Student Takeover: Andy Nguyen

For the next few weeks, students will be taking over the UVA Admission account on instagram (@uvaadmission). I thought I'd introduce each student here before they start posting on the account. Keep an eye on our Instagram stories to hear from Andy!

Name: Andy Nguyen

Hometown: Eastland, TX

Major: Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences and Youth and Social Innovation in the School of Education

Activities: The Raven Society, Sigma Phi Epsilon, QuestBridge, HoosConnected, No Tones Acapella, Vietnamese Student Association, and Madison House. Outside of extracurriculars: working with Cavalier Connect Fundraising and involved with multiple research labs on-grounds.

Favorite UVA Memory: CultureFest, where organizations came together to showcase their unique cultural dances, outfits, and foods in the amphitheater, or the midnight snowball fight during third year. 

 

Student Takeover: Lili Gomez

 For the next few weeks, students will be taking over the UVA Admission account on instagram (@uvaadmission). I thought I'd introduce each student here before they start posting on the account. Keep an eye on our Instagram stories to hear from Lili!

Name: Lili Gomez

Hometown: Woodbridge, VA

Major: Computer Science in the School of Engineering, Spanish minor in the College of Arts and Sciences

Activities: SHPE at UVA (the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers), Girls Who Code, and Dressember. From SHPE, I was able to get an internship with Apple.

After Graduation: I'll be a full time software engineer at Apple.

Favorite UVA Memory: Some of my favorite memories at UVA were spending time in the Center for Diversity in Engineering with all my school friends, and my semester abroad in Valencia, Spain.

Student Takeover: Sydney Mannion

For the next few weeks, students will be taking over the UVA Admission account on instagram (@uvaadmission). I thought I'd introduce each student here before they start posting on the account. Keep an eye on our Instagram stories to hear from Sydney!

Name: Sydney Mannion

Hometown: South Orange, NJ

Major: I will probably be a Psychology major with a Sociology minor in the College of Arts and Sciences

Activities: Mixed Race Student Coalition, Hydra Club Ultimate Frisbee, Blueprint Leadership Program, working as a research assistant in the Social Cognition and Behavior Lab, and the Echols scholars program.

Student Takeover: Isabella Koch

  For the next few weeks, students will be taking over the UVA Admission account on instagram (@uvaadmission). I thought I'd introduce each student here before they start posting on the account. Keep an eye on our Instagram stories to hear from Isabella!

Name: Isabella Koch

Hometown: Loudoun County, VA

Major: Architecture in the School of Architecture with minors in Civil Engineering and Spanish

Activities: I am a student ambassador for the A-School, very involved in outdoors club and love to climb, event coordinator for an architecture organization called AIAS, working wardrobe for the spring drama production, and involved in various intramurals (volleyball, ultimate frisbee, softball, and soccer).

Favorite UVA Memory: My favorite memories at UVA come from either hiking with friends in the Shenandoah, going to food trucks on Fridays with my best friends, working in the architecture studios with my friends all day, and playing intramural volleyball with my friends when none of us had every played volleyball before. 

Student Takeover: Tyler English

  For the next few weeks, students will be taking over the UVA Admission account on instagram (@uvaadmission). I thought I'd introduce each student here before they start posting on the account. Keep an eye on our Instagram stories to hear from Tayler!

Name: Tyler English

Hometown: Norfolk, VA

Major: Global Studies (Global Public Health) and Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences. Also pre-med.

Activities: I'm a part of organizations such as MedLife, M.O.C.H.A (Men of Color, Honor, and Ambition), S.O.C.A (Student Organization of Caribbean Awareness), C.R.A.V.E. Fashion, UVA Sports Medicine Volunteer Program, Resident Advisor, and Peer Health Educator. Outside of the University, I'm an Emergency Department Medical Scribe and Clinic Scribe.

Favorite UVA Memory: Having a snowball fight with my suitemates during my first year at Gooch. (Gooch-Dillard is a residence hall at UVA)

Student Takeover: Tabi Summers

 For the next few weeks, students will be taking over the UVA Admission account on instagram (@uvaadmission). I thought I'd introduce each student here before they start posting on the account. Keep an eye on our Instagram stories to hear from Tabi!

Name: Tabi Summers

Hometown: Baltimore, MD

Major: Architecture in the School of Architecture with minors in Architectural History, Urban and Environmental Planning, and Real Estate Finance.

