UVA Early Action

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gov School kids did significantly better than regular HS schools in our area.

Not here at our nova high school. Still waiting to hear what the actual transcript / course load was .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC had an 800 math SAT (total 1520), non-academic EC activities included a national title and min 20 hrs/week, attended a Gov STEM School and summer GOV school in performing arts, And is a legacy - rejected from UVA (GPA < 4.3 prior to Sr yr, Asian and from NoVa). Dean J's blogs that tell students that there is no minimum GPA, that it is about the whole student, and that there are no quotas are a little hard to believe...What's sad amongst other things is that DC would not have spent time getting wasted at fraternity/sorority parties and has exactly the integrity UVA's honor system would desire.

Wow, that's very upsetting. I am a UVA alum and I've posted previously. I am appalled that students like your DC were not accepted yet students with lesser stats, publicly posted here, were. Good luck to your DC. Your DC is UVA's great loss. I'm sorry.

I am sorry for PP too, but the State has clearly indicated that last year's fall entering class had a 75th percentile of a 4.48 and higher. A 4.3 puts PP's kid slightly below the median of 4.32 for "normal" entering students. I think it's fair to say that coming from Nova, and especially if Asian American, you must hit above that 75th percentile of 4.48. https://research.schev.edu//enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp

That the DC is in a governor's school makes his GPA appear even comparatively lower. I know one candidate from a governor's school who got into UVA engineering with a 6.72. She says that she received an added 0.17 from each semester of an AP class. She also took four classes a semester. She took almost all APs junior and senior year so 1.36 was added onto 4.0 each year for a total of 6.72.

Presumably DC is being measured against his classmates and found wanting. Same is true at TJ. In addition to needing a high GPA, you must be in the tippy top of your high school class. In the case orf the woman with the 6.72, she was judged against her base high school class and came in no. 3.

Check the "UVA EA 2025" posts and you will see kids with 7.0s being rejected from UVA.

Really? You think a TJ kid had a 6.72 GPA?

🙄 Students are assessed FIRST against their own class peers, goofball. All schools have their own grading and weighting norms. Colleges know this. So of course that’s not TJ’s scale. But colleges rescale/renorm —after first assessIng someone against own’s own school peers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can't compare GPA across high schools even in the same county. The grading system, retake policy, difficulty of classes is not comparable across schools. Same with class rank. A 4.3 GPA at TJ is still top 25% of the class (which is top 10% of county in STEM) and that should get a kid into UVA all other things being equal, but it just doesn't. Kids at TJ traditionally would try and make up for this with high test scores (SAT, ACT, Subject Tests, 5s on all AP exams), but with test optional this year, that is out the door. Not the above poster and not trying to denigrate those that got in, but the system is flawed.

This is why the counselor assessment of the transcript relative to the peers and most rigorous possible is a school is critical (and means the most in terms of gpa).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't compare GPA across high schools even in the same county. The grading system, retake policy, difficulty of classes is not comparable across schools. Same with class rank. A 4.3 GPA at TJ is still top 25% of the class (which is top 10% of county in STEM) and that should get a kid into UVA all other things being equal, but it just doesn't. Kids at TJ traditionally would try and make up for this with high test scores (SAT, ACT, Subject Tests, 5s on all AP exams), but with test optional this year, that is out the door. Not the above poster and not trying to denigrate those that got in, but the system is flawed.

This is why the counselor assessment of the transcript relative to the peers and most rigorous possible is a school is critical (and means the most in terms of gpa).

But beyond that, they have to adjust for the differences in grading standards and grading systems.

[Anonymous]

All this discussion of GPA, test scores, etc - the adcoms don’t have time to parse every single minute detail or every application. I imagine they barely even glance at this information before making a decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All this discussion of GPA, test res, etc - the adcoms don’t have time to parse every single minute detail or every application. I imagine they barely even glance at this information before making a decision.

Wtf? The common app is nothing but a data base. Applications can be quickly and accurately tagged and segmented based on classes, grades, counselor box-checking and scores. Courses load at uva is critical and easy to assess. Once these hurdles are passed, they do indeed read rec’s, essays and ec’s closely. But you do have to pass some bats first.

[Anonymous]

^ bars not bats ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this discussion of GPA, test res, etc - the adcoms don’t have time to parse every single minute detail or every application. I imagine they barely even glance at this information before making a decision.

Wtf? The common app is nothing but a data base. Applications can be quickly and accurately tagged and segmented based on classes, grades, counselor box-checking and scores. Courses load at uva is critical and easy to assess. Once these hurdles are passed, they do indeed read rec’s, essays and ec’s closely. But you do have to pass some bats first.

That could be how the schools that make you enter every course and grade yourself do it (UCs, Penn State), but most kids don’t enter their entire record into the Common App. It’s only a few schools that make them do that.

With thousands of high schools sending transcripts in different formats, I’m pretty sure AOs have to go over every one. Hence it taking to damn long to hear back from them.

[Anonymous]

My son's friend at an FCPS high school was rejected for EA. However, he is a legacy, Latino, with 4.0W GPA, and 32-33 ACT (stats according to hearsay). OK ECs.

I know the GPA is a little low, but I would have thought URM and legacy would have at least resulted in a deferral not a rejection!

Another anecdote that confirms that very few NOVA applicants are getting in during the RD round.

[Anonymous]

And that, contrary to popular opinion, being an URM isn't a golden ticket.

[Anonymous]

Nor is legacy (at least for NOVA).

[Anonymous]

Heard from a friend whose kid had 36 ACT and 1580 SAT was deferred EA from FCPS HS. My kid said the only ones she knows who got in EA we’re taking multi-variable calculus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son's friend at an FCPS high school was rejected for EA. However, he is a legacy, Latino, with 4.0W GPA, and 32-33 ACT (stats according to hearsay). OK ECs.

I know the GPA is a little low, but I would have thought URM and legacy would have at least resulted in a deferral not a rejection!

Another anecdote that confirms that very few NOVA applicants are getting in during the RD round.

Being a first generation URM college student weighs more than just being a URM. Being a legacy means at least on parent went to college. DC is friends with URMs with GPAs in the 4.3+ range who are first generation. Of course those are only the kids DC is close enough to know their GPAs.

[Anonymous]

All my 3 kids got in ED from a double legacy asian family, between 2016-2021. Their stats are 1510-1560 SAT, gpa 4.2-4.5, without much ECs and full rigorous curriculum full of STEM APs. First one from TJ and the last 2 from base school. I think ED applications helped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All my 3 kids got in ED from a double legacy asian family, between 2016-2021. Their stats are 1510-1560 SAT, gpa 4.2-4.5, without much ECs and full rigorous curriculum full of STEM APs. First one from TJ and the last 2 from base school. I think ED applications helped.

not possible that all of them did ED, they only reinstated ED last year, this was the second time they'd done it since like 2008. Regardless, I totally agree that ED helps. My kids both got in that way with MUCH less impressive scores (we are not a test taking family LOL) but higher GPAs (top 5%) and good EC.