Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The most fascinating part of it all is UVA telling students that they look at the whole applicant and there isn’t really a number of AP classes that are needed and SAT scores aren’t that important. The live Instagram stories say this but the results show a completely different reality.

+1

Nailed it. Check the right box and you are in, basically.

I don't think this is right. My kid (HS class of 22) had a 4.5 wGPA (3.98 GPA) and a 35 SAT, plus 5 AP's, one DE class, a full IB Diploma, and a solid EC profile with good leadership (captain of HS and club sports teams, Eagle Scout). No obvious hooks (legacy, recruited athlete, URM, first-gen). Applied EA to UVa, was deferred, and ultimate waitlisted. I think his school had roughly 40 kids who ended up going to UVa, many of whom I think had "worse" stats than him (based on his friends who got in), but who were still very strong candidates. I just think it can be very hard at certain schools. His Naviance checkmark going forward is going to show red in a sea of green.

Then he likely had relatively poor essays and recommendation letters. He should've spent more time editing and polishing.

PP here. Strongly disagree, as I have a strong sample who was admitted the last five years or so to UVA. UVA is trying to up their "diversity" game in a rather large way. Some really strong (not chosen, won't go into detail) candidates have been turned down in favor of strong, but not as strong, candidates.

I don't know anyone who does not want to believe they were admitted on merits alone.

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Anonymous wrote:10-12 APs?! Jeez. Sounds impossible to get in.

Nah. My kid hit that pretty easily, without being some overstressed, study at midnight, brilliant academic rockstar.

10: World History and Human Geo
11: APUSH, European, English Lang, Latin
12: Macro, Micro, English Lit, US Gov, Comp Gov

That’s 11. Clearly a humanities kid. Not doing anything special at her HS— in fact, stood out in her class for avoiding AP STEM classes (took non-AP Calc) and piling on the humanities. The key for her was going for literally every AP in her area of interest and not struggling for a year (maybe with tutoring) to pull out a kinda okay grade in math or science.

34 ACT, which hits Langley’s media

Attending WM. Did not apply to UVA.

WM is much, much easier to get into.

Not in the last couple of years. Our HS had 4.3+/1500s locked out last year. RD admission was a bloodbath— and that’s looking at the top 10-15% of the class. They will take different kids though. UVA wants the APs across all five core subjects, cares more aBout GPA than test scores and doesn’t cut ED much of a break. WM really likes ED applicants considers test scores more (or did pre-COVID) and likes the the interesting, pointy kids like PP who went very deep In some areas and less so in another. Different schools, different admissions philosophies.

I know ED apps to WM were up 25% this year over last. So it’s going to be another tough year for admissions.

The fact that WM is selective does not mean it is as selective as UVA.

Okay. UVA wins. Grand Pooh nah school of the World. But if it takes 11 APs to get into WM, seems like 10-12 is low for UVA. Probably more like 14. And if 4.3/1500s are bEIng rejected, from WM, you woUld need 4.4-4.5 for UVA. Yes?

Yes, it is statistically more difficult to get into UVAz the 75th percentile of enrolled students last year had a 4.53 gpa, ACT of 34 and sat of 1520. That’s the stats for enrolled, not admitted students (stats of admitted are higher -some students pick Ivies or SLACs over UVA). W&Ms stats are slightly lower across the board

Where are you getting those stats?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it is quite as impossible to get into UVA as some of the posts here would indicate.

…

When DC applied, GPA was 3.97/4.452 (going off of memory here), SAT low 1500s. GPA after graduation was a bit over 4.5w.

I’m the PP you are quoting. The point of my (perhaps long-winded) post was that 13 APs is not necessary.

It’s necessary if the other top 5 percent in your own high school are taking that many courses. UVA is clear it wants students you have taken advantage of the most rigorous courses offered by the school. Your public high school college counselor can tell you this and show you Naviance (warts and all). Ask the counselor if they are going to check off the “most rigorous” box. They might not tell you but you should telegraph that you know about it and are concerned

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:10-12 APs?! Jeez. Sounds impossible to get in.

Nah. My kid hit that pretty easily, without being some overstressed, study at midnight, brilliant academic rockstar.

10: World History and Human Geo
11: APUSH, European, English Lang, Latin
12: Macro, Micro, English Lit, US Gov, Comp Gov

That’s 11. Clearly a humanities kid. Not doing anything special at her HS— in fact, stood out in her class for avoiding AP STEM classes (took non-AP Calc) and piling on the humanities. The key for her was going for literally every AP in her area of interest and not struggling for a year (maybe with tutoring) to pull out a kinda okay grade in math or science.

34 ACT, which hits Langley’s media

Attending WM. Did not apply to UVA.

WM is much, much easier to get into.

