Offered Admission?

Please use this post to ask questions if you have been offered admission.

Congratulations! As I said in my previous post, you will receive an offer letter (modest in size) in the mail.  We never promise admission to a particular major.  You have been admitted to the school to which you’ve applied. Major declaration and planning will occur at orientation.

Your $400 admissions deposit can be paid online.  This goes towards your first semester’s tuition. Below your online “letter,” you should see buttons to accept or decline our offer of admission.  Clicking “YES” will not completely secure your spot in the class.  You will need to pay your $400 deposit to set it in stone.  You can pay with a credit card (we do not accept VISA) or with an e-check.  As specified in the letter, you will have until May 15^th to put down a deposit. Financial aid information will start to go out next week.  We do not have open houses for transfer admits. You are welcome to visit and look around, but keep in mind that our students and faculty are in the midst of final exams.

As far as the next steps go, 72 hours after you deposit, you should be able to take U.Va.’s responsible computing quiz, officially set up your email account and register for orientation. Housing and dining information will take a little longer to come.   It is so important to keep an eye on both your old and new email addresses.  EVERYTHING happens on email.  Don’t miss important deadlines by ignoring these accounts. Your academic credit will not be evaluated until you pay your deposit and send in your final transcript. This evaluation is ongoing until summer orientation.   

If you decide not to come to UVa, please be sure to decline the offer using the other button-- the "NO" button. We and our wait listed students would really appreciate this courtesy.

 Lastly, keep up the good work.  We’ve admitted you under the assumption that you will continue to show strong grades.  You’ve come this far.  Let’s keep it up!   Feel free to come back here for moral support during that last final exam or paper.

More about Decisions

Tonight, you'll receive an email alerting you to the fact that true-blue decisions are available after 5p. Remember that in order to see your decision, you’ll have to go to your SIS account.  You received an email with these instructions when you submitted, but I will detail them again below. All decisions will be posted online, but physical letters will only go out to admitted students.

DO NOT CALL THE OFFICE TO ASK FOR YOUR DECISION. We never give out decisions over the phone.

Again, to view your decision online, log into your account in the UVa Student Information System (SIS) using your UVa computing ID and password.  You can access your SIS account and retrieve your password here. You need to scroll down on the page to click “View Decision” to see your decision. Please do not overwhelm the system by opening multiple windows. Take your time and use one window. We (in undergraduate admission) cannot assist you retrieving your username and password.  If you need assistance in accessing your account (lost or forgotten ID/password), please contact the UVa  help-desk at (434)924-HELP or toll-free at (866) 469-4866. 

The online decisions give you limited information – Offer, Wait List, or Not Offered. 

We do not email decisions. Detailed information for offered students will arrive in the mail next week. In an effort to be green, we only mail decision letters to admitted students. I will also give some basic statistics next week as well. In order to streamline the comments, we will create separate posts for your individual inquiries after decisions are released.   Thank you for your attention and patience with this blog.  Thank you for your questions, your comments and good company.  You should be incredibly proud of yourselves.  We wish all the best of luck.

Decisions will be released tomorrow!

As we've said a few times, decisions will be released tomorrow, May 1st.  We don't know the time because our student information systems folks don't want the system to get overwhelmed with multiple log-ins.  That said, I'm pretty sure it will be in the early evening. Remember that you can see your decision online, but in order to do that, you have to have your SIS ID and password at the ready.  Once you get inside your account, the "view decision" link at the bottom of your SIS page will go to a decision letter instead of the "May 1st" message that's there right now.  If you don't remember or can't find your login info, use the links on the login page to generate a new password. We'll be back with more tomorrow. 

UPDATE, 5/1, 2:15: Decisions should appear after 5:00pm today.  I'm not sure where the 3:00PM speculation came from.  We would encourage you to take a breath until then. Please refrain from calling the office.  Our reps will tell you the same thing.

Last Minute Reminder for Financial Aid

If you are a fall 2015 applicant and you indicated on your application that you would be applying for financial aid, you should have received a couple of emails regarding this deadline.  It is a precise and exact deadline.  There is no getting around this one.

Even if you didn't get an email from us, the deadline is April 1. If you wish to be considered for all forms of need-based financial aid, including grants and need-based scholarships, please complete the FAFSA and CSS/PROFILE for 2015-2016 by tomorrow. If you have questions in the meantime, please seek more information from the website for Student Financial Services, or contact them at faid@virginia.edu or 434-982-6000.

Check those To-Do Lists

Now is the time to start double-checking your to-do lists.  In a week or so, we will begin to email students who are missing documents.  You can get a head start on this by confirming that we have received everything.  If there are "No To-Do's" on your list, your file is complete.  If you find there are documents on your to-do list, please take care of them as soon as possible.

