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.

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.

Last Minute Reminders for Early Applicants

It's deadline week and we are watching the submission numbers climb as we approach November 1st. I have a few reminders for those who are putting the finishing touches on an application.

1. The Deadline is November 1

If you're someone who does their best work at the last minute, you have all day on November 1st to get your application submitted. 

2. The Deadline is for Your Common App

This is covered in the application instructions, but I realize that a lot of people haven't read them yet (please do!). November 1st is the deadline to submit an early application. It's not a deadline for school counselors or teachers. 

In addition, don't worry about the "download date" in Common App being different from the date you submitted. The automated process for getting applications into colleges' systems sometimes runs in the wee hours, so the date of submission might be different from the date of download. 

3. Almost Everyone is Undeclared

With the exception of students applying to the School of Nursing or the Kinesiology program, everyone comes to UVA undeclared.

We have a "getting to know you" question about your academic interests, but you aren't being admitted into those programs. This is covered in the text of the question on the Common App, but is also in the "School Choice and Academic Interests" section of the application instructions.

4. MyUVA Application Portal Credentials are Coming

After our system has your application, it will send you login credentials for the applicant portal. This is where you can monitor required credentials and upload updates. The system can't "read" your updates, so it can't mark them as a certain kind of document. The portal will give you an error message if your upload didn't work, so as long as you don't get an error, your item was added to your file. 

We post decisions to portals, so you'll definitely want to be familiar with yours!

5. An Incomplete Application is Normal

It takes time for documents to be processed and matched. Do not assume items weren't sent if your application is incomplete the first time you log into your portal. Remember #2 above. We'll be in touch later in November if we need anything from you.

6. We have One Email Address

Please use undergradadmission@virignia.edu for all admission inquiries. This is explained on the "Connect" page of our website, but some people still decide to email an admission officer (or several!) with questions. Use the office account and we will route your email appropriately. 

If you have any last minute questions, I'm happy to answer them in the comments. Good luck, EA and ED applicants!

Deadline Day Reminders

 Happy EA/ED deadline day! For those of you who have submitted applications (or plan to in the next few hours), I have a few reminders for you.

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 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 applicant portal.  Consider adding that email address to your email address book. This is also covered in the application instructions! 

Early Decision and Early Action applicants aren't required to use the portal, but that's where you can see required credentials get checked off (we don't check in optional items), submit updates, and see your application decision on notification day.

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 filed in a new application file. Remember that supporting credentials like transcript and recommendations aren't due today (again, see the application instructions).

4. 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!

5. 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. 

6. 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. 

7. 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! I'll be going live at 7 PM tonight to answer last minute questions. See you then!

#UVA Early Decision Update

If you're a regular reader of the blog, participate in my live q&a sessions on Instagram, or see me reply to questions on TikTok/Twitter/reddit/etc, you know that we release admission decisions early whenever possible. We are ready.

Early Decision notification will be

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

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

What time will decisions show up?
The decisions will get posted all at once to portals in the early evening. 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.

Where will I see my decision?
You will see a place to view your decision when you log into your applicant portal. Remember that your applicant portal is different from SIS. You received login information for the portal back when you applied. 

Why is the portal changing?
The portal will look a little different throughout the day as the technical team prepares for the release. The changes are not a sign of your decision. 

As always, I'll have a post with admission statistics to share in the coming days. 

Notes for Early Decision and Early Action Applicants to #UVA

I thought I'd make a post about some of the things that come up on deadline day and update as we get calls from students/parents/counselors today. 

First, some of the common concerns that I know are on your minds...

1. The deadline is for the student. 

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 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 applicant portal. The portal is where you can monitor your application, submit updates, and see your application decision on notification day. Consider adding that email address to your email address book. This is also covered in the application instructions! 

Early Decision and Early Action applicants aren't required to submit anything via the portal. 

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 filed in a new application file. Remember that supporting credentials like transcript and recommendations aren't due today (again, see the application instructions).

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

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. They are not part of our review. 

5. You aren't applying to a major unless you want to study 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. 

6. 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. 

Now, I'll add things I hear from callers or questions via social media today below. 

-Someone is telling students they must log into the UVA applicant portal before deadline. That's impossible, as they don't have login credentials until after they submit the application.

-Someone is telling students that Virginia public colleges share applicant lists with each other and that if you apply under Early Decision to one, the rest will deny your application. This is false. We do not share applicant information like this. Your application to another school does not impact the review of your file to UVA. 

Unofficial #UVA Early Decision Statistics

Happy Thursday! I have some statistics for the Early Decision round of our application review to share with you. These 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. You can see official admission data in the data digest part of their website. 

These numbers were updated on 12/10 at 9:45 AM. If you are a reporter, please contact the Office of University Communications for current, official information.

