Tips on the College Application Process:

• Start with yourself, not the college. Examine your academic interests, career goals, financial resources, and likes and dislikes. What do you want in a college?
• Read and visit. Investigate colleges, search Web sites, plan campus visits.
• Apply. Use online application.
• Take a strong academic program. Take tough courses in English, math, foreign language, science, and social science. Make your schedule tougher each year. Do not slack off in your senior year.
• Take the SAT I or ACT. Take once in your junior year, and once in fall or winter of your senior year. Check with your college to see if the SAT II is required.
• Recommendations. Get to know your guidance counselor (and teachers) who will be very involved in your college application process.
• Get involved in activities. There is no right or wrong extracurricular activity; do what most interests you. Spend time exploring those interests.
• Write good essays. Write in your style and voice about what you know, not about what you think colleges want to hear. Distinguish your experiences. Pick a small topic. Proofread.

The University at a Glance

Since U.S. News began a separate listing of the top 50 public universities, U.Va. has never been ranked lower than No. 2. And in the history of the U.S. News Rankings, U.Va. has never dropped out of the top 25 listing of all public and private universities. Only a few public universities are in the top 25.

In early 2008, Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine ranked the University of Virginia as #3 on its list of 100 Best Values in Public Colleges. Forbes published a listing in March 2008 that ranked U.Va. No. 1 among national public universities by the Center for College Affordability & Productivity, a research organization in Washington, D.C. that evaluates colleges based on results. The University is currently ranked No. 1 for the second year in a row among 50 "best value" public colleges and universities, according to The Princeton Review, one of America's most widely known education services and test preparation companies.

In March 2010, BusinessWeek ranked the McIntire School of Commerce as the No. 2 undergraduate business program in the country. In 2009, BusinessWeek ranked the McIntire School of Commerce as the No. 1 undergraduate business program in the country.

U.Va. has the highest graduation and retention rate of any public college or university and is tied for 9th overall. No other public university is ranked within the top fifteen places. In the magazine's listing of "great schools at great prices," U.Va. is the top-ranked public university and 11th overall.

For the 15th straight year, the University of Virginia's African-American students posted the highest graduation rate among those at all public universities in the nation, according to the annual compilation published by the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education (JBHE). The national average is 44 percent, compared to 63 percent for white students.

See the University's Facts at a Glance page for more