The University

For Those Really Interested in the Status of UVA; Casteen’s 2008 – 2009 President’s Report Just Released

February 5, 2010 by Sasha Farmer · Leave a Comment 

This is a really nice piece of information to be able to look through- in the past it has only been mailed to select UVA faculty, students, staff, alumni, and friends, but this year U.Va. has digitized it so we can all check it out.

It’s a very nice summary of what has been going on at U.Va., and also gives us some expectations for the future.

Click here to check it out!

[Photo Credit: Cover of U.Va. President's Report]

Once Again, UVA is Named by Princeton Review as the Best Value in Public Schools

January 13, 2010 by Sasha Farmer · 1 Comment 

According to the Daily Progress coverage…

The University of Virginia has been named the top university in The Princeton Review’s latest “Best Value Public Colleges” list.

The College of William and Mary is ranked third in the 2009 list, behind New College of Florida. State University of New York at Binghamton and Florida State University round out the top 5. UVa came in fourth in the previous rankings, released in 2007.

The “Best Value” rankings, which the test-preparation company jointly released with USA Today, are based on surveys of students and administrators at hundreds of colleges and universities.

[From UVa Named Best Value]

Evidently the choices are made on over 30 criteria;

Overall selection criteria included more than 30 factors in three areas: academics, costs and financial aid. Academic ratings were based on student surveys about such issues as professors’ accessibility and class sizes, as well as institutional reports about student-faculty ratios and percent of classes taught by teaching assistants.

[From Best Value Colleges for 2010 and how they were chosen - USATODAY.com]

Photo Credit: GetMoreU

According to Kiplinger.com, UVA is #3 in the Nation for Best Value in Public Colleges

January 6, 2010 by Sasha Farmer · Leave a Comment 

The University of Virginia always seems to fare pretty well in this review, but we have once again been ranked high nationwide based on cost versus value.

How is this determined? According to Kiplinger.com;

“Kiplinger’s bases its rankings on a combination of academics and affordability. We start with data from more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities, provided by Peterson’s/Nelnet, then add our own reporting.

We narrow the list to about 120 schools based on measures of academic quality — including SAT or ACT scores, admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios, and four- and six-year graduation rates, which most schools reported for the class entering in 2002.

We then rank each school based on cost and financial aid. In our scoring system, academic quality carries more weight than costs (almost two-thirds of the total).

To assess costs, we look at total expenses for in-state students (tuition, mandatory fees, room and board, and books); the average cost for a student with need after subtracting grants (but not loans); the average cost for a student without need after subtracting non-need-based grants; the average percentage of need met by aid; and the average debt per student before graduation. (In the table, aid is need-based assistance.)

To determine out-of-state rankings, we run the academic-quality and expense numbers again, this time using total costs for out-of-state residents and average costs after aid.”

[From How We Rank the Schools - Kiplinger.com]

John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville Voted Best New Arena by Sports Illustrated

January 3, 2010 by Sasha Farmer · Leave a Comment 

We all know that the John Paul Jones Arena is hugely successful and has brought lots of great attention and activity to Charlottesville, but it doesn’t hurt to have Sports Illustrated agree!

BEST NEW ARENA: John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, Va.

The University of Virginia spent $140 million to build John Paul Jones Arena, which opened in 2006. The arena is a perfect size (capacity 14,593), includes state-of-the-art practice, training and academic facilities, and it blends perfectly into UVA’s stately campus.

[From Tyler Hansbrough, Jonny Flynn shaped decade in college hoops - 2000s: The Decade in Sports - SI.com]

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Creative Commons

University of Virginia Alumni

July 19, 2009 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

The University of Virginia Alumni Association has a strong influence throughout Charlottesville. The presence of University alumni and their contributions to Charlottesville are significant, and UVA has some of the most loyal alumni you’ll see! You won’t be able to miss them on UVA game days.

College Town

July 19, 2009 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

The University of Virginia is one of the largest employers in Charlottesville and the University faculty, students, and staff are huge contributors to the success of our local economy. City’s that thrive off of college campuses are often much more insulated from market shifts and weak economies.

University of Virginia Athletics

July 12, 2009 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

The University of Virginia’s athletics program competes in Division I (and the Football Bowl Subdivision for football) and since 1953 as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Virginia Cavaliers, also called “Wahoos” or “Hoos”, have won 19 recognized national championships, 14 of them since 1980.

Source: Wikipedia

UVA Named #1 in Nation as Best Public School in Terms of Quality to Value

January 9, 2009 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

I received this letter today from UVA President John Casteen;

The University is frequently recognized for offering an excellent education at a reasonable price. Last May, the Center for College Affordability and Productivity ranked us No. 1 among all national public universities.

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine ranked us No. 3 nationally in “100 Best Values in Public Colleges” in December. U.S. News & World Report ranked the University No. 16 among all universities, both public and private, in its most recent “Great Schools, Great Prices” list. We have earned this reputation for affordable excellence by employing expert fiscal managers to handle our resources wisely, by attracting and retaining top faculty members, students, and staff, and by a commitment from our Rector and Visitors and women and men who work throughout the University to ensure access for qualified students from all backgrounds.

Our goal has been to provide a superior education at a fair price and to budget appropriate sums for financial aid for students from various economic circumstances. Through AccessUVa, the University’s financial aid program, we aim to level the playing field for our state’s and nation’s young people.

The current economic crisis poses special, often daunting, challenges to families who are increasingly hard pressed to pay education costs. This fall, 882 AccessUVa students enrolled in the first-year class, bringing the total number of AccessUVa students currently enrolled to 3,781. Without this program, which we hope will find imitators elsewhere, these students might not have been able to come here. We plan to continue to build this program in the years ahead.

Support from alumni, parents, and friends helps us sustain quality here even as we work to make the University affordable for all students, regardless of their financial means. For your commitment to this University and to the values it embodies, I am grateful.

John Casteen

Note: To read the USA Today story and view the Today Show segment on the rankings, click here.

Dear Ol' UVA

January 13, 2008 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

I love that I’m still in Charlottesville and still get to visit my alma mater. 

This is why I love UVA.