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New University of Virginia Supplemental Essay Question for 2023-2024 Admissions Cycle

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University of Virginia has revealed its new required short essay question for first-year applicants during the 2023-2024 admissions cycle, and unlike questions asked in past years, this one is quite a head-scratcher.

All first-year UVA applicants must complete an essay in up to 300 words responding to this new prompt:

What about your background, perspective, or experience will serve as a source of strength for you or those around you at UVA?

Those students applying to UVA’s School of Nursing also are being asked to respond to this prompt in no more than 250 words:

Describe a health care-related experience or another significant interaction that deepened your interest in studying Nursing.

The new required question for all applicants is clearly leading in nature and developed by committee in order to elicit responses that highlight prospective students’ diversity; yet, the way in which the question is being asked seems somewhat complex while also opening applicants – and the university itself – to a number of challenges.

Most notably, applicants need to balance describing a particular background, perspective, or experience AND how it will strengthen them or will strengthen others during their time at UVA. That’s a lot to ask for in 300 words and still expect to get much depth.

Many perspectives and experiences require quite a bit more than one sentence to describe, which will leave limited space to elaborate upon how such a perspective or experience will strengthen the student or others if and when the student arrives on campus. This may lead many applicants to opt to focus on their background instead of a perspective or experience, but those who do will need to focus less on the background and more on how it has served to date or will serve in the future as a source of strength for them or others.

One wonders why UVA doesn’t just ask a far more user-friendly question like, “What lesson from your past will help you thrive in or give back to the UVA community?” A potential reason that students are not getting a clearer or more direct question this cycle may be because a particular faction on the committee that developed UVA’s new short essay question felt that UVA had to explicitly mention “background” and “source of strength” in one question in order to align the university with President Biden’s suggestion to colleges to assess applicants for admission based on previous adversity faced now that The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that affirmative action is illegal in the college admissions process, and those with the final say at UVA wanted to underscore that they see one’s race as ripe for discussing adversity faced and thus strengths developed.

Yet, because The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that college applicants can’t be admitted on the basis of racial background, UVA admissions officers will need to be very careful to build their internal assessment rubric for student responses to this prompt around students’ ability to communicate clearly and effectively about the INFLUENCE of the background, perspective, or experience on them or potentially others rather than on the choice of background, perspective, or experience itself. Black students, for example, can’t legally be rewarded or punished by UVA for selecting their race as the background that will give them or others strength; therefore, it should also be the case that pro-traditional family students shouldn’t be rewarded or punished for selecting a natalist perspective to write about, environmentalist students shouldn’t be rewarded or punished for sharing their perspective on protecting Earth’s limited resources, right wing students shouldn’t be rewarded or punished for sharing a nationalist perspective they developed from which they draw strength, and left wing students shouldn’t be rewarded or punished for sharing a socialist perspective that they’ve developed from which they draw strength. Instead, the essays should be assessed entirely on whether the student articulately and compellingly conveys HOW their background, perspective, or experience will give them or others strength during their time at UVA.

Interestingly, giving students the chance to focus on a source of strength for themselves OR a source of strength for others also adds a degree of essay content variability that may make the essays produced in response to this question quite hard to compare to each other. Maybe that’s the point? While I certainly wish students good luck as they draft their responses, I also wish UVA admissions officers good luck with adhering to the law, internal directives, and their consciences when assessing these essay responses as part of their holistic review process.

Gone are the days when the powers that be at UVA asked about applicants’ favorite word or happy place – just a few weeks after The Supreme Court ruled that colleges may not admit students on the basis of race (background) and that essays may not be used to maintain the old unconstitutional affirmative action regime. As Alanis Morissette once asked, “And isn’t it ironic…don’t you think?”

For advice on how to make the most of UVA’s current supplemental essay prompt(s) and get into UVA, watch my new full “How to Get into University of Virginia” video below. Again, good luck!

Highlights Discussed in Above Video:

How to Build a Strong Foundation
Those serious about getting into UVA will first read my article “How to get into the Ivy League – Ethically.” While UVA is not officially an Ivy League school, its out of state acceptance rates prove that it’s certainly one of the most difficult colleges to get into in the United States. When you apply to UVA, you are competing against other high achieving students. This article sets the table for how to maximize one’s chances of getting into any highly selective college or university:

How to Differentiate Your Accomplishments
While you must fill out the Activities page on the application, you should also take my How to Build an Extraordinary Extracurricular Resume short course in order to learn how you can share even more about the depth and breadth of your extracurricular accomplishments since you started high school.

