University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia · Founded 1819
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Test-optional
The SAT and ACT are optional at UVA and the university says you will not be disadvantaged by the choice you make. Here optional really does mean lightly weighted: in its own Common Data Set UVA rates standardized test scores only as CONSIDERED - the lowest level it uses for anything it looks at - while rigor of coursework, class rank, GPA, character and Virginia residency are all rated Very Important. About 46% of enrolled students sent an SAT score and 14% an ACT. UVA superscores, takes self-reported scores, and recalculates ACT composites for you; if you are admitted and enroll after self-reporting you must send official scores. You can change your test-optional decision by emailing the office until 22 November for Early Decision and Early Action or 15 January for Regular Decision. Transfer applicants are test-optional too. Source: admission.virginia.edu - Deadlines & Instructions; University of Virginia Common Data Set, C7, C8A and C9 (verified September 2026).
About
Virginia residency is not a side note here, it is the structure of the place. The university says openly that it seeks to keep a two-thirds majority of Virginians, and 67 percent of undergraduates are from the state. The academic center is the College of Arts and Sciences - the single largest degree here is the general liberal arts and sciences degree - with Commerce, Engineering and the sciences around it. Classes stay small for a university this size: 84 percent of undergraduate courses have fewer than 50 students.
History
Thomas Jefferson founded the university and the Virginia General Assembly chartered it in 1819. Jefferson designed the Academical Village around an open lawn, with pavilions for professors, student rooms between them and the Rotunda - the university's original library - at the head. Students still live in those rooms on the Lawn today.
What stands out
- Two thirds of undergraduates are Virginians, and the university says it intends to keep it that way
- The Academical Village is a UNESCO World Heritage Site - the only educational institution in the United States with that designation
- 97 percent of first-year students come back for a second year and 94 percent graduate within six years
- Test-optional, and its own Common Data Set rates test scores only as Considered - the lowest level it uses for anything it looks at
- It does not track demonstrated interest, and there is no advantage to applying Early Decision, Early Action or Regular Decision
Popular majors
Campus life
Nearly every first-year student lives in university housing - 99 percent of them - and 41 percent of undergraduates do overall, which is high for a public university. Students and alumni call themselves Hoos. There are 12 men's and 13 women's NCAA Division I teams.