Ranking season comes again

Once again, it's ranking season. US News & World Report rankings will come out shortly and I feel compelled to once again point out that success isn't only found at a top ranked school. This year's methodology hasn't come out, but I imagine that, once again, US News did not take student satisfaction, student services, study abroad options, graduate school admission, or job placement as criteria. Aside from the average SAT scores, no student information seems to be included in their calculation.

That being said, I guess I have to write about UVa's ranking...tomorrow. I can't believe I had to do this, but the rankings are "embargoed" and aren't supposed to be released, though someone at another school sent them to me before the numbers sent to UVa directly made it to my inbox.

With UVa's hiring of some very prominent researchers, we might see our ranking shift in the coming years because the methodology used by US News puts a high value on faculty resources.

Update:

UVa has crept up one spot on the national list to #23 (tied with Georgetown and ahead of Michigan, which shared the #24 spot last year with UVa). The public school list hasn't changed since last year with Berkeley at the top the list and UVa coming in 2nd.

What does the application process say about the school?

I was away from the office for a few days to welcome the newest member of the Dean J household, Cav Pup (no, that's not his real name, but it will be on this blog). After he had someone's attention during virtually every waking moment for a few days, I decided to let him have his first taste of solitude and run to the recycling center yesterday. It was a quick trip, but as I flung old copies of the newspaper, The Hook and Cville Weekly (our two alternative weeklies) into the newspaper recycling container, I wondered how much of the bin was taken up by college brochures, fliers, and application materials.

Did you know that a 2% rate of return on an admission mailing is considered pretty good? Did you know that a large portion of every admission office's budget goes towards designing, printing, and mailing brochures? Does it all seem a little absurd in light of that 2% return rate?

At UVa, we've decided to cut back. We've never been big on having an elaborate "package" of mailings, but we have mailed out tens of thousands of viewbooks and applications each year. This year, we decided that with over 90% of applications coming in online, it was time to end the printing and mailing of the applications. Those who really want to apply on paper can download the application from our website.

Are UVa students conservative or liberal?

Every once in a while, someone mentions that they were told that UVa is full of conservatives. This originally surprised me, seeing that most colleges and universities in the United States are liberal places, as are the cities that surround them. Charlottesville is no exception, with it's eclectic mix of musicians, artists, writers, politicos, lawyers, and academics (the list could be longer).

Some statistics from our Office of Institutional Research just came my way and they point to UVa being a bit more left than some people believe it to be. 28% of UVa students designate themselves as conservatives, 35% are liberals, and 37% say they're "middle of the road".

Do those numbers surprise anyone?

2008 Undergraduate Application is available!

The 2008 undergraduate application is live!

Application website down

You'll notice that the application website is down today. You probably know what that means. Stay tuned for an announcement...

One last note for the Class of 2011

There was a nice story about the incoming class on our local news station last night featuring one of our summer student workers and Parke Muth, one of our admission deans. It dealt with the percentage of students who are international, African American, Asian, and Hispanic. The incoming class is the most diverse one we've ever had!

The wait is almost over!

The new online application is almost ready! We'll be making some final text edits and testing the application's functionality for the next few days and anticipate "going live" with the new undergraduate application in early August (stay tuned for an exact date).

I hope you've had a great summer and are getting excited for the start of your senior year!

CavBear enjoys a little summer reading

Is PR's "Counselor-o-matic" just a revenue tool?

Our student workers did an interesting project last week that prompted me to revive the old issues blog. They started playing around with The Princeton's Review's "Counselor-o-matic", which is on their webpage. The "tool" is supposed to suggested appropriate matches for students after they have answered a few pages of questions about their academic profile. We were wondering what sorts of responses would prompt the Counselor-o-matic to suggest UVa as a reach, match, or safety. Below are the "profiles" we used (GPAs are unweighted):

Profile 1: 4.0 GPA, top curriculum, top 5% of the class, 2000 SAT
Profile 2: 3.9 GPA, top curriculum, top 5% of the class, 2300 SAT
Profile 3: 3.9 GPA, weak curriculum, top 5% of the class, 2400 SAT
Profile 4: 3.8 GPA, top curriculum, top 10% of the class, 2200 SAT
Profile 5: 3.7 GPA, good curriculum, top 10% of the class, 2300 SAT
Profile 6: 3.6 GPA, top curriculum, top 10% of the class, 2100 SAT
Profile 7: 3.2 GPA, okay curriculum, top 20% of the class, 1700 SAT

The results: UVA didn't come up for a match for ANY of the profiles. One of the "top 5%" students specified their location as Virginia and still didn't get UVa as a match. She then got more specific and said she lived right here in Charlottesville and didn't get UVa as a match. At the same time, some very random, unknown schools came up time and again as "match" schools. The only changes that allowed UVa to show up on a list where designating ethnicity or an interest in sports.

The whole exercise has me wondering about whether the "Counselor-o-matic" is a marketing tool (schools are offered the opportunity to pay for "increased visibility" on that website). What's more, it has me worried that some students are going through the survey once or twice and think the resulting lists are reliable.

I think The Princeton Review has some explaining to do.

It's your turn to talk back

Around this time of year, schools around the country send out something called an admitted student questionnaire. Some schools pay The College Board to administer the survey for them, others (like UVa) create something themselves. Regardless of how it arrives, I think I speak for my colleagues when I saw we hope you take a few minutes to answer our questions. This is your chance to tell us about how you decided to go to the school in which you enrolled. It's also your chance to tell schools if they could have done something a little better.


Most ASQs have questions about where you decided to go instead of the school behind the survey. This is to help schools know what their "peer" institutions are. We know where our admitted students are often accepted, but it helps to see if there are new names to consider.

Some students are concerned that the colleges may "track" what they say in these surveys. I'm not quite sure why there's any concern, especially if you've already turned the school down, but let me assure you that we don't care about matching your answers up with your name. We are, however, interested in matching your answers up to characteristics about you. For example, we look at how students who applied to a certain school responded, or to how the answers of out of state students compared to Virginians. The data collected will help us focus on the programs and activities that students found most useful and also help us plan our travel season in the fall.

Be careful with your personal information

I've just heard reports that someone is calling college-bound students and requesting credit card information under the guise of being a financial aid officer. The students are being told that their next tuition payment is due immediately and that they can take care of it over the phone by giving some personal information.

Obviously, when you get a spoof email, it's easy to ignore, but I imagine it's a pretty scary when someone calls from a college or university and says there's a problem with your account. Just be forewarned that tuition bills at UVa are sent by mail and no one from our Student Financial Services office would call and ask for a credit card payment to be made.

If you get a call from someone claiming to be an aid officer from UVa, report it to the police (I imagine caller ID information would be very useful) and let our Student Financial Services office know about it (you can reach them toll free at 866-391-0063).

The UVa student blog is born!

As if you couldn't see it coming, our Summer Guides, students who spend the summer working with the Office of Admission, have started a blog. They've come up with a pretty spiffy title: The View from Grounds. They're just getting going and I'm sure they'd love to field questions from prospective students about anything on your minds.

Hoos for Hokies message finally comes down

After a record setting 50 days, the Hoos for Hokies message that was painted on the Beta Bridge has been painted over. At first, I hoped that this new message was painted on the opposite side of the bridge, but alas, it is directly over the original and over the update that was added by an art class at UVa (the artists were unknown at first, but were later revealed).

