<p>Anyone who gets into UVA is smart. I was willing to start my math homework the Sunday before it was due (typically it was due Thursdays), and if I got stuck on a problem after spending usually about 4 hours on it on a Sunday, I would go to office hours and otherwise be thinking the whole week about how to solve it in my free time (before going to sleep, etc). So I would say it was not only the amount of time I would put into my math work, but also when and how I would put in that time. Math also comes pretty easily to me, something that took me 4 hours would take other people in the class 8 hours. So a combination most likely. No one who is just “smart” gets a high GPA here, it’s not like high school. I did get a couple of Bs in classes I did not put that kind of effort into, like my psychology class (I would spend the day before tests reading and cramming instead of doing it for a few hours each week, and got a B in that class, but I still went to every lecture). Don’t think you can skip class here and get good grades… It doesn’t happen. On the other hand, I did a lot of extra curriculars here, too, because college social life is really important (my first year GPA was only a 3.4). I worked two jobs, was active on my dorm’s governance board, volunteered in a local elementary school, was treasurer of a club, and a webmaster for a number of other clubs, in addition to just -hanging out- which is reaaaally important. The 3.8 would not have been worth it if it came at the expense of my social life, hence my first year 3.4 GPA. Once I was just taking math and education classes, my GPA went up a lot because I cared more about the class topics and the material was easier for me (in my major, it is easier than some random class not in my major). Hope that explained it okay…</p>