Bonus: How to Differentiate Your Common App Essay
Best & Worst Common App Essay Prompts

Most & Least Popular Common App Essay Prompts

Why Your Common App Essay Is Awful

Why Your Common App Essay Is So Bad

Supreme Court Ends Affirmative Action and Upends Admissions Process for Top Colleges

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The Supreme Court of the United States just after 10:00 a.m. today, June 29, 2023, ruled that affirmative action, as practiced by selective colleges and universities in their admissions processes, is no longer lawful.

Click here to read the full opinion of the court, concurring opinions, and dissent(s).

Ultimately, the majority opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, today found that Harvard considered the race of applicants multiple times in their review of applicants, while UNC was interested in racial balancing of its student population to reflect the racial demographics of North Carolina generally. Interestingly, Students for Fair Admissions argued that diversity could be considered a compelling state interest. Yet, Chief Justice Roberts, in his majority opinion, argues that the entire concept of diversity as presented by Harvard and UNC is incoherent and unmeasurable.

Several sentences from the majority opinion seem to be the most relevant regarding how selective colleges will move forward:

“At the same time, as all parties agree, nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise. See, e.g., 4 App. in No. 21–707, at 1725–1726, 1741; Tr. of Oral Arg. in No. 20–1199, at 10. But, despite the dissent’s assertion to the contrary, universities may not simply establish through application essays or other means the regime we hold unlawful today. (A dissenting opinion is generally not the best source of legal advice on how to comply with the majority opinion.) “[W]hat cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly. The Constitution deals with substance, not shadows,” and the prohibition against racial discrimination is “levelled at the thing, not the name.” Cummings v. Missouri, 4 Wall. 277, 325 (1867). A benefit to a student who overcame racial discrimination, for example, must be tied to that student’s courage and determination. Or a benefit to a student whose heritage or culture motivated him or her to assume a leadership role or attain a particular goal must be tied to that student’s unique ability to contribute to the university. In other words, the student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual—not on the basis of race. Many universities have for too long done just the opposite. And in doing so, they have concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”

Moving forward, it is very likely that legacy admissions will be terminated at many selective colleges as soon as the 2023-2024 admissions cycle. College leaders will want to do everything they can to be seen as advocating for diversity and getting rid of legacy admissions is one of the easiest ways to do so; however, the results of such a move may ultimately benefit Asian and White applicants far more than Black and Hispanic students if selective colleges adhere to the law/Supreme Court majority opinion and refrain from considering race when making their admissions decisions if applicant pools to these colleges and universities remain similar to what they are today.

Meanwhile, this section of the majority opinion not only goes for the jugular against affirmative action as currently practiced by selective colleges and universities, but also the entire DEI superstructure of these institutions:

Watch below for live-streamed details and analysis as it happened on June 29, 2023:

University of Florida Shares 2022-2023 Admissions Statistics

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Gainesville, Florida is home to University of Florida.

University of Florida (UF) received nearly 67,000 applications during the 2022-2023 admissions cycle, which represents a slight increase over last year.

According to Charles Murphy, UF’s Director of Admissions, offers of admissions were made to approximately 15,600 students to start on campus in the Summer B or Fall term. Admitted students had the following middle 50% ranges on the still-required SAT or ACT:

GPA: 4.4 – 4.6 (UF’s weighted recalculation)
SAT: 1340 – 1490
ACT: 30 – 34

UF is one of just a handful of major American research universities that are still currently requiring submission of the SAT or ACT as part of the undergraduate admissions process.

In addition, approximately 2,800 students received an offer to UF’s Pathway to Campus Enrollment (PaCE), 650 for Innovation Academy (IA), and 1,100 for a state college partnership program.

UF is located in Gainesville, Florida, a vibrant college town that offers a wide range of cultural and recreational activities. The city is surrounded by numerous state parks and springs.

