Meet Tucker, a Commerce Student from Mississippi!

I'm very excited to share the first 2022 entry in a series of guest blog posts by UVA students. Tucker, a regular around Peabody Hall, is kicking things off. Keep an eye on @uva_students on Instagram for more content from Tucker and our other intern, Betsy, who you'll meet next week.

Hey everyone! My name is Tucker, and I am a third-year student at the University of Virginia studying Commerce and French. As a Student Intern at the Office of Admission, I work with the Communications team to engage with students through social media. In this blog post I’ll be introducing myself, talking about the UVA community, and also sharing more about why I made the decision to attend the University of Virginia. 

I am originally from Jackson, Mississippi, so coming to UVA was intimidating for several reasons: I would be hundreds of miles from home, I didn’t know anyone attending UVA, and I would be in the minority of students not from Virginia. However, after my first month on grounds, all of those concerns had melted away, and I was left with a deep appreciation for this university and the people who also call it home. 

Getting Involved

One important factor that made acclimating to life at UVA seamless was the strong communities that exist outside the classroom. Every club, organization, sports team, and activity has a vibrant social component. This emphasis on community made me feel welcome as a first year, and now, as an upperclassmen, I love sharing that welcoming energy with underclassmen as well as visitors to UVA. Some of my involvements beyond my job at the Office of Admission include the University Guide Service (which is responsible for giving historical and admissions tours of the university), Greek Life (both a pre-professional, co-ed business fraternity as well as a social fraternity), the Equity and Environment Fund (an endowment that funds projects that explore the intersection of sustainability and equity), and Days on the Lawn (our admitted student programming). In addition to these extracurriculars, I also work for the UVA Office for Sustainability, which has been a great opportunity to learn more about sustainability, to educate my peers, and to help reduce UVA’s impact on the environment. 

Community and Traditions

Beyond these individual involvements and the communities associated with them, I have felt a profound sense of community at the university level as well. UVA has so many unique, fun traditions. My personal favorite is Lighting of the Lawn, which happens right before the end of the fall semester. Everyone comes to the Lawn (which is the historic center of grounds) on a December evening and watches as the Rotunda and the Academical Village is illuminated in a light show that’s synced to music. This tradition arose in the aftermath of 9/11 as an act of solidarity. Today, it cointies to bring people from across the university together. Another quintessential UVA tradition is streaking the Lawn. This happens during the cover of night randomly throughout the semester. Have something to celebrate? Streak the Lawn. UVA win a national championship? Streak the Lawn. There’s no right or wrong way to do it - it’s just an (admittedly quirky), long-standing fixture of the UVA experience for those who chose to participate. Finally, another tradition I’ll highlight is trick-or-treating on the Lawn, which is where members of the Charlottesville/Albemarle county communities come to the Lawn as students and faculty hand out candy. It is a wholesome, fun event that helps connect the UVA community with its surroundings. 

The last variety of community I will touch on is the one that exists in the classroom. As a student in the School of Commerce, I have had the opportunity to get very close with members of my “block,” which is essentially a cohort of students with whom I take the core classes required for a degree in commerce. However even in other majors without a cohort system, there are so many avenues to develop friendships with peers. The academic departments try not only to help students by supporting their future professional pursuits, but also to provide opportunities to form connections with other students. Whether it’s having people to study all night with the day before a midterm or people to remind you about an assignment due the next day, the academic community at UVA fosters a sense of collaboration in a way I have found to be incredibly supportive. 

Why UVA?

Now that you know a little bit more about my experience joining the UVA community, I will share why I chose UVA in the first place. I was looking for a university where I would be challenged academically and surrounded by ambitious, intelligent individuals, but I didn’t want any of that at the expense of a fun, social, and vibrant college experience. During my senior year of high school I was visiting some friends in Richmond and wanted to check out colleges nearby, so I visited UVA. I knew nothing about the university and hadn’t even considered it. But, after touring and chatting with a few students, it quickly became apparent to me that UVA was exactly what I was looking for in a school: students here have a healthy balance between their social and academic lives. Of course there were logistical factors, such as geography and finances, that I had to consider, but, of the places that I could feasibly attend, UVA was where I felt most at home. 

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about my journey at UVA. Please feel free to reach out to the Office of Admission should you have any questions. I also encourage all admitted students to sign up for Days on the Lawn, which is happening throughout April! 

