2025-2026 Early Action Admission Statistics

I've written a post like this few times per year since 2008 and the numbers have changed a lot over the years. The Office of Institutional Research and Analytics website has admission data going back many years and this blog has data from past years as well.

Early Action Applications

Total number of Early Action applications: 57,495 (41,885 last year)
Total number of VA apps: 13,445 (11,240)

Total number of OOS apps: 44,050 (30,645)
We use completed applications in our statistics.

Early Action Offers

Overall offers: 7,151
Total VA offers: 3,071 (23% offer rate)
Total OOS offers: 4,080 (9% offer rate)
It's misleading to average these offer rates together because residency is a major factor in our review. If you are going to share these numbers, cite both offer rates. 

Defers: 8,480 (14.7%)

Deferred students can opt-into the Regular Decision round in their portals and can withdraw at any time. The Deferred Student Information page is linked in decision letters. 

Our total applicant pool (ED, EA, and RD) is just under 83,000 students. 

Some notes:

1. I do not have additional statistics. We are already immersed in the Regular Decision review process and I have files to read tonight!

2. Decisions will be posted in the applicant portal tomorrow night around 5 PM. You got login credentials back when we received your Common App. If you never logged in before, do it now so you know how it works. 

3. Admitted students will get a paper copy of their admitted student packet by mail. I can't really predict when the USPS will get that into your mailbox. Your enrollment deposit is due by May 1st.

 
4. Please share the deferred student information with your parent(s) and counselor. If you'd like to be considered for during the Regular Decision review, complete the reply form in the portal by and upload your semester grades and any other updates when they become available. Our instructions are clear that updates are uploaded in your portal, not emailed to admission officers. 

5. The first round of invitations into Echols, Rodman, and College Science Scholars, will probably be sent by email and via the portal next week. I will post an update when that happens. A second round will be posted after the Regular Decision process is completed. Echols and Rodman also allow self-nomination after your first semester. Miller Arts Scholars only apply after the first semester.

Early Action Notification Update!

Let's get right to the news...

Early Action notification will be

Friday, January 30, 2026

Where are the decisions posted? 

You will see a place to view your decision when you log into your MyUVA Applicant Portal. You received login information for the portal back when you applied. Decisions are not sent by email, but the system sends an email when you have an unseen status update (there's a lag, so if you view your decision quickly, the email won't go out to you).

What time will decisions show up? 

The decisions will get posted all at once to portals around 5 PM. There's a technical team runs several processes to get the portals updated and I can't predict the exact time that they'll finish their work. 

Why is the portal changing? Is it a sign of my decision? 

The portal will look a little different as the technical team prepares for the release. The changes are not tied to your decision. 

What about the Scholars Programs?

We will probably post invitations to the Echols, Rodman, and College Science Scholars programs next week. The review included Early Decision and Early Action students. I'll post an update when I have one. 

When will I hear about Financial Aid?

Student Financial Services aims to have packages ready for students close to the end of the admission review. Please keep checking your SIS account to make sure SFS has the information they need to create a package for you. 

 As always, I'll have a post with admission statistics when I get them. I'll do my usual live q&a session on Instagram (@uvadeanj) tomorrow at 3 PM. 

Good luck to you all! 

Unofficial 2025-2026 Early Decision Admission Statistics

 Early Decision students, you all gave us some great apps! I smiled a lot, I laughed a bit, and I shed a few tears, too. My favorite essay folder is certainly a little bigger! You're pretty amazing and I look forward to seeing some of you propel UVA forward in the next few years. Now, on to the numbers...

These statistics aren't all that different from last year, so I don't think anyone should be surprised by this data. 

Early Decision Applications

Total number of Early Decision applications: 5,108 (4,971 last year)
Total number of VA apps: 3,077 (2,795)
Total number of OOS apps: 2,031 (2,176)
We use completed applications in our statistics.