Early Decision Applications

Total number of Early Decision applications: 3,466 (2,937 last year)
Total number of VA apps: 1,833
Total number of OOS apps: 1,633
We use completed applications in our statistics.

Early Decision Offers

Overall offers: 1,109
Total VA offers: 703 (38% offer rate)
Total OOS offers: 406 (25% offer rate)
Enrollment Goal: ~3,750
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 just over 8,400 total offers to reach the enrollment goal.

Early Decision Defers

Overall defers: 1,027
Total VA defers: 530
Total OOS defers: 497
Deferred students are no longer bound by Early Decision agreements. Read more about deferral here (this link is in all defer letters). Midyear grades are due by February 15th and we're happy to take them via the student portal.

A couple notes:

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

2. Decisions will be posted in the applicant portal tomorrow night. You got login credentials back when we received your Common App. I don't control the posting of the decisions, but we will email everyone after the technical team finishes the work they do to add decisions to the poral. Your enrollment deposit is due by January 1st.

3. Admitted students will get a paper copy of the offer letter by mail. I can't predict when the mail will arrive.

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

#UVA Early Decision Notification Update

The stated times for decisions releases are mid-December for Early Decision, mid-February for Early Action, and April 1 for Regular Decision. I'm so happy to share that we are finishing the Early Decision ahead of schedule and will post results to student portals in a couple days.

Early Decision notification will be the evening of 

Friday, December 10, 2021! 

This is official. Please do not call our office to confirm it. The decisions will be added to applicant portals in the evening so most students are checking after school hours (there are fewer people on the system after the business day is over). You will notice that application checklists come off the portal today as we make preparations for the release. There is a team that works on getting decisions loaded into the portal and I can't tell you exactly what time they will complete their work.

I hope to share some statistics about the Early Decision process tomorrow. As always, I'm happy to answer your questions in the comments.

 

                         

November Admission Update

One of the fun parts of working in social media is watching new channels emerge. It became clear this year that students preferred to interact on Instagram and TikTok, so I have spent a lot of time on those apps trying answer questions and respond to comments. If you didn't know, I host a live question and answer session every week on Instagram (I think this is my third year of doing that and I started saving the recordings to IGTV a year or two ago) and post there and on TikTok several times per week. 

Adding another channel to my workload had led to this little blog being less active. I may move to monthly updates here, except around decision releases, when I know people expect more posts (especially those statistics posts). 

So here are some notes from the past month.

 

1. Early Decision and Early Action Numbers

We had about 3,400 Early Decision applications and 31,000 Early Action applications. I'll post precise numbers around the time we release decisions for each group. Last year, we had about 2,900 applications for ED and 29,000 for EA. 

Once upon a time, our applicant pool seemed to be split fairly evenly between Early Action and Regular Decision. Now, we get more applications during the early rounds. Whether those higher numbers above mean the shift is continuing or if they mean we'll have a larger pool overall remains to be scene. 

We are not a school that craves big jumps in application numbers. Our classes are growing, but not at the same rate that the pool seems to be. That makes for some tough decisions when reading applications. Our staff doesn't grow at the same rate, either, which is part of the reason why the release of EA decisions moved back into February a couple years ago.Which leads to the next point...

 

2. Decision Notification

We read all of our files (no computer sorting here) and that takes time. We promise to finish the Early Decision review around December 15th and Early Action review around February 15th. As soon as we can post a more specific date for decisions, we will do so on this blog, on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Follow me at @UVADeanJ or the office at @UVAAdmission.

All decisions for a round (Early Decisions or Early Action) are posted en masse in applicant portals. 

 

3. The Applicant Portal

By now, ED and EA applicants should have logged into their portals to verify that all items have been received. Your login credentials for the portal were emailed to you within a few days of us getting your Common App. 

Application updates are submitted via the portal, not by email. Please follow our directions on this! The portal will take a Word/Pages doc, PDF, JPEG, and probably some other file formats I can't think of right now. The portal can't read the file and assign it a category. It just files the item with your application. If you didn't see an error message when you uploaded the file, the item was accepted. Please don't send multiple copies of documents. 

 Student Financial Services uses UVA's Student Information System (SIS) for their process. Please be sure to check those accounts if you applied for aid. The faster you respond to their requests for missing or supporting documents, the faster they can do their work.

4. Demonstrated Interest

This is not part of the review. Your application is proof that you are interested in UVA! You have a lot on your plate as a senior and don't have to spend time and energy showing interest. You did that when you put together your application. 

5. Application Instructions Revisited

A lot of the questions I'm getting this year are covered in the application instructions or our FAQs. Please be sure to take a look at those! 

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

Important Reminders for Early Action and Early Decision Applicants to #UVA

The Early Decision and Early Action deadline is around the corner and I thought I'd address some important points for applicants...

