Blog Etiquette

Hey folks,

This is a just reminder that the blog is not a forum for negative or offensive comments. If comments get out of hand, I'll be forced to run a moderated blog; one in which I will approve or delete comments that offend readers. I don't really want to do that, but if it comes to that, I will.

I've said this many, many times, but I'd also appreciate it if you would make up names and not simply post as "Anonymous." As you can see, it became very confusing in the last post.

This is a blog solely for information on the transfer admissions process to UVA. Please keep this in mind as you read and digest the posted information.

Thanks a ton!

Decision Letters

Decision letters for transfer applicants for the Spring of 09 will be mailed this evening.
As I've mentioned in previous posts, you won't be able to check your status online, so I'll repeat, no decisions online. The letter should arrive early next week. We will not give decisions out over the phone. If you are admitted, the letter will contain instructions on what your next step will be, should you decide to attend. If you are not offered, and you are not in the middle of your junior year at a four-year school, you should find instructions on "rolling over" your application for Fall consideration.

I'll take this time to thank you for submitting your applications. We had an increase in the number of apps this semester, and as you know spring is already tight. We hope that whatever the decision, you'll understand that we spent a significant amount of time considering the time and hard work you put into your application.

Happy Thanksgiving All!

Submission of Recommendations

You'll find that I posted about this on September 8th, but I have an update for you. Obviously, this does not really concern Spring applicants.

First, we want to make sure that you know that recommendations or "instructor evaluations" as they are called on the Common App, are RECOMMENDED and not required. Therefore, we do not recommend a number. Historically, transfer applicants send in 0-2 recommendations. You will not be penalized if you send 0. You will not be penalized if you send 3. However, please bear in mind that we are reading hundreds of applications and will not read every recommendation if you decide to send us an exorbitant amount with your application.

These recommendations may be
1) mailed to the address on our website.
They may be 2) faxed to (434)924-7674.
And 3) NEW, as of November 21, they may be 3) emailed through traditional email to uvarecommendations@virginia.edu. Your name must be in the subject line and we'd like your Date of Birth in the body of the email. I'll reiterate these pointers in a month or two as this information tends to get buried.

Just as a reminder, as a transfer applicant to UVA, we do not need the Secondary School Report, nor do we need the College Officials Report.

New Website Design!

If you've been trafficking our website for many months, you'll notice that the general website has been redesigned. Well, now the admissions website has gone through a beautiful upgrade. The text on the website has not changed, but you'll see straight away that the placement of things has changed. Please explore it on your own, but as a tip, from www.virginia.edu/undgradadmission, about a fifth of the way down, click on "I am a..." and you'll click on "transfer student." Take the time to familiarize yourself with the website. We hope you like it!

Alias Names on the Blog

Folks,

Please create and alias for yourself instead of being "Anonymous." That will make it much easier for me to differentiate between questions. Even if you name is 123abc, that would make it much better.

Thanks!

Spring Applications

We received just over 300 applications. This is up from about 250 last year. It varies from year to year, but we'll admit anywhere from 30-40 students. We hope to have all of the decisions out the first week of December.

21st Annual Virginia Film Festival

For something a little different, I wanted to point out that many neat events go on throughout the year in Charlottesville. One of the most popular is the Va Film Festival. Venues turn into makeshift theaters and the regular theaters lend a hand in playing over 100 films in four days. This year's theme is Aliens! Check out the website here: www.vafilm.com

Spring Transfer Deadline is just around the Corner!

Readers,



If you are thinking of applying to transfer for the spring, the deadline is November 1. That gives you 9 days! Please read!



-We are on the common app. Find the application here at http://www.commonapp.org/

-Read everything on our page www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/transfer.html and the common application website.

-We only accept students in the spring for the College of Arts and Sciences and Architectural History.

-An applicant's high school transcript and testing are required.

-We recommend recommendations, but they are not required.

-Regarding question #2 on the UVA supplement part of the common application: If you did not take off time in between semesters or in between high school and college, do not worry about filling out this essay.

-We will release decisions only by mail. You are either offered admission or not offered admission. There is no wait list in the spring.

-Unfortunately, you will not be able see if transcripts and materials have come to the office.

-But, we will contact you if something essential is missing so long as you have clicked submit on the application.

Good luck!

