Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The Spring Admissions Process

Welcome to new readers and welcome back to the old readers,

With the school year starting around the country, it's time we updated the blog for the spring admissions process.

Here are five things you should know:

1)Freshman students are not eligible. You may apply for Fall 2011, but not Spring.
2)We only review applications for the College of Arts and Sciences and Architectural History.
3)The deadline for all materials to be submitted is November 1
4)If you've applied before, you'll need to fill out a new application.
5)The VCCS Guaranteed Admission Agreement is not applicable for spring.

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

First I would like to thank you for writing this blog. It is a great resource and I truly appreciate all the information you provide. I plan on applying for Fall 2011 transfer. I have three questions:

1) I sent in my SAT scores to UVA as a HS senior, but I decided not to apply. Do I need to re-send my scores or would UVA still have those on file?

2) Does UVA admit transfers my their choice of major? I plan on applying to the SON, but if I am denied admissions from the nursing school am I rejected from UVA as well?

3) Is there a suggested length for the first essay asking applicants to explain the experiences that led them to apply to nursing, engineering,etc.?

I apologize if these questions have already been answered and I have just missed your response. Thank You in advanced for your help.

Hopeful Hoo

Transfermer said...

Hopeful Hoo,
Please make sure to "choose an identity" when you leave a comment. And now for your questions... We will only keep old materials for one year. 1) If you applied as a senior for Fall 2010 and you are applying for Nursing for Fall 2011, we will have your scores for this year's review. If you applied prior to this year's cycle, we will not have your scores. 2) That's right. If you are not offered nursing, you are not reviewed for any other school. 3) We don't have a word limit expectation for this essay, but generally, they are within 250-500 words.

SocraticMethod said...

Hi Transfermer,

Are SATs required even if I have my Associate's Degree?

If I am in the neighborhood, can I swing by and drop off my application?

Where can I submit the Fee-waiver request?

Will I receive a tracking username/password?

Thanks in advance!

SunMaid said...

Hello, Transfermer, I am a second-year applying for transfer in the spring. I have two questions:

1) Do I need to send in my AP scores from high school, or is self-reporting on the CommonApp all that is required?

2) I have not yet fulfilled the foreign language requirement, but can I fulfill it by taking the SAT II afterwards if I were to be accepted? If so, which languages are eligible to be fulfilled by the SAT II?

Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Hello thank you for taking our comments, are the chances for transferring from out of state even more difficult than regular application right out of high school? I am looking to transfer and UVA is my top choice. Thank you!

Mario Solano said...

Hello,

I want to apply to the engineering school next fall and I'm currently attending a CC in VA. I got a C the first time I took Cacl I. If I re-take it, would that improve my chances of being accepted? Also, what is the average GPA for transfer students WITHOUT the guarantee transfer agreement? I will have a 3.5 by the end of this semester and probably a 3.6 by the end of the next one.

Thank you

Mario

Financial Aid Transfer said...

Transfermer,

I have been working on my application for Spring Transfer into College of Arts & Sciences, and I have a question. At the beginning of the application it asks whether or not you plan on applying for financial aid. Does this affect ones admission decision at all? If I applied and aid received would certainly be very beneficial, however if it affects my application I would be willing to forgo the aid and try to get by without it.
I don't want to harm my application for something I don't need desperately but would help.
Thank you.

- Financial Aid Transfer

Transfermer said...

Socratic Method,
Standardized testing is a requirement for admission. If you have been out of high school for more than five years, you do not have to take it, but you should submit scores if you took it many years ago. Testing is absolutely required if you are planning to follow the Guaranteed Admission Agreement. The process is much cleaner when applying online. You may drop off supplemental materials like transcripts and recommendations, but we’d prefer it if you applied online. Once you click fee waiver on the application, you’ll be prompted with instructions about where to send a waiver. Again, once you submit the application, you’ll be given/set up a username/password.
http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/apply.html#check
SunMaid,
If you want to receive credit or exemptions at the start of the spring semester, you’ll need to send us official AP scores. For admissions purposes, we’ll accept self-reported scores, but perhaps once you hear from us (Dec 1), that’ when you should request the scores. I believe it takes time for this information to show up on your credit report as windows of timing are very short for spring admits.
Mario,
If you retake the course, it may improve your chances and if you do well it will definitely improve your GPA. The average GPA is still about a 3.5/3.6 for students without the agreement.
Fin Aid Transfer,
This is a good question. If you require aid, you need to say yes to this question. We do not make our admissions decisions based on the fact that someone requires aid. We are committed to making UVA affordable and would never turn down a student because they require financial assistance. http://www.virginia.edu/financialaid/access.php

CalcChick said...

