Hitting the Road: Northern Virginia (Week 1)

Some schools send rookie admission officers to Northern Virginia as an initiation because of the notorious traffic and the advanced questions that get asked there. Sending a rookie to the Fair Oaks or Ballston Commons Malls is sort of like throwing someone into the "deep end" of the college admission pool.

I personally love traveling in that region, probably because I grew up in an area just like it. I enjoy being asked questions about topics that are more elaborate than "What GPA do I need?" which doesn't even make sense since GPA is a highly creative calculation these days. Hearing the current rumors that are getting passed around is always interesting, too.

If your school is on my schedule and you'd like to come see me, you already know the drill. Your Career Center Specialists have probably made you aware of the sign up procedure you need to follow to get a pass. This is the first of three weeks that I'll be spending in NOVA, so don't worry if your school isn't on this list.

I should add that the weeks when we can travel are a little limited these days.  Most schools don't want us to visit until the school routine is normal, so the first couple weeks of September are avoided.  Columbus Day weekend brings many visits to Grounds, so most of our staff tries to be home for that.  By the end of October, most of us have to finish the travel season so we can get back home for the Early Action application review. 

So, here is where I'm headed for my first week in NOVA.  I'll post my other itineraries shortly. 

Monday, September 24, 2012
8:00 AM   Fairfax High School
9:30 AM   James Madison High School
11:00 AM  Oakton High School
12:45 AM Woodson High School

Tuesday, September 25, 2012
8:30 AM   Yorktown High School
10:00 AM  Wakefield High School
11:30 AM  Washington-Lee High School
1:15 PM    Bishop O'Connell High School

Wednesday, September 26, 2012
8:30 AM   Annandale High School
10:00 AM  Falls Church High School
11:45 AM  TJHSST
1:00 PM    Bishop Ireton High School

Thursday, September 27, 2012
9:00 AM   Marshall High School
11:00 AM  McLean High School
12:15 AM  Langley High School
2:00 PM   George Mason High School

Friday, September 28, 2012
8:30 AM   JEB Stuart High School
10:30 AM  Centreville High School
1:15 PM   Westfield High School


I'll post my schedules for the second and third weeks soon!

Hitting the Road: Richmond (and Charlottesville!)

I usually stick to sharing my travel schedule, but one of my colleagues has some dates to share, too!  Assistant Dean Merav Frazier is spending a bit of time in Asia this year, but she also gets to visit high schools that are much closer to home.

Here's where she'll be in the coming weeks:

Friday, September 14, 2012
2:30 PM     Monticello High School

Thursday, September 20, 2012
10:00 AM     Goochland High School
12:00 PM     Trinity Episcopal School
2:00 PM       Powhatan High School

Friday, September 21, 2012
7:30 AM     The Stewart School
8:30 AM     Saint Gertrude High School
9:45 AM     Benedictine College Prep School
12:15 PM    Saint Christopher's School
1:30 PM     Saint Catherine's School

Tuesday, September 25, 2012
7:30 AM     James River High School
9:00 AM     Clover Hill High School
11:30 AM    Cosby High School
1:00 PM      Lloyd C. Bird High School

Notes from Peabody is on Facebook!

I maintained a regular Facebook profile page for years and plenty of students would "friend" me to keep track of what was happening in Peabody Hall.  I had no interest in tracking them or seeing what they were up to, so I rarely logged in to use the my profile.  I set it up to automatically pull content from this blog and my twitter feed.

Facebook pages obviously make it far easier for me to share content without giving me a window into a student's private space.  So, I shut down my Dean J profile and created a Notes from Peabody Facebook page.  Updates from the blog get posted there, but I also post things that you'll only see on that page. 

So, if you'd like to keep up with Notes from Peabody via Facebook and see some extra content (mostly behind-the-scenes pictures), you can like the page. 

Hitting the Road: New England & the NYC Area

In a couple weeks, I'll join colleagues from UC Berkeley and Johns Hopkins for a week of evening programs and counselor breakfasts in Boston, Providence, Tarrytown, and Teaneck.  If you're on any of our mailing lists, we probably already know this because we mailed and emailed invitations to these programs a few weeks ago. However, if you'd like to join us this week, you can RSVP via our "UVa Visits You" page.

