UVa increases early admission offers to 6,550 for the Class of 2023

By Nancy Griesemer 

Early applicants to the University of Virginia’s Class of 2023 received decisions last Friday afternoon—somewhat ahead of the January 31st published release date.  

And it’s clear that admission to the Commonwealth’s flagship university remains a highly sought-after prize among high school students—both from within the state and across the country.

With an enrollment target set at 3750 (up from 3725 last year) first year students for fall 2019, the competition for admission under UVa’s nonbinding early action program continues to be intense, as the overall number of applications grew to 25,126—about a 17 percent increase over numbers reported the same time last year.

“Our first reaction after the early application deadline in November was a mixture of excitement and concern,” UVA Dean of Admission Greg Roberts said. “The size of the early pool is incredible this year, and reviewing so many applications in a short period of time is challenging. What’s more, the talent, depth and diversity of this group is astounding and record-breaking, making the selection process even more difficult.”

Predictably, most of the early applicants, 18,079 (or 71 percent) came from out of state. The balance—7019 applicants—came from within Virginia.

Out of this year’s early action pool, 6550 students were admitted—about nine percent more than for the Class of 2022. Of those admitted, 3,051 were from Virginia (43.4 percent offer rate—a little less than last year), and 3,499 were from out of state (19 percent offer rate—down by about two percent). Typically, more offers are made to nonresidents because the yield among students faced with out-of-state tuition is significantly lower. 

UVA offered admission to 41 percent more applicants who would be the first in their family to attend college than a year ago (444 to 627), and admitted nearly 4 percent more minority students via early action.

According to Dean J, those offered early admission bids were very well qualified. The middle range of new  SAT scores among this year’s admitted students fell between 1350 and 1500 for Virginians (ACT between 30 and 34) and 1450-1540 for nonresidents (ACT between 33 and 35). 

Although over 11,500 students were denied admission during the first round of consideration, about 7000 were thrown a lifeline by being deferred to the regular decision pool. Overall a record 40,804 students have applied for spots in this year’s entering class, over 60 percent of whom came through EA. 

Decisions for deferred students and those applying regular decision should arrive sometime before April 1. Note that deferred applicants are specifically encouraged to send new test scores and midyear grades as soon as possible.

All students will have until May 1, to make up their minds. And those early applicants who were lucky enough to be admitted to UVa’s Class of 2023 can expect to receive significant encouragement to commit as soon as possible.