Anonymous wrote:The “most rigorous” is not a myth. At all. My neighbor and her husband both attended UVA. Apparently they have some program where an admissions officer will look at alumni kids transcripts etc and let the parents know if their child has a real chance of admissions. They essentially told my neighbor that by taking AP calc AB and not taking physics C at his super tony, competitive public HS his course load is not “most rigorous” and most likely would not get into UVA. Ironically he is at Villanova for engineering now. This “review” for alumni kids is not a myth nor is what this woman reported to me. She and her husband may be considered VIP alumni since they are now very rich, so maybe this was a courtesy not available to all alumni.

Are they that nitpicky on everyone, or just engineering applicants?

UVA may be harder to get into than Villanova, but Villanova is not hugely religious. Some kids may be better with a smaller school and smaller classes.

Visit both. They are very different.

DS did not ED. He was rejected OOS at UVA but accepted at Villanova. Choose a different higher ranked (higher than Villanova) public. 1490 SAT and 3.9uw, 4.6w. I don't know if he would have gone to UVA if he would have gotten in only because he seems pretty set on business and UVA non direct admit is tough.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC(AAP kid) just graduated from a large pubic HS in Fairfax county.
95% of DC's friends go to either VT or UVA.

There's a good side on this, but I wanted my kid to get out and explore.
DC agreed, and got lucky with one of the REAs.
Cost is cheaper than UVA too.

Villanova was on the DC's college list if REAs didn't work out.
DC's inteded major is Business.
If it came down to direct business admit to Villanova vs UVA with similar cost.
DC was leaning toward Villanova mostly because of the major choice.
(UVA business is topnotch, but you have to gamble getting into the program, and Villanova business is not bad at all)

Even for other majors, I would not think there's a big difference between a T50 Priviate school vs a T30 Public school.
Comes down to persoanl preference, location, cost.

OP, a lot of misinformation in this thread. You can still get an Economics degree from UVA through CoAS so it's not a gamble. People are referring to McIntire School of Commerce which you apply to second year and is very selective. But as I have stated, you can still get an Econ degree without going to McIntire. For instance, my kid is a double major for Chem/Econ, his friend is a double major Econ/Computer Science. My kid has no desire to attend McIntire but friend does so they will attempt to get into McIntire to receive a Commerce degree but if not both will still graduate with a double major that includes Econ. As other's have stated, both are excellent schools but what UVA does offer is the chance to apply to McIntyre which is a highly respected program which is an added element to consider...good luck.

There's no misinformation. As you said UVA has Econ in Art & Science and McIntire(Business).
They are two separate things. McIntire gets way more respect from the industry in general.
It's very selective for a reason.

Econ/Comp Sci double major is actually greatly valuable(probably on par or even better than McIntire degree), also trying for McIntire and if fails, going with econ could be an option for UVA as you said, however my kid wanted to get into a respected dedicated business school.

In other words, my kid would choose Villanova Business over UVA Econ
Direct admission to UVA business would be better obviously, but it's a gamble.
So there's no misinformation.

In the end, the kid got into a good business program at a T20 school, so luckily didn't have to decide between those options.

It might not be "misinformation" per se, but to suggest that "95 percent" of your son's friends from his FCPS go to UVA or Tech somehow means that everyone from his school goes there is ridiculous. We all know that's not true. What it might mean, though, is that your son's friends were the smart kids, and those kids were both smart enough to get into one of these two highly selective and excellent schools and practical enough to realize that going somewhere else out of state or private makes absolutely no sense.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC(AAP kid) just graduated from a large pubic HS in Fairfax county.
95% of DC's friends go to either VT or UVA.

There's a good side on this, but I wanted my kid to get out and explore.
DC agreed, and got lucky with one of the REAs.
Cost is cheaper than UVA too.

Villanova was on the DC's college list if REAs didn't work out.
DC's inteded major is Business.
If it came down to direct business admit to Villanova vs UVA with similar cost.
DC was leaning toward Villanova mostly because of the major choice.
(UVA business is topnotch, but you have to gamble getting into the program, and Villanova business is not bad at all)

Even for other majors, I would not think there's a big difference between a T50 Priviate school vs a T30 Public school.
Comes down to persoanl preference, location, cost.