Each school typically presents a truncated information session at the evening programs and then answer questions as a group.  Afterwards, there is time for students and parents to chat with each school.  We are often able to have some young alumni join us.

Our evening programs:

Monday, September 17 at 7:30 pm
Boston Marriott Burlington
1 Burlington Mall Road
Burlington, MA 01803

Tuesday, September 18 at 7:30 pm
Providence Marriott Downtown
1 Orms Street
Providence, RI 02904

Wednesday, September 19 at 7:30 pm
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Tarrytown
455 South Broadway
Tarrytown, NY 10591
THIS PROGRAM IS FULL!

Thursday, September 20 at 7:30 pm
Teaneck Marriott at Glenpointe
100 Frank W Burr Boulevard
Teaneck, NJ 07666  
THIS PROGRAM IS FULL!  

Are you planning on joining us?

How CavDog Spent His Summer

I've been notified that some loyal readers are dismayed by the lack of CavDog pictures in recent posts.  An update was requested.

A summer recap seems to be in order.  This summer, CavDog...

played a lot of ball,

visited the office,

was in a wedding,

went to some rallies,

turned five years old,

 

 

 

stayed cool during a heat wave,

and took a trip to DC.

(his perch overlooking Thomas Circle)

How was your summer?

Let's Talk About Recommendations

Today is the first day of school for students in our community. My Facebook feed is a long string of photos of smiling sons and daughters waiting for school buses wearing new outfits and light backpacks. 

In my admission officer mind, that leads to thinking about teachers, which leads to thinking about teacher recommendations.

In recent years, it seems that student think that when a school asks for something, the truly strong candidates do than and a little bit more.  So, when UVa asks for two recommendation letters (one from the counselor and one from a teacher), some think that they have to track down extra people to reiterate the good things that will be shared on the required letters.  This really isn't necessary.

First of all, your counselor will usually write about the "big picture" items like your curriculum and what your class is like overall.  Some counselors are able to spend enough time with their students to share a few stories, but many stick with the general.  You can think of them as setting the scene.

The teacher recommendation will be more specific and talk about you in the classroom, day-to-day.  This is where we hear about the project you did that went above and beyond their expectations or about the time class discussion went in a great direction because of something you said. 

Those two recommendations are going to give us plenty of information.  Most applicants should not be spending time chasing down more people to reiterate the ideas that were presented in their required recommendations. 

If you feel like there's something we need to know that won't come across in your application unless we hear from someone else, you can submit a supplemental recommendation.  Make sure there's a true reason for it.

I'll have more to say in my next post, but for now, feel free to post questions you have about recommendations.

Summer Construction on College Campuses

Summer is construction season on college campuses.  As soon as trunks are packed and farewells are said, the barricades go up and campuses become hives of a whole different kind of activity.  If you've done a lot of touring this summer, you've probably seen at least a few detours signs during your travels.

The summer construction season has been busier than usual this year at UVa.  Many projects have been completed (the new track facility is open!) and many will wrap up in time for move in.  A few will continue through the first semester and some, like the renovation of the Alderman Road residence halls, will continue for a while. 

The student union, Newcomb Hall, is going through a huge renovation just next door to our home in Peabody Hall.  The project is supposed to be complete in November.  Because that work has taken one of the larger "all you can eat" dining halls offline, a temporary dining facility is being built on the other side of Peabody Hall.  The temporary facility will accommodate 500 people for meals and have kitchens, air conditioning, and bathrooms.

When word of the plan first came my way, I imagined a huge event tent like the ones that go up on the Peabody Hall lawn for reunions.  I pictured plastic walls and big fans cooling the space.  I couldn't see it being the most practical way to feed a lot of people, but figured the project managers knew what they were doing.  As the temporary facility started to go up, it became clear that it was going to be way more than a tent.

One Sunday, I came into the office and found a crane putting three trailers into place.  There were kitchens inside them that looked like they belonged in a restaurant.  This temporary dining hall was clearly going to be much more than a tent!

Today, the full size of the building is clear.  Notice that I'm not calling it a tent anymore?

The view from my window has changed quite a bit!  Here was the view from my office last Sunday:

Here's the view from my office today:

While I miss the Calder statue that used to be in front of our building, watching this project unfold has been fascinating.

