Get into UVA

Everything you need to know about UVA (University of Virginia) Admissions.

About UVA

The University of Virginia is a leading public university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. UVA is currently ranked #24 in the U.S. News and World Report ranking of National Universities (tied with Carnegie Mellon, Emory and Washington University in St. Louis) and #5 in Top Public Schools. Beyond the undergraduate level, UVA ranks #1 for Best Public Law School and #1 for Best Public Business School. UVA’s reputation for academic rigor has earned the school its informal reputation as a “public Ivy.”

Majors and Schools

Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, UVA currently has 16,793 undergraduate students and 6,928 graduate and professional students enrolled, among which 68% are Virginians, who pay significantly less in tuition and fees than out-of-state students. Undergraduate students at UVA choose between 75 majors and a small selection of minors and certificates, which are offered across various schools including the College of Arts & Sciences, the School of Education and Human Development, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the School of Nursing, the School of Architecture, the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, the McIntire School of Commerce (ranked #8 among undergraduate business programs by U.S. News and World Report), and the School of Data Science. There are also several graduate and professional schools including the School of Law, the School of Medicine, and the Darden School of Business. Beyond its Central Virginia location, UVA also has a second campus in Wise, Virginia — the College at Wise — which boasts 33 majors, 39 minors, and 5 pre-professional study tracks.

UVA’s “Grounds”

UVA’s central campus, which it refers to as “Grounds,” is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the heart of which remains Thomas Jefferson’s “Academical Village,” where Jefferson would reinvent ideals of higher education in America. Today, Grounds serve as a hub for the University’s exciting array of student-led traditions, its NCAA Division I athletics program with 25 Varsity teams, and the Fralin Museum of Art and the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, and provide a safe home for the University’s extensive archival collections and other scholarly resources. Beyond UVA Grounds lies the rich cultural scene of Charlottesville, with its restaurants (the city has among the nation’s highest restaurants per capita), coffee shops, and music and art scenes. Beyond the metropolitan area, the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains and Appalachian Trail offer natural beauty and ample hiking opportunities to students and faculty alike. UVA’s other campus, the College at Wise (the Virginia coalfield revision’s only four-year public institution of higher education) boasts similar opportunities for hiking, canoeing, local shopping and restaurant-going, and more.

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Honors Programs

UVA offers several honors programs, including the College of Arts & Sciences’ Echols Scholars Program, which provides academic flexibility to students with demonstrated intellectual motivation and creativity so that they might pursue their own scholarly interests; the College Science Scholars Program, which offers mentorship and research opportunities to STEM students in the College of Arts & Sciences; and the Rodman Scholars Program, which rewards the top 5% of students admitted to the School of Engineering with uniquely tailored curricular opportunities including on- and off-campus programs of study and scholar housing with fellow Rodman and Echols Scholars. Successful UVA applicants are automatically considered for these honors programs. UVA’s Jefferson and Walentas scholarship programs, the latter explicitly for first-generation college students, offer full merit scholarships, foreign travel experience, and networking opportunities to exceptional applicants who are nominated by their high school for consideration.

Applying to University of Virginia

When applying to the University of Virginia, students apply to one of five schools — the College of Arts & Sciences, the School of Education and Human Development, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the School of Nursing, and the School of Architecture. Students wishing to major in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy or the McIntire School of Commerce may apply to do so during their second year at UVA.

The University of Virginia offers both Early Decision and Early Action application deadlines for first-year students, along with a Regular admission deadline. Those who apply to the binding ED program are notified of their admissions status by December 15, EA applicants by February 15, and Regular Decision applicants by April 1.

That UVA offers Early Decision is somewhat unusual, as peer state institutions typically offer Early Action and Regular Decision options alone. Students who rank UVA as their top choice school should consider taking advantage of the ED offering, as the admit rate for ED has consistently been higher than the admit rates for non-ED applicants. That said, admissions are becoming increasingly competitive, and applying to UVA — or any school — ED is not a surefire way to get in: the ED admit rate for non-Virginia students applying for admission to the Class of 2026 was 25% (38% for Virginians), whereas the rate for the Class of 2027 dipped down to the teens — 17% (and 31% for Virginians).

