A Note of Thanks

This blog is almost 9 years old and writing this post on decision days has become my little tradition. Way back in 2005, I was truly anonymous. Almost no one had an admission blog and some people at UVa were afraid of what I was doing. CavDog wasn't even born yet, so I used a teddy bear from the bookstore for the entertaining pictures. Twitter and Instagram didn't exist and Facebook was still, primarily, the students' domain. A lot has changed, but writing my note of thanks is one thing that hasn't. So, here we go.

Thank you.

Some of you won't be visiting after today, so I feel that this is a good time to say thank you for being part of this blog. My work in social media is successful because of you. When I'm bleary eyed from staring at forms and transcripts, it's wonderful to look at comments online and be reminded of the students who are behind the applications. I'm thankful for the opportunity to interact with you.

Our office is buzzing with excitement because we know that we're going to make some of you very happy this evening. That excitement is tempered by the fact that we're going to make many of you sad or upset. One of the drawbacks to working at a selective school is that we have to say "no" more often than we get to say "yes". I console myself with the knowledge that you will all have other attractive offers, some from our 14 public sisters in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Regardless of what SIS shows you tonight, you are going to be just fine.  You are going to attend a great school and you are going to grow tremendously while there. You're going to have "ah ha" moments like you've never had before. You're going to learn from amazing, inspirational professors, administrators, and peers. You're going to meet people with whom you will stay friends for the rest of your lives. You're going to pull all nighters studying. You're going to pull all nighters not studying. You are going to have highs and lows, you're going to have great successes and you're going to fail miserably sometimes. What's going to make or break those experiences is your response and your openness to learning from them, not necessarily your location when they happen.

Remember that your decision is not a statement about your value. Most of our applicants are qualified. They are perfectly capable of doing the work at UVa. Our first-year class just isn't large enough to accommodate everyone.


Best wishes to those who won't be back to the blog after this (if you're reading this by email, you can unsubscribe yourself at the bottom of the email). To the rest, I hope you'll continue to chime in to help the next group of applicants.

It's a big night and I'll be thinking about you all. Good luck!