Activities: Outside of class, I am vice president of the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) chapter at UVA. I am also on a national committee for this organization. In the fall, I interned alongside my coursework, but this Spring I am working as a student instructional assistant for a planning course, a student research assistant for a publication that is under development by an A-School faculty member, and as the assistant to the chair of the Urban Planning Department. I also work as an admissions ambassador in the A-School. Off Grounds, I volunteer at a local clothing resale store.

Favorite UVA Memory: Some of my favorite UVA memories are doing things in Charlottesville Off-Grounds like going to the farmers market, hiking Humpback, and enjoying the Rivanna river on nice days. 

Student Takeover: Victoria "Vix" Clotet

 For the next few weeks, students will be taking over the UVA Admission account on instagram (@uvaadmission). I thought I'd introduce each student here before they start posting on the account. Keep an eye on our Instagram stories to hear from Vix!

Name: Victoria (Vix) Clotet

Hometown: Madrid, Spain

Major: Computer Science in the College of Arts and Sciences, Management and Marketing concentrations in the McIntire School of Commerce (Business Analytics track)

Activities: Advertising and Marketing Association at UVA, Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), Latinx Student Network at McIntire, Women in Computer Science, Smart Women Securities, and the Hispanic/Latinx Peer Mentoring Program.

After Graduation: I'm going to start my own business and I'm still working on the idea and business plan.

Favorite UVA Memory: Going to Mellow Mushroom after the last class of Algorithms to celebrate with Professor Brunelle, his wife, and the rest of the class.

Virtual Admitted Student Programming

Our virtual event series for admitted students begins this week! Emails about these events went out a few days ago and admitted students can register for sessions in their portals. We'll add recordings of as many sessions as possible to our youtube channel. Sessions from previous years are on that channel, if you'd like to 

School/Program Information Sessions

Wednesday, March 22nd
6:00 PM - McIntire School of Commerce 

Thursday, March 23rd
6:00 PM - Batten School for Leadership and Public Policy 

Tuesday, March 28th
5:00 PM - Kinesiology
6:00 PM - School of Education and Human Development

Thursday, March 30th
6:00 PM - School of Architecture

Tuesday, April 4th
6:00 PM - School of Nursing

Thursday, April 6th
6:00 PM - School of Data Science

Tuesday, April 25th
6:00 PM - School of Education and Human Development

Student Life Sessions

Wednesday, April 5th
6:00 PM - Financial Aid

Tuesday, April 11th
6:00 PM - First Generation Students at UVA
7:00 PM - Getting Involved in CIOs (that's what we call student activities here)

Wednesday, April 12th
9:00 AM - International Student Life
7:00 PM - Student celebration hosted by the Office of Engagement

Tuesday, April 18th
6:00 PM - Housing & Residence Life
7:00 PM - Residential Colleges

Thursday, April 20th
6:00 PM - The Student Experience

The scholars programs are emailing students with information about virtual programs for those groups. 

More sessions will probably be added, so keep an eye on your portals for updates!

Echols, Rodman, and College Science Scholars Update!

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

The first round of invitations went out to students who applied during the Early Decision and Early Action rounds. An email with invitations from a second round went out last night at 5 PM and a short note has been added to portals. The second round of invitations included students from all three rounds. Echols and Rodman have a third round that takes place after the first semester (you can self-nominate for that round). 

 About 5% of students in the College and School of Engineering are invited to join these programs. You can read more about them on their websites. In addition to showing exceptional academic records, scholars show a love of learning and an extraordinary commitment to academic pursuits beyond the classroom. We see this in transcripts, recommendations, essays, and activities. The review for the scholars programs is not driven by GPAs or test scores. Congratulations to our first group of scholars for the Class of 2027!

Student Takeover: Zach Palazzotto

For the next few weeks, students will be taking over the UVA Admission account on instagram (@uvaadmission). I thought I'd introduce each student here before they start posting on the account. Keep an eye on our Instagram stories tomorrow to hear from Zach!