UVA is committed to the success of students from Virginia: the school has pledged 2/3 Virginian enrollment in UVA in the coming years and also guarantees transfer admission to Virginian students attending community colleges across Virginia so long as they meet a defined set of standards.

Admissions Wrap Up for UVA

Class of 2028
UVA admitted 9,726 applicants to the Class of 2028. 58,995 total applications were received, up 5 percent over year. The overall admission rate was 25.5 percent for in-state and 13 percent for out-of-state. UVA received a record number of ED and EA applications, 42,093 students (1/3 in-state and 2/3 out-of-state) for the Class of 2028. This is a 3.4 percent increase from last year. 37,665 were early action, 4,465 were early decision. Of the 4,465 ED applications, 1,133 were accepted, for a rate of 25.38 percent.

Top Tier Admissions Can Help You Get Into University of Virginia:

I hope you are enjoying some extremely well-deserved R&R after the intensity of Bootcamp! We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for offering R and I your warmth, encouragement, expertise, and seasoned insight. R was so very lucky to have the chance to work with you. We now count you as part of our beloved extended family! ABC was certainly rigorous but it was wonderful to see R’s pride and relief when she came home on Friday.

C.W.

Application Boot Camp parent

I’m not in complete TTA withdrawal after ABC, thanks to you continuing to keep us on track! My heartfelt gratitude for all you have done for the K family. Your care and calm have meant the world to us. So much appreciation for being our rock and guiding light!

P.L.

Application Boot Camp parent

We are enormously grateful for your nurturing presence in our lives and we can’t thank you enough for the gift of your extraordinary experience and expert advice during this nerve-racking process. I still can’t get over the collective brain power in the “room” at ABC.

You might be surprised at what I heard H say yesterday but it’s such a tribute to how hard he worked, how much support he received, and the connections he made. After his 3-hour nap on Friday, a celebratory dinner, and a great night’s, he got up on Saturday and said, “Mom, I want to go back to Bootcamp!” True story. I’m not sure how you do it with the pace and intensity of ABC but T felt truly seen, deeply respected, pushed in the best way possible, and overjoyed about the results. We appreciate your help more than words can express.

H.B.

Application Boot Camp parent

While H awaits his early round decisions, I wanted to give you an update on R. He just finished his first semester at Occidental and he has been crushing it. He loves the school and he is motivated, curious and working so hard. It has been an ideal place for him.

We cannot thank you enough for all of your help and truly wonderful advice. We are so grateful!

T.C.

Application Boot Camp parents

We are thrilled to inform you that H has been accepted to Duke University and will be joining his brother K there this fall. We were admittedly a little nervous when Application Boot Camp (understandably) went virtual, but we should not have worried as H came away super-prepared for application season. We really appreciate all of the frank advice and counsel we have received from everyone at Top Tier over the last few years as our sons have journeyed through this process.

W.R.

Application Boot Camp parent

I can’t thank you enough for all your guidance and encouragement during ABC! I’m still exhausted but also really happy about my essays. It’s a huge relief to have my common app in such good shape. I’ll never forget how much you and the rest of the amazing TTA team helped me.

K.R.

Application Boot Camp student

I wanted to share the good news that J was accepted to Duke early admission. Thank you for your support!

S.D.

Application Boot Camp student

I got into Brown University! I’m so excited to attend!! Thank you for all your guidance and support during the whole process. I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome, and Top Tier was critical in this result.

M.R.

Application Boot Camp student

I wanted to share with you the great news that I was accepted to Tulane ED yesterday! Thank you both so much for your advice and help along the way. I can’t imagine how hard it would have been without it. I am so excited and looking forward to the fall. Thank you!!

E.R.