OP, a lot of misinformation in this thread. You can still get an Economics degree from UVA through CoAS so it's not a gamble. People are referring to McIntire School of Commerce which you apply to second year and is very selective. But as I have stated, you can still get an Econ degree without going to McIntire. For instance, my kid is a double major for Chem/Econ, his friend is a double major Econ/Computer Science. My kid has no desire to attend McIntire but friend does so they will attempt to get into McIntire to receive a Commerce degree but if not both will still graduate with a double major that includes Econ. As other's have stated, both are excellent schools but what UVA does offer is the chance to apply to McIntyre which is a highly respected program which is an added element to consider...good luck.

An Econ major doesn’t equate to a Business major, which includes technical skills in accounting, finance, etc. nothing wrong with an Econ major and lots of people go on to successful business careers with a BA in ECON, but if my kid were set on Business. never in a million years would I send him/her to UVA. I’d go with the college which offers direct admit every time.

Your opinion and a very narrow one. The majority of top schools don't offer undergraduate business degrees. Econ majors can take plenty of the core technical business classes whether in McIntire or not as part as the curriculum. Many of the professors they will have are part of McIntire and Darden and as I am sure you know any aspiring business student that wants to compete in the real world will continue to an MBA anyway. UVA offers the opportunity to work hard, excel and go to McIntire which is worlds better than anything Villanova can give a student. At the end of the day a successful Econ major from UVA or any school will have no issue getting into a great MBA program.

I don't think you have a good insight on this subject.
There are top schools that have dedicated business schools, and they are almost always way more respected than Econ in Art & Science.
Recruiters take them first.
UPENN, MIT, Notre Dame, Cornell, etc. UVA business is one of them as well as Berkley and UMich on the public side.

I'm not saying that UPENN business(wharton) is better than Yale Econ(where there's not dedicated business program)
However UPENN Wharton >> UPenn Econ just like UVA McIntire >> UVA Econ

I'm not PP but I'm 100% with the choice.
The kid wants business. That's personal preference and choice.
Then you choose a school with business, and get into the business program
It's not even an opinion.

Would you tell your kid who wants to major in physics that chemistry is also science and it's a good major so don't be narrow minded?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC(AAP kid) just graduated from a large pubic HS in Fairfax county.
95% of DC's friends go to either VT or UVA.

There's a good side on this, but I wanted my kid to get out and explore.
DC agreed, and got lucky with one of the REAs.
Cost is cheaper than UVA too.

Villanova was on the DC's college list if REAs didn't work out.
DC's inteded major is Business.
If it came down to direct business admit to Villanova vs UVA with similar cost.
DC was leaning toward Villanova mostly because of the major choice.
(UVA business is topnotch, but you have to gamble getting into the program, and Villanova business is not bad at all)

Even for other majors, I would not think there's a big difference between a T50 Priviate school vs a T30 Public school.
Comes down to persoanl preference, location, cost.

OP, a lot of misinformation in this thread. You can still get an Economics degree from UVA through CoAS so it's not a gamble. People are referring to McIntire School of Commerce which you apply to second year and is very selective. But as I have stated, you can still get an Econ degree without going to McIntire. For instance, my kid is a double major for Chem/Econ, his friend is a double major Econ/Computer Science. My kid has no desire to attend McIntire but friend does so they will attempt to get into McIntire to receive a Commerce degree but if not both will still graduate with a double major that includes Econ. As other's have stated, both are excellent schools but what UVA does offer is the chance to apply to McIntyre which is a highly respected program which is an added element to consider...good luck.

There's no misinformation. As you said UVA has Econ in Art & Science and McIntire(Business).
They are two separate things. McIntire gets way more respect from the industry in general.
It's very selective for a reason.

Econ/Comp Sci double major is actually greatly valuable(probably on par or even better than McIntire degree), also trying for McIntire and if fails, going with econ could be an option for UVA as you said, however my kid wanted to get into a respected dedicated business school.