2008 Essay Questions

We've already posted the 2008 essay questions on the Office of Admission website, but I thought I'd post them here as well. See this as a hint. If you spend time working on college applications this summer, work on your essays. A lot of the time we spend reviewing applications is spent reading essays. Analyzing transcripts and reading forms can get a little dry, which makes us really look forward to getting a sense of personality from your essays!

(1) Please answer the question that corresponds to the school you selected on Part I of your application in half a page, or roughly 250 words.

College of Arts and Sciences: What work of art, music, science, mathematics, or literature has surprised or unsettled or challenged you, and in what way?

School of Engineering: Discuss experiences that led you to choose an engineering education at U.Va. and the role that scientific curiosity plays in your life.

School of Architecture: What led you to apply to the School of Architecture?

School of Nursing: Discuss experiences that led you to choose the School of Nursing.

(2) Answer one of the following questions. Limit your response to half a page, or approximately 250 words.

• What is your favorite word, and why?
• Describe the world you come from and how that world shaped who you are.
• Discuss something you secretly like but pretend not to or vice versa?
• What issue of local,national,or international significance concerns you? Why?
• "We might say that we were looking for global schemas, symmetries, universal and unchanging laws - and what we have discovered is the mutable, the ephemeral, the complex." Support or challenge Nobel Prize winner Ilya Prigogine's assertion.

(3) Please write on a topic of your choice.

If an essay question for another college piqued your interest, feel free to submit your response to that question. Please limit your submission to one page, or approximately 500 words.

It's maintenance time

It's almost time for the ApplyOnline website to come down so that we can prepare it for the next season. The site won't be coming down, but I just wanted to give everyone a heads up just in case there are some hiccups in the next few weeks. You'll still be able to log into your application, though there will be a point over the summer when we archive all accounts to have a nice, clean database ready for the next group of applicants.

You'll see a note about that when the time comes.

Did you forget to respond?

There are still a good number of students who have not sent any response to our offer of admission. Today, we'll assume those students have turned us down and change their status.

If for some reason, you were offered admission, haven't replied yet, and want a spot in the incoming class, call our office. This does not apply to waitlisted students who were offered a spot. The letter those students received informs them of their reply deadline (usually one week after the letter is received).

Yet another UVa blog

Inspired in part by the traffic to this blog and the high number of comments from transfer students, yet another UVa admission blog has been created, the UVa Transfer Admission blog.

I hope some of you transfers will still visit Notes from Peabody, but I imagine you'll all be very excited to see a blog dedicated to addressing your concerns.

A tiny bit of waitlist movement

There's been a very small bit of movement on the waitlist for freshman. I won't guess at a number...I was personally working with architecture students, so I'm not aware of how many are coming off the waitlist for the other schools. I'll just venture a guess that the number will be much, much less than it was last year (last year the number was around 145).

We'll start going to the transfer waitlist over the course of the next week to ten days. My sense is that the students contacted will mostly be CLAS students, but a few might have applied to other schools.

I know that this is not great news for many of you, but it looks like the class is nearly full at this time.

A new blog on the UVa block

Our AccessUVa coordinator has just started her very own blog! For those of you who aren't familiar with the term, AccessUVa is our financial aid program. Our coordinator works in the Office of Admission and serves as a liaison between us and the Office of Student Financial Services. She'll be writing about college costs and how to navigate the financial aid process at UVa. She'll also be happy to see your comments and questions. Remember that she isn't a financial aid officer, so she won't be able to pull up your financial aid application (that is done in Student Financial Services), but she will be able to help you understand your financial aid application and award letter.

I hope you all will be as thoughtful with your comments on her blog as you've been here on mine. After all, a blog isn't really a blog without comments and conversation!

Important notes for transfer students

Transfer decisions were posted yesterday morning and letters are going in the mail today. There are three pieces of information related to your decisions that I'd like to share.

1. You have until May 15th to reply. The site said May 1st yesterday and we've asked for an edit to be made.

2. If you were a "spring rollover", meaning you applied to start in the Spring, weren't admitted, and we rolled your application over to the fall, the decision you see when you log in is the one from the Spring. We have to make new accounts for the rollover applicants. We'll be emailing each student in that very small group to let them know, but I thought I'd put the info out there now.

3. We aim to go to the waitlist by June 1st. If you are on the transfer waitlist and want to be considered, you must send your spring grades.



I want to add a personal note of thanks for your applications. I always find the stories transfers share with us in the applications to be very powerful. If you were not admitted, that in no way diminishes your accomplishments and the obstacles you've overcome in the course of your educational career. As with the first year process, there are a limited number of spots and we don't have room for every great student out there.

Congratulations to those of you who were admitted! You'll start to receive information from various offices at the University shortly to let you know about setting up your "e-services" account, housing, transfer orientation, etc.

Great news for international students

Some alumni have banded together to organize a bus to take international students from Dulles International Airport to UVa before orientation session L (just before classes start). Seems like a nice way to make the trip...it's free, too!

For international students who are attending Session L of New Student Orientation, the University of Virginia is providing a free bus service from Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC to Charlottesville on Tuesday, August 21 and Wednesday, August 22. First year international students should fly in to Dulles (IAD), where they will be greeted by U.Va. alumni and staff, driven to the University, and escorted to their residential halls to rest after the long day of travel. Students who do not ride the Orientation Express will not be allowed into their residential halls until Wednesday, August 22. For more information, please e-mail Kate Malay at katemalay@virginia.edu. Sign up online at http://www.uvaclubs.virginia.edu/orientationexpress.

Transfer notification update

Transfer decisions will be posted to online accounts at 5 PM on Monday, April 30th. Decision letters will be mailed the next day.

As an aside, the Beta Bridge still looks as it does in the pictures below. I have never heard of a message staying on there so long during the school year. Walking down Rugby Road, I saw banners hanging from many Greek houses with messages about Virginia Tech. It's good to see the rivalry being put aside.

A quiet day at UVa

Forgive me if I don't have much to write today. It's a quiet day at UVa, as many of our students have friends and family members in the Virginia Tech community. Our first moment of silence will be at 2 PM and the next will come during a candlelight vigil at 7 PM at the amphitheatre.

Those looking for information may find the following links helpful.

Reaching out to Virginia Tech (from President Casteen)

Counseling services at Elson Student Health Center

Statement from the Dean of Students

Simplified emergency procedures at UVa
The comprehensive Critical Incident Management Plan

This is a photo of the Beta Bridge this morning.

Financial Aid & Social Security Numbers

We've been getting a few calls from people who want to correct their social security numbers in our system either because they mistyped their number on their application or because they didn't supply a number at all. As the note on the application says, a Social Security number is required if a student is applying for financial aid...it's a requirement dictated by the federal government.

Changing a Social Security number isn't something that can be done over the phone, for obvious reasons. A copy of a Social Security card or of a driver's license with SSN on it is suitable documentation, though.

The registrar's office will review the documentation and make the change. When the change takes effect, Student Financial Services can put the finishing touches on an aid package.

So, bear with us if you didn't supply a Social Security number or gave us the wrong one. The changes are being processed as fast as possible.

NOTE: SSN changes must be submitted to the Office of Admission. The change begins here, then flows to the rest of the University. Please do not contact the registrar or financial aid to make such a change.

Thoughts on the latest round of decision calls

This season's round of decision calls have been pretty manageable so far. There have been a few difficult ones, such as the parent who was convinced that an updated ACT score would have changed our decision or the one who didn't realize extracurricular activities couldn't make up for a limited curriculum and average grades. These calls are fairly routine, so they don't surprise us too much.

