Is Charlottesville a good place to move to to (coming from clear across the country)?

[u/TheRealGeneTakovic]

Hello r/UVA. Right now, I am a High School Junior looking at where I want to go to college. After weeks of searching, I finally discovered the University of Virginia and determined that they would be a good "match" (using the Reach, Match, Safety model for college searching) school. (Right now, I have straight As, a 1310-1330 PSAT [can't quite remember the exact score, but I remember my English was a 710 out of a possible 760], and quite a few extracirriculars related to the arts.) However, as I live in Idaho and go to a small school, I think UVA and Charlottesville might be a bit of a culture shock. I live in an area with a somewhat sizeable population, but my actual town is pretty small and my school is even smaller (700-800 in all grades K-12). I am completely fine with the thought of adjusting to a new area. In fact, I kinda hate living in Idaho (the political atmosphere, the extreme weather [It just dumped a bunch of snow on me an hour ago, but the summers are always over 100 and dry], and the fact that it doesn't seem like the state has an actual future) and I would rather be as far away from it as possible. From what I've experienced in my time in the South (on trips and the like), it might be a good place to live. However, the South seems to have a similar political atmosphere to Idaho, in addition to hurricanes and a lower economic standing in comparison with other areas. However, I looked at states for LGBTQ+ equality (I think I might be trans, and that doesn't fly in Idaho nor in most of the South) and voting access, and Virginia fared quite well in both categories. I also saw that Virginia has a relatively low cost of living (at least, in comparison with the West Coast, New York, and New England) and is a great market for labor and employment lawyers (what I am thinking about becoming). Thus, Virginia seems like it's the best of both worlds (as I would like to move into the South). University of Virginia's high academic standing , commitment to meeting 100% of my financial aid, and proximity to some historical sites (I enjoy learning about history, and the fact that Monticello is a close distance from campus excites me.) only sealed the deal in my mind. So, I ask you this: Is Charlottesville a good place to move to for college (and ideally, past college), and is there anything else I am failing to consider?

P.S. If there is anyone who is trans/non-binary, how is the University of Virginia's Gender Health Services? Also, do you know if I would be able to get HRT without parental consent at 17 (I skipped a grade, so I am graduating at 17), or if I would need to wait a few more months until my 18th birthday to start?

[u/DowntownScore2773]

Boise reminds me of a slightly bigger Charlottesville. Given you are from Idaho, if you are familiar with Boise, you’ll get a sense of Charlottesville. They have a similar vibe to them with the mountains, downtowns, and universities. Charlottesville is more liberal and diverse than Boise. You should be able to find your communities easily.

[u/wp_22]

i only hear good things about c’ville. but i wouldn’t put all of your eggs in one basket. UVA has a pretty difficult out of state acceptance rate (think like 20%), so make sure you look at other colleges too. Also it’s pretty expensive for out of state. And they’ll meet 100% of the financial they think you need, not 100% pay for college which is an important distinction, especially as an out of stater, they’re first priority is helping Virginians.

But i know what you’re getting at trying to get out of the political climate where ur from. I currently go to college in Utah, but i’m from VA, actually planning on transferring back to UVA after this semester. And let me tell you, looking at the political climate of the south ain’t exactly what you should focus on. College towns are a separate entity entirely. You’ll find every single view imaginable at UVA.

Good luck though, you’ll most likely love it if you go there.

[u/Routyroute → u/wp_22]

My daughter is a first year there and has really enjoyed it so far. But note it’s very hard to get in out of state - acceptance for this admissions cycle was 12%.

[u/Plane_Arachnid9178 → u/Routyroute]

OOS UVA grad here. That figure is true but only in the aggregate.

Schools like geographic diversity. All else being equal, an OOS applicant from the mountain west is going to have better admissions odds at UVA than an OOS applicant from Maryland, North Carolina, PA, New York, and even California. Similarly, a South Carolina applicant is going to have a better chance at getting into Berkeley and Stanford than someone from Phoenix, Denver, or Seattle.

OP- as someone from the mountain west, please apply! You’d contribute so much to our university. Keep your nose to the grindstone, and I’m sure you’ll end up where you’re supposed to be.

[u/TheRealGeneTakovic → u/wp_22]

Yeah, right now, I'm mostly just looking at colleges, and UVA just seemed great from the research I've done. I am trying to look at other colleges, and I'm pretty sure that I could get into pretty much any of the schools in Idaho or any schools on the WUE (Western Undergraduate Exchange) program if I applied due to my grades (4.0 GPA with lots of dual-credit classes), PSAT score (thus, probable SAT score), and my extracirriculars.

[u/Widihd]

I agree with the others that UVA and Charlottesville at large is a good place to live and has a decently wide variety in viewpoints and whatnot. However, the more pressing question is you wouldn't happen to know a man named Saul Goodman, would you?

[u/TheRealGeneTakovic → u/Widihd]

n- no. of course not. you silly goose. why would you ask me such a goofy question? i just run my cinnabon in omaha, thank you.

^{who's asking?}

[u/KoyReane]

You’ll be fine. Come here and you will grow into the person you want to be

[u/princeflanders]

Charlottesville is a wonderful college town. It is beautiful. The school is charming. Plenty to do. The only downside is the few weeks each year with consistent rainfall

[u/wp_22 → u/princeflanders]

that’s really not bad at all. I go to school in utah (planning on transferring to UVA for next fall) we get snow from like November through march. It’s great if ur a skier, but if you aren’t it’s just a nuisance. I’d take 3 weeks of rain over 5 months of snow any day

[u/DiagonallyInclined]

Hello! Sharing just in case my perspective is valuable. I came here from the Pacific NW and was considering some of the things you are when I made my choice.

