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!

About Dean J

Hello! I'm Dean J, an Associate Dean of Admission at UVA. 

When I started this blog in 2005, I didn't want my identity to take precedence over the messages I was sharing, so I tried to think of a short and simple name to use.  I've been called "J" for years because my name is long and people have a hard time spelling it. "Dean J" made sense.

Obligatory portrait with Lawn columns