Paying a Deposit
When you go to pay your deposit, click the "accept" button under your admission decision letter. Be sure to turn your pop-up blocker off. The payment screen will launch in a new window. The deposit system is an e-check system. You'll enter the routing and account numbers from the bottom of a check to pay the deposit, much like people who e-file taxes do. The system will take a couple kinds of credit cards, but it's a check system first and foremost, so it doesn't work with every kind of credit card.
At this point, you become a matriculated student. It might not sound like a big deal, but due to the security built into SIS, I can't "see" what you do beyond the admission process. While I will always, always be happy to help you, you have to get used to talking to other offices when you need something as a matriculated student.
Aside from collecting your final transcript and testing (see the last section below about that), the Office of Admission doesn't handle you any more.
Next Steps
Bookmark the Summer Orientation website and get familiar with it. That website lists out everything you need to do to prepare for coming to UVa. After 72 hours, you can take UVa's responsible computing quiz, set up your email account, and register for orientation. Housing, dining, and health forms get taken care of after that.
The Office of New Student Programs will send out a welcome book to give you things to think about as you get ready to come to orientation. If you're curious about that, you can read last year's welcome book online. I think they normally ship those out sometime in May.
Summer orientation is required, but there are lots of sessions offered. There is programming for parents and guests running concurrently with the program for new students during orientation. Additional orientation programming will take place in the fall.
Registration, Housing, Dining, etc.
We are not a school that gives priority housing to students who deposit early or come to an early orientation session. Pick the session that works best for your summer schedule. As long as you have forms submitted by the deadlines on the Summer Orientation website, you will be just fine when it comes to housing.
As you start to poke around in the registration system, do not be alarmed by classes that look full. Seats in the classes that first-years typically take are set aside for each orientation session, so a class may look full at the end of Session A, but seats will be opened up for Session B.
Final Transcripts and Test Scores
You must have your school send a final transcript once the school year is over. You will also want to send official results from any tests (AP, SAT IIs, IB) when they are available so you can get credit for some of your scores come orientation time.
If we don't get a final transcript from you, you'll have a hold placed on your account. I don't want to scare you, but it's not easy to get this squared away when your high school is closed for summer break.
Questions?