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!

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Hitting the Road: Northern Virginia (Week 1)

Some schools send rookie admission officers to Northern Virginia as an initiation because of the notorious traffic and the advanced questions that get asked there. Sending a rookie to the Fair Oaks or Ballston Commons Malls is sort of like throwing someone into the "deep end" of the college admission pool.

I personally love traveling in that region, probably because I grew up in an area just like it. I enjoy being asked questions about topics that are more elaborate than "What GPA do I need?" which doesn't even make sense since GPA is a highly creative calculation these days. Hearing the current rumors that are getting passed around is always interesting, too.

If your school is on my schedule and you'd like to come see me, you already know the drill. Your Career Center Specialists have probably made you aware of the sign up procedure you need to follow to get a pass. This is the first of three weeks that I'll be spending in NOVA, so don't worry if your school isn't on this list.

I should add that the weeks when we can travel are a little limited these days.  Most schools don't want us to visit until the school routine is normal, so the first couple weeks of September are avoided.  Columbus Day weekend brings many visits to Grounds, so most of our staff tries to be home for that.  By the end of October, most of us have to finish the travel season so we can get back home for the Early Action application review. 

So, here is where I'm headed for my first week in NOVA.  I'll post my other itineraries shortly. 

Monday, September 24, 2012
8:00 AM   Fairfax High School
9:30 AM   James Madison High School
11:00 AM  Oakton High School
12:45 AM Woodson High School

Tuesday, September 25, 2012
8:30 AM   Yorktown High School
10:00 AM  Wakefield High School
11:30 AM  Washington-Lee High School
1:15 PM    Bishop O'Connell High School

Wednesday, September 26, 2012
8:30 AM   Annandale High School
10:00 AM  Falls Church High School
11:45 AM  TJHSST
1:00 PM    Bishop Ireton High School

Thursday, September 27, 2012
9:00 AM   Marshall High School
11:00 AM  McLean High School
12:15 AM  Langley High School
2:00 PM   George Mason High School

Friday, September 28, 2012
8:30 AM   JEB Stuart High School
10:30 AM  Centreville High School
1:15 PM   Westfield High School


I'll post my schedules for the second and third weeks soon!

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Hitting the Road: Richmond (and Charlottesville!)

I usually stick to sharing my travel schedule, but one of my colleagues has some dates to share, too!  Assistant Dean Merav Frazier is spending a bit of time in Asia this year, but she also gets to visit high schools that are much closer to home.

Here's where she'll be in the coming weeks:

Friday, September 14, 2012
2:30 PM     Monticello High School

Thursday, September 20, 2012
10:00 AM     Goochland High School
12:00 PM     Trinity Episcopal School
2:00 PM       Powhatan High School

Friday, September 21, 2012
7:30 AM     The Stewart School
8:30 AM     Saint Gertrude High School
9:45 AM     Benedictine College Prep School
12:15 PM    Saint Christopher's School
1:30 PM     Saint Catherine's School

Tuesday, September 25, 2012
7:30 AM     James River High School
9:00 AM     Clover Hill High School
11:30 AM    Cosby High School
1:00 PM      Lloyd C. Bird High School


Saturday, September 08, 2012

Notes from Peabody is on Facebook!

I maintained a regular Facebook profile page for years and plenty of students would "friend" me to keep track of what was happening in Peabody Hall.  I had no interest in tracking them or seeing what they were up to, so I rarely logged in to use the my profile.  I set it up to automatically pull content from this blog and my twitter feed.

Facebook pages obviously make it far easier for me to share content without giving me a window into a student's private space.  So, I shut down my Dean J profile and created a Notes from Peabody Facebook page.  Updates from the blog get posted there, but I also post things that you'll only see on that page. 

So, if you'd like to keep up with Notes from Peabody via Facebook and see some extra content (mostly behind-the-scenes pictures), you can like the page


Monday, September 03, 2012

Hitting the Road: New England & the NYC Area

In a couple weeks, I'll join colleagues from UC Berkeley and Johns Hopkins for a week of evening programs and counselor breakfasts in Boston, Providence, Tarrytown, and Teaneck.  If you're on any of our mailing lists, we probably already know this because we mailed and emailed invitations to these programs a few weeks ago. However, if you'd like to join us this week, you can RSVP via our "UVa Visits You" page.

Each school typically presents a truncated information session at the evening programs and then answer questions as a group.  Afterwards, there is time for students and parents to chat with each school.  We are often able to have some young alumni join us.

Our evening programs:

Monday, September 17 at 7:30 pm
Boston Marriott Burlington

1 Burlington Mall Road
Burlington, MA 01803

Tuesday, September 18 at 7:30 pm
Providence Marriott Downtown

1 Orms Street
Providence, RI 02904

Wednesday, September 19 at 7:30 pm
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Tarrytown

455 South Broadway
Tarrytown, NY 10591

THIS PROGRAM IS FULL!

Thursday, September 20 at 7:30 pm
Teaneck Marriott at Glenpointe

100 Frank W Burr Boulevard
Teaneck, NJ 07666  
THIS PROGRAM IS FULL!  



Are you planning on joining us?