Application Boot Camp student

I just got my Brown Early Decision back and I wanted to let you all know that I got in!!!! Thank you, guys, so much for all the help with my application and my essays. I couldn’t have done it without your help! I am so happy that I got into my first-choice school!!! Once again, I can’t thank you all enough for all the help and guidance

C.A.

Application Boot Camp student

We want to share the good news that P was admitted ED to Williams yesterday! Thank you!

W.B.

Application Boot Camp parents

Without ABC I would have had a strictly mediocre application.

R.V.

Application Boot Camp student

I just wanted to share with you the very exciting news that I was accepted into the University of Miami!!! Thank you so much for all your help and support during this process. All the team from Top Tier really made a difference and were extremely supportive.

L.W.

Application Boot Camp student

Trust The Process. Those words are etched in my brain forever. We were so happy and excited to watch our daughter find out she had been accepted early into Notre Dame last night.
I felt like a millstone that had been hanging around my neck was taken off immediately.
Thank you for your patience and for your expertise in guiding our daughter. Her friends from ND are coming home this weekend and she is so happy and proud to be able to wear a ND sweatshirt she had been keeping in her closet since she picked it up at ND last June.
The Boot Camp was really awesome in teaching her how to write essays for the supplemental questions. I would say it also boosted her confidence, knowing that experts such as yourselves taught her the pearls of wisdom in writing college applications.
From South Dakota to South Bend… it was a journey uphill but our daughter is finally home… Thank you!

O.P.

Application Boot Camp parents

I wanted to share that M GOT INTO PRINCETON! We are so happy for her. She worked super hard. She couldn’t have done the application questions and created a niche without all of your support. Thank you so much for everything. We will forever be in gratitude.

D.J.

Application Boot Camp parent

MASSIVE thanks to you for all you did to shepherd us through this nerve-racking process! You are the rock, the hub, and the heart of TTA. H is so extraordinarily fortunate to have had you supporting, guiding, and believing in her.
I saw her grow right before my eyes during Bootcamp (which was phenomenally well run, due to your effort and skill). I still marvel at how much she accomplished in such a condensed period of time but I am most grateful for how you nurtured her spirit and confidence. Empowering her in that way has made all the difference this year.
I know everyone must say “we couldn’t have done it without you” but that sentiment is true beyond words. You have given her a gift that will keep giving for the rest of her life and you have changed us for good AND for the better.

R.C.

Application Boot Camp parent

I wanted to share the good news that I was accepted to Wharton ED last night!! Thanks again to you and ABC for all the support.

W.P.

Application Boot Camp student

I just wanted to let you all know that I was accepted into Northwestern! Thanks for all your help!

R.G.

Application Boot Camp student

I’m already envious of the red carpet you are rolling out for ABC; these kiddos are so fortunate to be in such caring and attentive hands! T is very excited for Bootcamp and that is a gift in and of itself. A million thank yous for creating an application experience that generates more enthusiasm than panic.

E.A.

Application Boot Camp parent

Michele, I know E has already written you but I wanted to reach out and say thank you to you and R as well as the rest of the Top Tier Team. E is over the moon and being able to enjoy the rest of the year without the stress of college decisions is priceless. We all appreciate what you and your team were able to do to help guide the process as well as make the essay writing much smoother that it would have been otherwise.

C.B.

Application Boot Camp parent

I KNOW that YOU were beyond instrumental in this process and I wanted to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for your efforts from August in Boston onward. You were always available and such a massive help for K with her supplements.

H.T.

Application Boot Camp and Essay Guidance parent

I just wanted to let you guys know I’ve officially been admitted to Williams. I am SO excited and so grateful for all of your help along the way. Thank you so much. Woohoo!

E.A.

Application Boot Camp student

We wanted to let you know that L was accepted at Tufts – his first choice and ED app! Thanks again for all of your help!

G.Y.

Application Boot Camp parent

She’s IN at Stanford! Thank you for all your support and hard work, and to the others at TTA who worked over her application. You are very much appreciated. K is a great kid and I trust her to do good in the world.

E.W.

Application Boot Camp parent