1530 SAT at McLean High not enough for UVA now?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:It's your zip code.

This. From McLean and Langley, you need a 4.5 on top of that SAT score. Highest rigor, highest grades. No room for an emotional breakup, friend troubles, personal issues to work through, or family struggle. Be perfect since age 14 or no UVA for you.

Which means there are lots of parents helicoptering and snow plowing to make this happen and they have all the money they need to support that.

If you have more money you don’t obsess about your kids going to an in-state school like UVA. You let your kids enjoy life a bit more and go to another in-state school, a SLAC or an OOS flagship, comfortable that their basic smarts and social skills will serve them well later.

You must be posting from the south. That’s how southern wealthy parents act, not DC/Northern Virginia parents.

We are in NoVa and not rich, but we saw the writing on the wall. UVA wasn’t going to be for our DC, who had some transcript/GPA things that would have been issues at UVA. We went the SLAC route and with aid ended up being less than what we would have paid for UVA.

Similar story here, DC took a very rigorous STEM focused courseload but didn’t want to play UVA’s language game. Headed to a top SLAC instead. Who knows whether he would have gotten into UVA. Pulled his app when he got in the SLAC ED.

"language game" - aka it was never the right fit and that's fine!

DP.
Disagree that a state flagship should have such an arbitrary standard on world languages if they are trying to attract top students, particularly top STEM students.

It’s not arbitrary.

It does narrow the field to top students.

The top STEM public university in VA is VT.

Well it excludes top STEM students. They didn't get my NMSF with a perfect SAT score. Their loss!

You said he didn’t play/apply. How can you say they exclude him? He probably knew it’s not a good fit.

No, I did not say he did not apply. He did apply. I did say he did not play the language game, by that meaning he stopped a lang after soph yr even knowing UVA - then his top choice school - would look down on it. Over time, UVA went down in his list. He didn't apply there ED. He did still apply EA in the end.

But didn’t get in.

Well congratulations on knowing more about his app then we ever will. He pulled EA app when hit in ED as I already said.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I really think it's ridiculous that a child who get B's in DE and AP classes and is taking advanced math that is second and third year mathematics college major is going to end up in jmu , odu or Mary Washington. Maybe uva isnt the right fit but where does a b ap/de student who has taken all second and third math college level courses go? Maybe that is the real question.

3.98/4.5, 1560 9 APs and HS math through Multi/Linear was waitlisted at UVA in 2023. Accepted at WM, UMD (merit), Pitt, Lehigh (merit), BU (merit), Ohio St.(merit) CWRU (merit) and UMN (merit). Plenty of state flagships will offer merit to bring COA near or better than UVA in-state.

ok very interesting, where did they end up? WM looks interesting but I am not sure if my kid would like being at a liberal arts school to double major in math and cs.

I dont think you understand what a liberal arts school is. It isnt just for humanities.

Yeah they need to stop wasting money on the liberal arts program , at a minimum it should include technical classes like barista and French fry handling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really think it's ridiculous that a child who get B's in DE and AP classes and is taking advanced math that is second and third year mathematics college major is going to end up in jmu , odu or Mary Washington. Maybe uva isnt the right fit but where does a b ap/de student who has taken all second and third math college level courses go? Maybe that is the real question.

This type of DC, if in-state is necessary, would end up at VT, WM or GMU, particularly if the DC is getting As in the STEM subjects but has B's in the other core areas, and doesn't have the foreign language.

Otherwise, as others have posted, the DC should look at OOS privates and public flagships where merit can help lower the cost to instate levels.

This is the flip side of having UVA, VT and W&M collectively serve as the equivalent of a single flagship elsewhere (e.g., a Michigan or UMCP). Virginians get choices, but do not necessarily get their preferred choice of the three. If they don't like it, they have to settle for a second tier public (JMU/VCU/GMU) or go out of state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really think it's ridiculous that a child who get B's in DE and AP classes and is taking advanced math that is second and third year mathematics college major is going to end up in jmu , odu or Mary Washington. Maybe uva isnt the right fit but where does a b ap/de student who has taken all second and third math college level courses go? Maybe that is the real question.

UVA always has many applicants from FCPS who are very strong in STEM and also took 4 yrs of foreign language and are max rigor in all subjects in HS.

When I was at UVA SEAS, every other SEAS student I happened to know has 4 yrs FL (even though SEAS does not have FL as a degree requirement). Even the one student who was from a former coal county in SW VA had taken 4yrs of French.

If one believes in USNWR ratings (I am skeptical those ratings mean much) then VT is the highest rated VA public university in STEM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the flip side of having UVA, VT and W&M collectively serve as the equivalent of a single flagship elsewhere (e.g., a Michigan or UMCP). Virginians get choices, but do not necessarily get their preferred choice of the three. If they don't like it, they have to settle for a second tier public (JMU/VCU/GMU) or go out of state.

The quoted text above is a good insight.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Why does everyone keep saying you need four years of foreign language for UVA? You don’t! That has been debunked time and again.

Because UVA says it recommends four years in its admissions materials and because every resource will recommend it if you are applying to top schools. https://www.ivycoach.com/the-ivy-coach-blog/college-admissions/how-to-get-into-the-university-of-virginia/

What a weird site though. I think UVA likes well-rounded kids more than some schools.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The SAT and the rigor is just fine, its the gpa.

+1 UVA consistently says that sustained performance in the classroom is the most important factor. And that no one strong factor can make up for another relatively weak one. So a kid with a 4.7 and no test scores likely has a better shot than a kid with a 4.2 and a great SAT.

