<p>So I just recently watched this video on youtube and it was very very informative. It’s by Ryan Hargroves and is called “Building a class, By My Own Admissions”. I took some notes and thought I would share them. Again this is Hargroves video and I take absolutely no credit (:
UVA uses a very holistic approach when reviewing applicants. They look to see if the applicant is academically ready, can and will do their work, and have challenged themselves in the courses available to them. Not every students has to be a certain way. They are looking for someone who is talented and can add something to a class. He said you can have a focus.<br>
The transcript is the most important aspect of an applicant. They look at transcripts in context with the school profile that is sent with the transcript. They want you to take advantage of the courses available whether it’s AP, IB, honors, etc. Scores are important to evaluate students everywhere.
They want to know what you spend your time doing outside of the classroom whether you’re an athletes, scholar, musician, etc.
Recommendations are important because it’s a different perspective on the student. Most recommendations are very good and they rarely get a bad one.
Essays are also very important because it’s the one part the applicants can really show who they are. Don’t be boring. Don’t repeat. They want to know more about you. You don’t have to be the best writer with the biggest vocabulary, but they want to see your passion or background.<br>
Mid year reports are very important. It can show academic momentum or a trend line upwards. Improvement is good. They want to see that an applicant is competitive when they apply and can perform at the same level when they are in college. Mid year reports are critical. </p>
<p>I recommend everyone to watch the video. Again, very informative (:</p>
<p>Did any of it surprise you? I’m curious…we spend so much time talk about this stuff that we sometimes think we are too repetitive and everyone has heard it all before.</p>
<p>@DeanJ I wouldn’t say any of it surprised me! I think the video and the tour was very informative and kind of gave me a different perspective. What I mean by that is I didn’t realize how important the stuff outside of the academic factors are. When I first heard that admissions review holistically, I didn’t really understand what that meant, but after this video (and informational tour) I do. I posted my notes on it because I feel like many students and parents think admissions are looking for a specific person and that you have to perfect. This video really shows that you don’t have to a specific type of person or the perfect applicant and they really just want to know who you are and what you can bring to the student body. Please correct me if I’m wrong though! By the way, I thought the informational session before the tour was the best out of any of the schools I visited. </p>
<p>Ryan Hargroves represents the university very well. When we were there in November, he gave some great advice in a humorous manner about the supplemental essays. He coached the people in attendance how foolish many applicants are in their attempt to sway the admissions committee by fawning over Thomas Jefferson. </p>
<p>Paraphrasing, he said “unless you can show that you started a Thomas Jefferson club in middle school, dressed as Thomas Jefferson for halloween and raised money for a Thomas Jefferson charity, please don’t tell UVA how important Thomas Jefferson is in your life and how he is your favorite historical character. You won’t distinguish yourself or win points with us.”</p>
<p>I have always wondered how adcoms at UVA (or really at most colleges) start out when they are faced with an application? Do they directly see the stats? OR do they see if there were any special circumstances (by reading the additional section) and then move on to the other things (such as honors, ECs, grades etc.)? Would be interesting to find out. </p>