#UVA Scholars Programs Notifications, Round 2

We have completed the second round of review for the Echols, Rodman, and College Science Scholars programs and notifications are in portals. The students we've added in this second round should also have an email from the director of their program in their inboxes. We'll mail a hardcopy tomorrow.

About 5% of students in the College and School of Engineering are invited to join these programs. Echols and Rodman have a third round that takes place after the first semester (you can self-nominate for that round). You can read more about these programs on their websites.

Congratulations to our second group of scholars for the Class of 2026!

Notes for the 2022 Waiting List

 

If you were offered a spot on the waiting list at UVA, you should have followed the link to the Waiting List FAQs that was in your decision letter. Many of the questions we're getting are covered there, so please be sure to share that link with your parents and counselor so they understand the process. I'm going to go over the parts that come up the most and add some more information. Feel free to ask questions in the comments.

How many people are on the waiting list? 

The waiting list forms as people fill out the waiting list reply on the portal. The number on the list continues to change because students may remove themselves from it at any time.

The waiting list tends to be large because there are 10 different segments of it (VA and OOS groups for the four schools and the one program that take first-year students). Most schools include waiting list data in section C2 of the Common Data Set. 

From UVA's 2020-2021 Common Data Set:
Do you have a policy of placing students on a waiting list? Yes
Number of qualified applicants offered a place on the waiting list: 6,465
Number accepting a place on the waiting list: 3,780
Number of wait-listed students admitted: 165
Is your waiting list ranked? No

What's this thing about UVA Wise?

Virginia residents on the waiting list who applied for the College of Arts & Sciences are given the option of enrolling at UVA Wise for one year before guaranteed transfer to UVA. You won't be removed from our waiting list process and you aren't bound to Wise if you express interest in that option. Here's the link about the Wise option that was in your portal.

I accepted. Why is the form still there? 

You can always come back and pull yourself off the list. That is why the form remains after you opt in. There is no going back once you decline, so there are a couple confirmation screens to get through if you want to opt-out.

 

 How many people will come off the waiting list?

Even though I've been doing this for years, I can't predict this. It's hard to cite trends with certainty, especially with the pandemic affecting college decisions in the last few years. We're all waiting to see how this works out right now.

How many people got offers to come off the waiting list in the past?

The Waiting List FAQ page has a decade of information, but here are the numbers for every year since I started working here. This should show you how unpredictable this part can be. I don't have a breakdown of where the offers were for these years.

2021 - 83
2020 - 915
2019 - 9
2018 - 13
2017- 117
2016 - 360
2015- 402
2014- 42
2013 - 185
2012 - 284
2011 - 117
2010 - 240
2009 - 288
2008 - 60
2007 - 159
2006 - 145
2005 - 83

How do I improve my chances of getting an offer?

There is a lot of conflicting information out there about this. Uploading a letter with updates is fine, but I think you should want until the middle of April to upload it via the portal so you can put everything in one communication. Please do not email one or more admission officers about your decision. Use your portal.

By the way, showing up in Peabody Hall wouldn't affect our process. I can't tell you how many students have driven here ask the questions covered in the FAQs. It was not the best use of their time (or gas money!).

When/How do you make wait-list offers?

This is covered on the waiting list page. We start making waiting list offers as soon as we know we have space in the class, usually in early May. We move quickly because no one wants to drag this out. In the past, we've wrapped the process up in June. When the time comes, we always email the entire waiting list to let them know the class is full.

If you are going to get an offer, we'll call you at the number you put on your application. The call is a heads up that your status is about to change in the portal. Of course, it's fine if you tell us "no thanks" and that's the end of it. We hope that people who are no longer interested in UVA use the portal to remove their name from the list, but some people forget. When the portal updates, a new letter shows up along with the ability to pay a deposit. We work a traditional business day, Monday through Friday. Our office hours are 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. We call from phone numbers like 434-982-xxxx.

Because we want to give students a few days to think about the offer (and because the Financial Aid folks need time to post a package if the newly-admitted student applied for aid), this process takes a while. I can't give constant updates on the blog. I will always post when the Dean says the class is full and we are done making offers.

What about aid?

If you applied for aid by March 1st and got all of your documentation in, Student Financial Services will put a financial aid package together. Once that's posted, you'll have a couple days to accept the offer and pay your deposit.

Will my housing and class options be limited if I come off the waiting list?

