The waitlist is released

I just got out of our staff meeting where the Dean announced that he is releasing the waitlist. SIS statuses will start to change today and letters will start printing tomorrow. Keep in mind that it will take a few days for letters to be printed, folded, and stuffed into envelopes, so you may not have an official letter in your hands until sometime next week (depending on your mail service, of course).

Knowing that many of you will never visit the blog again, let me say that it's been a long year for all of us and I've valued our interaction on this blog. Best wishes for a wonderful time at your chosen school. While your first year might not be at UVa, I know it will be an exciting time for you all.

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Are you a "fan" of UVa on Facebook?

I just came across an interesting slide in a presentation posted by a group that consults colleges about their presence on the web. According to their research, among schools with an undergraduate population between 10,000 and 19,999, we have the 2nd highest number of Facebook fans. At a little over 13,500 students, we're probably smaller than some of the other schools on the list (Kansas State, ranked first, has over 16,000 undergrads).

I'm a fan of UVa on Facebook because I work here and I love this school. I'm wondering if the number of fans is related to employees, current students, and alumni who use Facebook or about prospective students tagging a college in which they are interested.

So, my question is: did you become a "fan" of UVa on Facebook? If so, did you do it because you already have a connection (current student or alumni) or because you have become interested in UVa though your college search?

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Away for a few days

If you follow my Twitter feed (see the column to the right), you know that I'm out of the office, at a conference in Boston. Hang in there. I hope to have an update for you when I get back to the office on Friday.

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CavDog on Lawn Life

I love Lawn Life, a photo blog that captures some of the moments that happen on Grounds. Today, they posted my favorite picture of CavDog.

You can follow Lawn Life on Tumblr or on Twitter.

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Katie Couric's reunion video

One of our local websites picked up on this video that Katie Couric made a few weeks ago when she was on Grounds for her 30th reunion. The luncheon where she is filming when the video starts took place in front of Peabody Hall (visible when she turns the camera on herself). Other stops: The Lawn, Katie's old room, and The White Spot.

Enjoy...especially the part when they're dancing to OutKast.

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Another student blog!

You've probably already seen UVa Life, a blog that was started by a student about a year ago. Now, to join the student bloggers, we have a team blog called Hoo Stories. The group has already racked up a good number of posts and I'm sure they'd love to read your comments and answer your questions.

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An even better look at the residence halls

This link deserves its own post. You can get 360 views of the residence halls on our website.

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Wider, cleaner layout

I've been doing some tinkering today. I never liked the amount of empty real estate on the blog, but also don't want to clutter it with extra columns or images. So, I changed the layout a bit, made the columns wider, and simplified the color scheme.

You'll notice buttons for subscribing to the blog via common RSS Readers. Those of you who currently subscribe via email might be interested in using a blog reader, especially if you like to read multiple blogs (goodness knows many admission officers have jumped into blogging in the last few years).

Anyway, I hope you like the new format! Let me know if anything looks buggy to you.

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A look inside the residence halls

Just in case you haven't found them yet, the housing office has photos of students' rooms from various halls around Grounds. While I'm sure some of the students did some tidying up before the photographers showed up, these were not rooms set up by the University.

Note: these are just pages with pictures. Go to the housing website to read general info about each building. There are more halls than those below. This is just a list of the pages with photos.

McCormick Road Halls
Alderman Road Halls (here's a special page about Kellogg Hall and some info about future buildings)
Brown College (also check out Brown's website)
International Residence College

As a little bonus, here's a blog entry written by a 2004 graduate who saved pictures of both his first year and fourth year rooms (he lived off Grounds his fourth year). Perhaps these are a better representations of men's residence hall rooms!

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Visiting us this summer? Please take note of parking instructions!

This information is on our website, but I thought it would be helpful to post it here in case there are prospective students and parents reading.

From June 19th through August 31st (with the exception of July 17th and 18th):
Visitors are invited to park in the Emmet/Ivy Garage located at 123 Emmet Street South, Charlottesville, VA 22903 behind the Cavalier Inn and Italian Villa. Parking is FREE in this garage from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday; the garage is closed on Sundays. We cannot validate parking elsewhere.

Directions to the Emmet/Ivy Parking Garage:
Utilize exit 118B off Interstate 64 and travel toward Charlottesville on the 29/250 Bypass. Take second exit onto Route 250 Business East. Turn right at the top of the exit onto Ivy Road. Turn left at third traffic signal into garage entrance.