What has surprised me is the number of admitted students (rather, their parents) calling to complain about not being designated an Echols Scholar. They seem to think that the transcript is the key to the Echols process. As I've explained before, we're looking for academic excellence, but we're also looking for love of learning or a clear passion for a subject. The essays, activities, and teacher recommendations all contribute to our review, it's not just about the GPA.

I've started asking what the student had found attractive about the Echols and Rodman Scholars Programs. Some don't realize that it's not an honors college and that while the perks are great, there are plenty of non-Echols/Rodman UVa students having a fulfilling, rewarding experience at UVa. Some don't really know what they wanted from the program. I imagine that they just wanted to be deemed special and wanted.

If you were admitted to UVa, you are special. You were selected from over 18,000 students to become part of our community.

If you were admitted to UVa, you are wanted. We work hard to show you this by putting together Days on the Lawn, organizing phone calling, and sending you congratulatory letters and emails from people all over the University.

Echols and Rodman are wonderful programs, but please understand that the decisions have been made for this year. If you strongly believe that you should be in Echols or Rodman, you can apply to join the programs once you get here (Rodman takes applications in the fall, Echols in the spring).

Transfer update

We're a bit busy right now, hence this entry being started this morning, but not posted until now.

The transfer review process continues...we're still getting some credentials in, which is fine, so if you have any updated grades, feel free to send those along.

The University's commitment to transfers has led us to allow late applications for the transfer class. The hope is that more Virginia Community College System students will apply (preference is given to those with Associates degrees). The review process is continuing as intended, but we'll consider those late applications until May 1st.

We still plan on sending notification to those who applied by the regular deadline by May 1st. Those who submit late applications will be notified as soon as a decision on their file is reached.

Status pages will be deactivated

This is just a quick note for the first year applicants. The status page will stop showing your decision today.

I want to avoid a panic when the decision message is gone, so please pass the word along to your friends.

Q&A with Dean J, part 3

So many comments have come been posted in the last 24 hours that I decided to put the questions and replies in new posts to make them easier for all to see.

I'm going to split this into two posts, one for admitted students and one for waitlisted students. Feel free to post more questions in under the appropriate entry.


By the way, I'm not correcting grammar and spelling on the questions. Pardon the errors.


Update: New questions and answers have been posted.

Admitted Student Questions

Admitted students can submit questions in the comments and I'll update this post with answers.


Q1. Does UVA library only have scholarly stuff, or does it also have leisure reads like harry potter and dan brown? (if it doesn't then one would have to use the Charlottesville library system?)
---also is there arnes and nobles or borders nearby uva?

A1. There are 13 libraries at UVa and they include books and periodicals for scholarly and leisurely reading. Clemons library, in addition to having fiction books, has a DVD library with all sorts of movies, including new releases.

Charlottesville actually had the first Barnes & Noble outside of a major city. I often see students studying in the cafe there. We have plenty of independent book shops on The Corner and The Downtown Mall.


Q2. I applied through FAFSA and UVA and did what was supposed to be done, but am not completely sure how the notification will work. Should I expect something through e-mail or snail mail? And will that be soon or am I being too impatient?

A2. I believe financial services has begun mailing aid packages. A call to their office will confirm that your package is complete. If you call, remember that they are probably swamped right now and you might have to wait on hold for a little while.


Q3. It seems people received rejection letters before acceptances...are those generally the first to go out? Or is it just a false rumor?

A3. Scroll down and check out those photos from Friday, March 30th. Everything went out at the same time. You mentioned this is a "rumor". I'd suggest that if you don't hear about our policies from an admission officer at UVa or read it on our website, you should take it with a huge grain of salt. There are a lot of "experts" out there who purport to know how we operate.


Q4. Is it necessary to attend Days on the Lawn when I'm positive that I'm attending UVa?

A4. No, attendance at DOTL is in no way required.


Q5. My cousin applied to engineering grad school at UVA. Do you have any idea when these decisions will be announced?

A5. My office is the Office of Undergraduate Admission. Graduate admission is handled by the individual schools.


Q6. If we haven't gotten a Echols Scholar letter by now (4/6), does that mean we weren't chosen as one? Does the letter come with the admission offer?

A6. As I wrote before, Echols students have had follow up communication by email since letters were mailed. Students who were invited into the scholars program should know by now.


Q7. Are you going to the FIRST Robotics nationals next week?

A7. No FIRST for me this year. :(

Waitlisted student questions

Waitlisted students can submit questions in the comments and I'll update this post with answers.

Q1. Because the [wait]list is unweighted, is the only differentiation by letter of interest? In other words, are students who submit a letter more likely to be selected from the list, or is the process more similar to the normal decision review?

A1. I wouldn't say that the only students who come off the waitlist are those who write letters, but it can help if you feel an explanation of some part of your application is necessary.


Q2. I realize that the waiting list is huge, and that there are different categories (although technically they aren't already separated), but I was wondering if you had any exact numbers yet. I know last year the waitlist ended up around two thousand after people actually accepted spots.

A2. We won't have numbers for the waitlist until May 1st, when we hope all students will have replied to the offer of a waitlist spot.


Q3. I have a quirky question, if you are accepted off the waitlist, which happens around late June, when it comes to housing, are waitlisted students offered last options, I mean aren't housing assignments already mailed out by the time waitlisted students are chosen?

A3. Housing assignments aren't made until the summer, so students who get in off the waitlist in June are not at a disadvantage.


Q4. I thought that anyone who got deferred ED WAS still competitive, otherwise he/she would have been denied even after the ED round. I guess that means that the people who applied regular decision were even stronger than the ED hopefuls, so a number of the ED deferred were no longer competitive. Am I getting that right?

A4. Back in November and December, we deferred applications for whom we couldn't make a decision for various reasons. We often think that senior grades will give us more to go on. However, when regular decision applications arrived in greater numbers than we expected, obviously, those early notions of how strong the pool would be get dashed.


Q5. Is there any such procedure such as appealing an admissions decision at UVA

A5. No, there is no appeal process.


Q6. but I'd like to know where in the required ratio of instate/OOS do OOS legacies fall?

A6. As far as the state is concerned, alumni children who do not have Virginia residency are not in the 2/3 part of the ratio. You are a resident of your home state.


Q7. would a waitlist applicant looking to enroll in the 5 year teacher education program only be considered when there were more decline responses than expected from other admitted teacher education applicants?

A7. After May 1st, we'll see which parts of the class need more students. Since first year students don't apply to the education school, that is not really a factor in the process. We'll be looking at VA/OOS in each of the four schools (CLAS, SEAS, SARC, NURS).


Q8. kinda confused, did UVA accept for students then needed? I mean did they accept like 4000, when they only had 3,500 spaces (exaggerated numbers)? so waitlisted people would have to pray that more than 500 people decline?

A8. This is how all colleges operate. Because students apply to so many schools, we can't be sure that an applicant to UVa will actually come. We use past yield rates to determine the appropriate number of students to admit in order to get down to a class of around 3,170 (the target was increased by 70 this year). So, we admit around 6,000 students, knowing that many of them will opt to go elsewhere, leaving us with around 3,100.

Enrollment management is a tricky thing. Sometimes, admission officers don't see something coming and the yield changes dramatically. A good example of this would be from George Mason last year. Their basketball team did amazingly well in the NCAA tournament last year and they got a lot of wonderful media attention because of that. As a result, many students who hadn't been inclined to go to Mason were excited about going there and their yield jumped. Great for the yield rate, not so great for the housing folks, who have to find spaces for more students than they expected to have on campus!