In a word: no. Students coming off the waiting list aren't treated differently in the housing process. During the Orientation season, seats in certain popular classes are held for each orientation session. That means people who sign up for the first orientation can't scoop up all the seats in classes. What's more, the registration system opens up for course changes in August. Lots of students don't finalize their courses until that period. Many will continue to tweak their schedule during the "drop/add" period (some schools are calling it a shopping period now) at the beginging of the semester, when you can visit classes and make changes without penalty.

What now?

For now, you need to look at your other options and think about which one feels right to you. Some of you will want to hold on and see what happens with the UVA waiting list and others will want to fully invest themselves in another school. Either way, you need to submit a deposit somewhere by May 1st to ensure yourself a spot in a freshman class. If you are offered a spot in our class and you decide to accept it, you'll have to write to that other school and withdraw your name from the class (you may lose your deposit at that school). Just remember that you can't "double deposit".

By the way, calling a student and telling them that they are getting an offer of admission is probably the most exciting thing admission officers experience! We can't wait to make them and everyone has a story or two about favorite calls. I promise you that when it's time, we'll be working very quickly so we can deliver happy news!

2022 #UVA Regular Decision Admission Statistics

 Here are some unofficial numbers about this year's process. These numbers are up to date as of today, March 17, 2022. If you are a reporter, please contact the Office of University Communications for current, official information.

A few notes:

1. I can not fulfill requests for more statistics. You can see official admission data, including admission data by residency and school of entry from last year, on the website. 

2. Admitted students will get a hard copy of their letter in their offer packet. Unfortunately, I can't predict when USPS will put that in your mailbox.

3. Students offered the waiting list should read the Waiting List FAQs. That link will be in the decision letter as well.

4. The Echols, Rodman, and College Science Scholars program invitations will be visible in portals next week. I will post an update when I have one. Some invitations are going to students to applied in the early rounds. Echols and Rodman also allow self-nomination after your first semester. Miller Arts Scholars apply after the first semester.

Total Applications

Total applications: 50,962 (48,011 last year)

Total number of VA apps: 14,305

Total number of OOS apps: 36,657

Total Offers of Admission 

Overall offers: 9,522  

Total VA offers: 3,946 (28% offer rate) 

Total OOS offers: 5,576 (15% offer rate) 

It's misleading to average these offer rates together because residency is a major factor in our review. If you are going to share these numbers, cite BOTH offer rates.

 

 

Total Regular Decision Applications

Total RD applications: 16,306 (16,060 last year)

Total number of VA RD apps: 3,924

Total number of OOS RD apps: 12,382

Total Regular Decision Offers of Admission 

Overall RD offers: 2,123 (2,628 last year)

Total VA RD offers: 650 (17% offer rate) 

Total OOS RD offers: 1,473 (12% offer rate)

We do not try to figure out an individual student's likelihood of enrolling (demonstrated interest), but overall yield influences the offer rate. Out-of-state residents tend to have a lower yield rate than Virginia residents. You can see yield rates on the statistics website.

Defers and Waiting List 

VA Deferred students offered admission: 72 (162 last year)

OOS Deferred students offered admission: 83 (150)

Waiting list offers: 16% (18% last year)
The waiting list forms as students opt into it via the applicant portal and we have seen up to HALF decline putting themselves on the list. The waiting list can be thought of as having ten different segments (in-state and OOS for each of the five academic areas that take first-year students).

Good luck tomorrow night! If your path leads to UVA, we are thrilled to have you with us! We will be in touch by email to let you know about virtual and in-person admitted student events. If this is the end of your time with UVA, best wishes for the rest of your college search. There are exciting times ahead for all of you. I have loved interacting with you here, on Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok, and reddit. Thank you for considering UVA!

#UVA Regular Decision Update!

If you're a regular reader of the blog, participate in my live q&a sessions on Instagram, or see me reply to questions on TikTok/Twitter/reddit/etc, you know that we release admission decisions early whenever possible. We are ready.

Regular Decision notification will be

Friday, March 18, 2022

This is official. Please do not call our office to confirm it. The decisions will get posted all at once to portals after office hours. There's a technical team runs several processes to get the portals updated and I can't predict the exact time that they'll finish their work.

As always, I'll have a post with admission statistics to share between now and Friday. I'll be back next week to talk about the waiting list. For now, those who are offered the waiting list should click the link in their letter to read through the information on the waiting list page. 

