UVA - Holistic Review

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there ever an instance where a 3.5 kid can get in coming from Sidwell or NCS (no APs)?

Unlikely but ask your counselor. On a weighted scale, you probably need a 4.6 and maximum rigor, 35 ACT, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dean J keeps stressing that UVA does a holistic review.

But in reality all they look at is course selection ( did u take the hardest courses) and what grades did u get.

So is the “holistic” part just an act to be like a more “elite” school?

They are serious about rigor. Engineering applicant from NOVA with 4.5 and 1560 was waitlisted. Maxed out on math, history and science APs but did not bother to take Lang or lit. I warned him! Thats okay. 3rd year at UMD with a Google internship summer of 26.

This is where I get really annoyed with UVA admissions. I say that as an alum and as a parent of a kid who just applied. Your kid sounds great and it's UVA's loss. My kid also maxxed out on AP classes in most subjects, BUT he stopped taking a foreign language to do it. The classes he wanted to take wouldn't all fit if he took it so he made a choice. We supported him following his interests. We'll see what UVA does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our oos private, UVA are more stats driven than holistic.

Same here, There is a GPA line each year (and for what it's worth it's really high--Ivy level).

Pp, definitely lower than Ivy level at our private, more like A- and up, which is maybe top third class.

Two years ago, we knew kids who got into UVA who were very good students, but they had not gotten into their first choice Ivies. So no I would not say that UVA is Ivy level. Ivy level is insane these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dean J keeps stressing that UVA does a holistic review.

But in reality all they look at is course selection ( did u take the hardest courses) and what grades did u get.

So is the “holistic” part just an act to be like a more “elite” school?

They are serious about rigor. Engineering applicant from NOVA with 4.5 and 1560 was waitlisted. Maxed out on math, history and science APs but did not bother to take Lang or lit. I warned him! Thats okay. 3rd year at UMD with a Google internship summer of 26.

This is where I get really annoyed with UVA admissions. I say that as an alum and as a parent of a kid who just applied. Your kid sounds great and it's UVA's loss. My kid also maxxed out on AP classes in most subjects, BUT he stopped taking a foreign language to do it. The classes he wanted to take wouldn't all fit if he took it so he made a choice. We supported him following his interests. We'll see what UVA does.

For every kid who “Maxed out on math, history and science APs but did not bother to take Lang or lit” there are five kids who maxed out on math, history and science APs and did lang and lit APs. You have to know what you’re competing against, and UVA does not lose by admitting the latter group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there ever an instance where a 3.5 kid can get in coming from Sidwell or NCS (no APs)?

Unlikely but ask your counselor. On a weighted scale, you probably need a 4.6 and maximum rigor, 35 ACT, etc.

Sidwell and NCS don’t weight grades. Clearly you have no idea what you are talking about

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course Dean J says its 'holistic'. Makes her job look important.

But in reality they have too many applications to sort through.

At TJ ( I am looking at Naviance as I type this) not a SINGLE applicant was declined if they had GPA over 4.47

and

not a SINGLE application got accepted if the GPA was below 4.32

Clearly they are based of GPA. The Naviance chart looks like those weather forecasts...with a clear 'front' of accepts, behind which are declines..

This is exactly the same at our school (DMV private). A weather forecast is the perfect description. If you switch the scattergram to the list version, the acceptances are in order of weighted GPA. It is completely based on GPA and test score.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course Dean J says its 'holistic'. Makes her job look important.

But in reality they have too many applications to sort through.

At TJ ( I am looking at Naviance as I type this) not a SINGLE applicant was declined if they had GPA over 4.47

and

not a SINGLE application got accepted if the GPA was below 4.32

Clearly they are based of GPA. The Naviance chart looks like those weather forecasts...with a clear 'front' of accepts, behind which are declines..

This is exactly the same at our school (DMV private). A weather forecast is the perfect description. If you switch the scattergram to the list version, the acceptances are in order of weighted GPA. It is completely based on GPA and test score.

Everyone here is trying to explain it to you and you refuse to get it. It’s getting funny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course Dean J says its 'holistic'. Makes her job look important.

But in reality they have too many applications to sort through.

At TJ ( I am looking at Naviance as I type this) not a SINGLE applicant was declined if they had GPA over 4.47

and

not a SINGLE application got accepted if the GPA was below 4.32

Clearly they are based of GPA. The Naviance chart looks like those weather forecasts...with a clear 'front' of accepts, behind which are declines..

What might people have done to have over a 4.4 GPA? Maybe they maxed out in all of their subjects?

What might the lower GPAs mean? Maybe not taking the most rigor?

You’re deliberately not getting it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course Dean J says its 'holistic'. Makes her job look important.

But in reality they have too many applications to sort through.

At TJ ( I am looking at Naviance as I type this) not a SINGLE applicant was declined if they had GPA over 4.47

and

not a SINGLE application got accepted if the GPA was below 4.32

Clearly they are based of GPA. The Naviance chart looks like those weather forecasts...with a clear 'front' of accepts, behind which are declines..

