Saturday Information Sessions at #UVA

I'll be giving the information session tomorrow morning and thought I'd share a few thoughts for those who will be visiting us on the weekend this summer.

Please keep in mind that the University is closed on Saturdays, so you may experience a fairly quiet visit. Buildings may be locked and those that are open may not be especially exciting. The Rounda is open and I believe you can also view our copy of the Declaration of Independence at the Special Collections Library (it's prime season for tourists!).

If you'll be able to stay in Charlottesville for lunch, I recommend walking to The Corner or driving to the Downtown Mall. The Corner is a shopping district adjacent to UVA and the Downtown Mall is just a mile down University Avenue/Main Street. Your student tour guides can point you in the right direction and Charlottesville residents are usually happy to talk your ear off about their favorite restaurants.

UVA is quiet, but beautiful in the summer!

Follow HooStories, the #UVA Student Blog!

The Office of Admission hires a team of student interns each summer to give tours and work on special projects. One of the special projects the team has take on every summer for the last several years is running the HoosStories blog.

I'm so glad to share that HooStories is back up and running! The interns have published their introductory posts and they are starting to write about different facets of live at UVA.


Be sure to follow the UVA Summer Instagram account, which is a fantastic companion to the blog. The student interns will be sharing over there as well!

When Should the College Search Begin?

I once had a fifth grader in one of my information sessions. They weren't being dragged along with an older sibling. They were here with Mom and Dad, both of whom attended UVA. The mom said "it's never too early, right?"

Luckily, the University Guide Service gives historical tours of the UVA Lawn and Rotunda in addition to admission tours. Since we were in session, I was able to send the family to the Rotunda for the tourist tour with an invitation to come back to see me in five or six years.

The fact is we're seeing more parents of young students making reservations for tours and information sessions and I don't think that's a trend we want to encourage. While it's smart to be thinking about how course selection early on will affect a student's options in 11th and 12th grade, I don't think we should be encouraging middle schoolers to do a deep dive into the college search. Things change A LOT in high school. We have students who change their minds about the UVA school that interests them between November and April. There's no way we should be encouraging children to craft a college list.

If you want to expose a younger student to a college campus, ours is wonderful. Between the Rotunda, the Lawn, the Declaration of Independence, and Monticello across town, there's a lot to see here! I just hope you won't introduce the admission process until the are withon a year or two of applying.

Jack loves to greet little siblings, but we don't need them to start the college search just yet!

Visiting #UVA in the Summer

We are so excited to see reservations rolling in for our summer information sessions and tours. If you're planning a visit to UVA this summer, here are some notes for you to consider.

1. Registration helps us pick our venue.

The Office of Admission doesn't have an auditorium for large groups, so we reserve spaces around the University to accommodate our information sessions. Making a reservation ensures that we have a large enough space for our guests. Registration for each month typically opens a month prior, but we have July and August up since many people are making summer visit plans now.

Attending the information session and tour will not have any bearing on our review if you decide to apply to UVA. We don't use interest here!

2. We'll communicate with visitors by email.

A confirmation email goes to the student after they register for the information session and tour. In addition, we will send a reminder with parking information in it a few days before your scheduled visit. Please watch for these emails and share them with anyone visiting with you. Parking can be tricky in the summertime because of new student orientation and summer camps on Grounds. Don't just plug UVA into Waze and expect to park when you get close to the University. Use the instructions we send you.

3. Summer is construction season.

As soon as graduation is over, the work crews get busy with all sorts of projects around the UVA Grounds. Fewer people are inconvenienced by closures and detours during the summer. I try to remind myself that these projects are making UVA even better than ever.

4. Bring a water bottle.

Our tours are about 90 minutes long and summer in Virginia can be hot! Bring a water bottle and take advantage of the bottle fillers we have around Grounds (they are usually next to water fountains). We have water coolers in our office, so you can get a refill when your tour guide brings you to Peabody Hall at the end of your tour.

If you're touring #UVA this summer, bring a bottle to fill at one of our water stations.

A post shared by Dean J|UVA Office of Admission (@uvadeanj) on Jul 12, 2017 at 8:37am PDT

Live Q&A about Curriculum Options in the #UVA College of Arts Sciences

We get a lot of questions about the curriculum options within the College of Arts and Sciences, so I thought I'd share this info. There will be a live chat about the New Curriculum and Forums on Facebook this Wednesday, June 6th, at noon. You can watch and ask questions via the College's Facebook page.