UVA Scholars Programs Notifications

The Office of Admission reviews all applicants to the College of Arts & Sciences and the School of Engineering for a potential invitation to three scholars programs: Echols, Rodman, and College Science Scholars. 

The first round of invitations has been posted to applicant portals. A second round of invitations will be posted at the conclusion of the Regular Decision process. Echols and Rodman have a third round that takes place after the first semester (you can self-nominate for that round). 

About 5% of students in the College and School of Engineering are invited to join these programs. You can read more about them on their websites.

Congratulations to our first group of scholars for the Class of 2026!

2022 Early Action Admission Statistics for #UVA

 Here are some unofficial numbers about the Early Action process. These numbers were up to date on Thursday afternoon. If you are a reporter, please contact the Office of University Communications for current, official information and all of your needs.

The Office of Institutional Research and Analytics is the source of all official statistics about UVA. They take a census to determine the final statistics for the class. You can see official admission data in the data digest part of their website. 

Early Action Applications

Total number of Early Action applications: 31,143 (28,897 last year)
Total number of VA apps: 8,518

Total number of OOS apps: 22,626
We use completed applications in our statistics.

Early Action Offers

Overall offers: 6,243
Total VA offers: 2,573 (30% offer rate)
Total OOS offers:  3,669 (16% offer rate)
Enrollment Goal: ~3,750
It's misleading to average these offer rates together because residency is a major factor in our review. If you are going to share these numbers, cite BOTH offer rates. 

Early Action Defers

Overall defers: 6,925 (22%)
Total VA defers: 2,295
Total OOS defers: 4,630
Read more about deferral here (this link is in all defer letters). Please read #2 below.

I can also share that our total application number is around 50,000. 

A couple notes:

1. I do not have additional statistics. I know people want to see how many students were admitted without testing. I was not given that number. 

 
2. If you are deferred, you must submit the defer form in your portal if you'd like to be considered in RD. This form takes the place of a "letter of continued interest" or LOCI. Please follow the directions on the defer student page about what you may add to your file.

3. Admitted students will get a paper copy of the offer letter by mail.

4. The first round of invitations into Echols, Rodman, and College Science Scholars, will be posted in the portal next week. I will post an update when that happens. A second round will be posted after the Regular Decision process is completed. Echols and Rodman also allow self-nomination after your first semester. Miller Arts Scholars only apply after the first semester.

#UVA Early Action Notification Update!

 Happy February! We have news...

I'm so happy to share that we are finishing the Early Action ahead of schedule and will post results to student portals on Friday evening.

Early Action notification will be the evening of 

Friday, February 4, 2021! 

This is official. Please do not call our office to confirm it. The decisions will be added to applicant portals in the evening so most students are checking while at home, after school hours. I do not have a specific time that decision will appear, as getting the letters into the portals is a time-consuming process handled by our technical team.

I'll be able to share some statistics about the Early Action process in the coming days. As always, I'm happy to answer your questions in the comments.

 

 

January Admission Update

As a reminder, I'm moving to monthly updates here. Between our application volume, trying to keep people updated on Instagram and TikTok, checking in on other channels, and my other responsibilities, the blog has taken a back seat.

So here are some notes from the past month.

 

1. Final (For Now) Application Numbers

A record 50,813 students applied for first-year admission to UVA. The Early Decision group was the smallest, at just under 3,500 applicants. The Early Action group is the largest, at just over 31,000 applicants. The RD group is around 16,000.

When I got to UVA in 2005, our total application number was equal to our current RD round. The pace of the process has changed dramatically.

 

2. Early Action Notification

We changed the language we use for Early Action notification in 2019 to stating that we'd have decisions ready by the middle of February. That year, we were able to get decisions posted on January 31st. It was a huge effort. Last year, we were able to post decisions on February 5th and I think that's in large part due to the entire staff being at home (our office was closed to visitors during that phase of the pandemic). 

With that background information, I can tell you that Early Action notification will definitely be in February this year.

3. Submitting Mid-Year Grades 

If you are a Regular Decision applicant or you are deferred during the EA/ED rounds, you must submit mid-year grades. You can upload them yourself via your portal (a screen grab is fine) or your counselor can submit them. Please submit electronically. 

