I wish UVA accepted more in state students. It's BS how Virginia isn't taking care of its own. My kid maybe still wouldn't have gotten in, but I don't understand why they can't take more in state.

I remember seeing this picture posted last summer and I was surprised to see so many students accepted from one OOS high school (Reservoir). FWIW, there were also 300+ applicants.

https://x.com/michaeltrivette/status/1803784636360741163

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems nearly impossible to get into this school from out of state. Why are so many people obsessed with it? Is it that much better than lots of other state flagships?

This. It’s not actually better than other flagships.

The easiest way for a state flagship to appear so much more exclusive is to dramatically restrict OOS acceptances. It's comical how folks fall for this.

I respect that UMD accepts essentially the same numbers in-state and OOS. Seems like if they wanted to implement the same restrictions as UNC and UT, then all the sudden everyone would think UMD is 10x better overnight.

The goal isn’t to appear exclusive though, it’s to educate its own state citizens which is a good thing. I’m a resident, it’s even tough for in-state kids from competitive counties and schools, and has trickled down to the other state schools as well. The population explosion can’t keep up.

Anonymous wrote:It seems nearly impossible to get into this school from out of state. Why are so many people obsessed with it? Is it that much better than lots of other state flagships?

For OOS, tuition and fees are about $15K-20K less per year compared to UVA or Michigan. So $65K vs $80K-$85K per year for OOS students.
When we visited, our student guides were very warm and friendly. They made it seem like a really fun place to go to school.

Anonymous wrote:It seems nearly impossible to get into this school from out of state. Why are so many people obsessed with it? Is it that much better than lots of other state flagships?

My kid applied because they were a Morehead Cain nominee and also because of UNC's Chancellor's Science Scholarship program, which is a full-ride for science majors:

https://chancellorssciencescholars.unc.edu/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ours got in unhooked OOS last year. FCPS. Almost 4.6/1580. Normal ECs, good amount of leadership, but nothing crazy. Not sure other than stats what tipped the scales.

Did your kid wind up going?

No

Anonymous wrote:Ours got in unhooked OOS last year. FCPS. Almost 4.6/1580. Normal ECs, good amount of leadership, but nothing crazy. Not sure other than stats what tipped the scales.

Did your kid wind up going?

Ours got in unhooked OOS last year. FCPS. Almost 4.6/1580. Normal ECs, good amount of leadership, but nothing crazy. Not sure other than stats what tipped the scales.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems nearly impossible to get into this school from out of state. Why are so many people obsessed with it? Is it that much better than lots of other state flagships?

This. It’s not actually better than other flagships.

The easiest way for a state flagship to appear so much more exclusive is to dramatically restrict OOS acceptances. It's comical how folks fall for this.

I respect that UMD accepts essentially the same numbers in-state and OOS. Seems like if they wanted to implement the same restrictions as UNC and UT, then all the sudden everyone would think UMD is 10x better overnight.

I know one girl from a strong NoVa high school who got in without a hook, but it was for 1st semester abroad. Strong student so all the usual high stats. I don't think there's formula for unhooked kids or everyone would do it and then it would work anyways.

Fwiw, my kid shot her shot at a different OOS public with a very low acceptance rate and shockingly (to us) was accepted. Unhooked, normal high stats, engaged kid. You just put together the best application possible and don't set you heart on it. That's all you can do.

Anonymous wrote:It seems nearly impossible to get into this school from out of state. Why are so many people obsessed with it? Is it that much better than lots of other state flagships?

This. It’s not actually better than other flagships.

It seems nearly impossible to get into this school from out of state. Why are so many people obsessed with it? Is it that much better than lots of other state flagships?

Waiting to find out the answer to this myself. Any thoughts on whether decisions will be 1/24 or 1/31?

You don’t stand out. Accept the odds and apply if you want, but know it’s highly unlikely. Focus on where your kid has a realistic chance rather than wasting your time on something you know isn’t going to happen

We know the OOS acceptance rate is extremely low.

We’d love to hear about UNHOOKED OOS kids who were accepted.

Is anyone willing to share stats and their thoughts about how/why their OOS student got in? The numbers are very daunting - curious what helps an OOS applicant stand out.

FWIW, we checked Naviance at our school (strong public, not in the DC area) and we didn’t see any acceptances (though our school’s data set is far from complete, unfortunately.)

Thanks!