Early Decision Offers

Overall offers: 1,225 (1,282)
Total VA offers: 766 (25% offer rate)
Total OOS offers: 459 (23% offer rate)
Averaging these offer rates together is misleading because residency is a major factor in our review. If you are going to share these numbers, cite BOTH offer rates and not an average.

A few notes:

1. I do not have additional statistics. I report the data I'm given. We are already immersed in the Early Action review process and I have files to read!

2. Decisions will be posted in the applicant portal around 5pm. You got login credentials back when we received your Common App.

3. Admitted students will get an acceptance packet. It will take a while for us to get those out. I can't really predict when the USPS will get that into your mailbox. Your enrollment deposit is due by January 15th.

4. Defer letters have a link to the deferred student website. Please go over the information with your parent(s) and counselor. If you'd like to be considered for during the Regular Decision review, complete the reply form in the portal by and upload your semester grades and any other updates when they become available. This takes the place of writing a Letter of Continued Interest (LOCI). Our instructions are clear that updates are uploaded in your portal, not emailed to admission officers. 

5. The Echols, Rodman, and College Science Scholars program invitations will be extended at the end of  the Early Action and Regular Decision processes. Early Decision students will be considered in both of those rounds. Echols and Rodman also allow self-nomination after your first semester.

6. Remember that these numbers are unofficial. Institutional Research and Analytics is the source of all official statistics about UVA. They take a census to determine the final statistics for the class in the fall. I wrote a big post about all the great sources of data last year that you may find helpful.

If you are a reporter, please contact the Office of University Communications for current, official information.

An Early Decision Update

 

Early Decision notification will be 

Friday, December 12, 2025 

This is official. Please do not call our office to confirm it. 

What time will decisions show up?

The decisions get posted all at once around 5 PM. There's a technical team that runs through several processes to prepare for the release and load the decisions. I can't predict the exact moment when they will finish their work.

Where are the decisions posted?

You will see a place to review an update in your MyUVA Applicant Portal. You received login credentials for the portal back when you applied. Remember that your applicant portal is different from SIS, which is used for the financial aid process. 

Decisions are not given out by email or phone. Shortly after the decisions are posted in portals, the system emails students if their update hasn't been seen. 

Are there early signs of my decision anywhere?

The portal will look different leading up to the decision release as the technical team does their work. These changes are not tied to your decision.

Are scholar notifications coming?
The first round of review for Echols, Rodman, and College Science Scholars will be completed after the Early Action process in February. A second round will occur in March and decisions will go up after the Regular Decision process is completed. Early Decision students are included in those reviews. 

When will statistics be ready?
As soon as I am given some data to share, I will post it here. 

 This post is about Early Decision. Please consult the chart of dates for other rounds.

Join Us for Lighting of the Lawn 2025!

When prospective students and parents ask us about our favorite traditions, Lighting of the Lawn tends to be on the list. This is a community event that started after 9/11 to bring some joy to the UVA Grounds. The event has gotten larger and more elaborate over the years with all kinds of dance and vocal performances, a class poem, and a dance party (with a drone show last year!) at the end. 

Here's a 2-minute look at the event, including some behind-the-scenes footage!

This year's Lighting of the Lawn theme is Remix: A Quarter of Century of Light. You can join us via a livestream starting at 7 PM. 

My personal favorite show was in 2014, when we didn't think they'd be able to light of the Rotunda because it was fenced off and covered in scaffolding for a restoration project. There were lights...and then they added more lights...and still more lights. It was amazing!

btw: Don't miss the class poem at 8:40 PM! Yours truly got to read the poem a few years ago along with UVA football coach Tony Elliot, Julie Caruccio (AVP for Research and the mounted Cavalier mascot), and economics professor Ken Elzinga. It was a blast!

Early Action/Early Decision Deadline Reminders

The early deadline is around the corner and I have a few reminders for our applicants...

1. The deadline is for your Common App, not transcripts and recommendations.

This is covered in the deadline chart on the application instructions page of our website (please read them!). Students applying to UVA for Early Decision or Early Action consideration have until 11:59 PM on November 1st to submit the Common App. School counselors and teachers have a different deadline.