Not in the last couple of years. Our HS had 4.3+/1500s locked out last year. RD admission was a bloodbath— and that’s looking at the top 10-15% of the class. They will take different kids though. UVA wants the APs across all five core subjects, cares more aBout GPA than test scores and doesn’t cut ED much of a break. WM really likes ED applicants considers test scores more (or did pre-COVID) and likes the the interesting, pointy kids like PP who went very deep In some areas and less so in another. Different schools, different admissions philosophies.

I know ED apps to WM were up 25% this year over last. So it’s going to be another tough year for admissions.

The fact that WM is selective does not mean it is as selective as UVA.

Okay. UVA wins. Grand Pooh nah school of the World. But if it takes 11 APs to get into WM, seems like 10-12 is low for UVA. Probably more like 14. And if 4.3/1500s are bEIng rejected, from WM, you woUld need 4.4-4.5 for UVA. Yes?

Yes, it is statistically more difficult to get into UVAz the 75th percentile of enrolled students last year had a 4.53 gpa, ACT of 34 and sat of 1520. That’s the stats for enrolled, not admitted students (stats of admitted are higher -some students pick Ivies or SLACs over UVA). W&Ms stats are slightly lower across the board

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The most fascinating part of it all is UVA telling students that they look at the whole applicant and there isn’t really a number of AP classes that are needed and SAT scores aren’t that important. The live Instagram stories say this but the results show a completely different reality.

It depends on where the student is coming from. UVA can, and should, expect a lot more from a kid from Langley or McLean than from a kid in a less privileged part of the state.

Sure. What about a kid from a less well ranked NOVA HS, such as, for instance, South Lakes or Fairfax High? I suspect a school like Annandale or Justice may not have enough of a peer group and student body interest to really prepare students for a flagship state university. But these average high schools are capable and I wonder if they have some degree of admission boost.

Twenty-four Justice graduates are freshmen at UVA this year. Quite a few more were accepted but went elsewhere. Many of these students were IB students and were well-prepared. https://www.instagram.com/justice22decisions. It may not be as much as other NoVA schools, but to stay there isn't enough "interest to really prepare students for a flagship state university" is inaccurate.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it is quite as impossible to get into UVA as some of the posts here would indicate.

…

When DC applied, GPA was 3.97/4.452 (going off of memory here), SAT low 1500s. GPA after graduation was a bit over 4.5w.

I’m the PP you are quoting. The point of my (perhaps long-winded) post was that 13 APs is not necessary.

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it is quite as impossible to get into UVA as some of the posts here would indicate.

…

When DC applied, GPA was 3.97/4.452 (going off of memory here), SAT low 1500s. GPA after graduation was a bit over 4.5w.

I mean, UVA will soon enough be seeing north of 100,000 applicants a year, with no meaningful increase in class size. That, coupled with the craziness/jealousy of nova parents will be a sight to behold.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The most fascinating part of it all is UVA telling students that they look at the whole applicant and there isn’t really a number of AP classes that are needed and SAT scores aren’t that important. The live Instagram stories say this but the results show a completely different reality.

It depends on where the student is coming from. UVA can, and should, expect a lot more from a kid from Langley or McLean than from a kid in a less privileged part of the state.

Clearly it’s kids compared to kids from their school. The point is that if we are looking at a school system where AP classes are widely available, they will not be looking at the student at all without a crapload of AP classes. Period. Then if the kid has those courses, they will start to give the student another look.

Instead of telling students there is no minimum number of AP classes or test scores, they should be upfront and say: yes, if APs are available, take as many as you can, all four years. Rather than: we don’t look at it as needing a certain number of AP classes. It’s smoke and mirrors, as someone else said.

Honestly I feel like Dean J does say this. She is constantly saying that it is a highly selective school and they look for students pushing themselves across the board.

I disagree.

It depends what boxes you check and which school district you are from.

Anonymous wrote:DD is in. One AP class - psychology - gpa 4.0 - ACT=27

School? There is no way this happened if other AP classes were available or if there are other facts that make the case more unique: IB, transferred, URM, athlete, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The most fascinating part of it all is UVA telling students that they look at the whole applicant and there isn’t really a number of AP classes that are needed and SAT scores aren’t that important. The live Instagram stories say this but the results show a completely different reality.

It depends on where the student is coming from. UVA can, and should, expect a lot more from a kid from Langley or McLean than from a kid in a less privileged part of the state.

Clearly it’s kids compared to kids from their school. The point is that if we are looking at a school system where AP classes are widely available, they will not be looking at the student at all without a crapload of AP classes. Period. Then if the kid has those courses, they will start to give the student another look.

Instead of telling students there is no minimum number of AP classes or test scores, they should be upfront and say: yes, if APs are available, take as many as you can, all four years. Rather than: we don’t look at it as needing a certain number of AP classes. It’s smoke and mirrors, as someone else said.

