History:
Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia in 1819. He wished the publicly-supported school to have a national character and stature. Jefferson envisioned a new kind of university, one dedicated to educating leaders in practical affairs and public service rather than for professions in the classroom and pulpit exclusively. It was the first nonsectarian university in the United States and it have big part in US education system.
Jefferson considered the founding of the University to be one of his greatest achievements. Undertaking the project toward the end of his life—after a long, illustrious career that included serving as a colonial revolutionary, political leader, writer, architect, inventor, and he was closely involved in the University's design. He planned the curriculum, recruited the first faculty, and designed the Academical Village, a terraced green space surrounded by residential and academic buildings, gardens, and the majestic center point the Rotunda. The most recognizable symbol of the University, the Rotunda stands at the north end of the Lawn and is half the height and width of the Pantheon in Rome, which was the primary inspiration for the building. The Lawn and the Rotunda have served as models for similar designs of "centralized green areas" at universities across the United States.
The University opened for classes in 1825 with a faculty of eight and a student body numbering sixty-eight. Jefferson took great pains to recruit the most highly qualified faculty, five of whom were found in England and three in the United States. Instruction was offered in ancient languages, modern languages, mathematics, moral philosophy, natural philosophy, chemistry, law, and medicine. The students came from the American South and West; interestingly, though, most were not Virginians.
Jefferson opposed the granting of degrees on the grounds that they were "artificial embellishments." In 1824, however, the Board of Visitors authorized granting the master of arts degree. The doctor of medicine, or M.D., was awarded to the first graduates of the School of Medicine in 1828, and the bachelor of laws degree, or LL.B., was first awarded for law school graduates in 1842. The bachelor's degree was awarded beginning in 1849, but became the standard undergraduate degree and a prerequisite for the master's degree in 1899, bringing the University into conformity with other institutions of higher learning. The Ph.D. has been awarded since 1883.
Admission to the University of Virginia is competitive, with 90.2% of admitted applicants ranking in the top 10% of their high school classes. A December 2005 National Bureau of Economic Research study of "high-achieving" undergraduate applicants found U.Va., at twentieth overall, to be the most preferred college located in the state of Virginia, and the second-most preferred in the American South, behind Duke University. The study also revealed the University to be the most preferred public university in the entire United States. The stated purpose of the NBER study was to produce a ranking system that "would be difficult for a college to manipulate" by basing it on the actual demonstrated preferences of highly meritorious students.
Admissions statistics:
The mark of one out of many secret societies active on Grounds at the University of Virginia for the Class of 2011, the University of Virginia received a record 18,013 applications. The University saw increased interest from various groups of students, as applications rose by 13 percent for African American applicants, 20 percent for Asian Americans, 16 percent for Hispanic Americans, and 26 percent for international students. The University enrolled 70 more first-years than it did the previous year, as it continued to expand the scope of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.Another record was established for the Class of 2012, with 18,776 applications for 3,170 undergraduate spots.Applications rose for each of the four undergraduate schools that accept first-year students into their programs: Architecture, Arts & Sciences, Engineering, and Nursing.
The Class of 2013 saw a tremendous increase to yet another new record high of 21,511 applications. 37% of applicants were accepted. The University continued to see interest from an increasingly diverse pool, as applications increased by another 22 percent for African American students, 56 percent for Hispanic students, 50 percent for international students, and 100 percent for Native Americans.
The trend of the previous years continued for the Class of 2014. Application numbers rose to 22,516, of which 32% were offered admission.Average SAT scores (math, critical reading, writing) rose 10 points from the previous year to 1,993 points. Thirty percent of the Class of 2014, or 983 students, identified themselves as members of one or more minority group.
Applications continued to increase for the Class of 2016, which was the first time UVA allowed high school students to apply in the fall for early action. 11,753 students applied for early action and 3,187 were offered admission. Overall applications for both early action and regular decision grew by 17.64% to 28,200, an increase of 4,229 from the year before.The average SAT score for admitted students were 1,413 on a 1,600-point scale, and 2,119 on a 2,400-point scale. Ninety-eight percent of the admitted students were in the Top 10% of their high school class.