Q9. If letters were sent on Friday, I thought I would receive it by now, but it has yet to arrive. Should I be worried?--Worried Idaho girl

A9. I imagine that it might take a bit of time for letters to make it out west. If you don't have a letter as of today (Friday, 4/6), give us a call and we'll either email or mail out a copy.


Q10. dean j, after all the numbers are in for the people accepting waitlisting, could you lets us know, please? I know it wont be for a while though, thanks!

A10. No problem. We're in the middle of the transfer review process, but after we get through that, I'll have some more official numbers to share.


Q11. this might be a stupid question, but when you write a letter to UVa expressing your interests...who do you direct it towards? thank you!
~wahoo wannabe

A11. You should write to the Dean of Admission. His name is on your decision letter.


Q12. is it true that UVA only accepted so many people from northern Virginia?

A12. Anyone interested in the truth behind all those rumors about who we can admit should read this post from last year.


Q13. If the decisions for the waitlist pool are released around the 3rd week of May, when should our guidance counselor send in our final year grades if final year grades are not completed at my school until the 1st week of June?

A13. We don't have a rock solid time line for going to the waitlist. Send those updated transcripts as soon as their available.



Other questions
Q1. I think people would leave their names with comments but UVA admissions has a weird policy of writing down notes in applicants' files following phone calls. this sort of process freaks many people out, thus they choose anonymity.

A1. This is why I suggested making up a name.

Tracking communication is very common in college admission. It helps jog our memories when we take a call from a student with whom we've talked before.

A note about submitting a comment

If you are going to comment, please do not do it anonymously. It's very hard to respond to people without names. Make something up if you don't want to use your real name, but please put something other than "anonymous".

Ranking lists I'm proud NOT to see UVa on

The RIAA and MPAA (recording industry and motion picture industry groups) have published lists of schools that have the most students who violate copyright protection laws. I'm thrilled not to see UVa on either list!

Oddly, the RIAA expects the schools to help them deliver paperwork to the students on their list and so far, a number of schools have told the RIAA that they don't have time to take on the extra administrative work.

The RIAA list
The MPAA list

Notes on the waitlist

I wrote about the waitlist twice last year, so I'm going to borrow heavily from those entries to give some information about how it works.

On Monday, we will start taking "decision calls" in our office (prepare for making one of these calls by reading this post). Those are calls, usually from parents, asking why we made the decision we did for a certain student. For the first two weeks of the month, the calls are almost non-stop. The most popular question: "Why was my child waitlisted?"

Prior to my arrival at UVa, I worked in the private college sector where we didn't entertain these conversations at all (and not many people called to question our decisions). However, at a state school, we try to be responsive to our constituents and respond to each and every call.


Here's what I think about the waitlist at UVa: It's big. There's no way around that because there are so many different segments within the class to which we have to pay attention. We have to bring in a class that will maintain that 2/3 : 1/3 ratio for Virginian and non-Virginian students. So, think of the waitlist as two main groups, in state and out of state. Next, consider that we have to fill four different schools within the university: College of Arts & Sciences (CLAS), School of Engineering (SEAS), School of Architecture (SARC) and School of Nursing.

Now, we don't break up the waitlist into smaller groups, so don't think of this as eight separate waitlists. It's still just one bunch with no ranking.

By May 1st, all the admitted students are supposed to have mailed their enrollment confirmations, saying that have either accepted or rejected our offer of admission. It usually takes a week for all of those letters to get to us. Only when the enrollment confirmations are counted do we know what will happen with the waitlist. We might realize that the Architecture school needs a few more students or that there's room in the College for a few. While keeping the in-state/out of state ratio in mind, we then go to the waitlist.


The time between April 1st and May 1st is always an uneasy one for us. It seems as though students are applying to more schools than ever (I met a student who applied to 20 last year) and as a result, we always worry that a tiny fraction of the students who receive an offer will accept us back. Our dean remembers a time when he'd accept just a few hundred more than the class needed because yield wasn't a huge issue. People were applying to 1-3 schools back then, so if they got accepted to a school, the odds were high that they were going there. Because of the uncertainty on the yield side, we have to maintain a sizable waitlist.

Yes, the waitlist is still quite large. I wish we didn't have it at all. I remember the state of limbo I was in as a waitlisted student a one of my top picks.


If you accept a spot on our waitlist, you are not bound to us. You should send a deposit to another school by May 1st to secure a spot in another class. At this point, we don't know when we will go to the waitlist, as we rely on the responses of admitted students to do that.

Some quick numbers (more to come)

18.053 applications (16,298 last year)
6,073 offers of admission (6,019 last year)

7,073 applicants from Virginia (6,530 last year)
10,928 applicants from out of state (9,768 last year)

These aren't official (those numbers from from the Office of Institutional Assessment), but I thought I'd give you a rough idea of what the applicant pool looked like this year.

Decisions have been mailed

Admission decisions have been mailed. At 5:30 PM today, those who applied online can view their decision by logging into the application system and checking the status page.

I snapped a few pictures as the first load of letters left. Note that it will take a few hours for these letters to clear the mail room here. They need to be sealed and metered before they can be put into the U.S. Post Office system





I should add that we have moved swiftly into the transfer application review. At some point during all this, I'll find some time to crunch numbers and post them. I'll aim for Monday on that.

Caption this picture

How about a game of "Caption this Picture" to pass the time? Post your caption in the comments (click the picture if you'd like to get a better look at it). The best caption (be it clever, funny, or silly) gets something cool...bragging rights to winning the very first ever official game of "UVa Admission Blog Caption this Picture".

By the way, this was the scene outside my window around 10 AM. I should have thought to use the video function on my camera so you could hear the singing.


My entry: Freshman Orientation

A surprise member of the admission blogsphere

I've been chatting about blogs with some parents on one of the college admission message boards today and came across a blog I never knew existed: The ACT student blog. Is anyone reading this? How do you like it? Is it useful?

I'm surprised (in a good way) to see that the ACT is doing this. To mean, it shows a student-centered philosophy and that they're in touch with real students. Nice touch!

A moment of zen from CavBear

The 900 1200(!) hits this blog got yesterday and the tension apparent among applicants in the comments and on a particular message board some applicants frequent are making CavBear a little concerned. He thought a nice cup of tea might help you relax.

Just a few more days. Step away from the message boards for a day or two.

Another glimpse inside the process

Up until now, I've written about the process and sprinkled in a few silly pictures here and there. Now, a real look inside the process.

This is just part of the file library that we have. These are three different pics of the aisles...there are more than this. There's a team of people who oversee this place and they are absolutely amazing. There have been times when I've gone into the office in the wee hours to drop off and pick up files and they've been there, working away. Looking at these pictures, I realize how amazing they are.



The envelope stuffing is almost complete! Another team of people is making sure this process goes off without a hitch. Not a small feat when 18,000 personalized letters have to be printed, folded, and stuffed in matching envelopes in the span of about a week!

And to give you an idea of how much mail we get, this is a photo of where credentials that arrive without applications being on file wait to get matched up and made into a folder. There's a lot of paper being wasted doing this, which is too bad. Another reason not to send multiple copies of credentials...those extra copies make for bigger files.

International Student Update

International letter have gone out and we are going to start following up by email in the next few days, knowing that it might take quite some time for letters to make it to other countries. If you live in another country, please check your spam folders over the next few days. PDFs of letters and all the information that comes in the admit package are being emailed and I imagine that the messages will be large enough to trigger your spam filters.


