It doesn’t hurt to apply. Our local public high school was having more luck getting kids into ivies and Stanford than UVA. I told my son its ok to apply, but if they didnt take (fill in the blank), they are not taking you.
He applied and got in. He is a very happy first year student. One of his high school classmates (who is fantastic and very happy somewhere else) did not. I would have picked his classmate.
You never know. My son tells kids to really work hard on the essays. UVA has been a great fit for my son. Midwesterner who knew no one. Super happy.