He Turned His Detour Into a Defining Moment, Forging a Path to UVA

May 6, 2025
Karam Noori reading his acceptance letter from UVA

Karam Noori reads the letter, announcing his acceptance to the University of Virginia鈥檚 College of Arts & Sciences. (Photo by Lathan Goumas, University Communications)

When Monticello High School graduate Karam Noori didn鈥檛 get into the University of Virginia in 2023, he already knew his next move.

鈥淚鈥檝e kind of been very involved with the community. I鈥檝e seen a lot of people around me that are older and go to the University of Virginia, people who鈥檝e graduated,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a pretty tight-knit community, and when I see that, it makes me want to be a part of that.鈥

Noori achieved his goal Thursday around 1:30 p.m. at Piedmont Virginia Community College.

Karam Noori holding up a new University of Virginia tee shirt

Noori plans to study biology at UVA. (Photo by Lathan Goumas, University Communications)

鈥淚t is with great pleasure that I write to inform you that you have been offered admission to the University of Virginia for the Fall 2025 term as a student in the College of Arts & Sciences,鈥 reads the opening of a letter administrators handed him in a sun-filled conference room at the school.

He was all smiles, knowing he鈥檇 followed the right path.

UVA has maintained guaranteed admission agreements with the Virginia Community College System since the early 2000s, provided the community college students earn a two-year associate鈥檚 degree in arts, sciences or arts and sciences, maintain a minimum grade-point average and earn at least 45 transferrable credits.

Discovery and Innovation: NASA selects UVA researcher for asteroid mission
Discovery and Innovation: NASA selects UVA researcher for asteroid mission

Noori plans to study biology when he matriculates to UVA as a third-year student in the fall. His younger sister, Leen, is thinking about taking the same, affordable route from PVCC to UVA.

The siblings were born in Baghdad, Iraq. 鈥淢y parents wanted me and my sister to pursue a better education,鈥 Karam said. So the family moved to Jordan when he was 2. The public school system there was 鈥渘ot that great,鈥 he said, and the cost of private school was prohibitive. After a few more moves, they landed in Charlottesville.

Noori is paying for his college education, working as he pursued his degree at PVCC and planning to keep working at UVA, bolstered by a need-based scholarship from AccessUVA.

He said he is grateful for the path from PVCC to UVA.

鈥淚 realized there were a lot of things ahead of me that I had to work on to get to my goal,鈥 he said after learning he鈥檇 not been originally accepted to the University. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 that my goal was gone. It鈥檚 just postponed. It was just something that I had to work for 鈥 even if it was two years later, it鈥檚 still the goal that I was hoping to achieve.鈥

Media Contacts

Jane Kelly

University News Senior Associate Office of University Communications

You May Also Like