My DC had 1530 and 4.7 gpa, good ec, still got rejected by UVA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The SAT and the rigor is just fine, its the gpa.

+1 UVA consistently says that sustained performance in the classroom is the most important factor. And that no one strong factor can make up for another relatively weak one. So a kid with a 4.7 and no test scores likely has a better shot than a kid with a 4.2 and a great SAT.

My DC had 1530 and 4.7 gpa, good ec, still got rejected by UVA

How was course rigor? How many APs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child goes to McLean High. He got a 1530 SAT as a junior and came home saying it is not good enough because most kids are getting higher scores, so he wants to retake it a third time. Is this really where we are now, that you need a perfect SAT score?

He is already in all DE and AP classes and he is in Calc 2 as a junior. Now he is saying he needs to take summer classes at NOVA so he can take Calc 3 and then differential equations senior year. It feels insane, although he has already taken about five NOVA dual enrollment classes, so I guess we are saving some money.

I graduated in the 90s, got a 1350, felt great about it, did not take calculus until college, and I turned out fine. Is the bar just totally different now?

For those familiar with UVA admissions, is a 1530 SAT at McLean High with a 4.2 weighted GPA and all AP and DE since sophomore year actually not enough, or is this just the pressure cooker effect?

Yes, the bar is totally different now. If interested in stem there are far better options available than UVA that are achievable with your kid’s stats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The SAT and the rigor is just fine, its the gpa.

+1 UVA consistently says that sustained performance in the classroom is the most important factor. And that no one strong factor can make up for another relatively weak one. So a kid with a 4.7 and no test scores likely has a better shot than a kid with a 4.2 and a great SAT.

My DC had 1530 and 4.7 gpa, good ec, still got rejected by UVA

How was course rigor? How many APs?

Probably only took three years of language. No one has ever gotten in without four years. Ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The SAT and the rigor is just fine, its the gpa.

+1 UVA consistently says that sustained performance in the classroom is the most important factor. And that no one strong factor can make up for another relatively weak one. So a kid with a 4.7 and no test scores likely has a better shot than a kid with a 4.2 and a great SAT.

My DC had 1530 and 4.7 gpa, good ec, still got rejected by UVA

How was course rigor? How many APs?

Probably only took three years of language. No one has ever gotten in without four years. Ever.

Probably didn't take APUSH or AP Lang. Those are mandatory requirements to get into UVA.

This, according to the Gospel of Dean J. Heretics will be damned to eternal torture at JMU/VCU/GMU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The SAT and the rigor is just fine, its the gpa.

+1 UVA consistently says that sustained performance in the classroom is the most important factor. And that no one strong factor can make up for another relatively weak one. So a kid with a 4.7 and no test scores likely has a better shot than a kid with a 4.2 and a great SAT.

My DC had 1530 and 4.7 gpa, good ec, still got rejected by UVA

How was course rigor? How many APs?

As a parent who has already been through this once you need to understand there is no formula that will guarantee your kid gets into UVA, or anywhere else with lower than a 50% admit rate. It’s too competitive, there are literally thousands of kids applying who will have equal or better stats but may fit an “institutional priority” or have an essay that appeals to the AO. Have your kid meet the admission requirements of the maximum number of schools (this includes foreign language), apply broadly and embrace the upside of randomness (there truly are some)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really think it's ridiculous that a child who get B's in DE and AP classes and is taking advanced math that is second and third year mathematics college major is going to end up in jmu , odu or Mary Washington. Maybe uva isnt the right fit but where does a b ap/de student who has taken all second and third math college level courses go? Maybe that is the real question.

3.98/4.5, 1560 9 APs and HS math through Multi/Linear was waitlisted at UVA in 2023. Accepted at WM, UMD (merit), Pitt, Lehigh (merit), BU (merit), Ohio St.(merit) CWRU (merit) and UMN (merit). Plenty of state flagships will offer merit to bring COA near or better than UVA in-state.

ok very interesting, where did they end up? WM looks interesting but I am not sure if my kid would like being at a liberal arts school to double major in math and cs.

Take another look at W&M. It has a good reputation and very solid CS and math offerings.

W&M is a great school but doesn’t hand out As like a lot of other schools do. Expect a good number of Bs or lower if majoring in math. Along with Econ and Physics the 3 lowest GPA subjects at the college. Still won’t hurt his chances for grad school or work as it is well known.

That used to be the case but it has the same grade inflation as other top schools now. Undergraduate average GPA is the same as UVA now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The SAT and the rigor is just fine, its the gpa.

+1 UVA consistently says that sustained performance in the classroom is the most important factor. And that no one strong factor can make up for another relatively weak one. So a kid with a 4.7 and no test scores likely has a better shot than a kid with a 4.2 and a great SAT.

My DC had 1530 and 4.7 gpa, good ec, still got rejected by UVA

How was course rigor? How many APs?

As a parent who has already been through this once you need to understand there is no formula that will guarantee your kid gets into UVA, or anywhere else with lower than a 50% admit rate. It’s too competitive, there are literally thousands of kids applying who will have equal or better stats but may fit an “institutional priority” or have an essay that appeals to the AO. Have your kid meet the admission requirements of the maximum number of schools (this includes foreign language), apply broadly and embrace the upside of randomness (there truly are some)

+100 You’re right but the strivers will never listen.

[Anonymous]

If UVA is wanted so bad just go to NOVA for a year, knock out the requirements using APs and transfer in after a year. They tell you all the requirements needed to get in and the minimum GPA. And it’s cheaper.