 

4. Portal Updates

You are allowed to upload several kinds of documents via your portal. If you do not get an error, your upload was successful. The portal can not "read" what's on the file you submit and classify it. Please do not email staff members a second copy of something you already added to your file via your portal. 

 

5. Demonstrated Interest

You do not need to send us letters of continued interest (LOCIs). All deferred students and those offered a spot on the waiting list will have a form in their portal to fill out instead of a LOCI. That is the only demonstration of interest we need. Please follow our directions on this! It streamlines the process for you and for us! 

This is covered in the application instructions, our FAQs, and on the "connect" page of our website.  

6. Getting in Touch with Us

If you need our assistance, we have staff members answering the phones and email during business hours. You can email undergradadmission@virginia.edu, and a staff member will direct your message to the right person!

Unofficial #UVA Early Decision Statistics

Happy Thursday! I have some statistics for the Early Decision round of our application review to share with you. These are unofficial. Institutional Research and Analytics is the source of all official statistics about UVA. They take a census to determine the final statistics for the class. You can see official admission data in the data digest part of their website. 

These numbers were updated on 12/10 at 9:45 AM. If you are a reporter, please contact the Office of University Communications for current, official information.

Early Decision Applications

Total number of Early Decision applications: 3,466 (2,937 last year)
Total number of VA apps: 1,833
Total number of OOS apps: 1,633
We use completed applications in our statistics.

Early Decision Offers

Overall offers: 1,109
Total VA offers: 703 (38% offer rate)
Total OOS offers: 406 (25% offer rate)
Enrollment Goal: ~3,750
Averaging these offer rates together is misleading because residency is a major factor in our review. If you are going to share these numbers, cite BOTH offer rates and not an average. Last year, we made just over 8,400 total offers to reach the enrollment goal.

Early Decision Defers

Overall defers: 1,027
Total VA defers: 530
Total OOS defers: 497
Deferred students are no longer bound by Early Decision agreements. Read more about deferral here (this link is in all defer letters). Midyear grades are due by February 15th and we're happy to take them via the student portal.

A couple notes:

1. I do not have additional statistics. We are already immersed in the Early Action review process and I have to read files!

2. Decisions will be posted in the applicant portal tomorrow night. You got login credentials back when we received your Common App. I don't control the posting of the decisions, but we will email everyone after the technical team finishes the work they do to add decisions to the poral. Your enrollment deposit is due by January 1st.

3. Admitted students will get a paper copy of the offer letter by mail. I can't predict when the mail will arrive.

4. The Echols, Rodman, and College Science Scholars program invitations will be extended at the end of  the Early Action and Regular Decision processes. Echols and Rodman also allow self-nomination after your first semester.

#UVA Early Decision Notification Update

The stated times for decisions releases are mid-December for Early Decision, mid-February for Early Action, and April 1 for Regular Decision. I'm so happy to share that we are finishing the Early Decision ahead of schedule and will post results to student portals in a couple days.

Early Decision notification will be the evening of 

Friday, December 10, 2021! 

This is official. Please do not call our office to confirm it. The decisions will be added to applicant portals in the evening so most students are checking after school hours (there are fewer people on the system after the business day is over). You will notice that application checklists come off the portal today as we make preparations for the release. There is a team that works on getting decisions loaded into the portal and I can't tell you exactly what time they will complete their work.

I hope to share some statistics about the Early Decision process tomorrow. As always, I'm happy to answer your questions in the comments.

 

                         

November Admission Update

One of the fun parts of working in social media is watching new channels emerge. It became clear this year that students preferred to interact on Instagram and TikTok, so I have spent a lot of time on those apps trying answer questions and respond to comments. If you didn't know, I host a live question and answer session every week on Instagram (I think this is my third year of doing that and I started saving the recordings to IGTV a year or two ago) and post there and on TikTok several times per week. 

Adding another channel to my workload had led to this little blog being less active. I may move to monthly updates here, except around decision releases, when I know people expect more posts (especially those statistics posts). 

So here are some notes from the past month.

 

1. Early Decision and Early Action Numbers

We had about 3,400 Early Decision applications and 31,000 Early Action applications. I'll post precise numbers around the time we release decisions for each group. Last year, we had about 2,900 applications for ED and 29,000 for EA. 

Once upon a time, our applicant pool seemed to be split fairly evenly between Early Action and Regular Decision. Now, we get more applications during the early rounds. Whether those higher numbers above mean the shift is continuing or if they mean we'll have a larger pool overall remains to be scene. 