You can make a preemptive strike by adding undergradadmission@virginia.edu and applyonline@virginia.edu to your address book or safe senders list.

To the rest, letters are printing and envelopes are being stuffed. We're getting there!

What's zinch? Most admission officers don't know.

There's a well established pipeline through which colleges get information about juniors (and sometimes sophomores) who they want to target with marketing efforts. College Board's Student Search Service provides colleges with names of students who took the PSAT or SAT and filled out the demographic information on their registration sheet. At the end of the survey, there's a question about receiving information from colleges. Those who check "yes" should have a deluge of mail within 6-8 weeks. Those who check "no" have to visit the websites for the schools in which they're interested to put themselves on the mailing lists.

There's a new company, started by brothers from BYU, that is attempting to break into the pipeline. It's called Zinch and somehow, they're getting the word out to students, though only 451 have created profiles on the site. The problem, though, is that they haven't marketed this "service" to college admission officers in any way. A mention in The Chronicle this morning is the first I've seen outside of a student post on a message board.

Maybe they're waiting until they have the 20,000 students they want to have by the end of May, but I imagine that if students creating profiles report no response from the colleges, they won't get to that target.

I'm waiting for the pitch. What I've seen on their website isn't particularly enticing. None of the information on the site seems verified and they seem to require interaction to take place in their environment. The idea is interesting, but requires colleges to abandon their traditional marketing plans that Student Search syncs with.

This weekend's topic: shopping

There are some questions students are afraid to ask us, for fear of the subject being too silly. I think asking about shopping is one of those subjects.

Back when I first got out of graduate school, I was offered a job at another school in Virginia. No knowing the town in which the school was located, I started investigating the shopping of the town, thinking that it would give me an idea of whether the town was urban, suburban, or rural. At that point, I wasn't ready to leave the city.

Anyway, we have three main shopping areas in Charlottesville: The Corner, the Downtown Mall, and Route 29. I've described The Corner a bit already in terms of food, but there are clothing boutiques and bookstores there in addition to the cafes. The Downtown Mall is blocks and blocks (pedestrians only) of shops, restaurants, and street vendors. Route 29 is mostly shopping centers. Barracks Road is the shopping center closest to UVA and on the UVA bus route. There are two supermarkets, Barnes & Noble (the first B&N that was opened outside of a major city), some restaurants and some stores there.

What questions do you have about shopping in Cville?

By the way, this week is Virginia's Festival of the Book. There are events all over the city with authors from all over the country (and world).

Echols, Rodman, & College Science Scholars Updates

I received a few updates from the different scholars programs this morning.

Echols mailed all invitation letters on Friday. They'll be following up by email shortly.

Rodman is preparing to mail their packages and will also follow up by email. When I have a date for their mailing, I will post it. I'm sure it will be in the next few days.

College Science Scholars mailed their letters yesterday.

This is all I know, so I'm not sure I can answer any questions. Again, when I have an update about Rodman, I'll post more information.

Update: Realizing that they were a few days behind the Echols program in mailing, Rodman has decided to go with speed over ceremony and in addition to mailing their letters, they are emailing them today.

Rodman (well, the Dean of the engineering school) will also be notifying Rodman Scholarship winners. The Dean selects these students from the Rodman Scholars. There are six full-tuition awards and seven half-tuition awards. Good luck and congratulations to those who will be receiving a call!

Some housing information (transfer housing info, too!)

I'm going to share some news about housing at UVa. Please remember that I'm an admission dean; I don't know every detail of the housing process. If you have very specific questions about residence life at UVa, it's probably best to contact the Housing Division. On their First Year page, you'll find information about the housing options open to you, along with housing policies.

You probably know that all first year students live on grounds and housing guarantees housing for second year students. Enough students study abroad or live off grounds that you could live on grounds all four years at UVa. In the past, transfer students were offered spots here and there as vacancies were found in the buildings. There were enough spaces to meet all of the transfer demand and last year, there was enough space to offer rooms to 130 students from colleges in New Orleans who displaced by hurricane Katrina.

This year, the housing office has set aside 150 spaces in Gooch-Dillard (two story suites, air conditioned) just for transfer students. We've just been told about this, so if you have questions about it, make a call to the housing office.

Plenty of time?!?

EDIT: Apparently not. It was a great post-season anyway!

Weekend topic: weather?!?

I wanted to continue the sports talk in light of what's happening at the NCAA tournament, but I thought weather might be something interesting to address. Weather's usually a lame topic of conversation, but it's actually a fairly common question posed by our visitors. They want to know how much snow we get, how hot or cold it gets, if we close school, and so on.

Being a northerner, I find winter here pretty uneventful. Charlottesville gets some snow each year, but getting more than a dusting seems rare. A few inches is a major event here. People still talk about the blizzard that dumped a few feet of snow about 15 years ago. As for temperatures, we have four defined seasons in Cville. Winter can be cold, but I don't remember single digit temperatures in the last few years. In fact, we had quite a few spring-like days in the middle of winter.

If you're coming from the deep south or southwest, you'll want to get a good winter jacket, hats, scarves, gloves/mittens, and some boots before you come to school. Every year there are a few students who think a North Face fleece will get them through the winter. You need something a little more substantial than that. You don't need monster boots, as the snow doesn't get too high here, but you'll need something to come between your foot and the cold ground for those walks to class.

In case you were wondering, UVa doesn't have snow days. Sorry, kids.

Days on The Lawn

Days on The Lawn is the name for our admitted students day at UVa. The format is pretty standard: arrive in the morning for coffee and snacks, listen to a welcome address, meet with your individual school, visit classes, optional panels, etc. What sets this apart from the admitted student days I've been a part of elsewhere is that there are enough of these to keep the total number of students at each DOTL to around 400 prospective students. Because of the number of current student volunteers we have, we wind up having about a 1:1 current to prospective student ratio at these events.

On top of that, if you really want to ask questions about something specific, you have a good chance of talking to the person with the answers. In addition, you won't be herded around our campus (much). You can branch off and do your own thing or stick to the scheduled events. We'll also be providing discount coupons to the bookstore and dining halls, if you want to get even more of a taste for student life at UVa.

Anyway, more information will come to you after the offer of admission arrives. Keep an eye out!

The dates for Days of The Lawn are:
Monday, April 9th
Friday, April 13th
Monday, April 16th (Echols & Rodman Scholars)
Friday, April 20th
Monday, April 23rd

If you're an Echols or Rodman Scholar, you aren't required to attend on the 16th. If another date works better for you, that's fine.

Update: DOTL are intended for students trying to decide if UVa is the right school for them. For this reason, we don't invite students offered admission during the Early Decision round.

Your turn to give me some information

There's an article in today's USA Today about the different ways colleges are communicating with prospective students. Some schools are having great success with using new methods to reach out to students. Some schools are deliberately staying away because they don't want to blur the line between the officer and the student.

I don't want to rehash the entire article, but I'm wondering what methods you think are good for asking questions about the college application process and communicating with admission officers. I made a little poll about it (see below) and would love to hear your comments in addition to seeing how you vote.

I'm not asking about your communication with UVa specifically, just about the overall college application process. You can select as many items as you want to and use the comments section to elaborate, if you wish.

Thanks for participating...this should be interesting!

What forms of communication do you think are useful for getting information about the college application process?
	Phone
	Email
	Message boards
	Online chats
	Blogs
	Instant messenger

You've been waiting for it...notification update

It's the information for which you've been waiting!