2. Applicant portal credentials come by email within a few days of submission.

Within a few days of the Common App reaching us, the student will get an email from undergradadmission@virginia.edu with login info for the MyUVA Applicant Portal.  Consider adding that email address to your email address book. This is also covered in the application instructions! 

The portal is where you can confirm your name, application term, school of entry, and residency decision are correct. It will also show you a checklist for required components (the portal doesn't check in miscellaneous credentials). All updates are submitted through your portal and it will most file types (no sound or video). On notification day, you'll see your application decision in the portal, too!

This portal is different from SIS, which is used by the financial aid office, Student Financial Services.

3. Matching up credentials takes time.

The first time you log into your applicant portal, your application may be incomplete. It takes time for credentials to be matched to a new application.  

4. There's a deadline for changing your round (ED/EA), testing decision, and school of entry.

If you would like to change your round, email us by 5 PM on November 6th.

If you would like to change your testing decision or school of entry, email us by 5 PM on November 22nd.

This is in the application instructions. 

5. We do not accept resumes, research papers, or portfolios that aren't art supplements.

 Those items are not part of our review. We mention this in several places on our website. Please do not use the "additional information" section of the Common App to submit these items. You don't need to email us anything. The Common App is enough!

6. You aren't applying to a major unless you want to study Nursing or Kinesiology.

This is covered on our website and on the Common App where you select your school of entry. Almost everyone is undeclared when they arrive at UVA. 

7. Common App provides Common App support.

The Common App has a help desk to work with people having technical problems with their website. The colleges that take the Common App don't control the technical parts of the Common App. 

8. You don't need to send us letters of interest. 

I've already gotten some "just wanted to express my interest" emails.  Your application is proof of your interest. You're a busy senior with a lot on your plate. Please don't spent time on letters of interest for UVA!

Good luck to everyone putting the finishing touches on applications! 

UVA Language Requirements

Students and parents regularly ask about UVA's language requirements during my weekly, live q&a session on Instagram. While I have a highlight on my Instagram account about this, I thought I'd write a blog post about it, too. 

Students in UVA's College of Arts & Sciences must show proficiency in a second language. Many students are able to show proficiency upon entering UVA because they're already bilingual or their high school work allows them to show a level of knowledge that satisfies the College's requirement. 

How do you show proficiency?
Proficiency in a second language can be demonstrated through the AP/IB exams, talking a college course at the 202 level (2020 at UVA), or a placement exam. 

For the AP exams, the scores needed vary by the language. Check the AP credit chart on the UVA website to see what score gets you exempted from the 2020 course. 

For IB exams, the scores also vary by language. See the IB credit chart on the UVA website to see what HL exam scores get you exempted from the 2020 level. 

What is the placement exam like?
Most placement exams are completed online before you come to summer orientation. In some cases, like ASL, the evaluation is done with a UVA faculty member. Check the World Language Requirement Placement page to see whether placement is done online or in-person for your chosen language. 

I've taken the exam in my second language a few times and it only took about 20 minutes to complete. There was a multiple choice section and then a recorded section where I responded to a very basic prompt. The format of the exam may change over the time. I do not consider myself fluent anymore, though I watch the news/shows/tiktok in my second language, and I found the exam fair and straightforward. 

What about students with disabilities that might impact language acquisition?
There's a website about accommodations for students with disabilities that may affect their completion of the requirement. Staff from our Student Disability Access Center (SDAC) will help the student navigate their options. 

So I don't have to take a language all four years of high school?
If the goal as a UVA student is to show proficiency in a second language, it behooves the student to keep taking language classes throughout high school. If you take time off from language work, you will most likely lose proficiency. You will probably have to do more work as a UVA student to meet the requirement. 

Some high school students who say they're "done" with language work because they've met their high school's graduation requirement, but keep in mind that being competitive in a selective college admission process usually means going beyond graduation requirements. 