Name: Zach Palazzotto 

Hometown: Oakdale, New York (Long Island) 

Major: Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science 

Activities: First Year Chair of Engineering Student Council, Rotaract Club, Buford Engineering Mentorship Program, E-Guides (E-school tour guide), Job - College Advisor for 4 students/admissions cycle 

Favorite UVA Memory: My first week of school, I got to meet so many different people from unique backgrounds and everyone was so open to making new relationships within my Introduction to Engineering Class. I learned that UVA is a place where everyone has their own niche interests and their own academic identities. The collaborative aspect of UVA allows you to explore the many facets of your peers' identities and learn so much from everyone around you. This is a place in which you will never feel like the smartest, most experienced person in the room. Therefore, you will continue to flourish and grow throughout your time on grounds.

Unofficial 2022-2023 #UVA Admission Statistics

Here are some unofficial numbers about this year's process. These numbers are up to date as of March 15, 2023. If you are a reporter, please contact the Office of University Communications for current, official information. 

Total Applications

Total applications: 56,439 (50,962 last year)

Total number of VA apps: 15,169 (14,305)

Total number of OOS apps: 41,377 (36,657)

Total Offers of Admission 

Overall offers:  9,184

Total VA offers: 4,074 (27% offer rate) 

Total OOS offers:  5,110 (12% offer rate) 

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

 

Total Regular Decision Applications

Total RD applications: 15,828 (16,306 last year)

Total number of VA RD apps: 3,413

Total number of OOS RD apps: 12,415

Total Regular Decision Offers of Admission 

Overall RD offers: 2,182 (2,123 last year)

Total VA RD offers: 750 (22% offer rate) 

Total OOS RD offers: 1,432 (12% offer rate)

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

Defers and Waiting List 

VA Deferred applications reviewed: 2,439
VA Deferred applications offered admission: 217 (72 last year)
OOS Deferred applications reviewed: 4,934

OOS Deferred applications offered admission: 180 (83)

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

A few notes:

1. I can not fulfill requests for more statistics. You can see official admission data, including admission data by residency and school of entry from past years, on the website. Unofficial early decision and early action statistics were shared when we concluded those rounds.

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

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

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

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

#UVA Regular Decision Update

 I know why you clicked, so here it is:

Regular Decision results will be posted

Friday, March 17, 2023

This is official. No need to call to confirm!

What time will decisions show up?

The decisions get posted all at once in around 5 PM. There's a technical team that runs through several processes to prepare for the release and load the decisions. I can't predict the exact moment when they will finish their work.

Where are the decisions posted?

You will see a place to review an update in your UVA Applicant Portal. Remember that your applicant portal is different from SIS, which is used for the financial aid process. You received login credentials for the portal back when you applied. 

Decisions are not sent by email, but we will send an email once we are certain decisions have been loaded. Decisions are not given out by phone. 

Are there early signs of my decision anywhere?

The portal will look different leading up to the decision release as the technical team does their work. These changes are not tied to your decision. 

As always, I'll share admission statistics here in the coming days and I'll be posting on Twitter, Instagram, and Tiktok as well.

Reminders about the Deferred Application Process at #UVA

It can feel like an odd time in the college application process if your application was deferred during the early rounds. There's a lot of general advice out there about what you should be doing and while that advice might be appropriate for other schools, it's not necessarily useful for the process at UVA. We wrote the defer FAQs in hopes of giving students clear information about what they should and shouldn't do right now. Let's talk about some of the things that come up a lot.

Don't worry about emailing admission officers.

You don't have to email us to prove you're interested in UVA. If you check that you want to be considered during the deferred application review, we will consider you. Similarly, if you decide you no longer want to be considered, you can opt out via your portal. 

If you have questions for us, we are happy to answer them (email undergradadmission@virginia.edu and your message will be routed properly), but you don't have to write an LOCI for UVA. 

Use your portal to keep your application up to date.

Your midyear grades were due by February 24th and we aren't picky about whether you or your counselor sent them. You can submit any other updates via the upload feature in your applicant portal. 

Using the portal to send your updates is the fastest way to get them into your file. If the system doesn't give an error message, your document is filed. (By the way, the portal can't "read" the document, so it's not going to show the item on the checklist.)

Check your SIS account for financial aid information.

The admission and financial aid processes are separate at UVA, so you have a separate account (in what we call SIS) to manage your aid application. If the financial aid officers (they were for Student Financial Services or SFS) request documents, be sure to follow their directions for submission!

A word about statistics...