In other words, my kid would choose Villanova Business over UVA Econ
Direct admission to UVA business would be better obviously, but it's a gamble.
So there's no misinformation.

In the end, the kid got into a good business program at a T20 school, so luckily didn't have to decide between those options.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC(AAP kid) just graduated from a large pubic HS in Fairfax county.
95% of DC's friends go to either VT or UVA.

There's a good side on this, but I wanted my kid to get out and explore.
DC agreed, and got lucky with one of the REAs.
Cost is cheaper than UVA too.

Villanova was on the DC's college list if REAs didn't work out.
DC's inteded major is Business.
If it came down to direct business admit to Villanova vs UVA with similar cost.
DC was leaning toward Villanova mostly because of the major choice.
(UVA business is topnotch, but you have to gamble getting into the program, and Villanova business is not bad at all)

Even for other majors, I would not think there's a big difference between a T50 Priviate school vs a T30 Public school.
Comes down to persoanl preference, location, cost.

OP, a lot of misinformation in this thread. You can still get an Economics degree from UVA through CoAS so it's not a gamble. People are referring to McIntire School of Commerce which you apply to second year and is very selective. But as I have stated, you can still get an Econ degree without going to McIntire. For instance, my kid is a double major for Chem/Econ, his friend is a double major Econ/Computer Science. My kid has no desire to attend McIntire but friend does so they will attempt to get into McIntire to receive a Commerce degree but if not both will still graduate with a double major that includes Econ. As other's have stated, both are excellent schools but what UVA does offer is the chance to apply to McIntyre which is a highly respected program which is an added element to consider...good luck.

An Econ major doesn’t equate to a Business major, which includes technical skills in accounting, finance, etc. nothing wrong with an Econ major and lots of people go on to successful business careers with a BA in ECON, but if my kid were set on Business. never in a million years would I send him/her to UVA. I’d go with the college which offers direct admit every time.

Because the only people who work in business have business degrees.

This is part of why this process has become so high stakes. Some of these colleges expect high school kids to know what they want to do already? It's ridiculous.

Well that's exactly the problem with UVA.
If you want to major in Business, you have to gameble and apply again.
It's easier to swtich out of business to something else later if you change mind.
So by chooing UVA, you have chance to lose a big option that you have in mind, business.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC(AAP kid) just graduated from a large pubic HS in Fairfax county.
95% of DC's friends go to either VT or UVA.

There's a good side on this, but I wanted my kid to get out and explore.
DC agreed, and got lucky with one of the REAs.
Cost is cheaper than UVA too.

Villanova was on the DC's college list if REAs didn't work out.
DC's inteded major is Business.
If it came down to direct business admit to Villanova vs UVA with similar cost.
DC was leaning toward Villanova mostly because of the major choice.
(UVA business is topnotch, but you have to gamble getting into the program, and Villanova business is not bad at all)

Even for other majors, I would not think there's a big difference between a T50 Priviate school vs a T30 Public school.
Comes down to persoanl preference, location, cost.

OP, a lot of misinformation in this thread. You can still get an Economics degree from UVA through CoAS so it's not a gamble. People are referring to McIntire School of Commerce which you apply to second year and is very selective. But as I have stated, you can still get an Econ degree without going to McIntire. For instance, my kid is a double major for Chem/Econ, his friend is a double major Econ/Computer Science. My kid has no desire to attend McIntire but friend does so they will attempt to get into McIntire to receive a Commerce degree but if not both will still graduate with a double major that includes Econ. As other's have stated, both are excellent schools but what UVA does offer is the chance to apply to McIntyre which is a highly respected program which is an added element to consider...good luck.

An Econ major doesn’t equate to a Business major, which includes technical skills in accounting, finance, etc. nothing wrong with an Econ major and lots of people go on to successful business careers with a BA in ECON, but if my kid were set on Business. never in a million years would I send him/her to UVA. I’d go with the college which offers direct admit every time.

