Art Supplements 201

The Regular Decision arts supplement deadline is Decmeber 1st. Here are the most frequent questions I received and how I answered them:

Who should submit an arts supplement?
Anyone who intends to major, minor, or be significantly involved in the arts at UVa should think about submitting an arts supplement.  Submission is not required for anyone.

I don't think I'm going to be involved in the arts. Can a supplement help my application anyway?
I guess you could submit a supplement, but consider the fact that your supplement will be reviewed alongside those of students who are going to major/minor.  Submission alone doesn't help you.  The review by faculty is what could help you.

Can I submit ________ as part of my supplement?
Each type of arts supplement has specific instructions regarding format, length, and submission.  There are forms for visual art, dance, drama, music, and marching band.  Follow the directions on the form that corresponds to your discipline.

Can I combine a few areas into one supplement?
The supplements go to different departments for distribution and review, so if you want to submit a music and marching band supplement, you need to submit two supplements. One will get sent to the Marching Band Office and the other will go to the Department of Music.

The deadline is really early.  Can I submit late?
The deadline early because faculty need to review the supplements and send their notes to the Office of Admission in time for our review.  We don't encourage late submissions.

What about the Common App Arts Supplement form?
For now, we want you to use our forms.  We don't want recommendations (those are mentioned on the Common App's Arts Supplement form).  Just follow the directions on the UVa forms.

What questions do you have about arts supplements?

Important Links

The Arts at UVa

UVa Application Instructions (deadlines and basic info)

Arts Supplements Submission Iinfo & Forms

Missing document emails going out today!

A little over 400 Early Action applicants will be sent an email today about having an incomplete file.   If you get one of these emails, log into SIS to look at your to-do list to see what specific item is missing.  We aren't mad and you aren't in trouble.  Do not panic.  Calmly, but quickly, get us the missing item.

If getting the missing item to us requires a visit to your counselor, consider the possibility that the item was sent, but lost in transit.  I cringe at the thought of someone flying into the counseling office in a panic, accusing staff of not submitting credentials.

If your application is incomplete and the missing item is something for which you were responsible, get it done today. We aren't going to throw out your application because you didn't have your SAT/ACT scores sent.  Unfortunately, you're going to have to rush missing test scores and that's going to cost a some money.  I had hoped that addressing this earlier would have avoided that. Regular decision applicants, follow that link to see why you need to send your scores soon! 


We want you to complete your application. We aren't going to penalize you because you forgot one part of the process.


If you do not get an email, relax.  Do not send us a document unless we have asked for it.  Sending duplicates slows down the processing of documents we really need to complete other students' files. 

The only kind of duplicates we like (CavDog has 11 siblings)

Admission Chat TONIGHT!

The UVa Chat rooms will be open from 7 PM to 9 PM tonight. We'll have students and admission officers in the rooms to answer questions about UVa or the admission process. You'll have to register a username to participate and you can do that now or just before entering the chat.

Hope to see some of you there!
UVa Chat Rooms

Some notes about what you see in SIS

Let's talk about your status pages.  When you log into UVa's Student Information System (SIS), you should see a check list on the right side of the scree showing items that need to be submitted to make your application complete. Here are some notes about your status pages:

-"Initiated" in a term used by our SIS to show that an item has been added to your to do list. It means the item has not been completed yet.

-Mid-year reports come out whenever your first semester or second trimester is over.  The timing is different from one high school to the next.  SIS can't discern whether your school will have them before or after Early Action decisions are released.   The item is there for everyone.  If you are an Early Action applicant who just has the mid-year report on the check list, don't do anything more.  You're done!

-Below the chart where you list other schools attended, the Common App had one question asking if you are sending transcripts from all of those schools.  Ideally, you'd be able to select yes or no for each school.  Since you can't, that question doesn't really help us.  SIS is going to ask for transcripts from every school you list as having attended.  If you want that transcript taken off your to-do list, you can email about it. Put "Checklist Adjustment Request" in your subject line with your name.  Be sure to include your date of birth day high school in your email.  Do not include your Social Security Number.

