Out of curiosity how prestigious is UVA, particularly outside of Virginia. Though the school is ranked decently high, I’ve read on here that many rankings for UVA’s programs lags behind other schools, even other state universities. Internationally, its public (and private) peers seem to fair much better.
What is the academic perception of the school nationwide?
It is prestigious - direct peers include Michigan, UC Berkeley, UNC Chapel Hill, UCLA, Northwestern, WUSTL, Rice, and Georgia Tech.
From my experience this past application cycle, it is not as well known as say Berkeley or Vanderbilt or similar, but among those who do know about it - it’s very highly regarded.
It is a very well regarded public college.
So US News actually has data on what schools are ranked in terms of their prestige: http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/college-rankings-blog/2013/02/28/which-universities-are-ranked-highest-by-college-officials
Berkeley is ranked #6, Michigan is #13, UVA is #18, and UCLA is #19.
There is a group of public universities in the US which has well-known, phenomenal programs, regardless of USN rankings. Also, there is a group called the Public Ivies. UVA is surely in both of those. Many of my friends in China applying to US schools–and China only cares about PERCEIVED prestige among their relationships in China–UC Berkeley, UCLA usually are the only schools anyone has every heard of and influences application numbers. UVA, University of Texas at Austin, University of Washington…phenomenal schools, faculty, endowments, etc.
Chinese students are all over and highly desirable to state schools because they are full pay. Here is a list of colleges with the most international students:
Why would you assume this is a Chinese student?
No assumption about anyone except myself. I have lived in China for 25 years, so best to respond from my own perspective. Prestige is so important in China, and many of my clients and others have difficulty wrapping their minds around the difference between prestige and status, perceived status vs quality.
How about just within the US? I thought UVA was considered a step above UT and UWM
UVA is generally considered one of the very best state schools in the country, along with Michigan, UCB and UCLA.
I’ve looked at > 5000 matriculations from 10 “elite” high schools (Exeter, Trinity, Hotchkiss, Horace Mann, Dalton, Harvard Westlake, San Francisco University High, College Preparatory - Oakland, Lakeside, Ransom-Everglades). Students at these schools presumably tend to be well-informed about colleges, are prestige-conscious, are willing to travel, and in most cases can afford to choose any college. Their average test scores are higher than at most other American high schools.
(see post #78 at: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1847482-private-prep-schools-and-hot-colleges-p6.html)
Based on posted matriculation numbers, I find that UVa enrolls fewer of these students than Michigan, Berkeley, or UCLA, but more than UNC-CH, Wisconsin, or Texas. Its total matriculation rank is 49th. Other colleges that enroll more of these students include the 8 Ivies, NYU, USC, Stanford, Chicago, Georgetown, WUSTL, JHU, Northwestern, and most of the NESCAC schools (New England LACs). Preferences seem to be somewhat regional.
If you looked at other elite high schools besides the ten I considered, you’d surely get somewhat different results. However, I think it’s safe to say that nation-wide (and especially in the East), UVa is one of the most prestigious colleges, probably ranking in the bottom ~third of the top ~50. If you’re a VA resident, then in my opinion, no college is so much more prestigious that it would be worth a big price premium, for that reason alone, for most students.
@tk21769 It’s an interesting index and gives a general idea of the desirable-ness of colleges. I actually casually did a simple look thru of prep school matriculation myself a few months ago. However, I’m not sure if it’s the best way to quantify it. Michigan has significantly more matriculation a than Berkeley. However, most agree that Berkeley is probably the premier public- with UMich being right behind.
@tk21769 It would be interesting if you posted the list of how many matriculated to all schools (private and public)
UVA is an excellent and highly regarded public university.
I agree with @JenJenJenJen -
In top public school rankings, I feel like I always see either Michigan, UC Berkeley, or UVA taking the top spot.