Arts Supplements

Students with exceptional talent in art, dance, drama or music, and who plan to major, minor or significantly engage in the arts are encouraged to submit a Common Application Arts Supplement.

The catch is that we are not participating in the common app arts submission process. For detailed instructions, please go here: http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/arts.html

If you submit through the common app, we will not recieve the supplement.

The deadline for submission for spring transfer is November 1. The deadline for fall transfer is March 1, 2009.

Supplement Essay Question for Spring Applicants

This is getting into the nitty-gritty of the filling out the application, but I've been getting a lot of questions about this essay topic. You can find it in the transfer common app supplement.

2. Describe your activities during periods of time (other than summer vacations) when you were not enrolled in college.

Just so it's clear, this is a question for a student who has taken off time in between their years of school. It may be after high school or in the middle of college. Please don't interpret it to mean that you must take time off at some point during college. This question is more for our non-traditional student applicants. If it doesn't apply to you, meaning you've been in school consistently with the exception of summer vacations, simply type, "N/A" in the space. I hope that clears it up :)

Finally

Hi All,

I apologize for being absent on here. I've been on the road as it is that time of the year. I believe I've answered all of your comments on the previous posts.

Where can I apply for the spring 2009?

Big reminder here folks! Spring applicants can only apply to the College of Arts and Sciences and the Architectural History Major.

We've been getting a lot of applications for the Commerce and Engineering schools, etc. This is not possible. They are not open at this time and will be available for Fall 2009.

Applying with the Common Application

So, as you've seen, we've moved to the common application. We are still getting used to it here, but we're plugging away. The Common Application makes the process more accessible to more students and thus, it streamlines the process. There are many schools and universities that are part of the CommonApp group and they look for different components in the application. Sometimes you'll see something that is not necessary for us. For instance, as a transfer student, you will not need to fill out the "College Official's Report" nor the "Secondary School Report." I can only speak for UVA. You'll have to ask other schools if this is required.

I'd like to stress again that as we move over, the checks and balances aspect will be barebones for the Spring 2009 applicants. You will not be able to see if your transcripts or recommendations were received. You will not be able to see your decision online. We realize it's a little old-fashioned, but we appreciate your patience as we move through this year of transition.

Back in the Saddle

Well, now that we've said goodbye to Labor Day, that last holiday of the summer, you're either back in the saddle or just starting up the fall semester. But maybe you've turned your eye towards applying to UVA for the Spring of 2009.

For those of you who are new to this process, you must spend one full year in your college or university before you are eligible to transfer. Therefore, someone in their freshman year cannot apply for the 2009 spring semester. You may apply for the Fall 2009.

IMPORTANT FOR SPRING APPLICANTS: As we move into our first year of using the Common Application, the process will be differ from years past. Spring transfer admission decisions will not be displayed online. Instead, they will come solely via U.S. Mail on December 1. To apply, please go to http://www.commonapp.org/.

The deadline to have all transcripts, recommendations(these are totally optional) and the application submitted is November 1, 2009.

Summertime Lull

Hello all,

As you can tell, Transfermer has been away from the blog. While we are still in and out of the office, the blog will probably continue to be in a "summertime lull" phase until school begins. Please come back at that time for the most recent updates.

Next up! The Spring 2009 application process -- we are still working out the kinks involved with spring transfers applying through the common application. You will be able to apply there, but I'm told the application won't be available until late August. As you might or might not know, the deadline is November 1. Think about gathering up your high school transcript and test scores while it's summer and things are quiet.

See you in a few weeks.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Housing for Transfers

I understand there's been some concern about housing for incoming transfers. We've heard from callers that they've run out of space for you. This is not the case. We had to do some investigating and spoke to the people in the housing department.

We will have more than enough space for transfer students, although not enough space for everyone to receive an offer in the initial round of assignments. Believe it or not, construction on a first-year dormitory is in it's final stages and the housing office decided to hold spaces in upper class housing until that the building is completed. If you are on a housing waiting list, you will be eventually offered housing. It is just not true that there won't be enough space for you.

Latest news on waitlist notification

Hello All,

We know it has been a very, very long wait. We appreciate your patience. The great majority of you will recieve wait list decisions next week. Unfortunately, it is my understanding that this will not appear online. However, you will be notified by mail in the next few days.

Best of luck!