-Once your application is complete and it moves to the "ready to read" mode, you'll see a box pop up at the bottom of the status screen. "View decision" will appear in the box. It doesn't mean your decision is ready. That's just something that's built into the computer system. If you hit "view decision", you'll just see a note about decisions not being ready at this point. When decisions are ready, we will release them.  I promise!  We are always excited to get to notification day!


-If you ever forget your SIS password or want to change it, you can follow the steps in that first email you got to generate a new password.

Do you have questions about your SIS status page?

Caption this: What is CavDog doing?

Admission officers often read applications at home a few days each week.  It helps to get away from email, the phones, and unannounced visitors and concentrate on giving each file a thorough review.  Usually, CavDog sits next to me while I read.  This year, something changed.

Part of the day is spent doing this:

So, for those of you who are looking to take a break from the waiting (or preparing of Regular Decision applications), let's play "caption this."  Give that photo a caption.

If you aren't familiar with "Caption This" entries, check out these ones from past years.

Admission Chat TONIGHT!

The UVa Chat rooms will be open from 7 PM to 9 PM tonight. We'll have students and admission officers in the rooms to answer questions about UVa or the admission process. You'll have to register a username to participate and you can do that now or just before entering the chat.

Hope to see some of you there!
UVa Chat Rooms

Outreach chat TONIGHT!

The UVa Chat rooms will be open from 8 PM to 9:30 PM tonight for a diversity chat hosted by the Outreach Office. We'll have students and admission officers in the rooms to answer questions about UVa or the admission process. This chat is meant for seniors. You'll have to register a username to participate and you can do that now or just before entering the chat.

Hope to see some of you there!
UVa Chat Rooms

Admission Chat TONIGHT!

The UVa Chat rooms will be open from 7 PM to 9 PM tonight. We'll have students and admission officers in the rooms to answer questions about UVa or the admission process. You'll have to register a username to participate and you can do that now or just before entering the chat.

Hope to see some of you there!
UVa Chat Rooms

Preliminary Early Action numbers

I have very early numbers for you.  Please understand that I don't have any other statistics to share right now.  Once we process all the applications that were submitted last night, I'll have more information.

We have 11,415 Early Action applications right now.  About half of those were submitted this week and 2,000 were submitted yesterday. 

The Early Action application period is now closed.  If you started your application with EA in mind, but now are planning to apply under Regular Decision, go to the "Future Plans" part of the application and change your response about how you're applying to reflect the change.

We have a lot of work ahead of us!  I'm going back to reading...

Happy deadline night!

Our deadline is tonight at midnight. Technically, you could submit an application at 11:59 PM and meet the deadline.

The Common App has a grace period to account for time zones and in case there are technical problems, but I strongly encourage you to hit submit before that final hour. There is obviously a lot of traffic on the Common App servers during these final hours and while I'm sure they can handle it, I can imagine the panic you'd feel if your internet connection cut out with minutes to go.



Once you submit all three parts of your application (the Common App, Supplement, and payment must be submitted for anything to be sent to us from the Common App system), it will take a couple days of processing to prompt a login email for UVa's Student Information System (SIS) to be sent to you. Add that address to your contact list so the email doesn't go into your junk/spam folder. Just follow the directions in the email and log into our system successfully.  You can do it!

When you log in to UVa's SIS for the first time, scroll to the bottom of the main page and become familiar with the different areas of the status page.

Don't be alarmed by your to-do list at this time.

Credentials may be in our system, but not yet linked to your file. It may take a couple weeks to get through all the applications submitted in these last few days, so please be patient! If your transcript arrived a while ago, it was scanned and put in a miscellaneous credentials file. A script and/or a staff member must link that transcript to your newly submitted application.  This can take a little time.

We will contact you when we are through the bulk of the processing if we are still missing documents.  Do not send duplicates of any credentials unless we contact you asking for them.  Don't worry about those status pages right now. 

Good luck, everyone!

Happy Halloween!