What if I want to switch languages? 
It's fine if interests evolve and you change your mind about studying a particular language. The options in college are definitely more diverse than the ones you have at the average high school! If you started over, you'd need to take four classes to become proficient. 

UVA has a consortium agreement with Duke and Vanderbilt for language classes, too! You can take K'iche' Maya, Cherokee, Haitian Creole, Malagasy, and Turkish via zoom with Duke and Vandy while their students can take Swahili classes at UVA. 

Can students fulfill the requirement over the summer?
We have students who take college courses to fulfill the requirement over the summer. Some do that work at UVA through the Summer Language Institute. It's an 8-week, intensive program.  

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

The 2025-2026 Common App is Open!

Happy August 1st! As usual, the Common App opened next year's application a little early and I got my first "is this right" email from a counselor at 6:56 PM. 

The UVA screens on the Common App are correct. UVA retained the short answer question for students applying to the School of Nursing. There are no extra writing prompts for the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering, School of Architecture, or the Kinesiology program. 

That one prompt:

School of Nursing - Describe a health care-related experience or other significant interaction that deepened your interest in studying Nursing. 

I'll miss the old short answers on the UVA part of the app. Dean Schlachter and I collaborated on creating many of the prompts from the back in the day and enjoyed the process of writing and tweaking those every year. That being said, UVA applicants have always given us wonderful Common App essays and we'll be eager to see your responses to those prompts this year. 

Remember that the filing period is several months. We don't refer to time stamps on applications, so if you do you best work under pressure, you have until 11:59 PM on the night of your chosen deadline to submit.

Best of luck on your applications! As always, if you need us, you can reach an admission office by phone during business hours, by email, and on social media. We don't use demonstrated interest* at UVA, so we aren't assessing your candidacy when we interact. We're here to help. 

*Demonstrated interest is the practice of consulting prior contact with an application when making an admission decision. Attending a tour, seeing one of us during a high school visit, following us on social media, or reading the emails we send does not impact your admission decision at UVA. 

How do you find data about job placement for UVA graduates?

I almost cried on my first day of grad school. I can laugh at this now, but I remember sitting in class (Research Methods, which was one of the most important courses I took, in retrospect) and could not follow the discussion despite carefully reading the text. I panicked. I worried that maybe I didn't belong in my program. I thought I wasn't smart enough to be there. The issue was that I wasn't familiar with higher ed lingo yet. Lingo can make people in a group feel connected, but it can also be confusing to outsiders. 

As someone researching colleges, you might find it hard to find certain data because of lingo. One example of this is when looking for job placement information about graduates. "Job placement" seems like a pretty standard term, but it might land you on a general career services website. If you want the data, you want to find the Outcomes Report. Many (most?) colleges use the word "outcomes" for this information. 

The UVA Career Center Outcomes Data has a few years of information, presented in charts that cover data about destinations, industries, salaries, and graduate schools. There are similar dashboards that show Employer Engagement and Summer Internship/Job Placement. 

Keep in mind that these reports are based on optional surveys sent to graduating students. While Career Services tries to be persistent, they don't require students to share their personal information. 

You can use the menus to change the charts to show information about students who were in a specific school/college or major within UVA. 

2025 Waiting Update #1

The May 1st deposit deadline is beyond us and transfer decisions are posted! The next part of our process is to work with the waiting list. If you haven't read about the process on the waiting list page of our website, please take a look! It covers all the frequently asked questions that we get at this time of year. 

A few notes...

1. We are going to make a small number of offers to students on the waiting list. The offers will post in portals around 5 PM today and an email will go to each student letting know that there is an update to view. ETA 5/4/2025: The offers were made to students on the waiting list for the Kinesiology program.

2. Students getting waiting list offers have a few days to accept or decline. If a student applied for financial aid, the decision period starts when financial aid posts their package. Please be sure UVA has your FAFSA and CSS Profile (you have a portal to check this) so Student Financial Services can work without delay. 