If you've looked at old posts on this blog, you may have noticed that I switched to reporting the actual number of defer offers instead of a percentage in the final admission statistics post of the year. Part of the trouble with generating a percentage is that the number of deferred applications changes over the course of the season. We offer the option to two rounds of early applicants and they can withdraw via their portals at any time. The number of deferred applications on 12/15 is different from the number on 2/15 or 3/15. 

Waiting

Echols, Rodman, and College Science Scholars Notifications

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

The first round of invitations will go to students who applied during the Early Decision and Early Action rounds. An email with invitations from this first round is going out at 5 PM today and a short note is being added to portals as well. 

The second round of invitations will include students from all three rounds and will be posted at the conclusion of the Regular Decision process. Echols and Rodman have a third round that takes place after the first semester (you can self-nominate for that round). 

About 5% of students in the College and School of Engineering are invited to join these programs. You can read more about them on their websites. In addition to showing exceptional academic records, scholars show a love of learning and an extraordinary commitment to academic pursuits beyond the classroom. We see this in transcripts, recommendations, essays, and activities. The review for the scholars programs is not driven by GPAs or test scores. 

Congratulations to our first group of scholars for the Class of 2027!

2023 #UVA Early Action Admission Statistics (Unofficial)

I've written a post like this 1-3 times per year since 2008. UVA has always been pretty transparent about statistics (if you love data, you'll love the Office of Institutional Research and Analytics website), but I realize that unofficial information about each phase of the application process helps students prepare for decision notification. 

The Research and Analytics website has admission data going back to 1991. Our office shares admission rates broken down by residency in our presentations, publications, on our website, and on social media. If you're familiar with any of those, then these numbers I'm sharing aren't all that surprising. 

These numbers were up to date on Thursday morning. If you are a reporter, this data is unofficial and you should contact the Office of University Communications for information.

Early Action Applications

Total number of Early Action applications: 36,443 (31,143 last year)
Total number of VA apps: 9,468

Total number of OOS apps: 26,975
We use completed applications in our statistics.

Early Action Offers

Overall offers: 5,939
Total VA offers: 2,601 (27% offer rate)
Total OOS offers:  3,338 (12% offer rate)
Enrollment Goal: ~3,970
It's misleading to average these offer rates together because residency is a major factor in our review. If you are going to share these numbers, cite BOTH offer rates. 

Early Action Defers

Overall defers: 7,707 (21%)
Total VA defers: 2,200
Total OOS defers: 5,507
Deferred students opt in or out of being reviewed and that number will change over the remainder of the application season. Read more about deferral here (this link is in all defer letters). Please read #2 below. 

Our total application number is around 55,845. 

Some notes:

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

 
2. If you are deferred, you must submit the defer form in your portal if you'd like to be considered in RD. This form takes the place of a "letter of continued interest" or LOCI. Please follow the directions on the defer student page about what you may add to your file. That page also tells you what you should not do. Following directions is important and it saves busy students time and energy. 

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

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

#UVA Early Action Update

Let's just get to the reason you clicked through.

Early Action notification will be

Friday, February 10, 2023

This is official. Please do not call our office to confirm it. 

Where are the decisions posted?
You will see a place to view your decision when you log into your applicant portal. Remember that your applicant portal is different from SIS. You received login information for the portal back when you applied.

Decisions are not sent by email, but we will send an email out once decisions are posted in portals. 

What time will decisions show up?
The decisions will get posted all at once to portals in the early evening. There's a technical team runs several processes to get the portals updated and I can't predict the exact time that they'll finish their work.

Why is the portal changing? Is it a sign of my decision?
The portal will look a little different throughout the day as the technical team prepares for the release. The changes are not tied to your decision. 

As always, I'll have a post with admission statistics to share in the coming days. 

This post is about Early Action decisions. Regular Decision notification will happen by April 1st. 

Sending Updates to UVA Admission After Deadline

It's already been a busy morning on the phones, so I thought I'd share a quick reminder here about submitting application updates. 

Application updates are submitted via the applicant portal. We cover this in the application instructions (see "Submitting Updates After Deadline") and in the portal itself. The upload feature will take many kinds of files. If you do not see an error message, your upload was successful. The portal can't "read" the document you submit, so it will not log it on your checklist, but rest assured that if there was no error message, the item was added to your file. 

Your portal also includes links for contacting the correct people if your name is incorrect or if you have questions about your residency decision. 

Using your portal is the fastest and most efficient way to get information added to your application. When you mail or email documents, it will take longer for them to be filed. 

