U.VA. EXTENDS EARLY-DECISION OFFERS TO 872 APPLICANTS

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Nov. 27 -- Hundreds of University of
Virginia applicants will have something extra to be thankful for
shortly after Thanksgiving.  On Wednesday, Nov. 26, the University
will mail letters offering early admittance into next year's entering
class, and the letters should arrive soon after the holiday.
	The University reaped an unusually good harvest of
well-qualified applicants, according to Dean of Admission John A.
Blackburn. The University will extend early-decision offers to 872
students, chosen from 2,310 applicants.  Last year, U.Va. made
early-decision offers to 791 students, chosen from 2,324 applications.
	"We are delighted that the University experienced a gain in
the number of well-qualified applicants," said Blackburn.  "As a
consequence, next year's entering class will have a slightly higher
percentage of students admitted through the early-decision process."
	Early-decision applicants will comprise roughly 30 percent of
next year's entering class of approximately 2,875 students.  Among
those offered early decision, 675 are Virginians and 197 are
out-of-state students; 503 are women and 369 are men.  
	In 1995 U.Va. admitted 749 early-decision students, or 26
percent of the first-year class; in 1996, 27 percent of the entering
class, had been offered early decision.
	Among the early-decision applicants, 684 are expected to enter
the College of Arts and Sciences; 148, the engineering school; 25, the
architecture school; and 15, the nursing school.
	Secondary school students with outstanding academic records
can apply to the University by Nov. 1 for early decision.  If they are
offered early-decision admission to U.Va., they must withdraw
applications at other institutions.
	Under a new policy this year, U.Va. denied admission to 171
students who had applied for early decision.  Until this year,
applicants who were not strong enough to be offered early decision 
were deferred for further consideration until the regular admission
process. They were notified of admission decisions around April 1 when
the regular decision letters are mailed.
	"We felt there was no point in delaying such information and
possibly giving false hopes to candidates.  Thus, for the first time,
we denied applications during the early-decision evaluation," said
Blackburn.
	A pattern in early-decision applications that the admission
deans witnessed again this year is the large number of in-state
applications.  Approximately 75 percent of early-decision applicants
are Virginian. 
 	Among the total applicant pool applying through the regular
decision process, about 65 percent are from out-of-state.  Such
percentages have remained consistent for many years, Blackburn said.
                             ###
                                                        Nov. 26, 1997

	For more information, John Blackburn can be reached at (804)
982-3375.  Information about what's happening at the University of
Virginia is available on U.Va.'s website:
http://www.virginia.edu/topnews/.