Does Your #UVA Application Need to Show a Spike?

What does "spike" mean to you? If you've been spending time on websites where college admission advice is given out in the last few years, you've probably seen it used in conversations about extracurricular activities. Let's talk about that and what UVA admission officers are looking for when we review the activity section of your Common App.

The Definition

The spike being talked about on those sites refers to the notion that students should tailor their activities (and in some cases, the entire application) to fit their intended major. Most recently, I've seen people talk of showing a "business spike" or "psychology spike." 

The General Concept Isn't New

There were people talking about crafting and packaging yourself to fit a specific theme back when I was applying to college! We thought you had to be either well-rounded or pointy. We'd also hear people talk about students being specialists and generalists. I think that the internet has made "spike" spread very quickly to the point that it's become generally accepted.

My Take on the Spike Messages I'm Seeing

When it comes to activities, we don't craft the class to cover certain interests because we don't have to. When you have an incoming class of ~3,900 students, you don't have to engineer variety. No one is going to say "where are the drummers" or "who will write for the newspaper?" There will be drummers. And writers. And dancers. You get the idea. 

When I look at your activity list, I simply want to see that you're making a contribution in some area of your life. Activities don't have to be related to each other. Activities don't have to be related to your academic interests. Activities should be rewarding, interesting, and fun. You shouldn't be afraid to try something because it doesn't fit into a strategy.

Also, consider the fact that we are looking for curious students who will take advantage of all the wonderful options in the UVA curriculum. It's great to have an idea about what you'd like to study, but I hope you're excited about exploring subjects you haven't had access to in high school.

What Applicants Should Do

Ask a few admission officers about this spike concept. You might have to explain what it is, as this idea didn't come out of admission offices. I hope you'll see that we are all interested in learning more about you in the activity section, but we aren't expecting your involvement to dovetail with your academic interests.

Activities should be rewarding and fun, not part of a strategy!

We DO Want Well-Rounded Students...But Not in the Way You Think

The first time I heard the phrase "well-rounded," I was in high school and even though that was a long time ago, I thought about it in the same context that many people use today. I thought about showing my well-roundedness through activities. While there were students whose extracurricular involvement was purely driven by their interests, many of us assembled lists that we thought broadcast variety. There was this perception that to be considered well-rounded, you need to cover certain bases: athletics, arts, academics, service, leadership, etc. I was so nervous about this that even though I didn't couldn't handle Model UN along with my other activities (pre-internet, being in Model UN required a mountain of work), I stayed in it out of fear that I needed it to look well-rounded.

Perhaps my experience is why I've always spent a good amount of time explaining that we don't have a checklist when it comes to activities and that everyone doesn't have to be well-rounded. After all, the incoming class of 3,800 students will be well-rounded. We don't have to engineer that. It just happens.


That being said, the "well-rounded" idea does apply in our review...to academics. In recent years, I've had more students articulate a feeling that they should be specializing in a certain academic field of interest. They think it will "look good" to show a focus in one subject...and they're dropping core subjects to do that.

High school is the time to build a great foundation. College is where you solidify that foundation and then leap into specialization. We want you to have a well-rounded academic foundation so you can go any direction once your get to college.  Dropping core classes in high school to load up in an area of interest isn't necessarily going to "look good" to admission officers.

I'm not talking about magnet or governor's school programs. In my experience, those allow for deep work in certain disciplines without sacrificing work in other core subjects.

Well-rounded

By the way, the vast majority of UVA students don't declare a major until they've been here for a year (Schools of Engineering and Architecture) or two (College of Arts and Sciences). If you think you know what you want right now, be aware that you might change your mind. It's really common!

Picking a School and Academic Interest on the #UVA Application

Spending time in my Virginia territory always gives me a read on what the big concerns are for the year's applicants. I gave 21 presentations at Fairfax high schools last week and sat on a panel at one evening program. Far and away, the most common questions I heard were about picking a major.

Applicants to UVA can enter through one of four schools or one academic program. The options are:

College of Arts & Sciences
School of Engineering
School of Architecture
School of Nursing
Kinesiology

Students do not declare majors in Arts & Sciences, Engineering, and Architecture when they apply. The only students who are really entering directly into a program are the Nursing and Kinesiology students. Last year, there were 75 first years in Nursing and 49 in Kinesiology. In the class of 3,683 students, 3,559 have yet to declare a major.

Students in the College of Arts & Sciences declare majors by the end of their second year and students in Engineering and Architecture declare at the end of theor first year. Engineering and Architecture expose students to all of their options (10 majors in Engineering, 3 in Architecture) before they declare at the end of the first year. Once they arrive at UVA, students can also explore the Curry School of Education, McIntire School of Commerce, and Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.

You aren't making a permanent decision with your choice of school and academic interest on the UVA application. Please don't stress out about this! Pick the area that feels like the right jumping off point in light of your current interests. Very few students actually have an academic plan right now and those who have plans probably won't follow them exactly!

Interests evolve...that's normal!