University of Florida is consistently ranked among the top public universities in the United States. It offers over 100 undergraduate majors across a wide range of disciplines, and it’s a major research institution; undergraduates have the opportunity to work alongside faculty members on research projects. The university is home to more than 150 research centers and institutes, and it consistently ranks in the top in the nation for total research funding.

In addition, UF offers over 1,000 student organizations and clubs, including sports teams, music ensembles, theater groups, and academic organizations. This provides ample opportunities for students to get involved and pursue their passions outside the classroom.

Visit 26 American colleges all at once through Midwest College Showcase

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The American Midwest offers much more than just fertile and beautiful farmland.

Too many students and parents find it time consuming to sign up for in-person and virtual visits to colleges they are considering. Well, twenty-six colleges in the United States have joined forces to make it easier for you to learn a lot about diverse colleges in on action-packed two-hour period.

The Midwest College Showcase brings together twenty-six institutions with admissions officers ready to answer your questions about undergraduate life and the application process at their colleges.

The following colleges and universities will be represented:

Some of these colleges are quite selective while others are not, but one thing they all have in common is a focus on undergraduate education and the liberal arts.

Admissions officers will be with you LIVE, available to answer all of your questions about college including how to apply, how to earn scholarships, and what makes each institution right for you.

Mark your calendars for the two showcase times:

April 19, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Eastern (3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Pacific)
April 20, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Eastern (4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Pacific)

To sign up for this free event, access this registration form and select your preferred date.

And just like that you no longer have an excuse to avoid virtually visiting some wonderful colleges located in the middle of the United States.

Williams College Fly-In Program Application Now Open

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The 2023 Windows on Williams (WOW) application is now available for rising high school seniors.

The WOW fly-in program provides about 150 high-achieving seniors an all-expenses-paid opportunity to visit Williams’ campus and experience the Williams community. WOW is a selective program open to rising seniors in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and preference is given to high-achieving students who couldn’t otherwise afford to visit Williams.

According to Carolina Echenique, Williams’ Associate Director for Diversity Recruitment, WOW participants stay in dorms with current students, attend classes, meet with professors, and learn about the Williams admission process and its generous financial aid program.

Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Founded in 1793, it is one of the oldest and most prestigious colleges in the country. Situated in a picturesque setting in the Berkshires, with stunning views of the surrounding mountains, Williams is known for its beautiful architecture, including the iconic Hopkins Hall and the stunning Sawyer Library.

Interested students should apply here by either of two deadlines: July 1 or August 1.

University of Rochester gearing up for summer and beyond

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University of Rochester Awards for High School Juniors.

University of Rochester’s Pre-College Programs are open to rising 9th through rising 12th-grade students who want to get a taste of college life, and luckily for current high school students who’ve yet to plan for Summer 2023, Rochester is still accepting applications for these immersive experiences.

The selective private research university offer residential programs during the month of July for one- to three-weeks through which students stay on beautiful campus, work with real professors, and interact with like-minded peers from all over the world. Students get a chance to dig into their favorite subjects in science, the humanities, and the arts, and discover what truly fascinates them. The full list of programs, dates and deadlines, and details about the application process can be found here.

Meanwhile, the University of Rochester High School Awards program has opened nominations for qualified high school juniors to be considered for the university’s four prestigious awards:

  1. Bausch + Lomb Honorary Science Award: High achievement in science and math, contribution to the larger community
  2. Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony Award: Commitment to community action and social issues, strong academics in humanities and social sciences
  3. George Eastman Young Leaders Award: Strong leadership, extensive extracurricular activities
  4. Xerox Award for Innovation and Information Technology: Leader in innovation, new technology and/or new approaches to old problems

Counselors, teachers, or administrators may nominate up to four qualified juniors, one student for each award. The student will receive a certificate, congratulations letter, and physical token that will be mailed directly to the nominator and can be presented at an award ceremony of their choosing. Should nominees continue their interest in the University of Rochester, they will have their admission application fee waived and be considered for a merit scholarship worth at least $5,000 per year.

Counselors, teachers, or administrators can nominate students at Rochester’s High School Awards website by using their school’s CEEB code and the password HSAWARDS. Nominations are open until June 15, 2023.

Founded in 1850, the University of Rochester has a rich history and a reputation for academic excellence, particularly in the fields of music, optics, and health sciences. The university is also known for its strong commitment to interdisciplinary research and collaboration across different departments.

