The University released its regular decision acceptances for the University’s class of 2020 Friday.
A total of 9,358 offers were made to students from an applicant pool of 32,426, based on data provided by the University Office of Undergraduate Admission. The 28.9 percent acceptance rate is consistent with last year’s rate of 29.8 percent, although the number of applicants increased by around 1,500 students.
Of the 3,983 students who had submitted early applications and were deferred, 849 were offered acceptance.
The offer rates for Virginia students stood at 41.3 percent, while the offer rate for out-of-state students was 23.7 percent. The offer rate of female students was 54.6 percent, over a percentage point up from last year’s rate.
The accepted students represent 102 foreign countries and 49 U.S. states.
Minority and first generation college students saw a higher number of acceptances from last year. The 3,204 acceptances offered to minority students is an increase from last year’s total of 3,051.
Dean of Admissions Greg Roberts said he is happy to see the number of acceptances for first generation college students rise.
“We are especially pleased that so many strong first generation students applied this year,” Roberts said. “As a result, we offered admission to 937 first generation college students, as compared to 775 last year — so it’s a significant increase.”
SAT scores were also up from previous years. The average score for those admitted to the class of 2020 is 1400, up five points from the class of 2019’s average of 1395.
More significant increases were seen in the number of perfect SAT scores. This year’s admitted class includes 255 students with a perfect score on the 1600 scale — a noticeably large change compared to last year’s 184 students. The number of students who earned a score of 2400 also saw a sizable difference, with 79 students this year — up 29 from last year’s total.
Of the accepted students, almost 93 percent are in the top 10 percent of their high school class.
This year’s wait list is comprised of 15 percent of the applicant pool. Roberts said the number of those students who will end up being admitted varies greatly depending on the year.
“I think that last year we offered to 400 students on the waitlist,” Roberts said. “The year before was 42. So it just depends upon the number of students who make a deposit prior to May 1.”
Roberts said the University connects admitted students to members of the community through Days on the Lawn, a program run by the Office of Undergraduate Admission for admitted students to visit the University.
“We have seven Day on the Lawn programs,” Roberts said. “So that gives us the opportunity to welcome students to Grounds and to have them visit classes, take tours, sit on panels and generally get a chance to walk around the University and explore.”
Two admitted students visiting Grounds for Days on the Lawn, Petra Stiglmayer and Amina Chtourou, said they had nothing but positive things to say about their experiences.
“I think everyone’s just been really friendly and helpful,” Stiglmayer, a student from New York, said.
Chtourou, a student from Pennsylvania, said she would definitely recommend for people to attend.
“It helps you get a feel for the campus and help you decide if you want to go here,” Chtourou said.
Both students said they particularly enjoyed the a capella groups that performed at the introduction program for Days on the Lawn.
“It made it really exciting,” Chtourou said. “It was really early in the morning so it kinda woke me up. It was a nice way to get things started.”
Roberts said the Days on the Lawn programs are the University’s last chance to really impress the students.
“We would welcome any member of the University community to participate, even if it just means greeting guests when they arrive,” Roberts said. “But we encourage faculty and students to be involved because the visitors are eager to speak with folks that teach the classes and go to school here. So these are pretty exciting and important events.”
Correction: This article previously incorrectly stated Virginia students make up 41.3 percent of accepted students, and out-of-state students accounted for an additional 23.7 percent.
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