Your opinion and a very narrow one. The majority of top schools don't offer undergraduate business degrees. Econ majors can take plenty of the core technical business classes whether in McIntire or not as part as the curriculum. Many of the professors they will have are part of McIntire and Darden and as I am sure you know any aspiring business student that wants to compete in the real world will continue to an MBA anyway. UVA offers the opportunity to work hard, excel and go to McIntire which is worlds better than anything Villanova can give a student. At the end of the day a successful Econ major from UVA or any school will have no issue getting into a great MBA program.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC(AAP kid) just graduated from a large pubic HS in Fairfax county.
95% of DC's friends go to either VT or UVA.

There's a good side on this, but I wanted my kid to get out and explore.
DC agreed, and got lucky with one of the REAs.
Cost is cheaper than UVA too.

Villanova was on the DC's college list if REAs didn't work out.
DC's inteded major is Business.
If it came down to direct business admit to Villanova vs UVA with similar cost.
DC was leaning toward Villanova mostly because of the major choice.
(UVA business is topnotch, but you have to gamble getting into the program, and Villanova business is not bad at all)

Even for other majors, I would not think there's a big difference between a T50 Priviate school vs a T30 Public school.
Comes down to persoanl preference, location, cost.

OP, a lot of misinformation in this thread. You can still get an Economics degree from UVA through CoAS so it's not a gamble. People are referring to McIntire School of Commerce which you apply to second year and is very selective. But as I have stated, you can still get an Econ degree without going to McIntire. For instance, my kid is a double major for Chem/Econ, his friend is a double major Econ/Computer Science. My kid has no desire to attend McIntire but friend does so they will attempt to get into McIntire to receive a Commerce degree but if not both will still graduate with a double major that includes Econ. As other's have stated, both are excellent schools but what UVA does offer is the chance to apply to McIntyre which is a highly respected program which is an added element to consider...good luck.

An Econ major doesn’t equate to a Business major, which includes technical skills in accounting, finance, etc. nothing wrong with an Econ major and lots of people go on to successful business careers with a BA in ECON, but if my kid were set on Business. never in a million years would I send him/her to UVA. I’d go with the college which offers direct admit every time.

Because the only people who work in business have business degrees.

This is part of why this process has become so high stakes. Some of these colleges expect high school kids to know what they want to do already? It's ridiculous.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC(AAP kid) just graduated from a large pubic HS in Fairfax county.
95% of DC's friends go to either VT or UVA.

There's a good side on this, but I wanted my kid to get out and explore.
DC agreed, and got lucky with one of the REAs.
Cost is cheaper than UVA too.

Villanova was on the DC's college list if REAs didn't work out.
DC's inteded major is Business.
If it came down to direct business admit to Villanova vs UVA with similar cost.
DC was leaning toward Villanova mostly because of the major choice.
(UVA business is topnotch, but you have to gamble getting into the program, and Villanova business is not bad at all)

Even for other majors, I would not think there's a big difference between a T50 Priviate school vs a T30 Public school.
Comes down to persoanl preference, location, cost.

OP, a lot of misinformation in this thread. You can still get an Economics degree from UVA through CoAS so it's not a gamble. People are referring to McIntire School of Commerce which you apply to second year and is very selective. But as I have stated, you can still get an Econ degree without going to McIntire. For instance, my kid is a double major for Chem/Econ, his friend is a double major Econ/Computer Science. My kid has no desire to attend McIntire but friend does so they will attempt to get into McIntire to receive a Commerce degree but if not both will still graduate with a double major that includes Econ. As other's have stated, both are excellent schools but what UVA does offer is the chance to apply to McIntyre which is a highly respected program which is an added element to consider...good luck.

An Econ major doesn’t equate to a Business major, which includes technical skills in accounting, finance, etc. nothing wrong with an Econ major and lots of people go on to successful business careers with a BA in ECON, but if my kid were set on Business. never in a million years would I send him/her to UVA. I’d go with the college which offers direct admit every time.

Anonymous wrote:My DC(AAP kid) just graduated from a large pubic HS in Fairfax county.
95% of DC's friends go to either VT or UVA.

There's a good side on this, but I wanted my kid to get out and explore.
DC agreed, and got lucky with one of the REAs.
Cost is cheaper than UVA too.

