Peabody is the building, Jack is the dog, and I'm Dean J (she/her, btw).

There are years of posts here. The search box works well, but please consider the age of the posts when you find them. The college admission process changes every year!

References to emailing updates to your application are from the years when we didn't have the current applicant portal. Please follow the instructions in your portal to submit all updates.

Welcome to the blog and thanks for reading!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Common App status

Last week, we used the Common App system to email out this reminder, but it's worth repeating here with an image. Within the Common App website, you have a box for each school to which you are applying that shows your application progress.



First of all, Common App has an FAQ about the little colored symbols. They only update on a set schedule, so pay attention to the text next to an item first and foremost. If you submit your application components at 3 PM, the test will say that they are submitted, but the colored symbol next to the item might remain yellow for a while until the system updates.

Second of all, we do not get any of the Common App items (Common App, supplement, payment) until all three parts are completed. So, you may have finished your UVa Supplement last week and hit submit, but it will not be sent to us until the other two parts of the application are completed. This saves our tiny staff from doing a ton of work on applications that will never be completed.

Lastly, on the application instructions page, we have a section that explains what happens after you submit. It goes without saying that you need to read this! You need to look for an email from uvaapplicationinfo@virginia.edu that is going to the email address you used on your Common App. It should arrive within five days of our receiving your application (remember, all three parts). That email explains the login process you need to use to monitor your application status after submission.

Remember, don't worry about your status page items until late January/early February. The volume of submissions right now is so great that we don't always process items on the day they arrive. It can take a few weeks to get items checked into our system.