Myth: Rigor is measured by the number of A’s or AP courses on a student’s transcript.
Fact: UVA admissions prefers to see high school students who are willing to challenge themselves academically and work hard.
Rigor and performance are often illustrated through a student’s academic record, also known as their transcript. At first glance, a record with all A’s can be quite impressive, but none of those grades are in advanced courses, the transcript becomes far less notable. It’s more impressive to have a few B’s on a transcript reflecting a more rigorous courseload than achieving all A’s in lower-level classes because it shows a student’s willingness to work through a difficult curriculum.
While having top level courses on a transcript is helpful, admissions officers at selective schools are additionally interested in the level of rigor in specific advanced classes. Therefore, simply counting the number of AP courses taken in high school doesn’t work either. Some of these classes are much more demanding than others. That being said, some schools do not offer many advanced courses at all, making it unfair to expect all students to reach the same quota of high-level coursework.
The key to picking classes in high school is to create a challenging courseload that allows for both strong grades and a healthy home life. It’s also important for students to challenge themselves in multiple subject areas.
Myth: There is a perfect list of extracurriculars.
Fact: Schools are interested in what you do outside of school and how you balance those interests, but there aren’t specific expectations as to how you spend your time.
Admissions officers don’t have preferences for certain extracurriculars over others or a checklist for expected types of activities. Colleges are looking for strong students, not necessarily strong sports players, star performers, or award-winning debaters. Should you contribute to your community in some other way? Certainly! But that contribution could be through a job, caring for a relative, or participating in a club or volunteer efforts.
Admission officers understand teenagers have varied responsibilities and interests and that they are in the process of discovery. It’s okay if you want to try a new activity every semester of high school and it’s also okay if you want to dive deep into one thing and stay committed throughout. Contribute to your community in a way that still manages to bring you joy rather than take it away.
Myth: GPA matters.
Fact: GPAs are just numbers. Every high school calculates these numbers differently, so it’s nearly impossible to standardize them.
There are some high schools that use graphs to show GPA distributions within their school, but this isn’t a great measure for college admittance either. Some schools have a larger percentage of higher performing students than others—for example, a 90th percentile student at one school may have experienced a very different level of rigor than at another school. Additionally, class rank, which is based on GPA, has fallen out of favor and few high schools even calculate it anymore.
UVA admission officers will pay more attention to a student’s transcript than their GPA. After reviewing the transcript, essays and letters of recommendation provide admission officers with insight into an applicant’s personality, character, and strengths. Extracurriculars and test scores are still important but an applicant to UVA should focus on their individual course selection and their performance in those classes. You can read more about GPAs from this blog post by one of UVA’s admissions deans.
Myth: Early Decision is easiest way to get into UVA.
Fact: Admission deans at UVA evaluate each application with the same set of criteria, regardless of when the application is submitted.
While all applications are evaluated with the same criteria, in general more students are accepted to UVA who apply for the Early Decision admission cycle. For the entering first year class of 2022, the offer rates for applicants were as follows:
| Admission cycle | In-state applicants | Out-of-state applicants |
|---|---|---|
| Early Decision | 53% | 36% |
| Early Action | 40% | 20% |
| Regular Decision | 15% | 11% |
Many applicants may look at these statistics and deduce that their best chance of admittance is Early Decision. However, this is only true for certain students. If you apply during the early rounds (both due November 1), admissions officers will not see your first semester grades of senior year and you may need to show these grades later to present a strong performance well into 12th grade.
While a student applying in the early rounds could be deferred to the regular decision applicant pool, they could also be denied, in which case they cannot reapply. The most important thing to think about when choosing when to apply is how your transcript would look at that moment in time. Learn about UVA’s admission dates and deadlines from the Office of Undergraduate Admission or take a look at this College Compass article about the different admission cycles.