So - there are no dream schools. All have bad profs. Bad food. Bad dorms. Bad roomies. Bad something.
What is your budget ? That matters first
Youâve done a great job but I donât believe UVA is in the cards for you. JMU would be the closest in state match. I think CNU is a great choice as W&M is also unlikely.
I think VCU, JMU, Longwood and GMU are your best bets but if you like W&M, check out MWU and CNU - both outstanding.
I donât see the rest happening.
What is your budget and are you willing to leave the state ?
Yes, there is a way that you could possibly get into UVA, but not right out of high school. It would be through the âYear in Wiseâ program. There are several requirements:
You must first get waitlisted for the Main Campus in Charlottesville;
You must enroll at UVA Wise;
You must complete 30 credits at Wise;
You must achieve a 3.0 gpa in those 30 credits at Wise
If you can accomplish all of that, you will automatically be given a transfer to the Main Campus after your freshman year. The hardest of those will be to get waitlisted because 90% of the accepted students who enroll at UVA have a 4.0 high school gpa. However, UVA does give consideration to First Gen students and they give preference to in state students. So, I think that your decision to write your essay about growing up in poverty is perfect for this purpose. I would include a letter with your application, stating your interest in the âYear in Wiseâ program and stressing that you are First Gen and have volunteered with impoverished children. I also encourage you to discuss this goal with your high school guidance counselor, S/he will know the details of how best to pursue this path and what success students from your high school have had with it in the past.
UVA Wise is a division of UVA, the only division of the university that is not in Charlottesville. If you donât get waitlisted for the Main Campus, you could still attend Wise and apply to transfer to the Main Campus after 2 years, which is the normal time to apply for a transfer to Charlottesville from any college. The difference in transferring from Wise vs any other college is the fact that at Wise you are in fact already a UVA student, so your transition should be seamless. All of your credits will be automatically accepted and transferred over. With the proper advising at Wise, you should also transfer into your major seamlessly, with all of the prerequisites having been met.
Based on my older kidâs experience, UVA likes top 5%. No one outside of top 5% was admitted from her HS. She was top 8% and waitlisted. Does not mean that you should not take the shot, just temper your expectations. You should take a look at Mary Washington. Very sweet school, generous with merit. Also, Radford and Longwood.
Thank you for the response! UVA is one of my tops because of the generous aid (-1500 SAI) and I genuinely canât see myself anywhere else but Iâm gonna try touring CNU and JMU and see if I like it!
Thatâs a common mistake. If you see yourself at UVA, there are other schools like it. Your issue is budget. Every year kids go to their dream, and once there hate it and leave I repeat - there are thousands of schools thereâs not only one right for you.
Open your mind to others bcuz UVA isnât going to happen. Statistically, youâre not close.
Sorry.but your state is loaded with great ones !!
Ps how will you pay for housing ? I take it you didnât apply via Questbridge ?
Are any four year schools commutable from home ? Or you may need to attend a CC and transfer.
You might want to check out the Common Data Sets for the respective schools you are considering, specifically with regard to Sections C7 and C9-C11; these sections give information about recently matriculated students at the school in question, and might allow you to make a rough estimate of your chances for admission.
Are you applying to any âmeet needâ university beside URichmond?
With a SAI -1,500 they may offer excellent packages. The trick will be to find one where your GPA is sufficiently boosted by the geographic as well as socio economic diversity you bring (because theyâd be meet need for most, not all, and are probably need aware, because your GPA precludes the really highly selective ones).
Perhaps W&L as another reach, depending whether many higher ranked students are applying from your school (check with your GC - if many are, donât bother. If few do, you might have a tiny shot as a lower income applicant from SW VA.)
W&M has an agreement with Richard Bland College, which is a residential 2-year college preparing high potential (FGLI in particular) students to go to W&M (or other universities). It may be worth exploring.
The UVA waitlist->Wise-> UVA plan sounds perfect for you, if the first year has the same type of FA as UVA Charlottesville offers.
