UVA President John Casteen III welcomed the incoming class on Sunday, August 21. Among them, 180 students are transfers from Virginia’s community colleges, the highest number yet.
“We welcome you in a special way, because we have valued the collaboration of that system from its very beginning,” Casteen said.
In March, VCCS and UVA entered into a transfer agreement which guarantees admission to community college students who obtain an associate’s degree, or 54 transferable credits towards UVA. Forty-five of those must be earned within the Virginia Community College System. Students must take a variety of sciences and humanities classes, pass intermediate-level foreign language, and earn a 3.4 GPA or better. Grades cannot fall below a C in any class, and in core English classes, students must earn a B or better.
An associate’s degree allows a student to prove themselves to UVA admissions. “Once they see that student is committed to two years, they know that student is committed to finishing,” says Annette Williams, coordinator of counseling and career services for PVCC.
John Albright, advisor to the president for minority affairs at PVCC, says, “The big advantage for students is, if they fulfill all the requirements, they’re going to get in. Under competitive admission, there are no guarantees. You could have a 4.0 and not get in. Now, if they have the other things completed…they know they’re going.”
PVCC is often the biggest single contributor to UVA’s community college transfers. Last year, 83 PVCC transfers enrolled in the 2005-06 academic school year.
Transfer students overall had a mean GPA of 3.7, which Casteen praised as exemplary. Students transferring with an associate’s degree from VCCS to UVA are required to fulfill all general admission requirements, such as taking the SATs. But, Albright says, test scores don’t matter as much in guaranteed admissions. The average SAT score for the entire 2010 entering class is 1324.
UVA’s dean of admissions could not be reached for comment.—Meg McEvoy