I thought I'd take a little break from the admission talk and share a few pictures (and a video!) from this afternoon's trick-or-treat event on the UVa Lawn.  Every year, hundreds of children flock to the Lawn for a few hours of trick-or-treating.  Students and faculty who live on the Lawn provide a constant stream of candy and other students set up activities in the amphitheater. 

I've missed the even for the last two years due to my travel schedule and I was so happy to make it this year.

 

Roll that beautiful bean footage!

The costume with the most UVa spirit

The scene at one of the faculty residences...I have no idea what's happening here.

CavDog making friends with a banana

There are always lots of dogs, but I never saw pigs on the Lawn before!

While the entire event is a tradition, in recent years, this viking ship has become a tradition of its own.  The students from Agape Christian Fellowship haul this huge, wooden boat to the Lawn and dress in costumes to match.  They always seem to have a great time and children flock to them. 

After they did their routine, one little boy decided to get in on the action...

 CavDog was a little concerned when this student threw himself on the ground.

We had a little trick-or-treating in Peabody Hall, too. 

Happy Halloween!

Let's talk about rumors

Every year, people who have never stepped foot in our office or even worked in education come up with little nuggets of information about admission that floor me.  I usually hear the latest rumors while making the rounds during the fall travel season.

There was the rumor that the younger sibling of a non-Virginia resident will pay the in-state tuition rate.  There are a ton about how many AP courses are "required" for admission (the numbers stated is always all over the place).  There are the rumors about advantages given to students who can trace their lineage back to Jefferson or Jefferson's friend or Jefferson's friend's neighbor.

I'm actually thrilled when people repeat the rumors to me.  It means they probably suspect that they are, indeed, rumors.  I worry that for every rumor shared, there are others that aren't shared and there are people spreading that bad information as if it were fact.

So...does anyone want to share a rumor that they've heard about UVa admission?  Feel free to share them in the comments.

Who comes up with this stuff?

*I hope it's obvious that the rumors I posted are NOT true.

300+ phone calls yesterday about sending test scores

I'm a little worried.  With the deadlines coming up, I think you should be putting the finishing touches on your essays and checking over your Common Applications to make you've found a place for all the important information you want us to know.  Based on the number and tone of the calls we got yesterday (and so far this morning), some of you are freaking out about sending test scores.

When it comes to testing, here's what you need to do:

1.  Send your test scores.
2. Move on to other parts of the application.

Is testing important?  Of course.  It's the one component that the entire pool has in common.  In a time when there are many different grading scales, styles of curricula, and ways to calculate a GPA, it's nice to have something that's standardized across the pool. 

However, this is a holistic review process.  We read the entire file to determine our decision.  Remember that we are trying to see you in the best light possible. 

I fear Score Choice has really complicated the process of sending scores.  We look at the best combination of scores.  When I open a file, our system automatically plucks the best scores out of your record for me to consider.  You don't have to over think sending the scores.  Send them and the system will pick out the best ones.

Stay cool, my friends.

Deadlines looming

The Early Action deadline, November 1st, is around the corner.  I thought I'd go over a few notes that might help those getting ready to hit submit.

1. There are three parts to your part of the application.  

We don't see anything until you submit all three parts via CommonApp.org.

The three parts are the Common App, the UVa Supplement, and the payment.

2. We can't fix problems you have with CommonApp.org.

Every single page on the Common App website has a "help" link.  

Hit the "help" link if you are having trouble and submit a help request.  

3.  Do not wait until 11:59 PM to submit.

If you have trouble, understand that the Common App team will have many help tickets to answer.

I'll be checking for questions in the comments every day between now and deadline, so fee free to post questions.  I'll also be on Twitter (UVaDeanJ).

 CavDog and I are rooting for you!

Good luck!

Admission Chat THIS MORNING!

The UVa Chat rooms will be open from 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM this morning for an international student chat. We'll have students and admission officers in the rooms to answer questions about UVa or the admission process. You'll have to register a username to participate and you can do that now or just before entering the chat.

Hope to see some of you there!
UVa Chat Rooms

Outreach chat TONIGHT!

