U.VA. MAILS ACCEPTANCE LETTERS FOR CLASS OF 2000

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., April 10 -- The University of Virginia
has mailed letters offering admission in the 1996 entering class to
5,310 students.
	Of that number, U.Va. officials anticipate approximately
2,825 students will accept the admission offer and begin classes in
the fall.  Approximately 2,000 students have been placed on a
wait-list in case fewer students than anticipated accept the offer.
	After letters were mailed in late March, the University has
received numerous inquiries from families interested in learning
what students' chances are of being admitted to the University after
being wait-listed.
  	"Drawing students from the wait-list is a complicated
process," said Dean of Admission John A. Blackburn.  "If we need to
fill an available space in the first-year class, we consider the
school in which an opening is available, the school to which a
wait-listed student has applied and the admission deans' assessment
of the student during the application-review process.  In addition,
because of the need to preserve an appropriate ratio between in- and
out-of-state students, we may also need to consider the wait-listed
person's status as a Virginian or non-Virginian," Blackburn said.
	Admission officials chose members of the class of 2000 from
17,325 applications, a 10 percent increase (1,747 applications) over
the number that applied last year.  Approximately 30 percent of
those who applied have been offered admission.
	"The competition for admission was intense.  We consider all
dimensions of each application, including the strength and quality
of the high school program, grades, standardized test scores,
extracurricular activities, recommendations and essays.  We also
consider such factors as special talents, level of commitment and
contribution to one or more interests and the personal qualities of
applicants.  The candidates who are wait-listed are excellent
students, but they are not as strong as the group we admitted,"
Blackburn said.
	Students who received admission letters have until May 1 to
notify the University if they will enroll.  The earliest the
University will begin extending admission offers to those
wait-listed will be late May, Blackburn said. 
	There is no consistent pattern in the number of wait-listed
students who have gained admission in recent years, he noted.  Fewer
than 30 people were accepted from last year's wait-list. In 1994,
the number was 100; in 1993, more than 500, and in 1992, eight.
	Of the entering class of 2,825 students, approximately 2,220
will enroll in the College of Arts and Sciences, 475 in the School
of Engineering and Applied Science, 87 in the School of Architecture
and 43 in the School of Nursing.
	Looking ahead to the characteristics of the entering class,
Blackburn anticipates that about 65 percent will be Virginia
residents and about 53 percent will be female students. "Because of
the increased selectivity this year, the quality of the first-year
class should be somewhat stronger than we have seen in recent
years," he noted.
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April 9, 1996
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