Admissions Statistics 2015/2019

Colleges & Universities University of Virginia
1

For reference, here is a detailed layout of the admissions statistics for the Class of 2019 compared to that of the Class of 2018. All data is taken from Dean J's blog (links included), and most math and separations are done by me (so I apologize in advance for any mistakes).

Early Action
[ul][]2015/2019: http://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/2015/01/unofficial-early-action-2015-statistics.html?m=0[]2014/2018: http://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/2014/01/early-action-2014-statistics-unofficial.html[/ul]

Number of Early Action Applicants
2014: 14,819 | 2015: 16,092 (Increase of 1,273)

Number of VA Apps
2014: 4,027 | 2015: 4,349 (Increase of 322)

Number of OOS Apps

2014: 10,792 | 2015: 11,743 (Increase of 951)

Number of Acceptances
2014: 4,590 (31.0%) | 2015: 4,856 (30.2%) (Increase of 266, Decrease of 0.8%)

Number of VA Acceptances
2014: 2,057 (51.1%) | 2015: 2,044 (47.0%) (Decrease of 13, Decrease of 4.1%)

Number of OOS Acceptances

2014: 2,533 (23.5%) | 2015: 2,812 (23.9%) (Increase of 279, Increase of 0.4%)

Number of Deferrals
2014: 3,771 (25.4%) | 2015: 3,963 (24.6%) (Increase of 192, Decrease of 0.8%)

Number of VA Deferrals
2014: 920 (22.8%) | 2015: 1,048 (24.1%) (Increase of 128, Increase of 1.3%)

Number of OOS Deferrals
2014: 2,851 (26.4%) | 2015: 2,915 (24.8%) (Increase of 64, Decrease of 1.6%)

Regular Decision
[ul][]2015/2019: http://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/2015/03/unofficial-uva19-admission-statistics.html[]2014/2018: http://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/2014/03/unofficial-2013-2014-admission.html[/ul]

Number of Regular Decision Applications
2014: 31,042 | 2015: 30,853 (Decrease of 189)

Number of VA Apps
2014: 9,014 | 2015: 9,147 (Increase of 133)

Number of OOS Apps

2014: 22,028 | 2015: 21,706 (Decrease of 322)

Number of Acceptances
2014: 8,972 (28.9%) | 2015: 8,786 (28.5%) (Decrease of 186, Decrease of 0.4%)

Number of VA Acceptances
2014: 3.903 (43.2%) | 2015: 3,800 (41.5%) (Decrease of 103, Decrease of 1.7%)

Number of OOS Acceptances

2014: 5,069 (23.0%) | 2015: 4,986 (23.0%) (Decrease of 83, Change of 0.0%)

***Note: Regular Decision non-acceptances are split into rejections and wait lists, the numbers are not explicitly stated for these categories***

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It amazes me that the instate acceptance rate hovers near 45%. Typically every year the top 20 in our class applies and only like 3 get in :frowning:

3

@BassGuitar‌ There are a lot of very competitive schools in Northern Virginia - namely Thomas Jefferson Institute of Science and Technology. A very high percentage of people who apply from there get in… usually 200+ each year accepted from that school alone, but a lot less attend. My school is in the same region and we have ~40 to 50 accepted each year. I think those definitely skew the statistics to make it as high as 45%.

4

You listed 31,042 and 30,853 Regular Decision applications, but I think those are the total (EA+RD) numbers. You need to subtract EA admissions and denials (but not deferrals) from those to get the number of RD applications.

5

@BassGuitar there is a strong tendancy at NoVa schools for students to apply to UVA even if they are well below the top (10%) of their class. Rough guess, I think students from NoVa are about twice as likely to apply compared to anywhere else in the state.

They have a holistic review in their applications process. That means they look at other, subjective, things and don’t go strictly by the grades and test scores. But it also means that grades and test scores and class standing ARE still a factor, not ignored, and a solid essay or two probably cannot overcome a deficient academic record.

They want you to be at or near the top of your class, no matter where or with whom you went to HS.

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@MrWiggles I think that’s a solid explanation, because there’s just no way that it’s as easy as 45% makes it seem. Was the salutatorian at my school really less qualified than almost every other applicant? And take my yield for example:

UVA (instate 45%): Waitlisted
while…
Wake Forest (35%): Accepted
UCLA (25% OOS): Waitlisted

I know there’s a lot more factors and every school is different, but you’d think 45% would be an acceptance for me. Why is it so dang hard to get in :confused:

7

@BassGuitar‌ College admissions are crazy. One of my good friends got into Princeton SCEA but was then waitlisted by University of Rochester. Not that he really cares because he’s going to Princeton, but it makes no sense.

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Think of it this way: schools do not order all applications in terms of desirability, and then go down the line sending offers until they reach a cutoff point. Instead, they put together a class, and they’re each trying to include certain elements that largely but not exactly overlap with other schools. They make their admission offers according to what they still need in the incoming class. They don’t want their individual applicants to be well rounded, they instead want the income class to be well rounded, with students who distinguish themselves each in a different way.

Maybe UVA or Princeton or wherever has a particular need for a certain unusual characteristic, to meet their goal of a well-rounded class. (I don’t know, a tall Jewish vegan goalie for the water polo team or something. Work with me here!) An application that has that unusual characteristic becomes the hot ticket for an admission offer. Maybe they already have more than they need of some other characteristic; an otherwise good application that relies on that other characteristic to distinguish itself may sit around gathering dust on the waitlist, even if their grades and test scores might seem “superior” to the first applicant.