3. All updates you wish to send us should be uploaded in your portal. Remember, the portal isn't smart enough to "read" the documents you submit and classify them. It simply files them. You will not see an uploaded item appear on your checklist. 

4. The best source of information about UVA admission is UVA admission. This season feels a bit different. I've come across several third parties giving incorrect information about our process on social media. I know it's exciting to hear news about the schools on your list, but please remember that we have always tried to keep our students and parents informed about our process via our website, this blog, and our social media channels. If you don't see the news coming from my office, take it with a grain of salt. 

The website update:

We’re grateful to the many deserving students who remain on our waiting list. We will offer admission to a small number of students on the waiting list for the Kinesiology program this evening. These students will receive an email notifying them of an update to their status in their MyUVA application portal.

Over the next month, we will continue to monitor our class. We expect to resolve the status of all students who remain on the waiting list no later than June 15.

We are thankful all of our applicants for putting their faith in us and for their interest in UVA. We wish you the best as you wrap up your senior year and get ready for what we hope is a fun, safe, and relaxing summer.

 

By the way, this is the first year admission blog. The transfer blog has always been the first link in the menu to the right. Updates on that process are posted there. 

Incoming Class Accounts on Instagram

Back in the day, social media accounts for college classes would get started by an excited student. Word would spread. Roommate surveys would be created. It was a good time...until companies got involved. 

In 2008, someone working for a company called College Prowler (now Niche) created hundreds of Facebook groups for incoming classes. A bunch of admission officers who were on social media at the time collaborated to track down all the "fake" accounts. Here's a rundown of the story from a blog that no longer exists. 

In 2010, this was still happening. It involved the same people, but they were working for a roommate matching website. The Choice blog at the New York Times covered what was happening and the Washington Post covered it as well.

These days, this activity is happening on GroupMe, What's App, and Instagram. There are dozens of "official" incoming class accounts for every college on those platforms. Please be careful about sharing your personal information on social media. They are not affiliated with UVA. One is actually selling tickets to "Welcome Week." There is no "Welcome Week" party at UVA. The first week here is called Wahoo Welcome and aside from maybe needing a ticket for the big concert that week, you don't pay for Wahoo Welcome. 

UVA offices like Orientation, Housing, and Dining will communicate with your via email, from virginia.edu email accounts. They have portals where you'll carry out transactions securely (registering for Orientation, signing up for Housing, requesting a roommate, etc.). 

By the way, the website for that "Welcome Week" account is registered in Iceland. 

Echols, Rodman, and College Science Scholars, Round 2

The second round of invitations for three of UVA's scholars programs went out this evening by email and portals are updated. Applicants from all rounds (ED, EA, and RD) to the College of Arts & Sciences and the School of Engineering were reviewed for a potential invitation to three scholars programs: Echols, Rodman, and College Science Scholars. We may extend a few invitations after May 1st if spaces are available. 

Students can apply to join these program and Miller Arts Scholars after some time at UVA. The timeline and processes vary by program.

Scholars are less than 5% of the students in the College of Arts and Sciences and School of Engineering. You can read more about the programs on their websites. In addition to showing exceptional academic records, scholars show a love of learning and an extraordinary commitment to academic pursuits beyond the classroom. We see this in transcripts, recommendations, essays, and activities. The review for the scholars programs is not driven by GPAs or test scores. 

Congratulations to all!

2024-2025 UVA Admission Statistics (Unofficial)

I've written a post like this few times per year since 2008. UVA has always been pretty transparent about statistics. The Office of Institutional Research and Analytics website has admission data going back to 2016 and our office shares admission rates broken down by residency in our presentations, publications, on our website, and on social media. If you're familiar with any of those, then these numbers I'm sharing aren't all that surprising. 

 If you are a reporter, please contact the Office of University Communications for current, official information.