Please read this entire post and if you pass this information along to a friend, pass the entire entry, not just a snippet. From now on, letters of a kind will go out together. There will be no "waves" of letters. The US Post Office will obviously get some of you (Virginians) your letters first. Those of you in rural areas or far off places will obviously have to wait a few days longer for letters to arrive.

Friday, March 30th - Decision letters will be mailed
Friday, March 30th, 5:30 PM - Those who submitted applications online will see a decision on the status page of their online account. Please do not hammer the online application site. The decisions will not appear before 5:30 PM. Check time.gov if you want to keep an eye on the official time.

The Jefferson Scholarship Foundation will notify the winners of their scholarship this weekend, at the end of the selection process. If you are a Jefferson Scholarship Finalist, you know that you have been admitted, though notification from the Office of Admission will not be made early.

Some special scholarship groups will send notification letters before our notification letters. We have verified decisions, so if you receive a letter from another office awarding you something, it's an early indication that an admit letter is coming to you.


Every year, letters sent by other offices create a flurry of phone calls to the Office of Admission. Please understand that there are no appeals when it comes to academic awards or distinctions. In addition, for privacy reasons, we cannot give out decisions over the phone and we can only talk to you, a family member, or a school official about you. Please see my post from the winter about calling the Office of Admission with questions if you are thinking of doing so.

I don't know if knowing the notification date makes you more worried or puts you at ease, but I hope it's the later! Hang in there!

Late night update: Remember that all decision letters are thin!

Finally...what many of us know makes it to the mainstream

A few years ago during a discussion about US News & World Report, a colleague pointed out some data that used in their "ranking" that was clearly wrong to anyone who has read up on admission practices. The school in question is besides the point. The point is that common sense told us that the statistic published was impossible to achieve.

There are plenty of admission officers out there who have probably seen similarly incorrect figures when scrutinizing the college ranking issue of US News. We wish we could just toss the issue in the recycling bin (or better yet, leave it on the newsstand), but because so many of our constituents, from prospective students and their families to our alumni, put so much emphasis on the rankings, we analyze and dissect the issue each year when it comes out.

It seems that the conversations that used to happen in our offices, behind closed doors, is going public. An op-ed by Michele Tolela Myers, the President of Sarah Lawrence, was published in The Washington Post yesterday. I have to admit that I haven't gotten through the Opinion section yet...it's still on my coffee table. However, Inside Higher Ed wrote a follow up on the op-ed, saying that other college presidents are circulating a letter suggesting that all colleges and universities stop cooperating with US News.

From the comments posted on the Post website, it seems that the average reader is hanging on Sarah Lawrence's specific case and doesn't realize that that school is just one example of incorrect data being used in determining US News rankings.

This weekend's topic: Sports!

It was a bittersweet night for sports last night...our dear Hoos went down to NC State. I watched the game on The Corner (a few places show games on big, projection screens) and the mood was pretty somber by the end of the game. On the flip side, one of my Alma Maters won their game and it looks like both teams will make it to the tournament.

Anyway, I thought it might be appropriate to make sports this weekend's blog topic. UVA is usually named by Princeton Review as a school where "fitness is hot" and Charlottesville has an equally active community. If you have questions about UVA sports, opportunities to play traditional sports, outdoor recreation options (hiking, riding, running, etc.), feel free to post them in the comments.

By the way, outdoor rec is a big deal here. I have to admit that I showed up here after living exclusively in major cities my entire life. Within a few months, I found myself climbing rocks in Shenandoah National Park and hiking along the Blue Ridge Parkway. UVA has groups to take everyone from the completely inexperienced to the most expert camper on little adventures in our area.

The Blue Ridge Mountains really are blue!

Another round done...two more big steps to go!

If you read any other admission blogs (there's a list of them on my other blog), you know that it's committee time for most of us. This is the time when we make decisions about close or complex cases. I know of a few schools where every single file is reviewed by the committee. Obviously, that's a smaller school.

Anyway, there are two more big steps in the process before letters are in your hands. While we want to work quickly, we want to give every applicant our full consideration, so we'll take however much time it takes to make an informed, careful decision.

Many of you are aware that another wave of "likely letters" has gone out, but once again, don't read into the lack of a letter in your mailbox. For the vast majority of students, the next official communication received from UVa will get the decision letter.

Hang in there!

Transfer application deadline extended

The transfer application has been extended until 3/19.

If you have questions about the application, post them in the comments and I'll do my best to get to them.

Message board attacks haunt former students

The message board used by most prospective students and parents looking for admission information online isn't my favorite place, but it's fairly tame. There's another message board out there that's more popular with current college and grad students that's a little more "wild west". I take a look at it every once in a while and see a variety of topics. Some are interesting and some comments are quite funny and clever. Some topics are pretty silly and it's hard to believe the comments are being written by educated students (many of whom are in grad/professional school).

I mentioned the site to a reporter at The Washington Post about a month ago when she was responding to an article pitch. I actually told her to stay away from it, that she wouldn't find anything interesting there. I guess I was wrong. Another reporter at the newspaper has written a story about comments on the message board haunting people long after they've left school.

We usually think of the "mean girls" as being in high school, but I guess they can be 20-something men in grad school as well.

What do you think of status pages?

I've been in meetings about the new SIS (student information system) that will go live in a year or two (the most successful implementations happen after planning periods this long or longer). The application status feature is a little different from the one we use now, but similar to one used by one of our graduate schools. Each student logs into their account and sees a "To Do" list on the side of the page. The list includes items from admission, financial aid, and other offices. Once a student submits something from the list, the item disappears.

The staff from the grad school that uses a similar list said that they had to change it because it actually increased calls to their office. Students saw something come off their list or saw a "No items on your to do list" and called to check up on the message!

The ensuing discussion got me thinking about status pages in general. When I applied to college, I put all my credentials in a large envelope and mailed it off. I'm not even sure letters of receipt were mailed back then (this wasn't the dark ages, but it was before everyone had the internet). Between mailing the application and receiving a decision letter in April, there was literally no communication from the admission offices. We didn't worry...we just assumed that the schools would call if something was wrong.

Even with a status page these days, some people feel compelled to check and double check (and sometimes triple check) their application status by phone. If anything, the process is more streamlined because so many components arrive electronically and can't get lost in the mail.

What do you think? Are status pages good? How often to you check your status? Are you checking it now, even though you know decisions are still a few weeks away? Why do you think people are more worried these days?

This weekend's topic: FOOD!

The non-admission topic of the weekend is food. What are your favorites? What are you wondering about food in the dining hall? What do you want to know about food in Charlottesville?

Background: I was born and raised just outside of New York City, so I'm pretty particular about food. I was also raised by a woman obsessed with a cooking show on PBS that was hosted by the most unusual woman (it was Julia Child, before she was famous).

I love food. I couldn't care less about the decor if the food is "authentic". That being said, here are some of my picks.

Breakfast (my favorite meal of the day)
That students seem to love The Tavern, the place with "Where students, locals, and tourists meet" painted in huge letters on their slanted roof. Personally, I find it a tad too greasy (greasy is good, but too greasy isn't always good) and chaotic.

Bodo's Bagels is a local chain (three locations, one on The Corner) that makes the closest thing to a real bagel in town. It's not an authentic bagel shop, but they have white fish and lox, which earns them major points. The Corner location seems to be staffed primarily by students, which probably makes it a fun place to work (for those of you who'll be looking for a job in the area). The Corner location was a running joke because there was a sign in the window that said "Coming Soon" for six years.