If you're curious about other projects going on around Grounds, check out the Featured Projects page that the Facilities & Planning folks have put together.  Most projects have monthly photo galleries where you can see how each projects has changed over time.

The 2012-2013 Common App is Live!

Around 8 PM last night, the 2012-2013 Common Application launched.  Though I posted the questions that would be on the UVa Supplement to the Common App back in June, but you can now start to work on your official application to UVa if you are a rising senior or planning to transfer in the coming year.

The Common App folks have a video that walks you through the process, but I thought I'd give you a few quick suggestions related to your applications.


1.  You're a first-year, even if you have college credit.
If you attend a high school right now, you are applying to be a first-year student at UVa.  Even if you are dual enrolled or have taken community college courses on the side, you are a first-year.  Even if you believe you will have an Associates when you earn your high school diploma, you are a first-year. 


Transfers are people who have done a certain amount of college credit after completing a high school diploma.  If you're a transfer student, head over to the transfer blog.

 2. The Future Plans page is really, really important.

The Future Plans page is where you'll indicate whether you are applying for Early Action or Regular Decision at UVa.  

If you select Regular Decision, but submit your application in October, we won't be reading it until we finish the Early Action process.  It's fine to submit early (see below), but you might want to revisit this page before submission to make sure you've selected the correct radio button.

BTW, see that note "This institution has chosen not to receive the following information from your Common App"?  At some point, you might generate a PDF to check over your Common App.  You'll see questions that we don't ask on it and they'll be incomplete.  That's expected.

3.  It's too early to submit an application.

Every year, there's some eager student who submits their application soon after the Common App launch.  While I think it's fine to poke around the Common App website and fill out the forms, I don't think you should submit anything right now. 

Fill out the forms.  If you're one of those students who worked on essays over the summer, that's great.  Put those essays away for a few weeks and look at them with fresh eyes just a little bit closer to the deadline.  You may find that a little distance will help with the editing process.

4.  Use the Help Button

There's a maroon circle with a yellow question mark inside it on every page of the website.  Sometimes it's in more than one place.  Click that icon and you'll be able to search common help topics.  Usually, there's already an answer to your question.  If you can't find an answer, you can submit a help ticket to the support team.  They're super fast. 

The colleges can't fix things on the Common App website.  If you call an admission office with Common App questions, they will often suggest that you contact Common App Support.

Good luck!

Don't rush.  You have plenty of time.

Early Action Deadline: November 1

Regular Decision Deadline: January 1

A sneak peek into engineering at UVa

It's no secret that I have a soft spot for engineers.  My personal believe is that there is no right way or wrong way to teach or learn engineering.  There are many, many schools out there that are preparing engineers for success in different ways.  I think the job of the prospective students is to figure out the style that works best for the type of learner they are.

I usually describe UVa's School of Engineering as being rounded.  Its common to encounter engineering students are are also studying business or economics or the humanities here.  While they'd be excellent cogs in the wheel at any company, they often seem poised for leadership, too.

I thought I'd share a few videos that the School of Engineering recently posted to Youtube.  Even if engineering isn't your thing, I think these are pretty interesting...


Though my allegiances lie elsewhere, this video from the graduate who works for the New York Yankees is especially cool!





Here's a current student, who started a company with two friends, talking about entrepreneurship:




Dean Ed Berger taught a class aboard the Semester at Sea ship about the Panama Canal.  Here's a video about a trip to the canal that he made with students:



More soon!

Any future engineers out there?  What areas of engineering interest you?

Let's talk about the weather

With a a few hundred visitors joining us each day for information sessions this summer, I thought it might be helpful to share a little bit about the weather we're experiencing right now in Charlottesville



Okay, it's not that bad.  While the derecho over the weekend required a bit of clean up, we're open and ready for visitors this morning.

If you ever need to know if UVa is open or closed, just look at the "What's Happening" bar on Virginia.edu.  Click on it and a box will drop down that will show you more information.

You can also follow UVa on Twitter for minute-by-minute updates about what's happening on Grounds.  Even I follow UVa on Twitter so I can be aware of events and activities.