If you have been admitted...

please be patient when it comes to courses showing on ISIS or your VISTAA report. Registrars are currently combing through every single course on every single transcript for 500+ students. As you can imagine, this takes time. Everything will be up by the time you come to Orientation.

And now for something a little different

Please follow this link to find a story about a former transfer student. He transfered to UVA a couple of years ago and graduated Phi Beta Kappa on May 18. I'll call it a little taste of the students you'll come across at UVA. http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=5208 Enjoy!

Correction: May 14 Post

On this date, I told you that you could send a list of awards or honors. I should correct myself now and say that anything sent after mid-June will likely not improve your chances. We hope to have everything finished up by that time. I'm sorry for the confusion.

More Info on the Wait List

Well, we are nowhere near complete in our review process. In fact, we've barely begun. But I did want to let you know that we'll be going to the wait list. We plan to take about 75 students across all schools. Most spaces will be for the College and Engineering. Unfortunately, it is very unlikely that we'll go for anyone in Architecture, Nursing and Education. As you know, these schools are very small. We are still looking at Commerce. We plan to look at the rest by June 2. It's important to remember that admitting students from the wait list is a rolling process. Not everyone will hear at the same time. We hope to have everything settled by the end of June.

Extensions on Housing and Orientation Deadlines

I have heard that both offices have extended their May 30 deadlines. These dates are undefined, but you would have to call or email these offices to find out their plans. Both numbers can be found in the myUVA book or online.

Waitlist Information

With the information floating around on Dean J's first-year blog, there seems to be confusion about the transfer waitlist. Let me see if I can clear things up. And I apologize for repeating myself in some places.

-The transfer waitlist is independent of the first-year waitlist. It's a completely separate road on this map of the admissions process.
-The waitlist is not ranked. There are no opportunities to "jump or bump up" your position.
-Like I've said before, you must send in your spring grades(if you were in school in the Spring of 08) if you want even the smallest chance of getting off of the waitlist.
-You may also send us notice of any awards or honors you have won since you applied. And you may also send additional recommendation letters. Any of this sent to us past mid-June will likely improve your chances.
-We will not begin to look to see what we can do with the waitlist until early June. We have no idea of the numbers that might come off of the waitlist as we have just begun to process deposits of the students who have taken us up on our offer.
-Waitlist decisions will be released anywhere from mid to late June.

There was a comment a few weeks ago inquiring about the 3rd year nurses finding decisions on the waitlist, due to a June 9th start. This will likely be a little different and we hope to notify you at the end of May.

Confusion with deposit deadline

I should have been more clear about the deadline. For some of you, your letter will read May 12. For those that it doesn't, please adhere to the instructions in your letter. Some of you received letters behind schedule. Whatever the case, you should follow the instructions enclosed in your packet. I'm sorry for the confusion.

Deadlines

If are you admitted the deadline for turning in your deposit and reply form is today! That is a postmark deadline, so you still have a few hours to get it in the mail. You should also make plans to have your transcript including your final spring grades sent to our office.

If you are waiting on financial aid in order to make your decision, please email undergradadmission@virginia.edu to request an extension. We do not extend the deadline for students waiting to hear from other schools.

If you are on the waitlist, and wish to stay on it, please send in your card or make the selection online. And again, sending your transcript with spring grades is essential. There is no official deadline for this, but we will begin to go to the waitlist around June 1 in hopes that it will all be wrapped up by late June. If you are on a quarter system, or your classes don't end til early June, then we will look at you after that time.

Further info on the waitlist

This year, we received a little over 2200 applications for all six schools. Keep in mind that we are still reviewing some applications, but all will be finalized by tomorrow evening. Across all schools, on the whole, we offered to close to 30% of the applicants. As you've seen in an earlier post, schools like Commerce and Architecture have a much smaller admit rate. These run the gamut between 10 and 15%. There are about 400 students on the waitlist. But all are reviewed within the school in which they applied. It is likely that not everyone will elect to stay on the waitlist, so this number might go down.

It is highly likely that we will go to waitlist, but the numbers depend on the number of students who accept our offer of admission. Some years, we've taken 50. Some years we've taken 100. Again, it depends on the number of students taking our offer. If you wish to stay on the waitlist, you must either indicate online or send in the card to tell us that you would like to stay. If you don't send it in, we will not look at you again. You should also send your spring grades and notice of any awards/honors you've recieved since you applied. Please send the transcript at the completion of the semester. You'll find the address on our website. Sending the transcript is essential.

