This weekend 96 of the University's most sought-after prospective students visited the University for a weekend of Jefferson scholar tryouts.
The students took part in a number of written exercises and tests, interviews with faculty, alumni and administrators, and other activities designed to give the students an idea of what it is like to be a student at the University, organizers said.
"It was incredible weekend," said Katherine Klem, a first-year College student and Jefferson Scholar.
Klem took part in the program last year as a prospective student and showed Jefferson candidates around this year.
"The best part was meeting the current finalists and the other finalists and just getting so excited about the possibility of coming to U.Va.," Klem said.
Jefferson Scholars receive full four-year merit-based scholarships to attend the University. The students are selected based on the Jeffersonian ideals of leadership, scholarship and citizenship.
All of the students who attended this weekend are in the top 5 percent of their class, have an average SAT score of 1489 and will come to the University with Advanced Placement credits. The group includes 48 valedictorians or salutatorians and 27 student body presidents or vice presidents.
"I'd venture to guess that it would be difficult to put together any 96 people who are more talented than this group," said James Wright, executive director of the Jefferson Scholars program.
The selection process began early in the academic year when 2,000 participating high schools across the country nominated students for the scholarship. This year 900 students were nominated. More than three-quarters of the students are from outside of Virginia.
After nominations were submitted, interviews were conducted locally by regional selection committees and the finalist pool was invited to last weekend's program. The admissions office also refers some students from schools that do not participate in the program's nomination process.
"The purpose of the foundation is to attract outstanding people to the University who might not otherwise come," Wright said.
Ultimately Wright said the program will offer the scholarships to between 40 and 45 students. Usually 36 students enroll in the University as Jefferson scholarship recipients.
The University hopes that the selection process will positively impact even those students who are not offered scholarships.
"We're hoping that most of the students who are here will like what they see at the University and that most of them, even if not selected to be a Jefferson Scholar, will come here," Wright said. "History shows that the selection process is a recruiting tool."
Over the last decade, at least 10 percent of the incoming class, or between 275 and 300 students, has been nominated to the Jefferson Scholarship competition.
"Some people come into the weekend saying, 'If I get this, I'll come here; if I don't, I won't,'" Klem said. "Sure the dinners were nice and the Grounds were beautiful. What sold me was just how balanced U.Va. people were. They were smart, but they were friendly; they went out on weekends; they were good at conversations -- nothing else compared."
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