Click here for a detailed parking map (PDF).


On Friday, July 17th and Saturday, July 18th ONLY
The Emmet/Ivy Garage will be closed for maintenance and visitors may park at the Culbreth Road Garage located at 130 Culbreth Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903. Parking is FREE in this garage from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. We cannot validate parking elsewhere.

Directions to the Culbreth Road Garage:
From Interstate 64, take exit 118B towards Charlottesville. Merge onto the Route 29/250 Bypass. Take the second exit onto Ivy Road. Pass through the intersection of Ivy Road and Emmet Street (Route 29) and turn left onto Culbreth Road.

Click here for a detailed parking map (PDF).



We can not validate parking tickets for those who park in the Central Grounds Garage.

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2010 Essay Questions

The future applicants out there might be interested in knowing the essay questions that will appear on next year's UVa Supplement to the Common Application. The Common App will have one general question which you must answer. In addition, we ask for two short responses that are specific to UVa. Please pay attention to the limits! We aren't expecting you to write term papers. We're looking for thoughtful, concise statements.

For advice about essays, click on the "essays" tag at the bottom of the post and you'll see all related posts from past years.


UVa Supplement Essays for First-Years
1. We are looking for passionate students to join our diverse community of scholars, researchers, and artists. Answer the question that corresponds to your intended school. Limit your answer to a half page or roughly 250 words.

• College of Arts and Sciences: What work of art, music, science, mathematics, or literature has surprised, unsettled, or challenged you, and in what way?
• Engineering: Discuss experiences that led you to choose an engineering education at U.Va. and the role that scientific curiosity plays in your life.
• Architecture: What led you to apply to the School of Architecture?
• Nursing: Discuss experiences that led you to choose the School of Nursing.

2. Answer one of the following questions in a half page or roughly 250 words

• What is your favorite word and why?
• Describe the world you come from and how that world shaped who you are.
• Discuss something you secretly like but pretend not to, or vice versa.
• "We might say that we were looking for global schemas, symmetries, universal and unchanging laws - and what we have discovered is the mutable, the ephemeral, the complex." Support or challenge Nobel Prize winner Ilya Prigogine's assertion.

UVa Supplement Essays for Transfers
1. How do the possible career or professional plans you indicated on the Common Application relate to your planned course of study?

• If you are applying to the College of Arts and Sciences and are undecided about your major, indicate your general area of interest.
• If you are applying to the Architecture, Commerce, Education, Engineering, or Nursing Schools, tell us why you have chosen this field and what experiences (work, internships, etc.) have prepared you for it.
• If you are applying to the Five-Year Teacher Education Program, indicate your academic major within the College of Arts and Sciences and your intended teaching area (e.g., elementary education, secondary education).

2. Since you graduated from high school, have there been periods of time (other than summer vacations) when you were not enrolled in college? Do you plan to spend the Spring term away from your current college or university? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, please describe, in chronological order, your activities or employment during these periods.

3. Answer one of the following essay questions. Limit your response to one page.

• Stephen Hawking asked the question, "What is the probability of life existing elsewhere in the universe?" in his public lecture, "Life in the Universe." If life does, in fact, exist elsewhere in the universe and you could send one thing to represent the human race, what would it be and why would you choose it?
• If you could have dinner with three people, living or dead or fictional, who would they be and why would you select them?
• What issue of local, national, or international significance concerns you? Why?

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Over the weekend...

Check out this article and let me know what you think about it.

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Waitlist offer ramifications

Some of the waitlisted students who have been offered a spot in the class have asked if they are at a disadvantage when it comes to orientation, housing, and registration.

First of all, you should know that in the Student Information System (SIS), only the Office of Admission can see that a matriculated student was previously on the waitlist. Your professors and peers will only know that you were waitlisted if you tell them yourself.

Orientation registration opened in May and I imagine that there are some early sessions that have filled up by now. So, in a sense, you may be at a disadvantage in that you could have fewer session options. That being said, all orientations sessions are the same. Coming to an early session is not better. I might add that from in my experience, the skits and sessions that the orientation leaders give get better and better as the days go by.

As for registration, there is no advantage to those who come to an early orientation session and therefore register early. The registration system reserves a certain number of seats for each orientation session. A class may appear full once all the spots give to a particular session are taken, but the class will open up again when the next orientation session starts (and only students in that orientation session can snap up those seats). This is why some of you who have already gone into the registration system are seeing classes that are full.

