Deadline & Submission Reminder

I made you a deadline and submission chart to bookmark for future reference. Click the image below to expand it, then bookmark the page to keep it handy.

Credential Submission Guide

I thought I'd throw together a "cheat sheet" that shows how various credentials can be submitted to UVa without the prose of our website. Feel free to ask questions...

Required Components
Common App & Supplement....online via commonapp.org
SAT/ACT/TOEFL Scores..........testing agency
School Report & Transcript......Common App's counselor portal OR mail
Mid-Year & Final Reports.........Common App's counselor portal OR mail

Supporting Documents for In-State Residents...fax
Financial Guarantee (international students)....mail

Supplemental Components
Art Supplements....................mail (see instructions on website)
Extra recommendations.........fax

We have a dedicated fax line just for application credentials, 434-924-7674.

UPDATE: I just heard from the International Studies Office that Financial Guarantee Forms and supporting documents must be mailed and can't be faxed.

Recommendation letter clarification

In the past, we have allowed teachers to submit their recommendations online. Just for 2008, we are not permitted to receive recommendation letters online. Though it appears as though UVa will get letters requested through the Common App system, we do not. Common App only allows required recommendations to be sent to us. Because your guidance counselor's school report fulfills our requirement, no online teacher recs will be forwarded to us by Common App.

Looks are deceiving...teacher recs submitted via Common App are not sent to UVa

We obviously plan to petition the Common App board (comprised of admission officers from about 15 member colleges and universities) to allow supplemental recs to be submitted via the Common App system, but that board does not meet for quite some time, so a change will not be made this year.

Teachers may send recommendations by mail or fax their recommendations to the admission credentials fax line: 434-924-7674. We prefer that letters be faxed, as we are now a paperless office.

Another week on the road

I'm back on the road this week. This time, I'm staying in state, going to college fairs in northern Virginia and the upper Shenandoah Valley (hoping to have time to get a pie at Shawnee Springs Market!). If your school has a college fair this week, stop by the UVa table and say hello!

Sunday
Stone Bridge High School Fair (4:00-8:00 PM)
Ashburn, VA

Monday
Northern Virginia Community College Fair (12:00-1:30 PM)
Manassas, VA

Osbourn Park High School Fair (7:00-9:00 PM)
Manassas, VA

Tuesday
Lord Fairfax Community College Fair (7:00-9:00 PM)
Fauquier, VA

Wednesday
Lord Fairfax Community College Fair (11:30 AM-1:00 PM)
Middletown, VA

Apple Blossom Mall Fair (6:30-8:30 PM)
Winchester, VA

Thursday
Central High School Fair (9:00-10:30 AM)
Woodstock, VA

JMU Convocation Center Fair (6:30-8:30 PM)
Harrisonburg, VA

Are we checking Facebook?

I addressed the Facebook/MySpace issue over two years ago on my old blog (here and here)...so long ago that one of the entries mentions that Facebook is only open to people with a .edu account and we all know that restriction went out the window quite some time ago.

With a new crop of students reading the blog, I think it helps to revisit this topic. Consider the situation in our office: we had 18,500 applications last year and will probably see a bump up in numbers due to our switch to the Common App. We have 15 full-time admission officers and 5-7 part-time staffers who come on board during reading season. Each application is read at least twice. That's a lot of work for a relatively small staff. We truly don't have time to google and search for every student who applies to UVa.

Now, I still think you should have your profiles set to private so only your friends can see them and even then I think you should consider how you'd feel if what you have on your profile was on the front page of the newspaper and edit accordingly.

Common App Q&A

Our office is extremely excited about the move to the Common App. Delivery from Common App Online is automated and your status pages will update more quickly than before as a result. However, we're all adjusting to a new style of application and I realize that there are questions.

Feel free to post questions about the Common App and I'll work through them in the next few posts.

Hitting the road

It's that time again! Time to kiss CavBear good-bye and hit the road for the fall travel season. I'll periodically post my itineraries so you'll know if I'll be in your area.

On Sunday and Monday, I'll be speaking at UVa evening programs organized by the alumni clubs in Denver and Phoenix. After that, I'll join my colleagues from UNC, Emory, and Northwestern for joint programs in Sacramento, San Francisco (actually San Mateo), and Portland.

Here are the details from the UVa Visits You page:

Denver
Sunday, September 7 at 6:30 pm
Inverness Hotel
200 Inverness Drive West
I-25 and Dry Creek Road
Englewood, CO 80112
www.invernesshotel.com

Phoenix
Monday, September 8 at 6:00 pm
The University Club of Phoenix
39 East Monte Vista Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85004

Sacramento
Tuesday, September 9 at 7:30 pm
Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel
1230 J Street
13th and J Street
Sacramento, California 95814

San Francisco
Wednesday, September 10 at 7:30 pm
San Mateo Marriott
1770 South Amphlett Boulevard
San Mateo, CA 94402

Portland
Thursday, September 11 at 7:30 pm
Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront
1401 SW Naito Parkway
Portland, OR 97201

A tip for being a happy Hoo

A warm, dry Hoo is a happy Hoo!

