<p>I am actually from NOVA so I will give you some insight based on my school’s naviance and a larger anecdotal evidence sample than the handful of CC NOVA kids that post on the UVA thread. I strongly and firmly believe that if you are from NOVA, UVA looks closely at your school rigor to put everything in context. If you go to TJ/Mclean/Langley, a 4.0 weighted GPA is not impressive because at least 100-200 kids in the graduating class may have at least that. At my NOVA school, we have maybe 30 or so kids out of a huge class with above a 4.0. We consistently have kids with 4.0-4.2 GPAs and 1700-1900 SATs being accepted because that is awesome for my school. At other schools, like TJ, I know of 2300s and 4.3s rejected.</p>
<p>It’s all about context. I go to an IB school and we can’t take IB classes before our junior year, so our GPAs tend to be considerably lower than those of AP schools where I have seen many kids take at least 4 AP classes before they even start junior year. Also, a lot of IB SL classes are not given the full 1.0 boost because the county deems it not as rigorous as an AP class. This is in comparison to schools like TJ where even regular classes are given GPA boosts because the county sees it as more advanced. So is it fair that a 4.1 kid from my school gets accepted whereas a 4.3 kid from TJ gets rejected? Maybe. It’s definitely not UNfair. </p>
<p>For SATs, the average at my school is around 1550 and the average at TJ is about 2200 and I think between 1800-1900 for Langley and Mclean. This is why a 1900 at my school is considered beyond awesome, and the admissions office understands this. At these other schools, you are merely average or below average with a 1900.</p>
<p>To OP, this is why I don’t like chance me threads for UVA from NOVA schools. The problem (well not really a problem since this is a good thing) is that UVA is so familiar with NOVA schools that there isn’t an across the board methodology for how to make admissions decisions. Unless we know your school (and please don’t post that private information in this public thread, but you can PM me if you want to talk more about your chances), we can’t give you an educated response about your chances. </p>
<p>Also I love the statistics that FCCDAD came up with. If you read Dean J’s blog, she says multiple times that there are no NOVA quotas and she can admit every single student from NOVA if she’d like. I would be less concerned about a NOVA quota and more concerned about a quota for your school. </p>
<p>Also, being first generation to go to college in America is not considered first generation in the college admissions process. If your parents have degrees, you are not first gen. I know that this quite unfortunate because there is a huge difference. A degree from a school abroad can be worthless in America so it isn’t really the same thing at all, but that’s how the college process works. </p>