Virginia Residents: Don't Omit the Residency Questions!

Nothing has really changed in the residency questions of the Common App lately, but we've noticed that many Virginia residents seem to skipping the questions that allow them to be considered in-state applicants. Let's go over the residency section...

As you're filling out the UVA questions on the Common App, you'll encounter a section marked "Residency." If you answer "no" to the question in this section, you'll be evaluated as out-of-state. From there, you'll be asked to affirm that you will comply with our Honor Code and then you can move onto to other parts of the submission process.

If you answer "yes" to that first question, you'll see several questions load relating to you, the applicant. 

Most high school students are going to answer "yes" to the driver's license question and "no" to the rest. That's because their residency is really gained through a parent or guardian.

Here's the important part. Since most applicants get residency status through parents or a guardian, information about one of those people is required. This isn't a UVA thing, it's a Commonwealth of Virginia thing.  If you answered "no" to most of the questions in the first Residency section, you need to fill out the Parent/Legal Guardian Residency section.

This section is going to ask about where a parent/guardian is working and paying taxes. Don't leave this section blank if you are a minor and a Virginia resident.

The criteria for being considered a Virginia resident is dictated by Virginia law. The Office of Virginia Status at UVA is required to collect this information to make a residency determination. Every year, there are students who assume that being born in Virginia and attending a Virginia high school make their residency status obvious, but the government still requires the status office to verify residency by gathering some very specific information.

Regular Decision applicants, please make sure to fill out the Residency sections of the Common App if you believe you should be reviewed as a Virginia resident!

New in SIS: Withdrawing an Application to UVA

As soon as other schools start notifying their early applicants of admission decisions, many of our Early Action applicants tend to ask us two questions.

1. When will UVA notify Early Action applicants of decisions?

The official line is that the Early Action process will be complete by the end of January. If we are able to release decisions early, we will. The beauty of online notification is that it's fast. We don't have to wait for letters to be printed and envelopes to be stuffed.

I always post on social media as soon as the Dean declares us ready. I usually start with a blog post, then post on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. We also queue up a mass email to go out to the entire applicant pool. The news tends to travel quickly!

2. How do I withdraw if I was admitted elsewhere through Early Decision?

Withdrawing an application to UVA used to require an email from the student. We recently updated SIS so that you can withdraw through your account page.

When you log in, you'll see something like this:

Clicking on the Withdraw Application link will give you this message:

 

 Hit the button and the system will ask you to confirm:

Click "yes" and your application status will change immediately. 

The 16th Annual Lighting of the Lawn is TONIGHT!

When student ask any member of the UVA community about favorite traditions, Lighting of the Lawn (LOTL) inevitably comes up. This tradition started just after 9/11 in 2001 as a way to bring us all together for an uplifting event just before we move into the exam period.

This year's LOTL is especially exciting because the Rotunda is back open after two years of historic restoration. I can't wait to see the performances, hear the annual poem, and see the light show tonight. You can follow along at home by watching the livestream from 7 PM until 10 PM on the Lighting of the Lawn website.


If you want to get an idea of what you're going to see tonight, check out these videos...






2013 (here's a video from the students' perspective if you want to hear their reactions)




2014 (from the students' perspective)




2015