Villanova was on the DC's college list if REAs didn't work out.
DC's inteded major is Business.
If it came down to direct business admit to Villanova vs UVA with similar cost.
DC was leaning toward Villanova mostly because of the major choice.
(UVA business is topnotch, but you have to gamble getting into the program, and Villanova business is not bad at all)

Even for other majors, I would not think there's a big difference between a T50 Priviate school vs a T30 Public school.
Comes down to persoanl preference, location, cost.

OP, a lot of misinformation in this thread. You can still get an Economics degree from UVA through CoAS so it's not a gamble. People are referring to McIntire School of Commerce which you apply to second year and is very selective. But as I have stated, you can still get an Econ degree without going to McIntire. For instance, my kid is a double major for Chem/Econ, his friend is a double major Econ/Computer Science. My kid has no desire to attend McIntire but friend does so they will attempt to get into McIntire to receive a Commerce degree but if not both will still graduate with a double major that includes Econ. As other's have stated, both are excellent schools but what UVA does offer is the chance to apply to McIntyre which is a highly respected program which is an added element to consider...good luck.

My DC(AAP kid) just graduated from a large pubic HS in Fairfax county.
95% of DC's friends go to either VT or UVA.

There's a good side on this, but I wanted my kid to get out and explore.
DC agreed, and got lucky with one of the REAs.
Cost is cheaper than UVA too.

Villanova was on the DC's college list if REAs didn't work out.
DC's inteded major is Business.
If it came down to direct business admit to Villanova vs UVA with similar cost.
DC was leaning toward Villanova mostly because of the major choice.
(UVA business is topnotch, but you have to gamble getting into the program, and Villanova business is not bad at all)

Even for other majors, I would not think there's a big difference between a T50 Priviate school vs a T30 Public school.
Comes down to persoanl preference, location, cost.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you lived in Boston/NYC/DC then you probably didn't tell girls "Would you date a black guy?" or "Stop! You should have your brother or dad plug it in!" in front of him. Have him be the shining star at Villanova. The "culture" of Charlottesville is extremely strong with deep social consequences. Even mention of Alderman housing on this very board got someone suspecting racism it is so prevalent. No Richard Spencers or Jason Kesslers from Villanova.

You don't know Villanova as well as you think. It's a fine school academically, no doubt about it, but it's super wealthy and super white and far less diverse and intellectual than UVA. It has long had a reputation as the school of choice for wealthy, insulated Catholics in the greater Philadelphia area who are quite quick to point their noses up at anyone else.

80% of the students are from Northern VA for UVA
Diverse? LOL

and again... even IF they were 80% from NOVA which of course they are NOT, NOVA is probably one of the most ethnically diverse places on the east coast. Very international with people from all over. Many many new immigrants in the area and others who are relatively new to the US.
I'm from New England and my ancestors have been here since the 1700s, you don't see that nearly as much in NOVA as you would in the northeast, where alot of people are going to be coming to Villanova from.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you lived in Boston/NYC/DC then you probably didn't tell girls "Would you date a black guy?" or "Stop! You should have your brother or dad plug it in!" in front of him. Have him be the shining star at Villanova. The "culture" of Charlottesville is extremely strong with deep social consequences. Even mention of Alderman housing on this very board got someone suspecting racism it is so prevalent. No Richard Spencers or Jason Kesslers from Villanova.

You don't know Villanova as well as you think. It's a fine school academically, no doubt about it, but it's super wealthy and super white and far less diverse and intellectual than UVA. It has long had a reputation as the school of choice for wealthy, insulated Catholics in the greater Philadelphia area who are quite quick to point their noses up at anyone else.

80% of the students are from Northern VA for UVA
Diverse? LOL

Why not google first before spouting off nonsense? UVA is 1/3 NOVA, 1/3 the rest of VA, and 1/3 out of state. 80 percent of Villanova undergrads are from the greater Philadelphia/Tri-State area, which geographically and demographically is no larger of an area.

This is true. My DS applied and was accepted to UVA from Va Beach Schools.