I have three favorites for breakfast: Blue Moon Diner, Cafe Cubano, and Tip Top Restaurant.

Blue Moon Diner (that link is for their MySpace page) has been a Charlottesville institution since 1979 and it just reopened in January after a few years of only offering catering. The staff is known to be hip and spunky. I wouldn't be surprised to walk into a local music venue to see one of the waitresses on stage. They're open all day and into the night, but I think breakfast is the best meal they serve.

Cafe Cubano serves great breakfast with a southwestern twist. It's located on the Downtown Mall, so the crowd ranges from students to professionals. Cubano used to be called Higher Grounds and the coffee there is still Higher Grounds coffee (some of the best around).

Tip Top Restaurant is the closest thing to a Jersey diner that you'll find in Cville. The waitresses call you "honey" and don't ask before they refill your coffee. They also don't blink when you order breakfast and add on a big Belgian waffle. Tip Top is on Pantops Mountain on the east side of town.

Another good "diner" option is Espresso Italian Villa, right between the Cavalier Inn (Best Western) and the basketball arena. They offer breakfast all day (and into the night) and I doubt the prices have changed on their menu in years (it's unusually cheap).

Of course, we have IHOP and Waffle House, for those of you who are looking for the chain breakfast places.

Pizza, sandwiches Thai, dessert, and others will be posted in the comments section!

Meet Cav Bear

A lovely family from California was in my information session on Thursday. Unfortunately for them, they left their camera behind. They called yesterday and I took their address so I could send it to them.

Well, we decided that Thursday was such a cloudy day that we had to send along some pictures from sunny Friday. We had to be creative about it, so I ran over to the bookstore and bought Cav Bear.

Cav Bear had a busy day yesterday. He bought some textbooks, went to lunch on The Corner, talked to a dean about his major, and hung out on The Lawn. He even had time to help read a few application files.

Stay tuned for more Cav Bear adventures.

Last minute transfer questions?

I'll be online tonight (UVADeanJ on AIM) for those who have last minute questions about the transfer application.

FYI, if you type information into the application and it disappears after you navigate to another page or you are kicked back to the login page, the problem is with your internet browser's settings, not with the application website.

Change your browser settings (permit cookies, turn off your pop up blocker) first and foremost. If you can't figure out how to change your cookie settings, use the help function on your internet browser. It should walk you through it.

Good luck, transfers!

They think students are narcissistic now?

I was going to post my reaction to a recent study about narcissism and American students. The AP wrote an interesting article about the study and if you caught me on the right day, I'd agree with it, but would probably disagree with it the next day.

It seems that some schools are developing marketing plans to cater to the new "me" generation. Wilkes University in PA is taking out ad space (billboards, kiosks) in public places targeting specific students. Not specific groups of students, but one student. The New York Times business section has an article about this. Interesting that it didn't show up in the education section. I imagine that marketing firms will jump on the bandwagon, proposing this strategy to clients, but from the education side, I'm a little disturbed by it. Will students see things like this as evidence that a school "wants" them more? What are those of us at schools with modest admission budgets to do?

An ad on Facebook:

Admission officers get feisty

One of my favorite moments as an admission officer came after only a week in the field. Like most rookie counselors, I was sent to a summer conference for new professionals put on by the regional NACAC. The week was full of sessions, some good and some bad, but the best part was probably meeting a few hundred people starting their admission career.

On the last day of the conference, a representative from the College Board came to give us a presentation about the SAT and how great it was at predicting academic excellence in college. I don't think she counted on the crowd getting a little feisty.

One of my new friends, who was starting off at a private, liberal arts school in New England, raised her hand during the presentation and asked what the representative had to say about recent research that said the test had a cultural bias. The room erupted in applause. The CB rep was flustered. After all, admission officers for years had held the SAT in high regard. Suddenly, a new generation of admission officers was questioning the exam. The rest of that conference session was pretty fun.

Anyway, The Chronicle of Higher Ed has a story today about a similar conference session happening at a regional NACAC meeting. I hope that we actually see some changes now that more and more admission and guidance officers are voicing their discontent with the format and administration of the SAT.

Finding scholars: a look into Echols/Rodman selection

Some prospective students are well aware of the Echols and Rodman Scholars Programs and ask about them along with all the other FAQs. Others don't hear about these two opportunities until they receive letters of invitation to join the programs. I thought I'd give some general information about the programs and about how we select scholars from our applicant pool.

Echols is that scholars program in the College of Arts & Sciences (CLAS). We aim to bring around 200-250 students into the program each year (there's no formal cap on the number). The major benefit of program gives a hint about what we look for in a potential Echols Scholar. Echols Scholars are free from the "area requirements" (called the core at other schools). The intent is to give them freedom to delve into the subject areas about which they're passionate. Other benefits for Echols Scholars include: special academic advising, special housing (with Rodman Scholars), and the option to complete the Echols interdisciplinary major. There are a few sources of scholarship money for Echols Scholars. There's plenty of more information on the Echols Scholars Program website.

Rodman is the scholars program in the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS). SEAS is a smaller school and the Rodman program is a bit smaller than Echols as a result, with 30-40 new members each year. Rodman Scholars get pre-registered for their first year SEAS courses. They are supposed to get "the best" faculty and work at a fast, advanced pace in their classes. In addition, Rodman Seminars are classes that meet less frequently than traditional classes, are "pass-fail", and include scholars from all years. The topics aren't set and student input helps decide what is taught in these classes. Rodman Scholars also live in
special housing with Echols Scholars. More information can be found on the Rodman Scholars Program website.


First year applicants can't apply for Echols or Rodman. Every CLAS application is reviewed for Echols and every SEAS application is reviewed for Rodman. Student who don't receive the designation as first years may apply for their second year.

With Echols and Rodman being as selective as they are, academic excellence is obviously critical to becoming a scholar. Beyond that, though, is sort of an intangible: passion and love of learning. I find that when I review applications, that idea is conveyed little by little until at some point, I'm inspired to flag the application as a "possible scholar". That feeling can come from anywhere, but it often comes across in a combination of places: the essay, recommendations, and extracurricular activities.

At some point in our reading season, we start rereading all the applications that were flagged as possible scholars. Each folder gets at least two more reads by officers before a final decision is made.

There you have it! If you don't get an invitation into the program this year, remember that you can apply for it for your second year. Remember also that there are plenty of students at UVa who have a fantastic academic experience without being named an Echols or Rodman Scholar.

Process update

Just an update for those wondering what we're up to.

The first round of reading and Echols/Rodman selection continue simultaneously. Our current Echols Scholars were in the office this evening to make some more phone calls and they'll be back every week or so for the next month.

We'll start a second round of review shortly (this is sort of a "double check" for us), then we start printing, folding, and stuffing envelopes. I know it feels like you've been waiting forever, but decision letters will be making their way to your mailbox soon*!

*By soon, I mean that April 1st will be here before you know it. I still don't see us being done with the process early. As I've always promised, the moment I have a solid idea of when we'll be mailing, I'll post an update here.

A new tradition

I enjoyed our music chat so much that I thought we'd start a new tradition. Monday through Friday, this blog will focus on the applications. On the weekend, we'll chat about something fun: Charlottesville's music, food, special events, shopping, etc. So, if you catch yourself worrying about your application and visit this blog, you'll have a gentle reminder to relax and to try and think about something fun for a little while.

