges to all four-year institutions (each with different requirements and GPA requirements). I'm from California, where going to community and college and transferring into the UC or Cal State (or starting at Cal States, which we have no equivalent to) is much more the norm. For some reason, parents don't consider that option here but it's financially smart. 600 community college students enter UVA at the start of their third year every year. Same with the other four-year institutions.