The University of Virginia, often just called UVA, is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It’s a historic school; literally, part of its campus is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With around 20k students, it’s a great choice for students looking for a midsized public education, especially for those looking for unique programs. The university is made up of 12 schools and offers over 50 majors in everything from Aerospace Engineering to Youth & Social Innovation (along with all the majors you would expect!) Plus, they are test-optional through 2025.
Last year, they had around a 19% acceptance rate, but be warned, that's not really the full picture. If you aren’t from Virginia, the acceptance rate for out-of-state students was more like 13%, and for Virginia residents, it was 27%. Let’s break down the supplement:
Optional: If you have a personal or historic connection with UVA, and if you’d like to share how your experience of this connection has prepared you to contribute to the University, please share your thoughts here. Such relationships might include, but are not limited to, being a child of someone who graduated from or works for UVA, a descendant of ancestors who labored at UVA, or a participant in UVA programs. (100)
This question isn’t for everyone. If you don’t immediately think of a connection, skip this. While they say you can disclose your legacy status here, the real reason why they include this question is that UVA had a brutal history of using slave labor from its founding (Thomas Jefferson) until the end of the Civil War. For many years, they avoided this part of their history but are now making space for it. It’s fine to briefly write about legacy status, etc., here; however, remember to be respectful and mindful of the type of connections that others might have to UVA.
The second question is for all applicants.
In around 250 words, please answer the following question.
What about your individual background, perspective, or experience will serve as a source of strength for you or those around you at UVA? Feel free to write about any past experience or part of your background that has shaped your perspective and will be a source of strength, including but not limited to those related to your community, upbringing, educational environment, race, gender, or other aspects of your background that are important to you.*
This question has a lot of words, but it really asks you to tell us a story about a time you helped your community or gained a perspective that you value. While sometimes students think they need to talk about race or gender to answer questions like this, they don’t have to. You can if you feel so moved, but we tend to actually steer students away from these topics. These are big topics, and you only have 250 words. Often, it's easier to focus on a specific experience than a larger category. For example, you can’t cover everything about being a woman, but you can tell a good story about standing up to a friend when he used a misogynistic microaggression and what you learned from that experience. Or you can choose to write about navigating an argument between members of your club’s fundraising board and honestly have a similar takeaway.
This question is really broad and there are many different stories that you can tell to answer this prompt. The important thing is to bring us into your world and tell a good story about a part of your background or a community you care about. Ideally, this story features you using a strength, learning a new skill or gaining perspective. Your story should also have a beginning, middle, and end.
This essay doesn’t need a formal conclusion, but you can wrap it up by connecting your skill or perspective to who you hope to be at UVA once you get on campus.
UVA's supplement is fairly short, but that doesn’t mean you should phone it in. Take your time to brainstorm and choose the right story that showcases something essential about you. If you do that, you should be golden. And always, if you are struggling with supplements, we can help!
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