Our holistic approach to the application process allows us to consider many factors as we read applications and make admission decisions. We do not use a formula, equation, or algorithm during our review.
We take great care to ensure that the application review is comprehensive, thoughtful, and personal. We are grateful to every applicant who has put their faith in us. As such, every application is read by at least one member of our evaluation team and all applications are handled with the utmost respect.
We employ approximately 60 application readers each year. Application readers are often assigned to an evaluation team that is responsible for a geographic region of the state, country, or world. For our first-year application review we divide the regions into several groups:
- Virginians (subdivided by high school or region of the state)
- Non-Virginians who attend high school in the US, and
- International applicants and US citizens/Permanent Residents who live abroad.
Students from these groups are in separate and distinct application pools therefore they are not competing directly with one another for a space in the class. Similarly, students applying to different UVA schools (College, Engineering, Architecture, Nursing, Education, etc.) are not in the same application pool and are not competing with one another.
Each year we seek to enroll a balance of Virginians and non-Virginians. Most years that balance is approximately 70% Virginian overall. International students are included in the non-Virginian applicant pool and make up approximately5-6% of the incoming first year students. There are 3,970 new first year students each fall and 613 fall transfers. The University also enrolls a small (30 students) cohort of transfers in the spring term.
First-year enrollment targets by UVA school for 2024:
College of Arts and Sciences 3,015
School of Architecture 95
School of Education (Kinesiology) 60
School of Engineering 725
School of Nursing 75
Transfer enrollment targets by UVA school for 2024:
College of Arts and Sciences 476
School of Architecture 6
School of Commerce 25
School of Education 5
School of Engineering 62
School of Nursing 39
First year students can apply using our Early Decision, Early Action, or Regular Decision plan. Admission rates vary each year but there is no advantage applying to one plan over the other. We offer the exact same financial aid award, regardless of the admission plan. For context, approximately 10% of the total number of offers of admission are made in our Early Decision round.
We seek to enroll students and classes that are in-line with our institutional mission and values. Our classes are richly diverse, including students who bring with them different opinions, beliefs, backgrounds, life experiences, and political leanings. They come from every corner of the state and globe. An increasing number of students are the first in their family to attend college and our classes are diverse racially, geographically, and socioeconomically thanks to our best-in-class financial aid program.
Race is not a factor in admission decisions. Neither is a student's family history with UVA. We do not have check boxes for race or UVA family affiliation on our application or on our application review form used by readers. At no point during our review does anyone involved in reading applications have access to reports or collective class data that includes race, ethnicity, or family tie to UVA. However, a student's life experience - which can include race/ethnicity, first generation student status, gender, neighborhood, etc. - can be included and we invite students to share any information they feel would help us get to know them on their Common Application.
Admission rates vary depending upon the school and year and are largely driven by application volume. The majority of applicants are capable of being successful students at UVA and we cannot offer admission to every qualified applicant. We are eager to help students find a pathway to UVA through our first-year review or transfer process and we are happy to assist students and families as they make their college decisions.