 

 1. Read the application instructions and FAQs.

Enough said on that!

 

2. The deadline is November 1st at 11:59 PM.

If you are someone who is inspired by the last minute, you have all day on November 1st to submit your application. Keep in mind that there may be a lot of people using the Common App website on deadline day, so it might slow down. In addition, the help desk might be fielding more requests for assistance than usual. 

3. Colleges don't control the Common App website.

If you have an issue with the Common App website, hit the question mark that is on every page to get help. In my experience, the support from the Common App team is excellent.

4. Teachers and Counselors get a grace period to submit documents.

Get your application in by the deadline. The supporting documents from your teachers and counselors don't have to be in by the deadline. We understand that they are working with multiple students who may be applying to several schools!

5. Updates are sent via the applicant portal.

This is covered in the instructions, but you'll get login credentials for our applicant portal once Common App transfers your application to us. Use the portal to send updates. Don't send updates by email to admission officers.

 

6. We really mean it when we say we don't use interest!

The application is proof that you are interested in UVA. You don't have to send us emails or supplements to tell us you like UVA. Desire is not a factor in our review. 

Do you have any last minute questions? Feel free to put them in the comments!

Let's Talk about #UVA25 Early Decision: Admitted!

 Admitted students can use this entry to talk and ask questions.

I imagine you might also want to join the UVA Class of 2025 Facebook group to chat with your future classmates. It just opened this morning, so membership isn't too large just yet. Please be careful about joining groups/chats on social media that say they are for the incoming class. Remember, that Facebook group is for students. 

This was in your letter, but your enrollment deposit should be paid online by January 1st. The Office of Student Financial Services will have aid packages posted next week. Orientation registration will open around April 1st and you'll get more information about that in the future.

Congratulations! We are so lucky to have you joining us!

Image by Jen Fariello Photography

Let's Talk about #UVA25 Early Decision: The Defer

 Deferred students can use this post to talk and ask questions. Please be sure to read the defer FAQ page.

Your application hasn't finished it's journey yet.

We know the wait is tough, but we think reviewing your application during Regular Decision could help your case. You must submit the deferral form in your portal if you want to be considered in Regular Decision. Please upload your midyear grades in your portal by February 15th.

Hang in there! 

 

Jack hopes you can find a peaceful place to wait.

Let's Talk about #UVA25 Early Decisions: The Deny

 Denied students can use this entry to talk and ask questions.

I know this is hard to handle and some of you might not have gotten a disappointing admission decision yet. I hope you all can look at your options and get excited about your other schools. If your immediate reaction is "I'll transfer", don't let that plan keep you from getting involved in campus life at the school you choose. I think many students come to think of their next choice as "home" and can't imagine leaving it after a little while. Give yourself time to explore your options.

Some students inquire about being moved to the defer group. We do not have an appeal process. This decision will not change.

Please be polite and respectful of others when posting.

BTW, if you signed yourself up to read the blog by email and don't want the messages anymore, there's an unsubscribe link at the bottom of the page. 

Unofficial #UVA Early Decision Statistics for #UVA25

As promised, here are some unofficial statistics for the Early Decision round of our application review this year. 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. You can see official admission data in the data digest part of their website. 

These numbers were up to date on Thursday morning. If you are a reporter, please contact the Office of University Communications for current, official information.

Early Decision Applications

Total number of Early Decision applications: 2,937 (2,159 last year)
Total number of VA apps: 1,573
Total number of OOS apps: 1,364
We use completed applications in our statistics.

Early Decision Offers

Overall offers: 965
Total VA offers: 617 (39% offer rate)
Total OOS offers: 348 (26% offer rate)
Enrollment Goal: ~3,750
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. 

Early Decision Defers

Overall defers: 781
Total VA defers: 406
Total OOS defers: 375
Deferred students are no longer bound by Early Decision agreements. Read more about deferral here (this link is in all defer letters).

A couple notes:

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

2. Decisions will be posted in the applicant portal tomorrow night. You got login credentials back when we received your Common App. I don't control the posting of the decisions, but we will email everyone after the technical team finishes the work they do to add decisions to the poral. Your enrollment deposit is due by January 1st.

3. Admitted students will get a paper copy of the offer letter by mail.

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

#UVA Early Decision Notification Update!

The stated times for decisions releases are mid-December for Early Decision, mid-February for Early Action, and April 1 for Regular Decision. I'm so happy to share that we are finishing the Early Decision ahead of schedule and will post results to student portals in a couple days.

Early Decision notification will be the evening of 

Friday, December 11, 2020! 

This is official. Please do not call our office to confirm it. The decisions will be added to applicant portals in the evening so most students are checking after school hours (there are fewer people on the system after the business day is over).