When I went off to college, oh so many years ago, my mother forced me to bring a few things I was convinced I wouldn't need. One of those things was an umbrella. At that point in my life, carrying an umbrella was not very cool. For that matter, wearing hats, gloves, boots, or anything that hinted that one was less-than-invincible was not cool.

The reality is that coming to school without these things makes you look a bit silly. You're going to be walking quite a bit. It's going to rain, snow, get windy, and get cold here. You'll need hats, gloves, scarves, boots, good coat, a rain jacket, and an umbrella. I'm mentioning this now because next summer, when you're getting ready for college, you might have some trouble getting all this together if you're from a warmer climate where one doesn't need such accoutrements or simply don't use them under the guise of looking "cool".

I know this isn't admission related, but seeing the poor guy in the picture above inspired me.

We made it through move in!

It's that time! Traffic on The Corner has slowed to a crawl, locals are staying away from Bed, Bath, and Beyond, the UVa Computing Store has boxes of laptops piled high, and the bookstore is a zoo. The students are back!

Fall is a great time to tour UVa, but those of you planning visits should check our website to avoid weekends like the one coming up, when thousands will be flocking to grounds. The weekend of home football games will be ones when it will be very difficult to get parking anywhere in the general vicinity. We'd love to have you visit us, but fear these weekends might provide for some stressful driving and parking:

August 30 (vs. USC)
September 6 (vs. Richmond)
October 4 (vs. Maryland)
October 11 (vs. East Carolina)
October 18 (vs. North Carolina)
November 1 (vs. Miami)
November 22 (vs. Clemson)


I've lost a good chunk of my readers who don't need this blog anymore, but I hope I'm gaining a few new ones as rising seniors start to search for more information about UVa and the application process. I hope the new readers will be quick to speak up via the comments and ask questions. I hope some of the veteran readers who have stuck around will chime in when they know the answers.


Oh, and for those who were interested, the chicken pictures that were posted on July 9th were taken at Poly Prep in Brooklyn. Congrats to the poster who knew that. I didn't think anyone would have seen them before! I saw the chickens while there for a college fair and snapped the pictures with my camera phone. The guidance director told me that people toss Easter chicks that have gotten too big over their fences because they have a lot of space. They seem to like having them around and it's definitely a charming sight.

Olympic update

The UVa Today blog has pictures of first year Yolando Yixiao Min carrying the Olympic torch.

What does UVa have to do with the Olympics?

An incoming UVa freshman, Yolando Yixiao Min, carried the Olympic torch last night! I've been scouring pictures on CNN and MS-NBC to see if I can find her, but I haven't been able to yet. I guess I'll have to watch tonight to see if she gets mentioned.

Dude...we're getting a Dell!

Today was an exciting day for the admission office...well, at least for those of us who have been waiting for our new equipment to arrive. Because we've gone paperless, we need a good deal of equipment (mostly monitors so everyone has one of document images and one for typing).

How many boxes do you see?

New look for Virginia.edu

Every two years or so, Virginia.edu gets a bit of a makeover. Today, a new look debuts:


The Office of Admission homepage will also get a revamp, but that won't be ready until the winter.

Back from hiatus

I'm back from a short hiatus! I wasn't really on vacation all this time, though did sneak over to the beach for a short time. The new student system project has been getting the bulk of my time for the last few weeks. In that time, the Common Application has successfully launched their new and improved 2009 application and the UVa specific supplement went live at the time time. Now seems like the perfect time to create an application account on the Common App website to take a look around. Close to 4,000 students have already begun their UVa applications on the Common App site!

Of course, there have been lots of developments right here in Peabody Hall as well...

We're one week away from going live with our new, paperless application review system. At a time when every industry is making efforts to be more environmentally conscious, admission offices can make a huge impact by going paperless. With close to 20,000 first year and transfer applications last year and with students sending more supplemental materials than ever before, the amount of paper being used in our office was huge. I feel good about our move to using less paper. The graduate schools at UVa are moving in the same direction, so paper consumption at UVa will probably decrease dramatically in the near future.

I'll be touching on some of the particulars about the new UVa admission process in the coming weeks.

It's good to be back!

CavDog enjoyed his first trip to the beach during the blog break

Vacation time for Dean J

I'll be away from the blog for a little while. For now, you can look at this picture of an alpaca.

Hello!