Regular Decision Round

Total RD applications: 17,568 (16,866 last year)
VA RD applications: 3,519 (3,750)
OOS RD applications: 14,049 (13,116)

VA RD acceptance rate: 11% (15%)
OOS RD acceptance rate: 9% (11%)
Defer acceptance rate: 3% (no deferrals last year)

Overall Admission Statistics

Total applications: 64,463 (58,995 last year)
Total VA applications: 17,608 (16,455)
Total OOS applications: 46,855 (42,540)

Overall VA acceptance rate: 23% (25.5%)
Overall OOS acceptance rate: 12.5% (13%)

 

A few notes:

1. We publish in-state and out-of-state admission rates because residency is a major factor in our review. If you cite admission rates for UVA, cite both rates to be most accurate.

2. Schools admit more students than the enrollment goal with yield in mind. Yield is how many students accept an offer of admission. We do not try to figure out an individual student's likelihood of enrolling (or look at demonstrated interest), but yield trends influence the offer rate. For example, out-of-state residents tend to have a lower yield rate than Virginia residents. You can see yield rates by college/school (first tab) and residency (second tab) on our website. We do not practice "yield protection" at UVA.

3. Unofficial early decision and early action statistics were shared when we concluded those rounds.

4. Admitted students will get a hard copy of their letter in their offer packet. Unfortunately, I can't predict when USPS will put that in your mailbox.

5. Students offered the waiting list option should read the Waiting List FAQs. That link will be in the decision letter as well. Please share that link with the adults in your life!

6. The second round of Echols, Rodman, and College Science Scholars program invitations will come out next week. I will post an update when I have one. This review round included all applicants (Early Decision, Early Action, and Regular Decision). Miller Arts Scholars apply after the first semester.

Good luck tomorrow night! If you get an offer, we are thrilled to have you considering UVA! We hope to see you at some of our virtual or in-person admitted student programs. Information about those will be in your portals. 

If this is the end of your time with UVA, best wishes for the rest of your college search. There are exciting times ahead for all of you. I have loved interacting with you here, on Instagram, Tiktok, reddit, and Discord. Thank you all for considering UVA! 

UVA Regular Decision Update

I know why you clicked, so here it is:

Regular Decision results will be posted

Friday, March 14, 2025

This is official. No need to call to confirm!

What time will decisions show up?

The decisions get posted all at once in around 5 PM. There's a technical team that runs through several processes to prepare for the release and load the decisions. I can't predict the exact moment when they will finish their work.

Where are the decisions posted?

You will see a place to review an update in your MyUVA Applicant Portal. You received login credentials for the portal back when you applied. Remember that your applicant portal is different from SIS, which is used for the financial aid process. 

The portal emails you when there's an unseen status update. Decisions are not given out by email or phone. 

Are there early signs of my decision anywhere?

The portal will look different leading up to the decision release as the technical team does their work. These changes are not tied to your decision.

Are scholar notifications coming?

The second round of review for scholars programs includes Early Decision, Early Action, and Regular Decision students. Notification will be in portals next week. As always, I'll post updates when I have them. 

When will statistics be ready?

I usually receive admission statistics for the round a day before the decision release. As soon as I have data, I'll share it here. 

Echols, Rodman, and College Science Scholars, Round 1

The Office of Admission reviews all applicants to the College of Arts & Sciences and the School of Engineering for a potential invitation to three scholars programs: Echols, Rodman, and College Science Scholars. 

The first round of invitations will go to students who applied during the Early Decision and Early Action rounds. An email with invitations from this first round is going out between 5:00 and 5:30 PM today and a short note is being added to portals. 

The second round of invitations will include students from all three rounds and will be posted after the conclusion of the Regular Decision process. Echols has a third round that takes place after the first year. 

About 5% of students in the College of Arts and Sciences and School of Engineering are invited to join these programs. You can read more about them on their websites. In addition to showing exceptional academic records, scholars show a love of learning and an extraordinary commitment to academic pursuits beyond the classroom. We see this in transcripts, recommendations, essays, and activities. The review for the scholars programs is not driven by GPAs or test scores. 

Congratulations to our first group of scholars for the Class of 2029!

