University of Virginia Extends Admissions Offers to the Class of 2011: Admitted Students Are Part of Largest Applicant Pool in U.Va. History

April 1, 2007 — The University of Virginia extended admissions offers on Friday, March 30 to 5,154 students who were among a record number of applicants for admission to the University this year.

More than 92 percent of applicants were able to learn of their decision on Friday evening through a secure Web site because they had applied to the University electronically. In addition to the online notification, letters to all applicants were mailed on Friday. Candidates have until May 1 to accept their offer of admission.

The 5,154 students offered admission to U.Va. are in addition to the 984 students who were admitted in December under the early-decision program, which will end after this year. The total number of acceptances is 6,138.

The successful applicants were part of the University’s largest applicant pool ever. U.Va. received a total of 18,013 applications for 3,170 spots in the Class of 2011. The application total represents a 10.5 percent increase over last year.

“I would attribute the increase in applications, at least in part, to our having done a better job in communicating with prospective students throughout the process,” said John Blackburn, dean of admissions at U.Va. “In addition, there has generally been more focus on the university, both nationally and internationally, through a number of initiatives, including our decision back in the fall to end the early decision program.”

Blackburn said that the increase in applications made the job of selecting the new first-year class a particularly difficult one.

“Unfortunately, we have limited space in the class, and not all of the wonderful students who applied here will be admitted,” said Blackburn, noting that the selectivity rating for the entering class will increased to 34 percent from 37 percent in 2006. “We do expect the class profile to inch upwards in terms of the traditional measures used such as standardized test scores and class rank. Those numbers are up for the admitted students, and we are hopeful that we will enroll a class that is slightly stronger than in the past.”

The diversity of the class should also improve, Blackburn said. Applications increased by 13 percent for African-American students, 20 percent for Asian-Americans, 16 percent for Hispanic-Americans, and 26 percent for international students.

“I think that we have done a good job of shaping a talented, diverse and interesting class,” Blackburn said.

According to Blackburn, about 40 percent of the applications come from Virginia high school students, virtually identical to recent years. Sixty-seven percent of the students enrolled will be come from the commonwealth.

Blackburn said that the target is for 70 more first-year students than a year ago and those additional students will be enrolled in the College of Arts & Science and the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Among trends in this year’s applications, Blackburn noted an increase in the interest of out-of-state students in engineering and a general increase in nursing.

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