The UVa Chat rooms will be open from 8 PM to 9:30 PM tonight for a diversity chat hosted by the Outreach Office. We'll have students and admission officers in the rooms to answer questions about UVa or the admission process. This chat is meant for juniors and seniors. You'll have to register a username to participate and you can do that now or just before entering the chat.

Hope to see some of you there!
UVa Chat Rooms

Admission Chat TONIGHT!

The UVa Chat rooms will be open from 7 PM to 9 PM tonight. We'll have students and admission officers in the rooms to answer questions about UVa or the admission process. You'll have to register a username to participate and you can do that now or just before entering the chat.

Hope to see some of you there!
UVa Chat Rooms

UVa Admission and regional quotas

Many rumors grow steam, get debunked, and fade away.  One rumor about the admission process at UVa never goes away: the rumor about regional quotas.

There is one quota that affects the admission process at UVa.  The Commonwealth of Virginia mandates that 2/3 of the students at the University be Virginia residents.  Beyond that, there are no quotas with respect to regions, counties, or high schools.  There are trends in the population here, of course.  Densely populated areas of the state tend to have many high schools and send many students to UVa.

Obviously, most admission offices want to bring in an interesting class that has people from many backgrounds, but we have not been handed target numbers for different regions, counties, or populations beyond that 2/3 : 1/3 ratio.

If you want to see admission statistics by residency, check out this chart on the Office of Institutional Assessment's website.

On the road in Northern Virginia

It's almost NOVA time! I'm on my way to Northern Virginia for three weeks of appointments in October. I've heard that some schools send rookie admission officers to NOVA as an initiation because of the notorious traffic and the advanced questions that get asked there. I personally love my time in northern Virginia, probably because I grew up in an area just like it. I enjoy being asked questions about topics that are far more interesting than SAT scores and deadlines. Hearing the current rumors that are getting passed around is interesting, too.

I'm so excited that I was able to work visits to most of the public schools in Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun into my schedule.  There's a third week of travel that I haven't posted yet, so don't worry if your school isn't listed.  Also, we don't use "demonstrated interest" in our application review, so coming to see me during my visit doesn't have any affect on your application.  Come if you'd like to ask questions and hear my advice for the process. 

The daytime high school visits are for students who attend each of the schools below. If your school is on my schedule and you'd like to come see me, you already know the drill. Your Career Center Specialists have probably made you aware of the sign up procedure you need to follow to get a pass.

So, here is where I'm headed for the first two weeks.  I'll post my last itinerary next week.

Monday, October 3rd
8:30 AM    Yorktown High School
10:00 AM  Washington-Lee High School
11:30 PM   Wakefield High School
1:15 PM     Stuart High School

Tuesday, October 4th
9:00 AM    Falls Church High School
11:45 AM  TJHSST
1:00 PM     Robert E. Lee High School
2:30 PM     George Mason High School

Wednesday, October 5th
9:00 AM    James Madison High School
10:30 AM  Oakton High School
11:45 AM   Fairfax High School
1:30 PM     WT Woodson High School

Thursday, October 6th
8:00 AM     Robinson Secondary School
9:30 AM     Lake Braddock Secondary School
11:00 AM   West Springfield High School

Friday, October 7th
9:00 AM     Marshall High School
10:30 AM   Langley High School
12:30 PM    McLean High School






Tuesday, October 11th
10:00 AM  Annandale High School
6:00 PM     Freedom High School College Fair (Woodbridge)

Wednesday, October 12th
10:30 AM   NOVA Annandale Transfer Fair
2:00 PM     Episcopal High School College Fair
7:00 PM     Ballston Commons Mall College Fair

Thursday, October 13th
10:30 AM  NOVA Alexandria College Fair

Friday, October 14th
7:30 AM    South County Secondary School
9:00 AM    West Potomac High School
11:00 AM  Edison High School
1:00 PM    Mount Vernon High School

Admission Chat TONIGHT!

The UVa Chat rooms will be open from 7 PM to 9 PM tonight. We'll have students and admission officers in the rooms to answer questions about UVa or the admission process. You'll have to register a username to participate and you can do that now or just before entering the chat.

Hope to see some of you there!

UVa Chat Rooms