University of Virginia-Main Campus
Charlottesville, VA
University of Virginia-Main Campus is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, a suburb of a midsize city, with 17,597 undergraduates. Liberal arts and social sciences are its signature fields: together they make up 37% of its bachelor's degrees, about four times their share across the colleges we cover. 96% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $86,863 ten years after starting.
University of Virginia-Main Campus admitted 9,533 of 56,528 applicants for the fall 2023 entering class (16.9%).
- Acceptance rate
- 16.9%
- Fall 2023 class
- In-state tuition
- $21,803
- $59,512 out of state
- Paid after aid
- $21,565
- Average, students with aid
- ACT, middle 50%
- 32–34
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2023 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What University of Virginia-Main Campus is known for
Measured by the 5,463 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
Liberal arts
20.1%
of its bachelor's degrees: about 13 times the 1.6% share across the colleges we cover.
Social sciences
16.8%
of its bachelor's degrees: about twice the 8.0% share across the colleges we cover.
- Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities1,09820.1% of degreesToo few graduates to publish
- Economics4929.0% of degrees$110,773+34% vs $82,686 nationally
- Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods4067.4% of degrees$139,095+61% vs $86,176 nationally
- Biology2995.5% of degrees$70,240+23% vs $57,214 nationally
- Computer and Information Sciences2975.4% of degrees$142,041+54% vs $92,374 nationally
- Psychology2424.4% of degrees$62,794+24% vs $50,706 nationally
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Suburb of a midsize city
Charlottesville, VA
Undergraduates
17,597
Fall 2024
Type
Public
Doctoral university, very high research activity
Living on campus
A quarter to half
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
15 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
5%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at University of Virginia-Main Campus
Three things University of Virginia-Main Campus published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
The admit rate fell from 26% to 17% between fall 2018 and fall 2023.
Both ends are measured rates for classes that have already enrolled: a rate that moved, not a forecast. The fall 2023 figure is the one at the top of this page.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2018 to fall 2023
University of Virginia-Main Campus asks for no supplemental essay.
Of the 1 prompt we track for this application, none is one you would have to write.
Source: the prompts we track for this application
Families paid $21,565 on average after aid.
Averaged across students who received federal aid: the price after grants and scholarships, not the sticker price.
Source: the College Scorecard
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
16.9%
9,533 admitted of 56,528 applicants
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
SAT, middle 50%
Reading 700–750Math 710–780
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
ACT, middle 50%
32–34
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Enrolled students who sent an SAT
50%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Enrolled students who sent an ACT
16%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Where do you actually stand at University of Virginia-Main Campus?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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What University of Virginia-Main Campus costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
In-state tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $21,803 ($59,512 out of state), and the full in-state cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $39,926. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $21,565 a year on average.
In-state tuition and fees
$21,803
2024–25 school year
Out-of-state tuition and fees
$59,512
2024–25 school year
Full cost, in state
$39,926
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$21,565
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $39,926 full cost.
- Under $30k$8,174Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$9,696Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$13,283Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$20,822Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$35,402Typical public university: $22,475
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year. What students paid is the average net price for first-year students who received federal financial aid. Typical public university: the median across the 338 public universities on GoodGoblin, for in-state students, compiled by GoodGoblin from the same federal data.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
96%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
98%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$86,863
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$17,500
Our colleges' median: $23,725
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023; earnings describe students who started in 2009–10 and 2010–11, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars; debt describes federal loans of students who graduated in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
How the rate has moved
Two measured admit rates from the federal survey, the years apart it reports them. A rate that moved, not a forecast.
Between fall 2018 and fall 2023 the admit rate fell from 26% to 17%.
What University of Virginia-Main Campus says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- Essayrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Course rigorrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Recommendationsrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- GPAconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Test scoresconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Class rankconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Not considered
- Legacy
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Essays on this application
1 essay prompt on the application.
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
Guides for University of Virginia-Main Campus applicants
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in Virginia
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- Washington and Lee University17.4%
- University of Richmond22.2%
- William & Mary37%
- Regent University41.2%
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
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The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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