Lastly, housing forms were due on June 5th. However, housing assignments are random for first year students, so I do not think those of you who submit forms a little late will be penalized. The Housing Division has a webpage just for first year students that will give you more information about the assignment process.

Congratulations to those of you who are getting offers! Don't hesitate to go call offices around Grounds if you have questions that aren't answered on the website. While I try to be a font of knowledge, it's always smart to get information right from the source. To those still waiting, hang in there. Again, we are trying to make this process as quick as possible while still being thorough.

All incoming students should be keeping an eye on the deadlines listed on the Summer Orientation page (scroll down). One of the deadlines, the health form deadline, is firm and there is a penalty for missing it!

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Tree planting honors Jack Blackburn

After a few days on retreat, our staff returned to Grounds for a tree planting ceremony to honor our late dean, Jack Blackburn. It seems fitting that Jack's tree is on The Lawn, close to the intersection of some major paths that are filled with students making their way to and from classes during the year.

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Back from vacation

As you could see from the tweet sent a few days ago from my phone (see the menu to the right), I was out of the office for a few days. I was also away from an internet connection for that period, so the blog was pretty quiet.

The class continues to take shape and the waitlist is still active. Again, when the class is complete, a letter will be sent to all waitlisted students. I will also post a note on the blog.

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These kids are good: CMB Colorguard

This is the time of year when Grounds start getting taken over by campers of all sorts. Between the American Physics Society (on Grounds currently...what a rowdy bunch those physicists are), sports camps, academic camps, orientation, and UVa students here for the summer jobs or coursework, there's actually a bit more activity on Grounds during the summer than you'd expect.

One of my favorite times during the summer comes when the different groups associated with the marching band are on Grounds. I've mentioned the band and my admiration for them in the past, but I didn't really touch on the CMC Colorguard, which is one of a few specialty groups within the marching band (I think the others would be the drum line and the twirlers). Anyway, Colorguard has a nice little website, a Youtube channel, and their own summer camp before the larger band camp. One of their alumnae also maintains a Flickr page with photos from the past few years.

I know absolutely nothing about being in colorguard, twirling things, or being in a marching band, but between the websites to which I linked above and this fantastic video hosted on the CMC Colorguard's website (some of the best parts are towards the end!), I find myself trying to figure out a way to be part of this group...or at least sit with them at games. Their section looks like a lot more fun than where I sit at Scott Stadium.

Perhaps CavDog could beat a drum with his wagging tail...


*Incoming first years: if you're interested in being part of the colorguard or the band, you might want get in touch with those groups now so you can come to camp.

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Simplified deadlines for 2010

The first-year application deadline has always been on the first business day after the New Year holiday. The reasoning was that the deadline had to be on a day when students could get to the post office to mail their applications. As a result, the deadline date has shifted every year.

Now that we are paperless and want all students to submit their applications online, we don't see a need to have an inconsistent deadline. From now on, the first year deadline will be January 1st. Transfer deadlines will not change. They have always been November 1st and March 1st.

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End of the year photos

I walk home on The Lawn each afternoon and snapped a few photos on my way over the last few weeks. Grounds has gone from full of students to full of work crews preparing for Final Exercises (our term for graduation or commencement) this weekend.

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Waitlist movement

The Dean has started to make some decisions about the waitlist. I don't have numbers for you. I believe there will be more offers for out-of-state students than Virginians, but again, I don't have numbers for you at this time.

We are going back through waitlist files right now to reread them and consider new information that has been sent it. We want to move quickly, but we also want to be thorough. Please be patient...this is not a fast process.

As I wrote the other day, if you are no longer interested in UVa, please go into the SIS and decline your waitlist spot. It will make this process move a little more quickly.

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Get ready, waitlisters!

The inevitable is going to happen. We're going to go to the waitlist. I don't know exactly when or how many we'll take (so please, don't ask me about either in the comments), but there's something those of you on the waitlist need to do now to be in a position to accept an offer if it comes your way.

You need to make sure your Financial Aid application is complete. Student Financial Services will create aid packages for waitlist applicants who are offered admission, but if you have an incomplete application right now, they probably won't be able to give you a package by the time we'll be asking you to commit. We usually give students offered off the waitlist one week to commit to UVa.

So, log into the SIS and check the finance section. If you are on the waitlist and there are items left on the SFS checklist, get them done NOW. It's amazing how many students never looked at the instructions for applying for aid and didn't file the UVa specific form.

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