2012-2013 UVa Application Supplement Essay Questions

The Common Application for 2012-2013 doesn't launch until August 1st.  If you want to work on something application related over the summer, I suggest you think a little bit about how you'll approach your personal statements.  You don't really need to practice filling out your biographical information, but it might be smart to do some free writing on a few essay topics so you aren't scrambling for ideas as the deadlines approach.

Here are the prompts for the two required pieces of writing you'll have to do for your UVa Supplement to the Common Application. You should be able to answer the questions in half a page.  Single spacing is preferred (double spacing is so notes can be made on paper and we're paperless). Part of being a good writer is being a good editor, so you really shouldn't go too far beyond the recommended length.

2012-2013 UVa Supplement Essay Questions for First Year Applicants

1.  We are looking for passionate students to join our diverse community of scholars, researchers, and artists.  Answer the question that corresponds to the school you selected above.  Limit your answer to a half page or roughly 250 words. 

• College of Arts & Sciences:  What work of art, music, science, mathematics, or literature has surprised, unsettled, or challenged you, and in what way?
• Engineering:  If you were given funding for a small engineering project, what would you do?
• Architecture:  What excites you about architecture?
• Nursing:  Discuss experiences that led you to choose the School of Nursing.
• Kinesiology: Discuss experiences that led you to choose the kinesiology major.

                                                                         

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 your favorite place to get lost. (This question was written by U.Va. students who live in one of our residential colleges, Brown College at Monroe Hill.)
• Discuss something you secretly like but pretend not to, or vice versa.

  Good luck!

A message from the President

If you've been following the events of the last 16 days, you might be interested in seeing our President Sullivan's address to the students, faculty, staff, and friends of UVa who were gathered outside the Board of Visitors meeting at the Rotunda yesterday.

She speaks to prospective students and parents for two minutes, starting around the 5:30 mark.

The students at WUVA interviewed a member of the Class of 2016 about his thoughts after yesterday's gathering on the Lawn.

A message from Student Affairs...

I was planning on sharing the 2012-2013 essay questions on the blog yesterday, but I think I'll save that for later in the week.  Inevitably, some of you have been following recent events on Grounds and I thought I'd share a letter that the Vice President and Chief Student Affairs Officer sent out to parents about what is happening.

Dear Parents:

Our students, your daughters and sons, are the focus of our work in Student Affairs. For weeks now, just as we were saying goodbye to the Class of 2012, we have been preparing for the new academic year. We are looking forward, as always, to welcoming the initial group of new students to our Grounds for the first Orientation session, beginning July 5.

Many of you have been following news reports about the University of Virginia over the past 10 days. Early this morning, the Board of Visitors announced that Carl Zeithaml, a longtime colleague of mine who serves as Dean of the McIntire School of Commerce, will become interim president on August 16. This follows the announcement last week that President Teresa Sullivan would step down from her position on August 15.

This unexpected change of leadership does not alter in any way our commitment to you and to your daughters and sons. Our work remains focused on our students and on ensuring the best possible student experience for each and every one of them. I truly believe the U.Va. experience – built not only on a strong academic foundation but also on such lasting values as honor and integrity, self-responsibility, and service – meets an ideal that cannot be found elsewhere.

This summer, a number of student leaders already were here on the Grounds to prepare for a new academic year. I have been working alongside them as they have witnessed unfolding events. I admire their maturity and insight as well as the leadership they are showing to their respective organizations and to the University as a whole. They will be a positive force within the community when the new school year begins.

As we move forward during this challenging time, I hope you will stay in touch with any questions or concerns. The U.Va. Alumni Association has set up two avenues for sharing your thoughts. One website, which summarizes recent statements, offers the option for you to post public comments.

Another website is collecting confidential comments, which will be forwarded to the University’s Board of Visitors (if you choose to use this option, please enter your daughter or son’s graduation year and school of study on the form).

Along with all of my colleagues in Student Affairs, I remain grateful for your support and look forward to serving you and your daughters and sons in the future.

Sincerely,






Patricia M. Lampkin
Vice President and Chief Student Affairs Officer

The Class of 2016 is Full

Hello all!  I've been offline for the last week and apologize for the lack of an update.