2025 UVA Early Action Admission Statistics (Unofficial)

I've written a post like this few times per year since 2008 and while the numbers have changed a lot since then, they haven't changed much in recent years. The Office of Institutional Research and Analytics website has admission data and our office shares admission rates broken down by residency in our presentations, publications, on our website, and on social media. If you're familiar with any of those, then these numbers I'm sharing aren't all that surprising. 

Early Action Applications

Total number of Early Action applications: 41,885 (37,642 last year)
Total number of VA apps: 11,240 (10,109)

Total number of OOS apps: 30,645 (27,533)
We use completed applications in our statistics.

Early Action Offers

Overall offers: 6,746
Total VA offers: 2,788 (25% offer rate)
Total OOS offers:  3,958 (13% offer rate)
Enrollment Goal: ~3,970
It's misleading to average these offer rates together because residency is a major factor in our review. If you are going to share these numbers, cite BOTH offer rates. 

Some notes:

1. I do not have additional statistics. I report the data I'm given. We are already immersed in the Regular Decision review process and I have files to read tonight!

2. Decisions will be posted in the applicant portal tomorrow night around 5 PM. You got login credentials back when we received your Common App. If you never logged in before, do it now so you know how it works. 

3. Admitted students will get a paper copy of their admission letter by mail. It will take a while for us to get those out. I can't really predict when the USPS will get that into your mailbox. Your enrollment deposit is due by May 1st.

 
4. Defer letters have a link to the deferred student website. Please go over the information with your parent(s) and counselor. If you'd like to be considered for during the Regular Decision review, complete the reply form in the portal by and upload your semester grades and any other updates when they become available. This takes the place of writing a Letter of Continued Interest (LOCI). Our instructions are clear that updates are uploaded in your portal, not emailed to admission officers. 

5. The first round of invitations into Echols, Rodman, and College Science Scholars, will probably be sent by email and via the portal next week. I will post an update when that happens. A second round will be posted after the Regular Decision process is completed. Echols and Rodman also allow self-nomination after your first semester. Miller Arts Scholars only apply after the first semester.

6. Admitted students will get a "save the date" email next week with information about programming just for them. 

7. Remember that these numbers are unofficial. Institutional Research and Analytics is the source of all official statistics about UVA. They take a census to determine the final statistics for the class in the fall. I wrote a big post about all the great sources of data that you may find helpful.

An Early Action Update!

 If you've been watching our live q&a sessions on instagram, you've heard me say we're close...

Early Action notification will be 

Friday, January 31, 2025 

This is official. Please do not call our office to confirm it. 

Where are the decisions posted? 

You will see a place to view your decision when you log into your MyUVA applicant portal. You received login information for the portal back when you applied. Decisions are not sent by email, but the systems sends an email when you have an unseen status update (there's a lag, so if you view your decision quickly, the email won't go out).

What time will decisions show up? 

The decisions will get posted all at once to portals around 5 PM. There's a technical team runs several processes to get the portals updated and I can't predict the exact time that they'll finish their work. 

Why is the portal changing? Is it a sign of my decision? 

The portal will look a little different as the technical team prepares for the release. The changes are not tied to your decision. 

 As always, I'll have a post with admission statistics before decisions go up. 

If Your Application is Deferred

If your Early Decision application was deferred to the Regular Decision round, we provided instructions for what to do next in your decision letter. We also linked to our deferred student website, which restates this information and answers the most common questions we get about deferral.

To have your application considered again in RD, you must complete two steps.

1. Complete the deferral form in your MyUVA Applicant Portal by January 15th.
2. Submit your fall trimester/semester grades by February 15th. 

On the defer student page, we explain that midyear grades can be submitted either by the student using their portal or by the school counselor. We aren't picky!

That is all you have to do. 

What else should you send?
Nothing else. We know there are third parties urging you to do other things. I strongly suggest that you follow our instructions instead of theirs. We specifically address Letters of Continued Interest (LOCIs) on that deferred student page. Please take a moment to read it if you haven't already. You're a senior and you have a lot on your plate. We are trying to help you use your limited time in the most productive way.