Honestly I feel like Dean J does say this. She is constantly saying that it is a highly selective school and they look for students pushing themselves across the board.

I disagree.

I don't think it is quite as impossible to get into UVA as some of the posts here would indicate. (Of course, it's also possible that I have no idea what I'm talking about).

My kid is a first year at UVA. Went to either Langley or McLean (trying not to out my kid). Took 9 total APs (most of them challenging and in core subjects). Didn't do any of the GPA gaming tactics mentioned in this thread (taking things pass/fail). Didn't try to get permission to take APs in 9th or more than AP World in 10th. DC did take 4 years of a foreign language in HS, including AP.

When DC applied, GPA was 3.97/4.452 (going off of memory here), SAT low 1500s. GPA after graduation was a bit over 4.5w. DC was definitely not an outlier. Had a few friends who also got in who definitely didn't take more APs or get better grades. Decent ECs but not remarkable in any way.

The kids who take 13+ APs will have a bit more leeway in not acing every class and still ending up with a 4.4 or so GPA when applying in senior year (that seemed to be the GPA line in naviance where there were mostly green checks).

Of course there are many kids with DC's stats (or better) who don't get in, so it's definitely a bit of a crap shoot. Just sharing our experience in case it's helpful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The most fascinating part of it all is UVA telling students that they look at the whole applicant and there isn’t really a number of AP classes that are needed and SAT scores aren’t that important. The live Instagram stories say this but the results show a completely different reality.

It depends on where the student is coming from. UVA can, and should, expect a lot more from a kid from Langley or McLean than from a kid in a less privileged part of the state.

Clearly it’s kids compared to kids from their school. The point is that if we are looking at a school system where AP classes are widely available, they will not be looking at the student at all without a crapload of AP classes. Period. Then if the kid has those courses, they will start to give the student another look.

Instead of telling students there is no minimum number of AP classes or test scores, they should be upfront and say: yes, if APs are available, take as many as you can, all four years. Rather than: we don’t look at it as needing a certain number of AP classes. It’s smoke and mirrors, as someone else said.

Honestly I feel like Dean J does say this. She is constantly saying that it is a highly selective school and they look for students pushing themselves across the board.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The most fascinating part of it all is UVA telling students that they look at the whole applicant and there isn’t really a number of AP classes that are needed and SAT scores aren’t that important. The live Instagram stories say this but the results show a completely different reality.

+1

Nailed it. Check the right box and you are in, basically.

I don't think this is right. My kid (HS class of 22) had a 4.5 wGPA (3.98 GPA) and a 35 SAT, plus 5 AP's, one DE class, a full IB Diploma, and a solid EC profile with good leadership (captain of HS and club sports teams, Eagle Scout). No obvious hooks (legacy, recruited athlete, URM, first-gen). Applied EA to UVa, was deferred, and ultimate waitlisted. I think his school had roughly 40 kids who ended up going to UVa, many of whom I think had "worse" stats than him (based on his friends who got in), but who were still very strong candidates. I just think it can be very hard at certain schools. His Naviance checkmark going forward is going to show red in a sea of green.

Then he likely had relatively poor essays and recommendation letters. He should've spent more time editing and polishing.

It's possible his essays weren't great, especially the supplementals, but I would be very surprised if his recommendations weren't at least good, if not great. To the previous poster who asked how many AP's were offered at his school, I don't know the exact answer, but it's many. But keep in mind that he had 6 two-year IB classes. Even if you only count the HL (high level) classes, that would be equivalent to an additional 6 AP classes, for a total of 11, which doesn't even account for the 6 IB SL (standard level) classes he took. In terms of basic rigor, I think he was fine. He did not take any science APs of IB HL classes (other than Psych AP and Calc. AB), so that could have hurt his application. He had excellent WL credit (AP with a 5 and then post AP with his IB class).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The most fascinating part of it all is UVA telling students that they look at the whole applicant and there isn’t really a number of AP classes that are needed and SAT scores aren’t that important. The live Instagram stories say this but the results show a completely different reality.

+1

Nailed it. Check the right box and you are in, basically.

I don't think this is right. My kid (HS class of 22) had a 4.5 wGPA (3.98 GPA) and a 35 SAT, plus 5 AP's, one DE class, a full IB Diploma, and a solid EC profile with good leadership (captain of HS and club sports teams, Eagle Scout). No obvious hooks (legacy, recruited athlete, URM, first-gen). Applied EA to UVa, was deferred, and ultimate waitlisted. I think his school had roughly 40 kids who ended up going to UVa, many of whom I think had "worse" stats than him (based on his friends who got in), but who were still very strong candidates. I just think it can be very hard at certain schools. His Naviance checkmark going forward is going to show red in a sea of green.

Then he likely had relatively poor essays and recommendation letters. He should've spent more time editing and polishing.