Unofficial #UVA Early Decision Statistics

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

These numbers were updated on 12/12 at 2:00 PM. If you are a reporter, please contact the Office of University Communications for current, official information.

Early Decision Applications

Total number of Early Decision applications: 4,243 (3,474 last year)
Total number of VA apps: 2,250 (1,845)
Total number of OOS apps: 1,993 (1,629)
We use completed applications in our statistics.

Early Decision Offers

Overall offers: 1,040 (1,097)
Total VA offers: 700 (31% offer rate)
Total OOS offers: 340 (17% offer rate)
Enrollment Goal: ~3,900
Averaging these offer rates together is misleading because residency is a major factor in our review. If you are going to share these numbers, cite BOTH offer rates and not an average. Last year, we made just over 9,500 total offers to reach the enrollment goal.

Early Decision Defers

Overall defers: 1,166
Total VA defers: 643
Total OOS defers: 523
Deferred students are no longer bound by Early Decision agreements. Read more about deferral here (this link is in all defer letters). Midyear grades are due by February 15th and we're happy to take them via the student portal.

A few notes:

1. I can't respond to requests for additional statistics. We are already immersed in the Early Action review process and I have files to read!

2. Decisions will be posted in the applicant portal tomorrow night. You got login credentials back when we received your Common App. I don't control the posting of the decisions, but we will email everyone after the technical team finishes the work they do to add decisions to the poral. Your enrollment deposit is due by January 5th.

3. Admitted students will get a paper copy of the offer letter by mail. Unfortunately, I can't predict when the USPS will get that into your mailbox.

4. Defer letters have a link to the deferred student FAQs on our website. Please share this information with your parent(s) and counselor. 

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

#UVA Early Decision Update

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

Early Decision notification will be

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

This is official. Please do not call our office to confirm it. 

What time will decisions show up?
The decisions will get posted all at once to portals in the early evening. There's a technical team runs several processes to get the portals updated and I can't predict the exact time that they'll finish their work.

Where will I see my decision?
You will see a place to view your decision when you log into your applicant portal. Remember that your applicant portal is different from SIS. You received login information for the portal back when you applied. 

Why is the portal changing?
The portal will look a little different throughout the day as the technical team prepares for the release. The changes are not a sign of your decision. 

As always, I'll have a post with admission statistics to share in the coming days. 

Notes for Early Decision and Early Action Applicants to #UVA

I thought I'd make a post about some of the things that come up on deadline day and update as we get calls from students/parents/counselors today. 

First, some of the common concerns that I know are on your minds...

1. The deadline is for the student. 

This is covered in the deadline chart on the application instructions page of our website (please read them!). Students applying to UVA for Early Decision or Early Action consideration have until 11:59 PM to submit the Common App. School counselors and teachers have a different deadline.

2. Applicant portal credentials come by email within a few days of submission.

Within a few days of the Common App reaching us, the student will get an email from undergradadmission@virginia.edu with login info for the applicant portal. The portal is where you can monitor your application, submit updates, and see your application decision on notification day. Consider adding that email address to your email address book. This is also covered in the application instructions! 

Early Decision and Early Action applicants aren't required to submit anything via the portal. 

3. Matching up credentials takes time.

The first time you log into your applicant portal, your application may be incomplete. It takes time for credentials to be filed in a new application file. Remember that supporting credentials like transcript and recommendations aren't due today (again, see the application instructions).

4. We do not accept resumes, research papers, or portfolios that aren't art supplements.

We mention this in several places on our website. Please do not use the "additional information" section of the Common App to submit these items. They are not part of our review. 

5. You aren't applying to a major unless you want to study kinesiology.

This is covered on our website and on the Common App where you select your school of entry. Almost everyone is undeclared when they arrive at UVA. 

6. Common App provides Common App support.

The Common App has a help desk to work with people having technical problems with their website. The colleges that take the Common App don't control the technical parts of the Common App. 

Now, I'll add things I hear from callers or questions via social media today below. 

-Someone is telling students they must log into the UVA applicant portal before deadline. That's impossible, as they don't have login credentials until after they submit the application.

-Someone is telling students that Virginia public colleges share applicant lists with each other and that if you apply under Early Decision to one, the rest will deny your application. This is false. We do not share applicant information like this. Your application to another school does not impact the review of your file to UVA.