 

How many people will get offers in RD?
I can't predict the offer rate for the defer group. I've seen it as high as 16% and as low as 4% in recent years. Our decisions depend on midyear grades and how the rest of the applicant pool looks. 

It's now the Early Action students' turn to have our attention. Your application will get a second turn during RD if you choose to continue in the process. 

Unofficial 2024-2025 Early Decision Statistics

Early Decision students, you all gave us some great apps! I smiled a lot, I laughed a bit, and I shed a few tears, too. My favorite essay folder is certainly a little bigger! You're pretty amazing and I look forward to seeing some of you propel UVA forward in the next few years. Now, on to the numbers...

These statistics aren't all that different from the ones I shared last year, so I don't think anyone should be surprised by this data. 

Early Decision Applications

Total number of Early Decision applications: 4,971 (4,465 last year)
Total number of VA apps: 2,795 (2,573)
Total number of OOS apps: 2,176 (1,893)
We use completed applications in our statistics.

Early Decision Offers

Overall offers: 1,282 (1,133)
Total VA offers: 825 (29.5% offer rate)
Total OOS offers: 457 (21% offer rate)
Averaging these offer rates together is misleading because residency is a major factor in our review. If you are going to share these numbers, cite BOTH offer rates and not an average. Last year, we made about 9,500 offers overall to reach the enrollment goal.

A few notes:

1. I do not have additional statistics. I report the data I'm given. We are already immersed in the Early Action review process and I have files to read tonight!

2. Decisions will be posted in the applicant portal tomorrow night. You got login credentials back when we received your Common App. If you never logged in before, do it now so you know how it works. 

3. Admitted students will get a paper copy of their admission letter by mail. It will take a while for us to get those out. I can't really predict when the USPS will get that into your mailbox. Your enrollment deposit is due by January 15th.

4. Defer letters have a link to the deferred student website. Please go over the information with your parent(s) and counselor. If you'd like to be considered for during the Regular Decision review, complete the reply form in the portal by and upload your semester grades and any other updates when they become available. This takes the place of writing a Letter of Continued Interest (LOCI). Our instructions are clear that updates are uploaded in your portal, not emailed to admission officers. 

5. The Echols, Rodman, and College Science Scholars program invitations will be extended at the end of  the Early Action and Regular Decision processes. Early Decision students will be considered in both of those rounds. Echols and Rodman also allow self-nomination after your first semester.

6. Remember that these numbers are unofficial. Institutional Research and Analytics is the source of all official statistics about UVA. They take a census to determine the final statistics for the class in the fall. I wrote a big post about all the great sources of data last week that you may find helpful.

If you are a reporter, please contact the Office of University Communications for current, official information.

An Early Decision Update

Early Decision notification will be 

Friday, December 13, 2024 

This is official. Please do not call our office to confirm it. 

What time will decisions show up?

The decisions get posted all at once in around 5 PM. There's a technical team that runs through several processes to prepare for the release and load the decisions. I can't predict the exact moment when they will finish their work.

Where are the decisions posted?

You will see a place to review an update in your MyUVA Applicant Portal. You received login credentials for the portal back when you applied. Remember that your applicant portal is different from SIS, which is used for the financial aid process. 

The portal emails you when there's an unseen status update. Decisions are not given out by email or phone. 

Are there early signs of my decision anywhere?

The portal will look different leading up to the decision release as the technical team does their work. These changes are not tied to your decision.

Are scholar notifications coming?
The first round of review for Echols, Rodman, and College Science Scholars will be completed after the Early Action process in February. A second round will occur in March and decisions will go up after the Regular Decision process is completed.

When will statistics be ready?
I usually receive admission statistics for the round a day before the decision release. As soon as I have data, I'll share here. 

 This post is about Early Decision. Please consult the chart of dates for other rounds.