A Foot in the Door

This spring, 5,154 students received the good news that they had been admitted to UVA, chosen from a record-breaking applicant pool. UVA received 18,013 applications for 3,170 spots in the Class of 2011—a 10.5 percent increase over last year.

An additional 984 students were admitted in December under the early-decision program, which ends after this 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,” says John Blackburn, UVA’s dean of admission. “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.”

The increased volume also nudged the selectivity rating for the first-year class: 34 percent made the cut this year, compared to 37 percent in 2006. Blackburn notes that 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.

Virginia students will make up 67 percent of the incoming class.