You Need 9 APs and Other Ridiculous #UVA Admission Rumors

Admission rumors make me laugh sometimes, but not today. Today, I heard that multiple students at a particular high school told their counselors that UVA would put them in a "special category" if they were able to get 9 AP courses on their transcripts.

Let's just nip this in the bud. This is completely false. Every application is reviewed the same way. There is a preliminary review by the Office of Virginia Status that verifies the applicant's residency. Once that is completed, the process is the same for all applicants. Each admission officer reads their applications front-to-back. There is no "first round" that just looks at academics or test scores. There is no "special category" for students with a certain number of AP courses on their transcript. Remember that program options are different from school to school, so having a universal "bar" for applicants wouldn't make sense.

There's another rumor out there that claims we will deny students who have "too many" APs because awarding advanced credit "robs" UVA of tuition dollars. This one is truly baffling. The College addresses their very generous AP/IB/DE credit policy on their website. Students can bring up to 60 credits with them to UVA. The President's office also gives a special stole that those who are completing degrees in 2 or 3 years and President Sullivan makes special mention of those students at Final Exercises. If your school offers advanced options and you feel ready to weave them into your program, go for it!

I suspect that these rumors get cooked up when people try to explain an admission decision that they didn't expect. Keep in mind that while course rigor is very important to us, the other components of the application must be strong and compelling as well.

As always, I'm happy to answer your questions in the comments!

Don't worry! We're here to dispel those rumors!