On Friday, we emailed all students who chose to remain on the waiting list to let them know that we have finished our review process and the incoming class is full.  Here's the text of that message:

After considering the size of the first-year class and the spaces available in the student body, I regret to inform you that we will not be able to offer you admission this year. Our first-year class is full and I believe it would be unfair to keep your name on the waiting list any longer.  We sincerely appreciate your interest in the University of Virginia and know that you would make a fine contribution to the University. If you are interested in pursuing the possibility of transferring to the University after one or two years in another college or university, we would be pleased to provide information to you on how this can be accomplished. Sincerely, Greg Roberts Dean of Admission University of Virginia

I know it was a long wait, but I took comfort in the fact that you all had other fantastic schools that were eager to have you on their campuses in the fall.

Thank you so much for being part of this blog.  Best wishes for a wonderful summer and exciting start to your college careers!

An Update for the Waiting List

We've been offering admission to students on the waiting list for just about a week and I thought I'd give you an update.  The Reader's Digest version of this is that we are making offers and it will take a few weeks for this process to happen.

Let's get to the details...

We have some room in each school and program that takes first year students and we are able to make offers to both Virginia residents and out-of-state students (that includes international students).  The one trend that has continued is that there is more room in the College of Arts and Sciences than in the specialty schools and programs.

When we decide to make an offer to a student on the waiting list, we give them a call so they have a heads up that their SIS status is about to change.  Once their status updates, they have 48 hours to make a deposit.  If they applied for financial aid, the 48 hours starts once the folks at Student Financial Services email them a package. We're sort of on hold while we wait for that student to deposit.

Of course, we don't just make one offer at a time.  We could have multiple offers extended at once and be waiting to hear back from several students. This is why the process takes a while. We typically have everything squared away by the middle of June.  We obviously aim to be quick and efficient, so if we can be done earlier, we'll "release" the waiting list (that's our word for closing things out).


As always, if you decide that you don't want to be on the waiting list anymore, you can log into SIS and hit the "decline" button at anytime.  This is why the buttons remain after you accept your spot on the waiting list.

 

Waiting.

We're Making Some Waiting List Offers

I'm so, so excited to share this news.  We usually wait until after May 1st to do deep analysis of the deposit numbers and figure out where there is room in the class for more students.  As you probably remember, there are ten different populations within the incoming class of students.  We have to fill the four undergraduate schools/colleges (Arts & Sciences, Engineering, Architecture, Nursing) and the Kinesiology program.  We also have to keep the ratio of Virginia residents and out-of-state residents in mind.

Dean Roberts did a bit of analysis over the weekend and determined that we'll definitely be making waiting list offers.  Here's the great news: we're going to start today.

Our hope is that we can save some people from losing a deposit at another school if we get to them today or tomorrow. As you know, official offers are posted in SIS, but we're going to call students to give them a heads up that their status is going to change and explain what to do next.  

Obviously, some will turn us down on the spot and that's totally fine.  We realize that students on the waiting list may have deposited elsewhere and gotten excited about another school in the last few weeks.  I think most of those students have already removed themselves from the waiting list via SIS because most of the time when we make these calls, the student on the other end of the line screams or yells with joy.  Those reactions are why we LOVE making these calls.

We really hope this goes quickly so we can get to the people on our list before deposits are due tomorrow.  If you aren't interested in being the waiting list anymore, please go to SIS to remove yourself.

I'm bringing you a present, waiting listers!

The only bummer is that I am at home without a voice today, so I don't get to make any of the calls.

DOTL 2012 Recap

The 2012 Days on the Lawn season is over!  For the first time in recent memory, we didn't have to use our rain location for the opening welcome session (though we had a few raindrops one morning, it wasn't enough to send us inside).  We had wonderful, but manageable crowds and there seemed to be plenty of room for everyone to visit a class or two and get into every session or tour that interested them.

I'm sure the residents of the Lawn are happy that the 8:15 AM wake up calls from the Cavalier Marching Band or UVa Drum Line are over.  I hope you enjoyed cheering along and learning the Good Ol' Song with us!

 

CavDog, who is on his fourth round of Days of the Lawn events, had a fantastic time.  

