UVA, or the University of Virginia, is one of the most popular state schools in the country. This comes with an equally high level of competition, which you’ve been on the disappointing end of. A rejection from UVA Early Decision is frustrating, but it’s also not the end of the world nor the end of your journey. In this post, we’ll break down what to do next. We’re focusing on Early Decision only here because it is a time of opportunity. The Early Action decisions come out after Regular Decision deadlines, but the Early Decision notification date gives you enough time to make adjustments to (or completely overhaul) your strategy. First, let’s talk nuts and bolts.
The overall UVA acceptance rate is only a few tenths of a percentage point above 16%. The Early Decision acceptance rate is reported to be closer to 25%. Of course, this includes recruited athletes and others who nearly knew that they were going to get into UVA before they pressed submit. So, the number is a little skewed, but it’s still more likely to get into UVA ED than any other application round. This is, of course, after the Early Decision option was revived in 2019, after being off of the table for over a decade.
And, while there are a lot of people out there saying that UVA does not defer students, they say that they do. But you weren’t deferred, and this means that your application wasn’t one they remained curious about. Why weren’t they curious to know more? We’re going to break down what may have gone wrong and give you the tools to turn things around for the Regular Decision (and ED II) application round.
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Step 1: Slow Down
It’s totally normal to be freaking out right now. The whole world can start spinning when you face a rejection, especially from a dream school. It’s natural to want to sprint to safety, but what you need to do most right now is to slow down. Seriously. As much as you want to jump into action, we’re begging you to take a chill pill for at least a few days. Hang out with friends. See a movie or binge a show. Do something just because you love doing it, and give yourself a chance to think about something other than getting into college. Then, once your heart rate is down and your able to look at things with some perspective, it’s time to get back to work.
Step 2: Reevaluate Your College List
Making your college list is the first step to a successful college admissions strategy. This is why we work with students to craft well-balanced college lists at the beginning, but if you’re here right now one of the weak points of your experience so far is probably that you don’t have a solid list of schools to aim for. You’ll be glad to hear, though, that isn’t not too late. You can turn things around if you move methodically, and that all starts with the list.
Every college list should have three types of schools: safeties, targets, and reaches. These terms may be very familiar to you, but we’ve found that students who strike out in the Early Decision round often lacked support in calibrating their idea of safeties, targets, and reaches to their unique applicant profile. You may feel like you have all three, but is that based on emotion, or on statistics, story, and your unique circumstances? It’s critically important that your college list isn’t just about gut feeling, but grounded in reality and expertise.
The best way to find schools that are solid options is by starting with your academic goals, and then filtering for culture, location, and size. You should also seriously consider state schools in your state of residence if you weren’t in-state for UVA. These are your friend in the target and safety category, so try to get a few on your list.
Most importantly, remember to stay open and keep your eye out for a strong Early Decision II option. EDII can give you a significant advantage, especially when used for a school that is somewhere between a target and a reach for you.
Step 3: Essay Time
Your college applications include the main essay, of course, which is most often the Common Application, and any supplements a college offers (optional, remember, isn’t optional if you want to get in). You’ve already written all of these types of things, and you were most likely hoping that you wouldn’t have to do any more. Unfortunately, we have bad news for you. It’s time to write.
First up, the Common App essay. Yes, you already have one. Yes, we are recommending that you give it, at minimum, an overhaul. If you were a strong fit for UVA academically, you should have at least received a deferral. Not being deferred suggests to us that your story didn’t resonate with the application readers. Something about the version of you presented in your application wasn’t compelling enough to make them curious, and willing to continue considering you. A rewrite is, in our mind, nearly mandatory.
The most valuable thing you have at your disposal right now is story. You can’t change your grades, scores, or recommendations, but you do have control over your story. So, tell it. Our 2024-2025 Guide to the Common App Essay is a great place to start when rethinking an essay, and will help you unlock ideas that you may not have considered when you first started writing. We also have a deep selection of real, and really successful, essays, that you can read for inspiration.
Before we move on to supplements, there’s one more thing to be very careful about. It is extremely important that you not use your essays to make excuses. UVA likes to see applications from students who exhibit a “determination to succeed,” and it’s possible that they didn’t see this in your application. Don’t waste time or space in your application making excuses. Instead, highlight your strength, resilience, passion, and motivation towards the future.
Once you have a fresh main essay, you’ll need to write your supplements. There is no such thing as a throw-away supplement, and each one needs to be treated with care. We recommend assigning a story to each supplement over a sentence in advance of drafting, to help ensure an application with breadth and depth, and without repetition. For any supplements that are super short and playful, like “What’s your favorite snack,” have some fun with it. “Carrot sticks” is only a good answer if it is your real answer. And something quirky and odd is far more likely to get a giggle — which is, in the case of a snack, a very good thing. Plus, we have written school-specific supplement guides for dozens of colleges and universities to help you on your way.
Step Four: Ask for Help
This step doesn’t necessarily come last, but should come up whenever you feel stumped. Asking for help is a critical part of the college admissions process. We’ve found that highly competitive students tend to steer away from asking for assistance, perhaps out of a fear of looking like they aren’t sure of themselves. If that describes you, unlearn that impulse now. Asking for help is an exceptionally important part of this process, and is exactly why we created the “It’s Going to be Okay” package for high school seniors rejected from their first choice school in the Early Decision or Early Action round.
If you are stressed, we can help. Email us to learn more.