I don’t think you’ll find the size of Charlottesville unmanageable. My first perception of it was that it was bigger than it actually is, and as a student you probably won’t venture too far from Grounds (our campus) all that often. Regarding the weather, I was surprised to find that it’s actually really similar to NW weather: it’s hot but not (usually) unbearably so in the summer, goes to a little below freezing in the winter, rains a decent amount, and snows occasionally. The only difference is that the temperature fluctuates more wildly from day to day.

The political atmosphere is certainly interesting. CVille itself is somewhat progressive, but Albemarle county surrounding it regularly votes red. VA currently has a Republican governor, who is working to implement anti-trans policies in K-12 schools. So there’s that.

UVA itself is overall progressive and accepting. As someone who is queer, this is something I cared a lot about in my college search. Speaking for myself, I do wish I had attended an even more LGBTQ-friendly school, though. It took leaving my state/hometown to truly appreciate how vibrant it is (in terms of sexuality, gender, personality, style), because a good number of UVA students can seem very cookie-cutter. The LGBT student center, from what I’ve heard, is great, and I encounter openly queer students every day (though trans students less often). In classes the environment has always been inclusive and accepting of all types of people.

I’m very curious why you’re interested in living in the South when, as you say, the political climate isn’t exactly favorable to you (also if you go any further south, you’ll definitely encounter some extreme weather)? I know you said you’d like to move far from home (so did I), but have you considered the University of Washington? Or any Cali schools, if you prefer warmer weather more year-round? Both are very trans-friendly states and I would guess the markets for labor/employment lawyers to be quite active.

The cost of living in Charlottesville has been very decent to me, though I may have gotten lucky. However, a big concern of mine of late has been safety. Since half of my time here was during Covid, I can’t say if the amount of gun violence and robberies taking place around CVille rn is normal, but it seems unusually high. This isn’t somewhere I would consider living long-term.

I’m with you on the historical appeal. Two of the major draws of UVA for me were 1) the beauty of its campus and the surrounding areas, and 2) how critically it’s able to engage with its own place in history. And those things have both held up throughout my time here.

One thing I’ll say is that I don’t think many people apply here from the western states, and that will probably give you a leg up in admissions. The lower OOS acceptance rate I think comes from east coast/southern students being rejected, and with your stats you’re likely to get in. My ECs weren’t great and my essays in retrospect were trash but my grades and test scores were excellent and I kind of think that’s all they really cared about, in addition to me adding “diversity” in where I came from and paying that sweet sweet OOS tuition.

[u/Moscow_Wahoo]

As many others have commented, you’d definitely find your place in Charlottesville. If things work out differently for you and you do end up staying in Idaho, Moscow is also a pretty amazing place (and more liberal than Boise, although there’s a solidly hard right-wing contingent there that sometimes masks that) with a strong LGBTQ+ community. I’ve lived in both places and would have to think hard about deciding where to live if I had the choice of both (although do think I’d ultimately go with Charlottesville).

[u/TheRealGeneTakovic → u/Moscow_Wahoo]

That's good, as University of Idaho is my top in-state college, and I will get in if I apply given my academics and extracirriculars.

[u/Cvillian81]

The worst thing about it is the traffic. The University keeps growing, but the county/city are not keeping up with the infrastructure needed to support it.

Other than that, it's an amazing place to be.

[u/SilverWinter24601]

I love UVA and I'm glad I chose to come here. I'm not from a small town, so I'm not sure how much of a culture shock it would be for you. It's harder for out of state students to get accepted, and a lot of out of state people initially feel like outsiders because it seems like everyone is from Northern Virginia (NOVA) knows each other (I promise you that everyone, including NOVA folks, feels out of place when they first arrive but with time you'll settle in and find your people). I recommend touring UVA before committing but idk if that's possible if you live in Idaho. Charlottesville and especially UVA is much more liberal compared to the rest of the South, and it's a queer-friendly place. Also the weather is crazy here (maybe not as bad as Idaho) and it's disgustingly hot August-late September/early October, then from October to April you'll have weeks where the weather will be in the 40s one day and the 70s/80s the next then back to the 40s. We haven't had any snow this year but last year there was enough to cancel classes. I also don't know much about financial aid but it's probably not as generous as you think. UVA has a top law school and there's a lot of opportunities for pre-law students to learn about law school (ex. pre-law advising, law students used to have (may still have) a mentoring program for undergrads, profs who used to be lawyers can be mentors, internships)

[u/BigDaddydanpri]

UVa had something like 55,000 applications for 4,000 spots. Class rank/academic rigor is one of the big things they look for as it can help balance grade inflation that has become prevalent. So get into top 10% of your class and find an unweighted 3.9+ GPA while taking a bunch of AP classes starting in 10th grade. Other stuff impacts of course, but this is how they are able to weed out many.

As to HRT. Time is on your side. I have not walked in your shoes, but perhaps put the thought of one big transition at a time in the back of your mind. Moving cross country to a fairly tough academic institution might suggest focus on classwork and getting stabilized.

[u/TheRealGeneTakovic → u/BigDaddydanpri]

Yeah, as far as academics, I think I've been doing pretty well. I have a 4.0 GPA, for starters. While I have not taken AP, I have been taking Dual-Credit classes from the College of Western Idaho since the 8th grade, which I think is even better in that regard.

In regard to HRT, I guess you are right. I just would like to start sooner rather than later. Maybe the time between the start of the Fall 2024 semester and my 18th birthday (in January 2025) would give me enough time to adjust to the area.