This is exactly the same at our school (DMV private). A weather forecast is the perfect description. If you switch the scattergram to the list version, the acceptances are in order of weighted GPA. It is completely based on GPA and test score.

Our DC (McLean/Langley) was just below the weather forecast front "line", with a 4.3 weighted GPA (at the time of application) and 1500 SAT. DC had average ECs, 3 years of one foreign language and 2 years of another (neither AP), 9 APs (environmental science, world and US history, lang, etc.). We honestly did not think DC would get admitted into UVA and planned accordingly during admissions. Yet DC was admitted in the EA round.

So, IMHO, the holistic part kicks in on the margins, as it did for DC. To use a football analogy, if you need to get 1-2 yards to get the touchdown, the holistic stuff is the "tush push" that gets you into the end zone. But holistics aren't going to get you 10 yards on a chunk play, let alone a 50 yard Hail Mary pass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dean J keeps stressing that UVA does a holistic review.

But in reality all they look at is course selection ( did u take the hardest courses) and what grades did u get.

So is the “holistic” part just an act to be like a more “elite” school?

They are serious about rigor. Engineering applicant from NOVA with 4.5 and 1560 was waitlisted. Maxed out on math, history and science APs but did not bother to take Lang or lit. I warned him! Thats okay. 3rd year at UMD with a Google internship summer of 26.

This is where I get really annoyed with UVA admissions. I say that as an alum and as a parent of a kid who just applied. Your kid sounds great and it's UVA's loss. My kid also maxxed out on AP classes in most subjects, BUT he stopped taking a foreign language to do it. The classes he wanted to take wouldn't all fit if he took it so he made a choice. We supported him following his interests. We'll see what UVA does.

They say what they want and then you get mad when their decision reflects that? We all know they consider language a core subject.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dean J keeps stressing that UVA does a holistic review.

But in reality all they look at is course selection ( did u take the hardest courses) and what grades did u get.

So is the “holistic” part just an act to be like a more “elite” school?

They are serious about rigor. Engineering applicant from NOVA with 4.5 and 1560 was waitlisted. Maxed out on math, history and science APs but did not bother to take Lang or lit. I warned him! Thats okay. 3rd year at UMD with a Google internship summer of 26.

This wording is really telling. If your kid is dismissive of any particular core subject area, that’s not what they’re looking for (at least not in A&S). They want well-rounded and curious. They don’t admit to major because they don’t expect a 17 year old should be so sure yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dean J keeps stressing that UVA does a holistic review.

But in reality all they look at is course selection ( did u take the hardest courses) and what grades did u get.

So is the “holistic” part just an act to be like a more “elite” school?

They are serious about rigor. Engineering applicant from NOVA with 4.5 and 1560 was waitlisted. Maxed out on math, history and science APs but did not bother to take Lang or lit. I warned him! Thats okay. 3rd year at UMD with a Google internship summer of 26.

This wording is really telling. If your kid is dismissive of any particular core subject area, that’s not what they’re looking for (at least not in A&S). They want well-rounded and curious. They don’t admit to major because they don’t expect a 17 year old should be so sure yet.

Ok

[Anonymous]

I graduated from UVa SEAS. Maybe admissions standards have become more relaxed, but I seriously doubt it.

Exceptions surely must exist, but every SEAS undergrad I knew had taken the same foreign language for all 4 years of HS and had taken the max (available at their HS) rigor in all core subjects that UVa Admissions talks about. The SEAS Dean also told us 1st day that our SAT Verbal and English test scores had a higher mean and a higher median than the CLAS students mean and median -- and that this had been true for decades. The Dean was quite chuffed about it.

Even the guy in AeroE who was poor and from a deprived Appalachian county in SW VA had done so 4 yrs same foreign language (French in his case).

[Anonymous]

"Same foreign language" above should be "single foreign language". Which language obviously varied by student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dean J keeps stressing that UVA does a holistic review.

But in reality all they look at is course selection ( did u take the hardest courses) and what grades did u get.

So is the “holistic” part just an act to be like a more “elite” school?

They are serious about rigor. Engineering applicant from NOVA with 4.5 and 1560 was waitlisted. Maxed out on math, history and science APs but did not bother to take Lang or lit. I warned him! Thats okay. 3rd year at UMD with a Google internship summer of 26.

This is where I get really annoyed with UVA admissions. I say that as an alum and as a parent of a kid who just applied. Your kid sounds great and it's UVA's loss. My kid also maxxed out on AP classes in most subjects, BUT he stopped taking a foreign language to do it. The classes he wanted to take wouldn't all fit if he took it so he made a choice. We supported him following his interests. We'll see what UVA does.

They say what they want and then you get mad when their decision reflects that? We all know they consider language a core subject.

No I don't know what their decision is yet. I disagree with their formulaic focus on a foreign language in admissions, no matter what the kid's interests. I think they should consider the transcript more broadly in light of its rigor and the student's interests, not one particular subject. It seems ludicrous to penalize a STEM kid for taking a two-period AP science course instead of continuing with a foreign language.