Information on the process

Hi Everyone,

I had to take a break and enjoy part of the weekend, but I will answer some of your questions now. Keep in mind, I'm doing this from home, so these will be less numbers-related because well, it's Sunday and I am not at work where I can be connected to the system.


For those of you who were waitlisted, please send in your card to stay on the waitlist. You must also send your final grades if you are in school this semester. We will begin to go to the wait list on June 1 and sometimes these decisions trickle out until mid-July. If there is one bit of good news I can give you, it's that statistically we tend to go to the transfer wait list more than with the first years. That's why finishing the semester strong is so very important.



For those of you who were offered, there is nothing you can do until you receive your packet. If you choose to join us, you will have to return the deposit and forms. You cannot pay the deposit online. You must wait for offer packet and then pay by check or money order. Currently, the deposit deadline is a postmark date of May 12. Once we recieve your deposit, other departments (housing, orientation) will mobilize and start sending you information. It's likely that you will not get credit evaluations until June. Afterall, we need your final transcript to complete this process. I would encourage you to check out this website to see if you have questions about what will transfer. http://web.virginia.edu/ArtsSci/credit/credit_analyzer.asp



You will not register for classes until transfer orientation. For more information on this, go here: www.virginia.edu/orientation


Gottaloveuva, it’s my understanding that these decisions are not posted online, but I’ll check into it when I’m at work.

The financial aid packet is not being sent any earlier. We work independently.

I’ve said this before, but we do not have admitted days for transfer students. The turnaround time is just too quick.

In most cases, you have to have a strong high school record if you are looking to transfer after the first year. One semester of good college grades sometimes isn’t enough to secure an offer of admission. A 4.0 is very difficult to achieve in college, but we are most definitely looking at the coursework. If your courses are say, 1) not spread out over many disciplines or 2) if they are most like Ceramics over Statistics or Macroeconomics, etc, then we would have trouble admitting someone like this.

That's all the information I have at the moment. I'll be back on tomorrow with any updates I can get.

You will not be able to see your decision online if...

1) You applied by paper
2) You "rolled over" your application for Fall 2008

You will learn your decision through your letter. I just heard on Friday evening that they are now going out on April 30. I'm sure there will still be stragglers on May 1.

Waitlisted for Fall 2008 as a Transfer?

Similar to Dean J's approach, I have created posts for each of the decisions. Please be respectful of others' feelings and situations. I will delete comments if necessary.

Labeling this process as difficult would be an understatement. You all take a chance in applying to transfer and making the decision to apply to leave or move on from your university or college. We admire you for this and take our job very seriously. I hope you can appreciate our efforts and we commend you for yours.

Have a good weekend.

Offered Admission?

Not Offered Admission?

MOST Decisions will be posted this evening

PLEASE READ ALL OF THIS AND READ IT CAREFULLY

Well, it's the information you've all been waiting for. We felt posting decisions a few days early would help many of you in your decision making process. That being said, we have not completed our review for everyone. Most decisions have been made at this time. I have to warn you that some committees are still meeting next week, but all decisions will be posted by April 30 at 5pm.

So, the majority of you will see decisions after 5pm today! Those who do not see a decision, will continue to see "Received" pop up on the status page.

Again, the login can be found here https://applyonline.virginia.edu/Admissions/Login/

Like I said before, the transfer process is a little different and continuing in that vein, letters will not go out today, but on May 1.

Thanks for being so patient. Best of luck to everyone!

Breaking News: Decisions Posted Online on April 30 after 5pm

For those of you who applied online, we will post decisions after 5pm on Wednesday, April 30. Letters will go out for everyone (online and paper applicants) on May 1.

Notification is May 1

I will get to the comments in the last post, but I wanted to tell everyone that we will be releasing our decisions on May 1. I know it's been a long wait, but if you hold tight, it will be here before you know it. If you applied online, you'll be able to check your decision online, and a paper copy will go in the mail that day. If you applied by paper, expect a letter a few days after May 1. These letters will likely go to your home address.

Missing Transcripts?

We've come up with a temporary solution for those of you in this situation. PLEASE READ THIS FIRST AND READ CAREFULLY.

If you have checked your status page and the spot showing transcript says "RECEIVED :NO" , please do the following.