Sound good? I have ideas for the next few weekends, but I hope some of you will suggest topics as well.

Privacy on the internet, a "quaint" idea

As I started reading yet another article about kids and their penchant for posting personal information on the internet, I came across a comment that made me realize that despite being young enough for visitors to ask what year I am in school once in a while, I am a fuddy duddy.

Consider these two points made by Emily Nussbaum, the author:

Younger people, one could point out, are the only ones for whom it seems to have sunk in that the idea of a truly private life is already an illusion.

So it may be time to consider the possibility that young people who behave as if privacy doesn’t exist are actually the sane people, not the insane ones. For someone like me, who grew up sealing my diary with a literal lock, this may be tough to accept. But under current circumstances, a defiant belief in holding things close to your chest might not be high-minded. It might be an artifact—quaint and naive...

I read the article after hearing about two cases of what I would call internet overexposure: an American Idol contestant's racy pictures being all over the internet and six University of Colorado football players being dismissed from their team for photos they posted on Facebook.

My reaction after reading the first story was of shock. Why would a college student (the Idol contestant goes to Catholic University) with aspirations to be in the public spotlight allow what I assume are compromising photos (I haven't seen them yet) to be taken? Now, I realize that the young woman involved might not consider the photos "compromising".

As for the football players, if Nussbaum is right, they see nothing wrong with the photos they posted and are completely blindsided by getting kicked off their team.

If we're witnessing the evolution of the way we use the internet, I wonder what's next?

It's "Let's not talk about college admission" day (or weekend)!

I've decided that we all need a break. The constant worrying about a process that isn't going to be complete for another month is unhealthy. I looked to my blogging colleagues at other schools to see if I could lift an off-topic of discussion for today's post. Dan at Hopkins wrote about The Oscars, but to be frank, I'm not a big fan of award shows. Libby at Chicago wrote about their last blanket of snow, but unfortunately for this northerner, the snow we got on Valentine's Day is long gone and it's around 60 degrees today. I thought about asking "What's your passion?", but while that question was fresh five years ago, it's a little predictable these days.

When I want to relax and think about something other than the task at hand, I turn to music. I imagine there are many of you out there who do the same. So, tell me what's on your playlist. What concerts are you looking forward to seeing this summer? What band's videos do you find yourself watching on Youtube? Is there a genre you don't "get"? Don't just stick to my questions. Let's see where this conversation goes.

I'm going to answer my own questions, but I'll let a few of you start.

ED defer review underway

We're still reviewing some regular decision applicants that were late to complete their files, but we've started to revisit the early decision defers. Unfortunately, 434 of the deferred students did not submit mid-year grades (the deadline to submit them was February 15th). Though we'll chase as many of you as we can, there will be a point when we make decisions with what we have. Please don't go running to your guidance office about this. The mid-year grade report was to be submitted by the applicant. While we happily take updated transcripts from the schools, there's no reason to ask your guidance office to mail something out this late.

If you receive an email or call from a dean asking for your mid-year grades, please respond immediately. Filling out the online form won't do at this point, since it will need processing and filing, which takes some time and we don't want to be delayed any longer. Believe me when I say that we want to get these decisions done and out to you!

One of my colleagues suggested that I remind you that the admit rate for ED defers is very low because we often get no new information at mid-year. If we don't have an update, we don't really have any reason to change the previous decision.

Darden's Luckiest Student

The suspense is killing me!

The folks at Darden, our graduate school of business, used an anonymous gift as an opportunity to teach students about risk taking. A random process selected one Darden first year to participate in a "Deal or No Deal" exercise of sorts. The student would be presented with two suitcases: one with $17,500 in it (tuition) and one with nothing in it. The student could select a suitcase or opt to get a pay off of sorts from "a banker", but the amount of that pay off would be unknown.

You can watch the early rounds of the selection process on the Darden website. I couldn't tune in for the live webcast this morning, so I don't know what happened in the end! I've checked the one Darden blog I know (even the one written in Japanese), but there's no mention of the result yet.

Update: The local paper has the result. He went for the suitcases and he picked the empty one.

Letter frenzy

I've managed to carve a path to my laptop through all the application files and thought I'd check in. We're still reading applications, as many waited until the very last minute to send us mid-year grades. Just a general note about deadlines: don't ever feel like you can't submit something well in advance of the deadline. It really makes things easier if credentials and correspondence comes in a steady stream instead of a deluge. When decision letters go out, if you know you're coming to UVA, send that reply card in.

Now, on to the title topic. Around this time, we start mailing and calling some of our applicants. Let's not dance around this one: if you get a letter that says we're impressed by your application, that is a "Likely Letter" and you can be reasonably sure that you'll have a congratulatory letter in your mailbox in late March/early April. We send these letters out in waves, so if you don't have one, don't assume that you will not be admitted. We haven't made final decisions at this time. More letters will be sent in a few weeks.

Also at this time, UVa students have started calling applicants to talk to them about the Echols Scholars Program. We haven't completed our selection process for Echols or Rodman Scholars at this time, so don't assume that the absence of a call is a sign.

Hang in there, everyone! We're reading as fast as we can!

Know your essay topic (or pretend you do)

As I read countless essays about 1984, Farenheit 451, Eli Weisel's Night, and other books that "surprised, challenged or unsettled" applicants this year, I sometimes crave a little variety. Inevitably, that's when I'll come across an essay about a song that surprised, challenged or unsettled an applicant. I usually dive into these essays, grateful for some variety. Every once in a while, as these essays glide smoothly along, there's a derailment. Thinking back to one of these moments, I remember reading that John Lennon sang "Yesterday" (it was McCartney). Is this a big deal? In the long run, no. But it's one of those things that sticks in our minds...that applicant will always be the one who thought Lennon sang "Yesterday".

After you write your essay, step away from it for a few days. Look at it again and take on the role of fact checker. Cross check those details!

It begins again...a word about notification

I just got my first phone call from someone concerned that they hadn't heard about their decision yet.

It's only been three weeks and the notification date is published in many places as April 1st.

With almost 18,000 applications (20,000 if you count transfer applications), I'm fairly certain notification will not come early this year. Of course, I'll post an update when we have a mail date confirmed, but that won't be for at least a month an a half.

For those forward thinking ten year olds out there

I once read a letter from a ten year old, I think his name was Carter, who was begging for the opportunity to start college early because he was super smart and had run out of challenges. It was very sweet, promising to take up very little room and stay out of trouble. Carter's father wrote a post script, telling us he had promised to mail the letter for Carter, who was soaking up more information than they could give him, but that he wasn't ready to ship his ten year old off to college.

I imagine there are plenty of Carters out there, fantasizing about the challenges that await them in college. I'm pleased to report that the Web Communications Office has developed a website just for kids who are thinking about their future (or maybe just doing a report on UVA or Thomas Jefferson). The site isn't official yet, but a preview can be seen on the staging website now.

I have to say that I like this idea. I get nervous for students who show up for info sessions prior to their sophomore year (even that used to be considered early). The UVA kids' page seems to be a way to get younger students excited about the idea of college and UVA, but doesn't include stress inducing information about admission rates and standardized testing. Best of all, there's a page that lists the different camps and programs for kids that happen at The University.

The University's new website will go live shortly, along with this one.

UPDATE: The new UVA website is up and running. As promised, the redesign includes a UVA Kids page and links to the various summer programs for younger students. The parents' page has more useful information about enrichment programs for the little ones.