We are not a school that craves big jumps in application numbers. Our classes are growing, but not at the same rate that the pool seems to be. That makes for some tough decisions when reading applications. Our staff doesn't grow at the same rate, either, which is part of the reason why the release of EA decisions moved back into February a couple years ago.Which leads to the next point...

 

2. Decision Notification

We read all of our files (no computer sorting here) and that takes time. We promise to finish the Early Decision review around December 15th and Early Action review around February 15th. As soon as we can post a more specific date for decisions, we will do so on this blog, on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Follow me at @UVADeanJ or the office at @UVAAdmission.

All decisions for a round (Early Decisions or Early Action) are posted en masse in applicant portals. 

 

3. The Applicant Portal

By now, ED and EA applicants should have logged into their portals to verify that all items have been received. Your login credentials for the portal were emailed to you within a few days of us getting your Common App. 

Application updates are submitted via the portal, not by email. Please follow our directions on this! The portal will take a Word/Pages doc, PDF, JPEG, and probably some other file formats I can't think of right now. The portal can't read the file and assign it a category. It just files the item with your application. If you didn't see an error message when you uploaded the file, the item was accepted. Please don't send multiple copies of documents. 

 Student Financial Services uses UVA's Student Information System (SIS) for their process. Please be sure to check those accounts if you applied for aid. The faster you respond to their requests for missing or supporting documents, the faster they can do their work.

4. Demonstrated Interest

This is not part of the review. Your application is proof that you are interested in UVA! You have a lot on your plate as a senior and don't have to spend time and energy showing interest. You did that when you put together your application. 

5. Application Instructions Revisited

A lot of the questions I'm getting this year are covered in the application instructions or our FAQs. Please be sure to take a look at those! 

As always, I'm happy to answer questions in the comments.

Important Reminders for Early Action and Early Decision Applicants to #UVA

The Early Decision and Early Action deadline is around the corner and I thought I'd address some important points for applicants...

 

 1. Read the application instructions and FAQs.

Enough said on that!

 

2. The deadline is November 1st at 11:59 PM.

If you are someone who is inspired by the last minute, you have all day on November 1st to submit your application. Keep in mind that there may be a lot of people using the Common App website on deadline day, so it might slow down. In addition, the help desk might be fielding more requests for assistance than usual. 

3. Colleges don't control the Common App website.

If you have an issue with the Common App website, hit the question mark that is on every page to get help. In my experience, the support from the Common App team is excellent.

4. Teachers and Counselors get a grace period to submit documents.

Get your application in by the deadline. The supporting documents from your teachers and counselors don't have to be in by the deadline. We understand that they are working with multiple students who may be applying to several schools!

5. Updates are sent via the applicant portal.

This is covered in the instructions, but you'll get login credentials for our applicant portal once Common App transfers your application to us. Use the portal to send updates. Don't send updates by email to admission officers.

 

6. We really mean it when we say we don't use interest!

The application is proof that you are interested in UVA. You don't have to send us emails or supplements to tell us you like UVA. Desire is not a factor in our review. 

Do you have any last minute questions? Feel free to put them in the comments!

Scattergrams and GPA Data

I just finished my first week of high school visits in Fairfax County, Virginia. This is one of our most densely populated areas in Virginia and we have a lot of students at UVA from the many high school in the area.

The GPA attempts to summarize your academics, but it's not a very reliable number in my world. GPA methodologies vary a lot (and this is fine with us...each school/district uses the method that works for their students). The GPA doesn't tell us the full academic story, though. We need to see four years of course selection and grades to understand that. Trends are also important and aren't conveyed in the GPA.  Resist the urge to fixate on GPA alone. GPAs just don't provide the details we need to make a decision in a selective admission process.

Some may suggest that high school-specific GPA data is more reliable and use scattergrams to estimate admission chances. The scattergram is a feature of a student information system that many high schools use. Scattergrams plot past admission decisions on a chart using GPA and testing as the variables.

A scattergram I found online. This is NOT for UVA.

If you have access to them, remember that scattergrams are plotting the results of an elaborate application review process on a chart with just two factors, one of which is no longer required in our process. They show how our decisions correlate to those pieces of data, but they don't tell you how admission officers made their decisions. 

