Friday, October 2, 2009

Travel Season

Writing the blog is one of my many tasks in the office. In the fall, we travel to recruit students in Virginia and beyond. Some of my colleagues will even be in Europe and Central America this Fall. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult for me to be on the blog at all times. I thank you for your patience and understanding. I think the commentary was getting a little long on the last post, so let’s start anew. I’ve also answered some of your comments here. I hope you'll find the information (from the horse’s mouth) helpful.

-High school transcripts and test scores are kept in our office for two years. Please don’t fret if these things don’t disappear from your to-do list straight away. It takes our staff time to match them to your file.



-The SAT and ACT or TOEFL are listed as requirements on the website. There have been (non-agreement) students who have been offered admission without testing, but like my colleague told you Milton, it is preferred and it is clearly stated on our website. If you are not planning on taking the SAT in October, and you don’t get in for spring, you should seriously consider taking it before March.



-I’d prefer that we not try and pin down where a fellow blogger goes to school or how they’ve come to this place in time. If you find a way to speak to them personally, that’s great, but if not, let's keep it anonymous, with alias' of course :)


-We accept applications from all over the world for spring and fall. Spring is more competitive because there are less spots available in the spring. It is difficult for students to come into a program mid-stream during the school year and the University is not set up to orient hundreds of students in January.



-UVAfan, we prefer that if you are looking to be a nurse, you’ll apply to nursing school. If you’ve changed your mind and now you want to study and graduate from the College, you should fully explain your change of heart in your application. If you have to work to pay for school, you must work. However, the transition (assuming you are waiting for nursing for Fall) will be much easier if you are taking full-time coursework come spring. Fmalik13 is right in his/her post, but this is rare for Nursing. You can go into Business later on in life even if you graduate from a school like the College of Arts and Sciences. It is not exactly the same for the Nursing profession.



-Let’s be clear that Fmalik13 is not an employee, nor affiliated with UVA. We appreciate your insight Fmalik13. When answering, please keep posts short and simple and always state that you are not a employed by the admissions office. You never know how many new readers come onto the blog every day and we wouldn’t want them to get confused. Thanks!



Have a good weekend!

25 comments:

coley said...

Transfermer,
If I'm going on a UVA study abroad program, and decide I want to transfer from my current university to UVA for my remaining time in college, will my time in the study abroad program improve my odds? Also, what is the typical GPA needed to be accepted to Virginia as an out-of-state transfer student?
-coley

Transfermer said...

Hi Coley,

Unfortunately, this will not improve your odds. However, I'm pretty sure that the credits would transfer quite seamlessly if you were to come to UVA. The average GPA of all admitted students is about a 3.6. We don't break it down for in and out of state.

heftyperson said...

Transfermer,

I have another question I would like to ask you. I am set on submitting an application for Spring Transfer, and I would like to know if I was not accepted, would my application I submitted for Spring "rollover" for Fall Transfer consideration? (also at that point I would be compliant with GAA)

I ask this because if I do not get accepted for the spring I would like to know if I have to submit another application.

thank you,

Heftyperson

Fmalik13 said...

heftyperson,

First off I am not at all affiliated with UVA. I am just a regular student who is also hoping to get into UVA.

I know Transfermer will give you a solid answer though I would like to shed some light on this topic since it deals with GAA.

The Admissions Department will keep your files (SAT/ACT scores, Letters of Rec. etc.) for 2 years.

However, if you apply for another term, you will need to send another application and I'm sure that will include another transcript.

In my opinion if it doesn't work out in the Spring, maybe consider taking the SAT's again to get a higher score (unless it's already a good score), continue to keep your grades as close to a 4.0 as possible, and great recommendations can't do you wrong.

If you are thinking of applying under the GAA, then my suggestion (which of course may not be correct) is to confirm with the admissions office that you are taking the correct courses and that all of the requirements match up...This is critical, for all of your credits must be transferable and must fulfill the requirements at UVA.

Give the admissions department a call and ask for "the dean of the day" or some transfer admissions officer and I'm sure you can get these question s answered quickly.

Sorry if this was a long response Transfermer. Just have a lot to say. :)

Confused! said...

I'm not sure this is the right place, but here goes

I am a student at a university on Long Island, but am a nearby resident to UVA. I am going to London in the fall. My advisor wants me to take the 2nd part of Calc-based physics before I go

I've confirmed with the physics department that the class I need is offered in the summer, and my advisor here says it looks like match

...but.... how do I sign up for only one class? I can't find anything on it!

help!

heftyperson said...

thanks Fmalik13,

but I am good with all that info. My academics are perfectly fine (and heck no I am not taking SAT's again > they don't really matter that much, especially after a year of college under your belt) and my credits will all transfer seamlessly.

I just want conformation to my question because I was told that if I was to apply for the spring and if rejected then my app would carry over and be considered for fall transfer. that's all

heftyperson

Fmalik13 said...

heftyperson,

Precisely. That was the first thing I said in my response...

I apologize but I do know some people who had issues with the GAA so I just wanted to throw a few more details in case it may apply to you as well.

I hope everything works out...

Anonymous said...