I love the Wise waitlist but I donât think this student is close. I donât mean to be pessimistic. Then again on the 23/24 CDS they WLâd 8900 of 56k applicants.
Wise is a very different environment I imagine based on where it is located. Hopefully, if it happens and I donât think so, but if it does hopefully OP can find fit in the environment.
Yes, on paper a 3.4 gpa + 1380 SAT wouldnât appear to be close, BUT . . .
UVA is not the uber selective college for in state applicants as it is for the rest of the world. At 26% in state acceptance rate itâs still very selective, but . . .
The Commonwealth of Virginia takes its obligation to educate the children of its taxpayers very seriously. By legislative mandate, UVA must reserve 2/3 of its seats for in state applicants.
Being placed on the wait list is (obviously) not an acceptance. They may have all kinds of reasons for placing students there - some/many with no intention of ever being admitted. So, they donât all have to be near misses. They may in fact put some kids there to open the door to the Wise program. Thatâs why I encouraged her to accompany her application with a statement to pursue the âYear at Wiseâ and to write about growing up in poverty in her essay.
My hope is that UVA does in fact look at the potential of a kid from Appalachia. The year at Wise is their proving ground. Itâs no risk for the folks in Charlottesville. If a student falls on her face academically in Wise and isnât up to the task, Charlottesville hasnât been impacted, but . . . And thereâs always the option to transfer over after the second year at Wise.
The person who will know best is her high scholl guidance counselor, so thatâs who she should talk to about this proposal.
Starting out at Wise or Richard Bland, as a pathway to UVA or W&M, is a great option. JMU could be an excellent option also; Iâm glad you will be visiting. Itâs a really nice campus and undergraduate experience; itâs hard for me to see why a student who likes UVA wouldnât find plenty to like about JMU also.
Would you qualify financially for Berea College? Financial Eligibility - Berea College Itâs tuition-free, and their on-campus work program covers room/board/fees, so youâd graduate debt-free. It has an excellent academic reputation and a very strong and supportive alumni network; you could definitely prepare for a career as a psychologist there. Median stats are 3.59 GPA, 1228 SAT, with a 19% acceptance rate, so itâs not a slam-dunk by any means but worth a try if you qualify. Youâd graduate debt-free, which I assume wouldnât be the case at the VA publics.
Also in KY, you might check out Centre College, which is quite generous with financial aid but not prohibitively difficult to get into. (56% acceptance rate, 3.9 median GPA, 1320 median SAT).
Denison University in Ohio could also be worth a try. (All of these are within a 6 hr driving radius of SW VA.) Itâs more competitive than Centre but still not quite as reachy as W&L.
UNC Asheville has a tuition-reduction program for lower-income students from bordering states: Access Asheville: | UNC Asheville Not sure this would make it affordable for you, but it could be worth running the NPC to see how it looks.
Iâm not an expert on state-level aid in VA, but there is definitely need-based funding such as the Virginia Commonwealth Award and VGAP. My impression is that itâs similar to my home state of CA, in that low-income students can afford a public university education if their family can pay what the financial aid formulae say they can⊠but there will be some debt-load involved. It would be interesting if OP could run the Net Price Calculators for the various VA publics and tell us how the costs compare.
Berea is such a great suggestion! The OP seems made to order for Berea. I really hope that she looks into it and familiarizes herself with what Berea has to offer.
If youâre on a budget itâs worth it to look at Hollins. Itâs nothing like UVA and itâs in Roanoke so still SWVA but they have some amazing scholarships. I believe the HOPE scholarship is basically a full ride (meal plan and housing included too). Worth looking into: HOPE Scholarship - Hollins University
Yes, on paper, the OP seems like exactly the sort of student Berea was built to serve. Certainly itâs a different âvibeâ from UVA, but the level of investment in each individual student is on another level; itâs really a great opportunity if one can qualify. The webpage for the psych major provides some excellent information and guidance: Berea College Catalog, Manuals, and Handbooks - Psychology
but Iâm gonna try touring CNU and JMU and see if I like it!