I'll be able to share some statistics about the Early Decision process tomorrow. As always, I'm happy to answer your questions in the comments.

Let's Talk about the #UVA Application Review Timeline

My inbox on Instagram has a steady stream of messages coming in asking when we will have decisions ready for the two early rounds of admission here at UVA. We include this information in the "Early Decision vs Early Action vs Regular Decision" section of the application instructions, but I thought I'd go over the timeline here and answer any questions you have in the comments.

Students often look at my posts on this blog, Instagram and Twitter to get an idea of when we finished the different phases of our review in past years. If you do that, keep in mind that the deadlines and application volume change from year to year. In 2019, the Early Decision deadline was October 15th. It was our first time having that process in a decade and our first time having three deadlines. We knew we wanted our decisions ready by the middle of December, so we went with October 15th. We also changed our notification language for Early Action to say decisions would be ready by he middle of February last year. We've been seeing a shift from Regular Decision to Early Action and we wanted to make sure we built in enough time for a thorough review of those EA files.

For 2020, we moved our Early Decision deadline to November 1, so our reading started two weeks later. That being said, we are still confident that we will have decisions for that group ready by the middle of the month. Similarly, we are still planning to have Early Action decisions ready by the middle of February. As has been the tradition for the 15 years that I've been writing this blog, I will post an update here with a specific dates of the decision release days when we are certain of them. Decisions are posted in your applicant portal, so make sure you have know how to use your login credentials.

If you have questions about how this works or just want to say hello, I'm happy to chat in the comments!

I'm pretty sure CavDog (Baxter) is logged into the old applicant portal (around 2008) in this picture.

Why Early Admission Statistics Shouldn't Determine When You Apply to UVA

Students and parents often ask for admission rates for our early and regular rounds of admission as they try to decide which application option is most advantageous. While I have shared admission statistics for years on this blog (here are past statistics posts), I am always hesitant to cite them without an explanation of why the admission rate of the different rounds shouldn't drive the decision to submit an application in the fall versus the winter.

We review the applications the exact same way throughout the entire application season. The admission rates are telling you about the strength of the different pools at UVA, not about a different style of application review.

A lot of people also look to test scores to tell them about the competitiveness of the admission process. I've written so many posts about testing over the years that helps explain why that's not the best idea, and another one is coming, but our early and regular pools have had pretty similar testing. What can't be conveyed in statistics: strength, consistency, and breadth of work in core subjects, recommendations, and essays. What's more, a good portion of our class won't submit testing this year because we are test optional.

My advice: Submit when you can share your very best application with us. Some students have had time to put together an application they can be proud of in the fall and others will be better off with a little more time.

Too much on your plate this fall? Don't feel pressured to apply early.

We are Test Optional for Students Applying to #UVA for Fall 2021 (and a Deadline Change)

I've gotten your emails, comments, and DMs asking about our admission policies for next year. I promised to share any changes that UVA leadership made as soon as possible. I have two updates to share today...

Given the uncertain prospect of universally accessible, reliable and equitable SAT/ACT testing in the next admission year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Virginia will not require that applicants submit standardized testing to be considered for admission for at least the next application cycle.

“Students and families face enormous challenges as a result of the coronavirus pandemic,” President Jim Ryan said. “This change in our admission system during a year in which all applicants might not have the same access to testing will remove at least one obstacle that might otherwise discourage a student from pursuing her higher education aspirations. At the same time, this will give us an extraordinary opportunity to explore the utility of tests in our overall admissions process going forward.”

A test-optional approach could also assist first-generation and underrepresented student populations including minority and low-income applicants who historically have not  benefitted as frequently as others in preparatory help such as test-tutors.

When making admission decisions, the Office of Admission will continue to offer a comprehensive, personal, thorough and holistic evaluation of each application, Dean of Admission Greg Roberts said. Students who wish to include testing as part of their application may continue to do so, but those who do not will be at no disadvantage in the application review.  

The pilot testing policy applies to all applicants for undergraduate admission to UVA – domestic and international, first-year and transfer students.

Additionally, the University has pushed back its Early Decision application deadline to Nov. 1 to give students more time to examine their college options and submit an Early Decision application if UVA is their first choice for college. 

“Before making this recommendation, we consulted with the deans of the undergraduate schools that accept first-year applicants,” Roberts said. “All expressed a deep commitment to equity and fairness in the admission process for their schools, and given the uncertainty surrounding the availability of testing this year, all offered clear and unwavering support for a one-year, pilot test-optional admission plan.” 

UVA will review the data related to this new, test-optional cycle to inform potential, longer-term policy considerations in the future, and will decide by next spring whether to extend the pilot.

You can see the full announcement on the UVA website. Our application instructions have been updated as well.