On the UVA Common Application Supplement it says, "enter two codes that reflect your academic interests." What is an example of one of these "codes?"

Thanks for your help!

Fmalik13 said...

Anonymous,

I am just another student applying to UVA, however, I have applied previous and understand what this means.

It simply means what do you plan on studying and what you hope to pursue at the university...

Hypothetically speaking, if you were an Economics major then you would select "Economics" as a "academic interest."

For the second one you don't have to put anything unless you would like to, but since it is optional I wouldn't stress out about it.

I hope that helps...

uvauvauva said...

Transfermer,

I understand that there are word limits for the transfer application and UVA supplement essays. My question is: Will we be penalized if we go over the word limit? Or will it decrease our chances of being accepted?

Thanks again.

Fmalik13 said...

uvauvauva,

I am just another student who is also applying to UVA, so whatever I say may not be correct or the best option.

If I am not mistaken you asked this question in the previous thread. If you take a look at that question below it you will find that I gave a comprehensive answer (in my opinion of course) to this exact question.

If you do not see it let me know...

Transfermer said...

Confused,

I'm confused by your question. Are you looking to take a summer class at UVA?

Hefty,

It looks like you're already familiar with the terminology. If you apply for spring, and you are not admitted, you will be given the option to roll over your application. This is not automatic. You will have to tell us in writing.

Anon,

You are in the pdf or paper version of the application. If you get on the the online common app, there will be a dropdown menu, no codes.

Bangbang said...

Hello... I am going to take French next summer (2010) in my college. Is summer school credit acceptable to transfer?

Does foreign language credit must be intermediate level as well???
On the website, that's what it said. Since I haven't taken french before, next summer, I'll take beginner's level.....

I am kind of worried about it.

New Yorker said...

Transfermer,

How many credit hours does the admissions office like to see a second-year transfer student complete in their first year? I'm doing 16 credit hours this semester and considering doing 13 next semester because I will be taking challenging classes, would like to get involved more, and already have a significant amount of AP credit. Would only taking 13 credits hurt my chances of being accepted?

Thanks

uvauvauva said...

Transfermer,

I emailed my college coursework descriptions to transferadmission@virginia.edu as instructed on the supplement of the Common Application. However, I received an email back from the Mail Delivery System notifying me that my message was unable to be sent, because it was rejected by the recipient domain. What should I do? Will this problem be fixed before the deadline? Or should I try mailing my descriptions?

Thanks again.

Transfermer said...

Yes Bang, summer credit is honored. We prefer that students finish their foreign language up to the 202 level, but in some cases we admit students who don’t have it.

New Yorker, we look for students to have 24-30 credits. Obviously, those who are closer to 30 are more competitive. If you like a challenge, I would encourage you to move to 14 or 15 credits.

Samantha said...

Transfermer,
I have a quick question about the SAT's. I scored well on my SAT's in high school, but I don't land in the mid 50% range. I land slightly below that. If I show that I hold a high GPA in college, will the SAT's be a discriminatory factor in my admission?

-Samantha

Fmalik13 said...

Samantha,

I am not from UVA, I am simply a student who is applying to transfer.
Your question is really on a case-by-case basis (in my opinion).

I know of some people who achieved stellar college grades but had a poor high school record as well as SAT's and still got in.

Also, I know some people who retook the SAT's and in the end also get in, but I am not sure that was the reason why they did get in.

If you have border line stats then I would say maybe it is a factor.

Were you planning on taking the SAT's again? I don't think it would hurt to you to consider retaking them...

Samantha said...

Fmalik13,

I took them three times during high school, so I'm not sure if it looks good to take them again, but my scores weren't horrible. They're average scores. I was an honors student in high school as well. I'm still waiting on midterm grades, so I'm not sure of my exact GPA yet. Hopefully, the SAT's are not used in a discriminatory matter. I'm visiting UVA in two weeks, so hopefully I can get some more answers there. But thank you for your input and I definitely agree and see where you're coming from.

-Samantha

Transfermer said...

Samantha,
The mid 50% range that you may have found on our website only applies to first-year applicants. We are a little more flexible when it comes to looking at testing for transfers. You shouldn’t be overly concerned with it. Your work in high school is more important than the testing and furthermore, your work in college is even more important. Instead of taking them again, you should aim for those As in school!

NovaStudent said...

Hi,
Quick question, i applied for fall 09 and got wait listed. I did not take any summer classes, and am now taking 15 credits for a total of 51 transferable credits.

My question is this; I went to George Mason University for 1 year, then transferred to NVCC. I need to send my NVCC transcripts again since it will show the current classes i am taking, but Do i need to re-send my transcripts from George Mason?
I think i read somewhere that the Secondary School Report and SAT's remain in your database for 2 years, but what about college transcripts?

Thank You,

NovaStudent said...

Sorry, i forgot to mention that this is my 2nd semester at NVCC if that info is important.

Samantha said...

Transfermer,

Another question. How difficult is it for students out of state to be accepted into the university versus students that live in state?

Thank you!
Samantha

Unknown said...

I also had a problem sending my scores totransferadmission@virginia.edu. Is there a different address I should use? Will it be fixed before March 1st?

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