Hi I am a Senior now. I plan to apply to UVA in the fall of 2011 to enter during the Spring of 2012. i will spend one semester out of high school and will have had 60 credits due to dual enrollment courses. My question is would i have to apply as a transfer or a first time student and will my High School Transcript be needed at that time? I plan to major in Biochemistry so do you think that transferring into the program would be a bad thing? Thanks in advance.

Transfermer said...

CalcChick,
You’ve put yourself in a unique situation. We do not accept mid-year freshman transfers. A student is not considered a transfer until he/she has spent one year out of high school, no ifs, ands or buts. You might want to consider applying for the first-year process and that way, you can enter UVA in Fall 2011. If you have further questions, I’d encourage you to email our office.

CalcChick said...

I was hoping to transfer to UVA since my high school GPA is not so high. It is only a 3.2 and my CC GPA is really good. So where would i fall in all of this. I do extracurriculars ans stuff, but SATs were also not that great. I have only taken it once. I got a 1690. SO what advice would you give me?

Transfermer said...

As I said in my last comment, I think you should email or call the office so you can talk about your specific situation. Regardless, the first time you would be eligible for transfer is Fall 2012.

CalcChick said...

Oh okay. Thank you very much. I guess i will just have to find a school that DOES allow me to enter in the spring.

Anonymous said...

What are the housing options for spring transfers?


-Ann-

Amanda B said...

I work 20 hours a week and have maintained a 4.0 at cc and a 3.5 at old dominion university. Does working while maintaing good grades imprees the admin officers? Also, can one of my shift managers fill out the instuctor eval instead of one of my school instructors? I beleive my managers know me better. And lastly, do the instructor evals have to be turned by nov 1st?

Amanda B. said...

Sorry for all the bad grammar, I did not proofread.

Anonymous said...

Are we required to submit a mid-term report from our current school with our transfer application?

Transfermer said...

Yes, we do look at out-of-classroom commitments. While the instructor evaluation is optional, if you’re having someone write for you, I’d recommend someone from school writing rec for you. The postmark deadline is November 1.

Anon, as you’ll see on the front page of this blog, the Mid-Year Report is not required.

Anonymous said...

What are the usual number of applicants for the spring, and how many offers are made? With the exception of the common application, are recommendation letters and other resources kept if already sent for fall 2010 transfer?

Transfermer said...

Anon,
Please make up an alias :) Typically, we'll receive 250-300 applications and we'll admit about 40-50 students. If you applied for Fall 2010, we still have your materials, but you will have to complete a new application and send us your updated transcript.

Amanda said...

What is the most important thing you look at for admission? Grades? Is the writing portion considered heavily for admission?

Anonymous said...

A couple of questions and a comment regarding spring transfer. What is the average gpa for an admitted spring transfer student? Also, if the College Official's Report is not required, is the applicant responsible for getting her transcript to UVA? In addition, if the College Official's Report, the Secondary School Report and the Mid Year Report are not required, what are the most important criteria considered? Regarding my comment, given that the referenced reports are not required and the acceptance rate for spring transfers appears to be between 13-17%, it may be appropriate to update or revise the Transfer Students FAQs to reflect the differnece between spring and fall transfers.

Asdf said...

Is it possible to schedule interviews for transferring? If yes, will they be allowed after the November 1st deadline? Thanks.

Asdf said...

Also, does UVa keep a ratio of college vs community college for the spring like in the fall? If so is it still 50%?
Thanks

Transfermer said...

Amanda,
We look mostly at coursework and grades. Yes, we do care a lot of the essays and what you have to say about why you want to transfer here.

Anon,
The average GPA was mentioned on another post. The applicant is most certainly responsible for sending the transcript. The training wheels are off. I think it’s clear on our website that spring admission is more competitive than transfer admission.

Asdf,
We don’t have interviews. We don’t have a quota as far as community college and four-year students goes. It’s really about a strong and capable student.

kristen said...

Good Afternoon:

Will the admissions office send out an email notifying students when to check their SIS accounts for acceptance?