FAQs

UVA will NOT require that applicants submit standardized testing to be considered for admission for at least the next application cycle. If you have test scores, you are welcome to submit them, but those without test scores will not be penalized during our holistic review of applications.

Students will choose whether or not to be test optional when they submit their Common Application. You have until the application deadline to change this decision. 

Students who want their test scores considered for EA or ED admission must choose to do so by the application deadline, then have until November 22 to self-report their new scores in their applicant portal.

For applicants submitting test scores, has been the Office of Admission’s long-standing policy to consider the best test scores submitted by applicants. We use the top score from each SAT section across all administrations of the same exam. We hope you will submit all of your scores knowing that we will recombine the sections to get the best possible set of scores. If reporting an ACT score, report the composite and sub-scores as they appear on your official score report without any recalculation.

We have pledged to maintain a 2/3 majority of Virginia residents in our student population, but 2/3 of our applicants tend to come from out-of-state. As a result, our offer rate for Virginia residents tends to be much higher than the rate for out-of-state students. Last year, we admitted 33% of the Virginia residents and 15% of the non-Virginians. You can see data from previous years on the Office of Institutional Assessment website.

We don't have a minimum GPA. We don't have a minimum SAT score.

As strange as these answers sound, they're both true. A cumulative GPA only reveals so much; it says little about the difficulty of a student's course load, or whether a student's grades have improved over time, or the level of grade inflation (or deflation) in a student's school. If we established a firm minimum GPA, a point below which no applicant would have any chance of being admitted, we'd miss a fair number of students who might make UVA a better, stronger place.

The same is true for SAT scores. Most people who work in admission at highly selective universities believe that standardized testing is a useful but imprecise instrument. Setting an absolute minimum would be asking these tests to do something they weren't designed to do.

Of course, our applicant pool is broad and deep, so most admitted students have excelled in school and scored well on the SAT or ACT (see our Profile for more information). But remember that we don't have set minimums for either and we try hard to take into account all of the information we see in each application.

No. While we maintain a 2/3 majority of Virginia residents in our student population, there are no restrictions on how many students we may admit from a particular school, town, county, or region.

A legacy is a student whose parent, step-parent, or adoptive parent has a degree from UVA. Legacy status is acknowledged in our review process. Legacies residing outside of Virginia pay the out-of-state tuition rate.

No. When we read your application, we will not use previous contact as a factor in our review.

We will not fill our class during the Early Decision process. We hope that you will submit your application when you feel it is in a strong position. Remember that Regular Decision applicants will have grades from the first semester of senior year in their files before we finalize our decisions.

We are test optional for students applying for Fall 2021 and have no preference between the SAT and ACT.

The laws governing domiciliary status - that is, whether a person is considered a legal resident of Virginia - are set by the state legislature. If students wish to be considered legal residents for the purposes of admission and tuition, they must answer the residency questions on our application. For more information, please see the Office of Virginia Status website.

While prospective students are welcome to visit for an information session and tour, we do not offer interviews.

We do not have a preference for one type of course. We suggest that students take advantage of advanced course options at their high school, regardless of the type of curriculum available.

We generally give credit for scores of 4 or 5 on AP exams and 5, 6, or 7 on Higher Level IB exams. There are some exceptions to this and practices can vary from one school to another. The Undergraduate Record has specific information about AP and IB credit.

Yes! You can use the transfer credit analyzer to see how credit from different colleges is treated when transferred to UVA. 

We are a paperless office, so you should submit your part of the application online. Counselors and teachers may choose to submit documents online or by mail.

We require one recommendation from your school counselor and one from a teacher of a core academic subject so that we can learn more about your school performance. While you are welcome to submit an extra recommendation, we prefer letters that provide insight into your classroom style.

We do not accept resumes, research abstracts, or writing portfolios. The application provides space to tell us about your most important honors and activities.

To change your decision plan (Early Decision, Early Action, or Regular Decision), you must email [email protected] by 5 PM Eastern the day after the deadline. To change your school choice, email [email protected] within ten days of submission. You will be required to submit the supplemental essay for the school to which you are switching. After these windows, your application will be considered as it was submitted.

The application prompts applicants to provide the information we need to make a decision.

Early Decision applicants can expect decisions by the middle of December. Early Action applicants can expect decisions to be posted by the middle of February. Regular Decision applicants can expect decisions by the end of March. Keep an eye on the admission blog for updates!

The admission committee may admit, deny, or defer early applications. If an applicant is deferred, their application will be placed in the Regular Decision pool and reviewed once mid-year grades have been received.

We do not allow applications to multiple schools or programs. Select the school/program that most interests you at this time, knowing that you are able to change schools as a student at UVA.

You may write to the Dean of Admission, Greg Roberts, to request a change of school.

We will send you detailed information about the waiting list process, including statistics about past years.

You can accept your offer of admission by paying the non-refundable admission deposit in your student account.

Students offered admission to the College of Arts and Sciences may apply for UVA London First or UVA Valencia First. For more information, see the UVA Global First website.