Late ED to UVa

[Badgers2012]

Did anyone apply last year or know of anyone who applied and got in to UVa last year with ED app sent in late Dec/Early Jan? Think splitterish numbers that are usually almost a lock for UVa ED before Thanksgiving. Thanks.

[Tim0thy222]

I'm wondering about this as well. Not a whole lot of data for this on LSN.

I see one person last year who sent in an ED app 12/24 and was accepted with a 171/3.52, and another person who sent in an ED app 12/17 with a 172/3.22 and was rejected. The cycle before, several splitters appear to have been accepted December-February, even with a GPA as low as 3.1. So it looks like it may have hurt that one person last cycle, but other than that hasn't been a problem for people.

[Badgers2012]

Thanks, anyone else got anything?

[bk1]

The later you apply the more it hurts you. UVA seems to have a truly rolling admissions process as they don't seem to have extreme acceptance spikes that other schools do.

One of their bigger acceptance waves goes out around Jan 1, meaning those apps were decided prior to winter break. I would assume that if you apply in late Dec (meaning after those apps are decided) you are definitely hurting yourself. How much? It's hard to tell but I would avoid doing such a late ED if at all possible and do it earlier instead.

[JamMasterJ]

Another thing to consider is that last cycle, IIRC, UVA was making up for having over-enrolled the previous year (at least I think I think I have my years right on that )

[bk1]

Another thing to consider is that last cycle, IIRC, UVA was making up for having over-enrolled the previous year (at least I think I think I have my years right on that )

You are correct. They overaccepted the 09-10 cycle and so got a lot of admits to defer by offering them a scholarship meaning that their 10-11 cycle accepted fewer than previous cycles had.

[Schang1]

Then would it be better for splitters to apply just RD early in the cycle (before Thanksgiving) than ED later in the cycle (early January)? I e-mailed UVA about this and they said it is always best to submit apps early whether it is ED or RD but they said the chances are the same... hmm.. any thoughts? I was planning to ED to UVA in January since I am EDing to U Penn so I won't hear back from them till December maybe I should just give up on EDing to UVA and apply early if that makes my chances a bit higher..

[bk1]

Then would it be better for splitters to apply just RD early in the cycle (before Thanksgiving) than ED later in the cycle (early January)? I e-mailed UVA about this and they said it is always best to submit apps early whether it is ED or RD but they said the chances are the same... hmm.. any thoughts? I was planning to ED to UVA in January since I am EDing to U Penn so I won't hear back from them till December maybe I should just give up on EDing to UVA and apply early if that makes my chances a bit higher..

There's risks either way whether you RD now or ED later. If you RD early, you might get waitlisted like a lot of people do at UVA. If you ED later then of course being later might hurt you more than the increase from ED. I don't think there is a hard and fast rule saying which one is better and it's a judgment call at best (more likely it's a complete shot in the dark). Personally I chose to RD early at UVA and ED somewhere else during that school's regular deadline. UVA flat out rejected me early and I definitely regretted having made the mistake of reaching for another school rather than maximizing my overall T14 chances as someone who is very borderline at the T14. I ended up lucking out and getting off NU's waitlist. Even though I'd rather be here than at UVA, in hindsight the best plan would have been to ED UVA on Sept 1 rather than trying to get a different T14 which I had a preference for over UVA when essentially the lower T14 are fungible.

If your whole intention is to maximize your T14 chances (regardless of which one) you should always ED UVA first (since you can send it in and get a decision in 2 weeks which is still prior to every other school's ED deadline) and then ED to another school at their normal ED time.

[Schang1]

Then would it be better for splitters to apply just RD early in the cycle (before Thanksgiving) than ED later in the cycle (early January)? I e-mailed UVA about this and they said it is always best to submit apps early whether it is ED or RD but they said the chances are the same... hmm.. any thoughts? I was planning to ED to UVA in January since I am EDing to U Penn so I won't hear back from them till December maybe I should just give up on EDing to UVA and apply early if that makes my chances a bit higher..

There's risks either way whether you RD now or ED later. If you RD early, you might get waitlisted like a lot of people do at UVA. If you ED later then of course being later might hurt you more than the increase from ED. I don't think there is a hard and fast rule saying which one is better and it's a judgment call at best (more likely it's a complete shot in the dark). Personally I chose to RD early at UVA and ED somewhere else during that school's regular deadline. UVA flat out rejected me early and I definitely regretted having made the mistake of reaching for another school rather than maximizing my overall T14 chances as someone who is very borderline at the T14. I ended up lucking out and getting off NU's waitlist. Even though I'd rather be here than at UVA, in hindsight the best plan would have been to ED UVA on Sept 1 rather than trying to get a different T14 which I had a preference for over UVA when essentially the lower T14 are fungible.

If your whole intention is to maximize your T14 chances (regardless of which one) you should always ED UVA first (since you can send it in and get a decision in 2 weeks which is still prior to every other school's ED deadline) and then ED to another school at their normal ED time.

Thank you so much for the detailed feedback I really really appreciate it. With my numbers, I can only target the low T14s like Cornell and UT, but the only reason I EDed to U Penn was because it was my #1 choice, and although UVA is a great school, my plan is to practice law in Korea, and sadly, they don't know UVA.. It's all about the Ivy League schools, so if I don't get into U Penn (which I probably won't), I'd be better off going to Cornell than UVA. That's the only reason I didn't ED to UVA first because what if that 1% chance occured and I got accepted.. then I really couldn't do anything then, since I'd choose Cornell over UVA. Since I get to hear back from U Penn and Cornell by December, if I get rejected by both, I guess I'll ED to GULC or something. But you are right in that you can't really say which one has a better chance (EDing late or RDing early)... hmm.. my plan at first was to ED to U Penn, then if I get rejected AND also rejected from Cornell, THEN ED to UVA, and then if I get rejected there, ED to GULC. Not sure how it's going to work out in the end...

[CanadianWolf]

Unusual that Virginia told you that a later ED application offered the same chance as an earlier ED application. Although this could be accurate, I'm skeptical especially since their Dean stated that to increase odds of acceptance to Virginia Law apply early before hundreds of offers have been extended.

[Schang1]

Unusual that Virginia told you that a later ED application offered the same chance as an earlier ED application. Although this could be accurate, I'm skeptical especially since their Dean stated that to increase odds of acceptance to Virginia Law apply early before hundreds of offers have been extended.

This is literally what they e-mailed me:

Please feel free to apply ED during either period. There is not a boost either way. Generally, the early an application is submitted (ED or RD) the better, though.

[CanadianWolf]

That e-mail seems to contradict itself. Read the TLS law school profile on Virginia which is quite clear.

[Schang1]

That e-mail seems to contradict itself. Read the TLS law school profile on Virginia which is quite clear.

I did, and that was why I was confused and was thinking of just applying RD early rather than ED late... I don't know who else I should ask about this

[CanadianWolf]

Have you asked your consultant ?

[Schang1]

Have you asked your consultant ?

Yeah she said to just ED later in the cycle. But I'm contemplating.

[CanadianWolf]

I have some familiarity with Korean students at the boarding school & university level, and, in line with your earlier post, Virginia Law is unlikely to help in South Korea. ED to Penn & EA to Cornell.

[Schang1]

I have some familiarity with Korean students at the boarding school & university level, and, in line with your earlier post, Virginia Law is unlikely to help in South Korea. ED to Penn & EA to Cornell.

That's exactly what my dad said. Thanks for your help! I submitted my apps to Cornell yesterday (EA) and will submit my apps for Penn later this week! Not having any hopes for Penn but hopefully I have a chance at Cornell..