Keep in mind that there are some issues with scattergrams. Schools often rely on students to report their admission decisions to make the scattergrams. There may be missing or incorrect data for your school. In addition, testing is optional for applicants to UVA and about 40% of our pool didn't submit them last year.

There are times when someone may have a high GPA, but have some holes in their program (remember, we want to see classes taken in each core subject all four years of high school), a lopsided program, or a grade trend that is of concern. The details matter in this process!

A Return to Fairfax County

I'm almost in disbelief that my first week of high school visits in over a year is around the corner. The last time I was in my Virginia territory (Fairfax County) was the week of January 13, 2020, when I spoke at a series of programs for junior parents planned by counselors in Fairfax County Public Schools. Suffice it to say, I'm really looking forward to being back in my territory! Admission work is cyclical and I have missed the parts of the calendar that traditionally had me in high schools. 

Scheduling high school visits was a bit of a trick this year. Most schools have fewer spots in their schedules (totally understandable!) and some are only offering virtual appointments. I wasn't able to stack my usual 4-5 schools per day this time, but I'll look on the bright side and think about how much less stressful it will be to battle northern Virginia traffic. 

I have 24 in-person visits in the coming weeks:

Monday, October 4: Justice, Falls Church, TJHSST
Tuesday, October 5: Langley, McLean, Marhsall
Wednesday, October 6: Madison, Oakton, Woodson, Fairfax
Thursday, October 7: West Springfield, Lake Braddock, Trinity Christian
Friday, October 8: Centreville, Westfield, South Lakes, Herndon

Monday, October 18: Edison, Lewis, Mount Vernon
Tuesday, October 19: Chantilly, Hayfield, South County
Wednesday, October 20: West Potomac, Annandale, Robinson

If you're in Fairfax County and don't see your school listed, we probably scheduled a virtual event with your school. If you see your school list and would like to attend my session, be sure to follow the procedures set by your College & Career Center to sign up. These talks are for students...parents, feel free to call, comment, email, or message me if you have questions about admission.

Jack in NOVA (technically not in my territory, but close!)

How to Manage College Admission Email

When I was in high school, the college mailings started to arrive a few weeks after you took your first PSAT exam. The first few pieces of mail seemed novel, but then the deluge began. Managing the influx of mail was easy enough - it just required more frequent trips to the recycling center!

These days, the print mail arrives along with a steady stream of email. All that email sometimes leads to overlooked messages about important things - missing application items, invitations to special programs, or even financial aid information). Many suggest that students create a separate email account for college mail, but that doesn't really solve the problem. Students still have to wade through a lot of messages to find the important ones in a second email account. I have a different suggestion.

Learn to use email filters.

Email filters (also called "rules" in some email clients) automatically file email for you. In gmail, all you have to do is click the three dots in a message and select "Filter messages like these" to set one up. Create a folder for everything important and you can quickly scan the side of your email client to see if anything important has arrived. 

This is where to find the filter set up in gmail.

If you set up a filter for messages from your counselor, Common App, UVA, etc., it could mean that your main inbox becomes a miscellaneous inbox.

Live #UVA Admission Q&A Sessions Every Thursday!

I sometimes forget that people aren't aware of my accounts on the various social media channels. After years of doing live q&a sessions on my Instagram account and having thousands of views on each saved session. In the early years, I saved the sessions to Instagram Highlights (like this), but I started saving them all to IGTV last year. It's safe to say the Thursday afternoon live session is tradition now. 

The sessions usually start around 3 PM. I post an Instagram Story on Thursday mornings with two stickers*: one that lets students turn on a countdown reminder for the session and another that lets them submit questions they'd like me to answer. Students can also submit questions during the live session via a comment box and a live question sticker. 

Jack decided to participate in a session last December and he's been a fixture since. He starts the session by doing a trick for a treat (this buys us some time as people join the session). There are points in the application season when I give an update about our process and then I answer questions. 

* A sticker is a box or graphic added on top of a photo or video in Instagram Stories. Some of them are interactive.

It's almost time for this week's live session. I hope you'll join us on Instagram!

2021-2022 #UVA First-Year Application Essay Prompts

With tours full of prospective members of the Class of 2026 this week, it seems like a good time to share our essay prompts for next year. Feedback from students and admission officers have helped us tweak our prompts over the years and it seems like we have them in a good place because we don't really have edits this year!