Our amazing student volunteers loved meeting you all and sharing the Grounds with visitors for the day.  I hope you were able to meet some of them and get their perspectives on what it's like to be a student at UVa.

Did you attend Days on the Lawn?  What parts of the day did you find most interesting or helpful with the big decision you have to make by May 1st?

A Peek Into a FIRST

I've been a tad quiet on the blog due to immersion in the transfer process and the number of visitors we've had in the office during the rolling spring break (this week, it's Massachusetts and Connecticut).  I thought I'd share a peek into an amazing robotics competition called FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).

I learned about FIRST about ten years ago, when I originally started working with engineering students.  I was hooked from the beginning.  FIRST teams from different high schools collaborate at competitions to accomplish a goal while "playing" against another group of teams.  The "game" is also pretty complex and it changes from year to year.  This year's game was called Rebound Rumble.

I got to go to the Washington, DC FIRST regional a few weeks ago and watch teams from this area (and a couple from pretty far away) compete with robots they built in a span of six weeks with help from sponsors and mentors in the engineering field.  

Teams aren't just judged on how well their robot scores points in the game, they are judged on how well they work with other teams, programming and animation skills, their attention to safety, and their school spirit.

Chantilly High School's mascot was awesome!

The event feels like a massive pep rally.  Teams bring mascots, costumes, and props to use between matches.  The FIRST folks have a DJ playing music during the matches and students sometimes start to dance to the music.  One of the other college folks in our group remarked that it was like a prom, science fair, and sporting event got combined.

Even when the dancing was [supposedly] over, a few couldn't stop...

All the while, the competition is going on.  The robots were supposed to work off of their programming for the first 30 seconds, so everyone held their breath in hopes that all would go according to plan.  After the 30 seconds was up, the teams could jump onto the controls and drive their robots to hopefully score baskets and maybe try to balance one or two robots on the bridges.

Once in a great while, the illusive three-robot-balance would happen and the crowd would cheer...

Check out this video from about the 2:30 mark on:


The rare three-robot-balance happens around the one minute mark in this video:


And then there's the only "stack-and-balance" I've ever seen:




I can't watch that last video without laughing because it's so amazing.

So, there's a little peek into FIRST Robotics. FIRST is for high school students, but we do find ways to mentor younger kids who are interested in robotics (we have a camp for middle school students and have hosted lower level FIRST competitions here, like the Tech Challenge).

Anyone involved in FIRST out there? How did your team do this year?

Happy Birthday, Mr. Jefferson!

Mr. Jefferson's birthday is called Founder's Day in Charlottesville.  Off Grounds, City Hall and the courts are closed.  On Grounds, there are all kinds of events.  I imagine the Purple Shadows have already delivered their wreath to Jefferson's statue on the Lawn and the rest of the University is just waking up to Founder's Day.

I'm secretly hoping the two students who dress like Jefferson at sporting events wear their costumes today.  It's always funny to see them sticking out in the student section at games.

From The Path to the Volcano, a student's blog about doing the 111 experiences 
the Class of 2011 were supposed to have before they graduated

The rest of today's on Grounds events are on the official Founder's Day website.  Monticello will hold their celebration at 10 AM.

Happy Founder's Day!

Open the Flood Gates!

Each year, one particular Days on the Lawn date always seems to be especially popular.  I imagine some date lines up perfectly with a very popular spring break week. This year, April 9th was the date.  We hit capacity pretty quickly for April 9th and started making a list of students who wanted to attend in case of cancellations.

After feeling like the crowds at the first two Days on the Law were manageable, we decided to open that April 9th date up to all the students who were on the overflow list.  We have the room to accommodate everyone as long as it doesn't rain.  If it rains, we'll be moving the welcome inside to an auditorium that has very strict rules about capacity due to the fire codes.  We can't fit everyone on that overflow list in that auditorium.

So, here's the plan.  We're going to hope for a sunny day and plan for everyone to come to the Rotunda for the welcome session at 9 AM.  However, if it's raining, we're going to ask that everyone on the overflow list (you'll be getting an email shortly) skip the welcome speeches and join us at 10 AM for the "meat" of the program.

Those who attended the first two DOTL days can attest to the fact that the weather has been absolutely gorgeous, so let's hope the streak continues!

No rain, please.