1) Email a copy of your transcript to undergradadmission@virginia.edu
2) This is not you typing in your grades. It should be an attachment or formal unofficial transcript in the body of the email.
3) In the subject line, you must write FALL TRANSFER APPLICANT TRANSCRIPT ATTACHED
4) You must follow up by sending the official transcript to UVA, Office of Admission, P.O. Box 400160, Charlottesville, VA 22904

Next week, the filing department will email any remaining paid applicants with missing transcripts. This is just a way to get this jumpstarted. Keep in mind, we will read applications til the bitter end heading into May 1.

Busy busy

Bloggers,

I apologize for being absent these last few days. As you can imagine, we are getting into the thick of the transfer reading process and it's difficult to go back and forth. I will get to your comments as soon as I can beginning tomorrow. Please direct all transfer inquiries here rather than Dean J's blog. Thanks for being patient.

For your enjoyment, this is a picture taken in Pavilion Two off of the Lawn.

Anonymous Commenters

Hey folks,

For those of you who have posting as anonymous, it would be helpful if you gave yourself a name. That helps in answering questions and you quickly being able to find your post from an earlier date.

Summer Courses at UVA

Whether or not you are an enrolled student, you can take summer courses at UVA. If you are admitted, we highly recommend that you come in and take at least one class. This gets you acclimated to the University, our teaching styles and gives you some time to become accustomed to UVA before the hubbub of Fall semester. This is not at all required, but just a suggestion. This will not hurt or help your chances if you are on the wait list. Your spring grades are the most important factor when we look at the waiting list.

If you decide to take summer classes at your college or university, these credits have the ability to transfer if there is an equivalent at UVA.

The Transfer Notification is MAY 1

I found a little bit of confusion on Dean J's blog. Transfer notifications will go out May 1, not April 1. This is a separate process from the first year process. For transfers, as you know the deadline was March 1. We have just begun to read transfer applications, but we promise you will know by May 1 :)

Setting up your fall semester schedule

For those of you signing up for classes for the fall semester, use the link below as a guide. You want to make completing these courses your goal if you are applying after two years. If you are applying after one year, it is best to have half of them completed. By that I mean, you should dabble in all subject areas. It is not advisable to take (for instance) all humanities or all social science courses in one semester. Think of your semester as a platter filled with many different samples of coursework.
http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/transferrequirements.html

Competition of Individual Schools within UVA

Of the six schools that transfers can apply to, the School of Commerce, the School of Architecture and Education School are slightly more competitive. There is less space available in these schools and therefore less space for transfers. Lucily, we find that the majority of our applicants are interested in the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering. While this may seem like it would make it more competitive, there is more space available for these applicants.

Viewing Transcripts

Some of you may worry at the sight of your status page reading, "Received: No" We are in the thick of processing thousands of high school and college transcripts. They should be showing within the next two weeks. If not, you shouldn't fret too much. If we find that the transcript is missing at the time of review, we will contact you. It is likely that we'll contact you via email, so please check this at least once a day. Check your spamboxes as well! If you don't hear from us, all should be well.

Mid Semester Grades?

Transfer applicants often ask us if we want mid semester grades. These are not required because they are not official, complete grades. A final exam or paper at the end of the semester may drastically change your grade and so we can't really take these into account. We read everything up to your previous semester's grades. You may send them in if you like, but again, we don't take them very seriously.

Last Chance to Apply for Fall Transfer 2008

From out of the woodwork, I've come to tell you that you have one more chance to apply. Our admission deadline for transfers has been extended to Monday, March 10. If you decide to submit this weekend, do so, and then request transcripts to be sent to us as soon as possible. Both the high school and college transcripts are required. Good luck!

Winter Transfer Open House

In addition to the time I spend advising transfers, I also read first year applications along with my colleagues. Unfortunately, this hampers the time I might spend on the blog. But as we get closer to the deadline for Fall 2008, I will no doubt be visiting the blog more often. For now, I wanted to let you know that we've recently nailed down a date for our winter transfer open house.

Dean Roberts and I will be conducting the session on February 13 at 2pm. Following the session, there will be a tour at about 3:30. We'll meet in the usual place, the Newcomb Hall Theater. For more information on getting here and parking, please click here: www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/directions.html If you have attended one of these sessions in the past, there is no need to come again. We'll be going over the same information.

Questions? Call us at 434.982.3200.