Monday, January 19, 2009

Very Important: Course Descriptions Needed

Unfortunately, the application does not have a place to describe your college courses, past and present. Last Fall, we decided to put instructions on the website to make accomodations for this issue. You'll find them here: www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/apply.html Scroll down to School Forms and Recommendations. We ask that you send in this information via mail or fax(434-924-7674).


For each course you've taken or courses you are currently taking


You should list:
1) Semester/Year of the course
2)The Course Number
3) The Course Name
4) Short Description of the course



For example:
1) Fall 2008
2) PLAP 101
3) Introduction to American Politics
4) Surveys the fundamentals of American government and politics, systematically covering the major institutions of our system (the presidency, the Congress, the courts) as well as the system's essential processes.

You can consult your school's online course catalog to get these descriptions. Providing this information will aid us in understanding your transcript. Start early, as this can be time-consuming if you have a lot of courses. Remember to include your Spring 2009 courses if you are currently in school.

21 comments:

  1. Is this still necessary if you are transferring from VCCS, since all course descriptions are the same throughout ?(Example:
    PHY 231 University Physics
    Teaches principle of mechanics, wave phenomena, electricity and magnetism, etc. )

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  2. Is it fine if I submit the course description in the additional information section of the Common Application?
    -Chuck

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  3. If I have received transfer credit (from AP tests) do I need to include course descriptions for the courses that I was awarded?

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  4. What if you already sent your application in?

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  5. I was reading previous posts and I noticed that UVA likes for transfer students to have around 30 completed hours of college credit before applying. I attended governor's school during high school and transfered in 54 credits to my current 4 year university. Since I am a freshman, will these transfered credits affect my decision? Even though they were not completed at my current university they are still considered college level work...if you don't know I guess I will speak with a dean.

    Thanks!

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  6. Also, I was wondering since all of those transfer credits show up on my transcript if I need to put them all on my list of course descriptions?? I really hope not.

    Thanks again!

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  7. This doesn't have to do with the course descriptions, but what are you guys looking for in a transfer student? I have looked everywhere and there doesn't seem to be any kind of criteria unlike first year admissions. Thanks so much for your help

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  8. If we were deferred for the Spring semester and just had to resend our transcript for the fall...(not having to make another application)Are we still required to send these?

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  9. Yes Pretzel, still necessary.

    Chuck, people are running out of space there. If you can somehow attach it, that's fine, but otherwise you'll have to send it the old-fashioned way.

    KT,
    No, not for AP credit.

    Anon,
    You can still send it through the mail or fax. We won't begin to read until after March 1.

    Audrey,
    This is a part of your high school record, and yes it will be considered. However, you must complete at least 60 credits at the University. No, you don't have to list those. Only your actual college(post HS) courses.

    Anon 2,
    This should help. http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/transfer.html For specific courses, scroll down to "Recommended Courses."

    Yes, Jennifer. It would be most helpful

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  10. I am planning on taking a summer class through VCCS for calculus, but applying for Fall 2009 admission. So, should I include the summer class in my course description, as well?

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  11. i would like to send a letter of recommendation that is from someone other than a teacher. can he do this online or should he mail it in? i didn't see anything on the application instruction page.
    thanks

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  12. I was forced to change one of my courses that was sent in the "Course Descriptions." Would I just send a little blurb saying I dropped that course and added the new one along with its description, etc...?

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  13. I have a question regarding the essays in the supplemental section of the common app.
    I don;t see the required length stated anywhere. Is there a word limit to either of these essays?

    Thank you

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  14. A little off topic, but I was wondering if, as a first year, we have a lower chance of being accepted right off the bat? Or, in other words, will we be more likely to be wait-listed so you all can see our final grades?

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  15. Hi, I was also wondering if it will hurt our chances if we do not take a laboratory science our first year? However, I will have taken two maths by the end of this year, so I hope that makes up for it.

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  16. Katyr,
    He can email it to uvarecommendations@virgina.edu or mail it to us. We do not take CommonApp submitted recommendations.

    JS,
    Yes, that’s fine.

    MG,
    There is not a required length, but in any place, please try not to go over 500 words.

    Teapot,

    Each year, about half the transfer class is 2nd years and half are 3rd years. However, if you didn’t do so well in high school someone with two years of college is at more of an advantage. Someone who did well in hs and in the first semester would be considered competitive. The wait-list process comes in handy for an applicant who is on the cusp. This is when we’ll look to the spring semester grades.

    There are many factors involved when looking at a student’s curriculum. It would be impossible to say whether or not your situation would hurt or help your chances.

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  17. Hi, Is it okay if I mail in my course descriptions and 3 recommendations all in one envelope or would you like them separated into recommendations and course descriptions?

    Thanks

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  18. I have sent my transcripts and my test scores, but not my application (editing my essays), is this ok? will my information be floating around without an application to attach it with?

    can I call the office of admission to see if they have received them?

    also, for the course descriptions, should I add any extra information to make it easier for you guys to piece my information together?

    Thanks,

    SA

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  19. If we are sending the course descriptions by fax, what information should we include, besides our name, on the document?

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