Rochester offers a range of undergraduate and graduate programs across its four schools: the College of Arts, Sciences and Engineering, the Eastman School of Music, the School of Medicine and Dentistry, and the School of Nursing. Students benefit from small class sizes, personalized attention from faculty, and access to cutting-edge research facilities and resources. The university also has a vibrant student life, with over 250 student organizations, a strong athletic program, and a commitment to community service.

University of Alabama to close application on May 1 for Non-Residents

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The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

Due to overwhelming demand, the University of Alabama (UA) undergraduate application will close on May 1, 2023, for out-of-state, first-time freshman who wish to enroll as a main campus student. To be considered for admission as a main campus student, students must submit their application and all supporting documents by May 1. Students interested in enrolling as a distance learning student may still apply after May 1.

UA defines out-of-state, first-time freshman main campus students as meeting the following criteria:

Meanwhile, registration for Bama Bound is underway. All new, incoming freshman and transfer students must attend orientation where they will register for classes. Bama Bound will help students build community, learn the ins-and-outs of being part of the Crimson Tide and start shaping their pathway to success. Bama Bound also offers Sibling Orientation for rising freshmen through rising seniors in high school.

The University of Alabama is known for its strong school spirit and football culture. The campus is full of traditions, such as the Roll Tide cheer, and the university takes pride in its history and traditions.

What many out of state students don’t know when they first think of the university is that the University of Alabama has an Honors College that offers specialized courses, research opportunities, and personalized academic advising for high-achieving students. Honors students can also live in the Honors College Living-Learning Community.

The university also values community service and encourages students to participate in service learning opportunities. Students can work with community partners on projects that address social, economic, and environmental issues. In addition, the Career Center at the University of Alabama offers a variety of resources to help students with career planning, job search strategies, and networking. Students can also participate in career fairs, on-campus interviews, and other career-related events.

Colby Working to Help Rural Students Attend College

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Colby College has announced that it has been selected as an inaugural member of the Small Town and Rural Students (STARS) College Network.

The STARS College Network is a group of sixteen colleges and universities across the United States working together to increase access, affordability, and college advising for students from rural and small-town communities. The other current colleges STARS colleges include Brown University, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Case Western Reserve University, Columbia University in the City of New York, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, The Ohio State University, The University of Chicago, The University of Iowa, University of Maryland, College Park, University of Southern California, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Vanderbilt University, Washington University in St. Louis, and Yale University.

As part of its membership, Colby will help fulfill a critical role as the sole small liberal arts college in the network, ultimately committed to helping students from small-town and rural communities enroll in, succeed at, and graduate from the undergraduate program of their choice. Events, workshops, and college access opportunities in conjunction with this new membership are in the works beginning as early as this summer.

Colby College is a private liberal arts college located in Waterville, Maine, in the northeastern United States.

With easy access to outdoor recreational activities, including hiking, skiing, and rafting, strong academic programs, particularly in the fields of environmental science, biology, and economics, a student-to-faculty ratio of 10:1, a commitment to becoming carbon-neutral by 2025 and large investment in sustainable infrastructure and practices on campus, a vibrant campus community with a wide variety of clubs and organizations, and a strong athletics program, Colby College offers a unique combination of academic excellence, environmental stewardship, and a dynamic campus community in a beautiful location.

Colby College has an Island Campus on Benner Island.

University of Chicago shared more about the STARS initiative as well, including the fact that it is supported by a $20 million gift from Trott Family Philanthropies, the foundation of University of Chicago trustee Byron and Tina Trott.

Regular Decision at Emory University becomes more selective

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Emory University’s campus.

Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, has become more selective to get into when applying Regular Decision.

While approximately 78%, of admission offers at Emory are made Regular Decision and roughly 22% of offers are extended to Early Decision applicants, that doesn’t mean an applicant’s statistical odds of getting into Emory Regular Decision are better than getting in Early Decision. The university, which accepts first-year applicants into two colleges – Emory College and Oxford College, has shared that in 2023 Emory College’s Regular Decision acceptance rate was 8.4% and Oxford College’s Regular Decision acceptance rate was 15.1% whereas Emory’s overall Early Decision I acceptance rate earlier in the 2022-2023 admissions cycle was roughly 37%. Last year (2022), Emory accepted 9% of students who applied Regular Decision.

