<p>I was wondering at what UVA looks at first when they see an application. Do they look at the grades or extracurriculars or anything else first and cut those applications that do not meet the expectations?</p>
<p>They read the whole application. They’re very holistic, and they want to know if you as both a student and a person would fit in at UVa.</p>
<p>Academics come first when I start reading a file (school profile, program, grades). The entire file is read before a recommendation is made to admit, deny, or wait list.</p>
<p>Within the context of a particular school (assume Va based), would a full IB diploma student who took IB Environmental Systems instead of AP/IB Chemistry be viewed less favorably? Assume that the student will have had 4 years of science (H. Bio, H. Chem, H. Physics, and IB Environmental System). </p>
<p>Or, could that one class give the edge to another student in that same school? (note: this comparision would occur at the school level to ensure the right students at the school are getting accepted/deferred/rejected–as a quality measure).</p>
<p>thoughts or insights in that student to student comparison process at the school level?</p>
<p>We don’t read by region. Applicants at the same school are not reviewed side by side. We use the school profile to understand what courses are available (and what restrictions are in place) and review the transcript in light of that.</p>
<p>okay. thank you Dean J</p>