There are three required pieces of writing on our application: the Common App essay and two shorter responses that are specific to UVA. The Common App prompts are on their website. 

A couple notes about essays: the prompts are deliberately broad, these are supposed to be personal, and the word counts are guidelines meant to remind you to be concise. I'll elaborate on these and share some tips in future posts. Regarding the first essay, remember that we admit students to four schools and one major at UVA. The only students who apply directly to a major are the kinesiology students.

 As always, I'm happy to answer questions you submit in the comments.

2021-2022 First-Year Application Writing Prompts

1. We are looking for passionate students to join our diverse community of scholars, researchers, and artists. Answer the question that corresponds to the school/program to which you are applying in a half page or roughly 250 words.

• College of Arts and Sciences - What work of art, music, science, mathematics, literature, or other media has surprised, unsettled, or inspired you, and in what way?

• School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Describe an engineering feat that serves the common good and why it inspires you to study engineering.

• School of Architecture - Describe significant experience that deepened your interest in studying in the School of Architecture.

• School of Nursing - Describe a health care-related experience or another significant interaction that deepened your interest in studying nursing.

• Kinesiology Program - Discuss experiences that led you to apply to the kinesiology major. 

2. Answer one of the following questions in a half page or roughly 250 words.

• What’s your favorite word and why?

• We are a community with quirks, both in language and in traditions. Describe one of your quirks and why it is part of who you are.

• Student self-governance, which encourages student investment and initiative, is a hallmark of the UVA culture. In her fourth year at UVA, Laura Nelson was inspired to create Flash Seminars, one-time classes which facilitate high-energy discussion about thought-provoking topics outside of traditional coursework. If you created a Flash Seminar, what idea would you explore and why?

• UVA students paint messages on Beta Bridge when they want to share information with our community. What would you paint on Beta Bridge and why is this your message?

• Rita Dove, UVA English professor and former U.S. Poet Laureate, once said in an interview that "...there are times in life when, instead of complaining, you do something about your complaints." Describe a time when, instead of complaining, you took action for the greater good.

The UVA Class of 2025 is Complete

A waiting list update from Greg Roberts, Dean of Admission:

On behalf of the UVA Office of Admission, I’d like to send a heartfelt thank you to all of the applicants and their families who placed their faith in us during this challenging and chaotic year, including those who were on our waiting list and received our final decisions last week. We are honored and humbled that you chose to apply to UVA. While we were unable to offer admission to every deserving and capable candidate in this intensely competitive year, please know we saw you, we heard you, we believe in you, and we are grateful to you. And please know we wish you happiness and success as you begin your college journey in the fall. 

 

I know this is disappointing news for many of you. I hope you can look at your chosen school and move forward with you plans to go there with excitement. Thank you so much for being part of this blog.  Best wishes for a wonderful summer and exciting start to your college career!

 

#UVA In-Person Tours for Prospective Students Resume June 14

I'm so excited to share that we will be hosting in-person tours soon! I remember posting that our admission events were cancelled back on March 11, 2020 and thinking we'd be back in a month or so. The day we were told to take our office phones home was probably the one when I realized tours would be on an extended hiatus. Suffice it to say, we have missed seeing prospective students in person! We've also missed seeing our guides, ambassadors, and student workers. The team of summer interns will ease us back into tours starting on June 14th (are you following them on Instagram yet?).

A few notes for those who want to visit...

• As always, reservations are required, so please head over to the Visit page of our website to secure a spot on a tour. Once all the reservations for a day are taken, that date is no longer "clickable," so have a alternate visit date in mind. 

• Prospective students can register themselves and one guest for the tour. If you'll be traveling with a larger group, please make plans for the other members of your party to do something while you tour. I suggest a walk on The Corner to see the shops and restaurants adjacent to the University along with a walk on the UVA Lawn and a visit to the new Memorial to Enslaved Laborers. 

• The University's buildings are still closed to visitors at this time, to the tours will be completely outdoors. We suggest you use the housing youtube channel to explore the residence halls and check department websites for virtual tour options. UVA Recreation's website has descriptions and picture of their facilities, too.

• We'll continue to offer live and recorded virtual options for connecting with the Office of Admission and our students. Links are on the visit page and we'll also email them to students who make in-person tour reservations. 

I'll do my best to answer your questions in the comments, but I hope you can appreciate that our plans will probably evolve during the summer.