For some fun, you can try to answer a trivia question: On which high school's campus were the following pictures were taken? I'll post an answer when I return in about a week.

A very special announcement

CavDog celebrated his very first birthday on Tuesday!

Pardon the silly break from my usual posts, but I thought I'd share some pictures from CavDog's birthday party since he's been so popular here. When I posted a picture of CavDog in the snow last winter, I had no idea that he would become a fixture on the blog and a minor celebrity among students. It's been a wonderful year!

The birthday boy...after stealing another dog's ice cream (dog safe, of course)

Notes for visitors

I've been scurrying around Grounds for meetings this week and have noticed how many visitors don't seem to know where to park or where to go for the day's information sessions. I thought I'd put a little note up to remind you of the resources available on our website.

On the "Plan a Visit" page, you can read about the formal visit options available to prospective students and their families: info sessions, tours, day visits, overnights, and a virtual tour. You'll also find a link to directions.

On the "Tours & Information Sessions" page, you'll see schedules for these events. Open the "Daily Schedules" PDF for specific locations of sessions.

When you arrive at the Central Grounds Parking Garage, you'll be tempted to grab the first open space you see. I suggest that you pass by the entire first floor (which can get congested when a line forms at the cashier's booth) and park on the 2nd or 3rd floors because the garage is built into a hill and you will exit on the 4th floor.

When you leave the parking deck, just go to the location of your information session. Newcomb Hall, where most sessions are held, will be right in front of you. Your tour guides will pick you up from the info session and drop you off at the Office of Admission, where we'll load you down with as many brochures as you'd like. There's no need to go to the Office of Admission before your session and you don't have the "check in" ahead of time.

On Saturdays, the Office of Admission is closed, even though we give information sessions. I'll be the lucky dean coming in this weekend for the session and I know that if I stop in the office, I'll hear people trying to pry open the door. Just look to the left of the door and there's a little kiosk where you can get brochures and fill out an inquiry card (it's just as easy to fill out the inquiry form online, though).


If you want to eat before heading off to the next school, I personally think you should go to The Corner instead of a dining hall. Our dining halls are run by Aramark and chances are that they are similar to Aramark dining halls at other schools. It's not mom's home cooking and it's not horrible; it's just pretty standard. The Corner is a shopping area on the other side of The Rotunda where there are all sorts of shops and cafes. it's definitely worth a visit.

What are your questions about visiting?

2009 Application Essays

With the Common App's "go live" date around the corner, I thought I'd post the 2009 application essays for any of the juniors who want to start thinking about their essay topics. All applicants (first-year and transfer) will write three personal statements. Please pay attention to the word limits. These are not term papers, then are short, personal statements.


The Common App General Essay
Please write an essay (250 words minimum) on a topic of your choice or on one of the options listed below. This personal essay helps us to become acquainted with you as a person and student, apart from courses, grades, test scores, and other objective data. It will also demonstrate your ability to organize your thoughts and express yourself.

• Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
• Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.
• Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.
• Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.
• A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.
• Topic of your choice.

UVa Supplement Essays for First-Years
1. Answer the question that corresponds to the school you selected above. Limit your answer to a half page or roughly 250 words.

• College of Arts and Sciences: What work of art, music, science, mathematics, or literature has surprised, unsettled, or challenged you, and in what way?
• Engineering: Discuss experiences that led you to choose an engineering education at U.Va. and the role that scientific curiosity plays in your life.
• Architecture: What led you to apply to the School of Architecture?
• Nursing: Discuss experiences that led you to choose the School of Nursing.

2. Answer one of the following questions in a half page or roughly 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.
• "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.

UVa Supplement Essays for Transfers
1. How do the possible career or professional plans you indicated on the Common Application relate to your planned course of study?

• If you are applying to the College of Arts and Sciences and are undecided about your major, indicate your general area of interest.
• If you are applying to the Architecture, Commerce, Education, Engineering, or Nursing Schools, tell us why you have chosen this field and what experiences (work, internships, etc.) have prepared you for it.
• If you are applying to the Five-Year Teacher Education Program, indicate your academic major within the College of Arts and Sciences and your intended teaching area (e.g., elementary education, secondary education).

2. Describe your activities during periods of time (other than summer vacations) when you were not enrolled in college. Do you plan to spend the Spring term away from your current college or university? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, please describe, in chronological order, your activities or employment during these periods.

The wait list is no more

I got word late yesterday that all wait list decisions have been made. Status pages should reflect your final status and letters have been mailed.

It looks like the Class of 2012 is complete!

Status pages have been updated

Just checking in during a very busy week to let you all know that all status pages should be up to date.

I know it's taken a while and I'm sorry about that. Our staff was working hard to get all the decisions entered into the system and help with the transfer process simultaneously.