2023-2024 Regular Decision (RD) Applicant Pool

Emory College Oxford College
RD Applicants 29,330 18,612
RD Admits 2,463 2,815
Offered Spot on Wait List 5,663
(plus additional 199 placed on wait list from ED II)		 2,991
(plus additional 37 placed on wait list from ED II)

Regular Decision Admitted Class Composition

Emory College
RD Class		 Oxford College
RD Class
Mean Recalculated GPA 3.92 3.90
25-75th Percentile Max Testing (of students who opted to share their SAT or ACT scores with us) 1470-1560 1470-1550
% Admitted Without SAT/ACT 36% 33%
# of States Represented 50 plus DC, PR, VI, Mariana Islands, and Guam 49 plus DC, PR, and Guam
# of Non-US Citizenships 71 58

Of course, final acceptance rates are contingent on what action occurs on Emory’s waitlist.

Interestingly, only roughly one third of those accepted to both Emory College and Oxford College Regular Decision did not submit ACT or SAT scores. These numbers were a bit lower than numbers released earlier this cycle when 38% of the admitted Emory College Early Decision class and 41% of the Early Decision class admitted to Oxford College applied without an ACT or SAT score.

For Regular Decision at Emory College, nearly 22% of domestic admits would be the first generation in their family to graduate from college. The most represented high school states in the admitted RD class are Georgia, California, New York, Texas, and Florida respectively and the most represented high school countries in the admitted RD class are India, Canada, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and Singapore respectively. Approximately 9% of the Emory College RD admitted class are from rural or small town communities across the United States.

For Regular Decision at Oxford College, approximately 16% of domestic admits would be the first generation in their family to graduate from college. The most represented high school states in the admitted RD class, in order, are California, Georgia, New York, Texas, and Florida. The most represented high school countries in the admitted RD class, in order, are India, Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom and China. Finally, as was the case with Emory College, approximately 9% of the Oxford College RD admitted class are from rural or small town communities across the United States.

Ultimately, the university is aiming to enroll 1,420 students at Emory College and 525 students (up from 450 last year) at Oxford College this fall.

Emory will remain test-optional for first-year and transfer applicants during the 2023-2024 admissions cycle.

Brown’s Regular Decision Acceptance Rate Now 3.8%

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Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Brown University’s Regular Decision admission decisions will be posted on Thursday, March 30 at 7:00 p.m. US Eastern Time, and, as in previous years, most students will not be thrilled by the decision they receive.

According to Logan Powell, Brown’s Dean of Admission, Brown received 51,302 applications for the Class of 2027, which represents a 1% increase over last year and makes the Class of 2027 applicant pool the largest in the university’s history. Brown will make 1,730 Regular Decision offers of admission to the incoming Class of 2027 in addition to the 879 Early Decision admission offers made in December. The overall acceptance rate for the 2022-2023 admissions cycle was 5%, the Regular Decision acceptance rate was 3.8%, and the Early Decision acceptance rate was 13%.

A total of 18% of accepted students represent the first generation in their family to attend college, and this year’s admitted students come from 90 countries, all 50 American states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The top countries represented outside the United States are China, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, and South Korea.

Of the 4,192 applicants to the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME), 74 students were admitted with a 2% acceptance rate. Of the 916 applicants to the Brown-RISD Dual Degree Program, 20 students were admitted, also with a 2% acceptance rate.

If spaces in Brown’s entering class are available after the May 1 reply by date, Brown will make additional admission offers to students on its waitlist; yet, all spaces in the Program in Liberal Medical Education have been filled. The number of students admitted from the waitlist will depend on how many students accept Brown’s admission offers by May 1. In recent years, the number of waitlist spaces available in Brown’s incoming class has ranged from 15 to 120. Waitlist activity will conclude by mid-summer, and more information on the waitlist is available here.

Meanwhile, Brown will host two admitted student programs on campus for the Class of 2027. A Day on College Hill (ADOCH) will take place on April 14 and 21 for students who are able to visit Providence in person. Brown will also continue to support its admitted students with a variety of virtual programming that provides opportunities to explore, learn, ask questions and connect to Brown’s campus while showcasing Brown’s vibrant community.