Let’s just talk VA public colleges
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
Sorry, but the stats disagree with what you are saying. With one exception, all standardized test scores of the incoming (attending) class at UVA last fall had higher scores at UVA. High School GPAs, also, across the board, were higher at UVA. But interview and level of interest as "not considered" is probably true because UVA is now receiving 41,000 applications and can't track the 80,000 or more that tour. Here are the stats for the entering students at UVA last fall (enter the school's name and hit update). Since these are students who actually enrolled, not admitted, they are lower than what an applicant should be aiming for, especially from NOVA: UVA SAT top 75th percental median: 1480; median 1420; bottom 25th percentile 33. CWM is 1490 (that was the one exception); 1400 and 1310. ACT stats for UVA were 34 for top 75th percentile, 32 and 30. W&M were 33, 32, 30. GPA: UVA top 75th percentile 4.48; 4.33 median, 4.16 bottom 25th percentile. CWM was a 4.43/4.24 and 4.05 for bottom 25th percentile. http://research.schev.edu//rdPage.aspx?rdReport=enrollment.B10_FreshmanProfile&lbUNITID=231624&lbREPYEAR=1819 |
Anonymous
OK. But since it isn't fall 2019 yet, I'm not sure what that means. Does it mean only they didn't go to wait lists? I'm pretty sure other schools will likely hit enrollment targets on the SCHEV site in the fall. |
Anonymous
That article is VT trying to turn their enrollment management failure into a positive. Other schools purposefully enroll fewer and then take from the waitlist on May 2, 3 etc. so they don't have the VT nightmare. The year before VT had the biggest "underenrollment" that they managed by taking off the waitlist like most responsible schools do. Out of all the schools, VT vacillates the most in missing their enrollment targets in both directions. |
Anonymous
Geez, it was a comparison of factors stated by the respective admission offices in the Common Data Sets, not stats. Most of the factors aren't reflected in any available stat anyway (essay, interview, volunteer work, recommendations, interest). And what I conveyed is directly from the admissions offices, so it really isn't "what I am saying". The rating of the factors tells you what might help or hurt your chances of admission at each school. Like the previous poster said, the interview may be helpful at W&M but isn't an option at UVA. Interest and volunteer work, essay, etc., may also be relatively more of a benefit at W&M vs UVA. UVA probably places more overall weighting on grades (although the admission office always tries to point out that it is really about the transcript -- difficulty of classes and grading - rather than simply GPA). |
Anonymous
Yes, this is kind of like saying "we're doing well because we filled all our spots" with the initial acceptances. But a college has an obligation not to over enroll and cram kids they accepted into dorm rooms, hotel rooms, and classrooms. |
Anonymous
I trust a university administrator as little as the next guy, but then there's also the fact that overall enrollment in VA has been falling for the last several years across all institutions (for VA, the decline was 1.7% from 2018 to 2019, with -1% and -.9% the years before. The number of enrolled undergrads in Title IV schools fell from 480,073 in Spring 17 to 467,031 in Spring 19. Those students VT overadmitted would otherwise have filled other institutions' rolls, and those institutions are still short.) |
Anonymous
The scores between UVA and W&M are virtually identical--these are not meaningful differences But what I would say looking at NOVA Naviance is that UVA is very tight on GPA--they rarely dip lower than the top 10% of GPA in a given school regardless of SAT. So at W&M a 1500 will cut you a bit of slack on GPA whereas at UVA it won't. Also UVA is fairly even across gender, but at W&M in-state men are admitted with slightly lower scores. |
Anonymous
None of the top 5 or so Virginia public schools are short on their enrollments that I know of (the NACAC list was pulled July 1, but I don't think any were on it). Many (as they do every year) pull from their waitlist, but actually there was a smaller percent pulled this year than last year from UVA and W&M. |
Anonymous
What I know most have done is reduce their future enrollment forecasts to the state to match demographic changes. |
Anonymous
There has been a big drop off in Community College enrollment. I think the top schools still have a good number of quality applicants and stats may even come up. The ones that are struggling the most are the less selective and the smaller private schools. |
Anonymous
The oversubscription is a huge positive. What school doesn't want to be oversubscribed in that way? It made national news. Yes, some students are now being paid to go to community college or taking the $1000 not to show up. win-win for VT. |
Anonymous
Citation please. I have not seen that in the Chronicle of HIgher Ed or anywhere else. |
Anonymous
Well, pretty much any school could do it by admitting more than they should (and then have to pay students not to show up). |
Anonymous
The SCHEV website is perhaps a good source. See http://research.schev.edu//enrollment/E2_Spring_Report.asp For instance, if you select Grand Total, all years, All students, Undergraduates (IN/Out) you get stats that show that total enrollment peaked in 2012. Now if you select "Total Public Four Year" you see an (slightly) increasing trend, the (slight) growth in the last 10 years due to out-of-state students - VA students pretty much constant. If you further break it down, you see declines at smaller schools (e.g. Longwood, ODU, Norfolk state, Radford, etc.) and modest growth at the larger schools. The number of HS grads in Virginia dipped in the mid 201* and I think is now slowly climbing back to 200* levels (based on a few data points I checked, would like to see a full graph). Thus, it has not gotten harder to get into a 4-year public, if anything slighly easier than 10 years ago. It probably has gotten a lot easier to get into lower-ranked schools. |
Anonymous
Nope. Retention and graduation rates will take a hit unless there is an immediate influx of resources, which isn't happening in VT's case. In addition, SCHEV will censure VT over this. Tech took students who could have enrolled at other schools. The fact that JMU went hard to their waitlist and several Virginia publics were on the open space list is a direct result of VT's poor projection of their yield. Also, this is happening every other year at Tech. They can't seem to get it right. That points to serious issues in their enrollment management team. |