The Deadline is Approaching, Part 2: Testing Refresher

We had a blog post request for clarification on testing. 

-Testing is required for all students applying under the Virginia Community College GAAs for the Engineering and Arts and Sciences schools, no matter your age or your time out of high school.  If English is your second language, you may substitute the TOEFL or the IELTS for the SAT or ACT.  We look for a 90 or above on the TOEFL; a 7.0 and above on the IELTS. We do not have specific requirements for the SAT or ACT, but if Verbal and Writing scores are low - typically, below 500, we may contact you and ask for more proficiency testing.

-If you are applying as a regular transfer without the GAA(most applicants), testing is required for anyone who has been out of high school for less than five years.  If you graduated in 2010 or later('11, '12, etc.), we require testing.  You can submit old test scores as there is no need to take them again.

-If you are applying to the Commerce school... it is in your best interest to submit testing no matter how long you've been out of high school.  We sometimes tell students whose first language is not English is that it's advisable to take the TOEFL and the SAT or ACT.  They are really big on quantitative (math) and presentation skills.

We understand we may be different in our testing requirements for transfers.  As a selective institution, we appreciate the information that standardized testing can give us and thus, that's why we require it for most parties applying.

* GAA = Guaranteed Admission Agreement.

The Deadline is Approaching

As the deadline approaches, you might have questions about the mechanics of applying if this is your first time going through the process.

Here goes:   After you submit your application in Common App, you should receive an automatic confirmation.  Take note that only paying the application fee does not mean you have submitted.  You need to submit the general app and the UVa section in addition to your fee. 

Within five days of your submission, our system will send you login information.  The system is called SIS and this is where you’ll monitor your application, via your To-Do List.  The first time you log in, you will probably see many things missing from your file.  Please allow 5-7 days for your materials to be matched up.  This is a part automatic/part human process.   If we receive 2400 applications, it will take time for both of these groups to match up all of the important documents and information, especially if you wait and submit on March 1. 

Here are the answers to some other common questions and concerns.

-How do I handle the forms on the Common App?  Once again, we do not require the Common App forms listed in the right sidebar of the blog.  Yes, look over to the right, after you read this.  If you choose to send a Mid-Year Report, it would make more sense to wait until after the deadline and after your mid-term exams.  This is the only component of the app where I am encouraging late submission. 

-What happens if my transcripts arrive after March 1?  That’s fine, but we need your transcripts in the very near future, not at the end of the spring semester.  You and your fellow applicants are being reviewed based upon the work you have done thus far.  What’s most important is that you apply by the deadline of March 1. If your application is in on time, there is a little wiggle room for gathering these supporting documents.

 

-Do I need to do anything special if I’m applying to the architecture program?  Remember that if you’re applying for architecture, you must submit a portfolio.  See the post below.

That is all for now.  I imagine we’ll create another post or two before the deadline passes.

UPDATE: If you are still submitting your application, please do not print it out and submit it on PDF. What you've printed is likely old.  This slows down the processing and will affect your ability to verify documents.  Please submit through the common app portal.

The Transfer Process

Spring then Fall, what?

As you know, we have an application process that admits students in the spring (January).  If you applied for January admission, and you were not admitted, you might have the opportunity to try again or roll over your application for fall 2015 review. 

Unfortunately, if you have completed more than five semesters at a four-year institution, or if you're in the process of your sixth semester, you are not eligible for another review for the College of Arts and Sciences or the Architecture School. 

If you still feel you are eligible, please email undergradadmission@virginia by March 1.  You can also email the address you might have seen on your decision screen, which is different. 

In order to complete this process, you need to send us your transcript including your fall 2014 grades. No need to fill out another application, or pay another application fee.  We'll then take it from there and you'll get your decision around May 1.


Are you an architecture applicant?
Last year, the faculty in the architecture school requested that we require portfolios from our transfer applicants. Please be sure to check out our instructions and complete the portfolio by March 1. To start your portfolio, in your application, please select "yes" to the question asking if you plan to submit an arts supplement. This will allow you to access the Slideroom portal where you can upload your portfolio according to the directions on the site. If you have already submitted your architecture application and did not select "yes" to this question, please email Devin Underhill at devin.underhill@virginia.edu so that you can gain access to the Slideroom portal. Portfolios must meet the requirements outlined on the Slideroom website in order to be reviewed. Physical portfolios mailed to our office will not be considered.

Transfer Open House next month!

Are you looking to apply to transfer to UVa, but you haven't yet visited?  Our open houses are a great way to see us on a jam-packed day that is specifically built for you.

Our next open house is  Friday, February 6 beginning at 10AM.    You will hear from current students and faculty about the application and transition process to UVa. See the schedule below.  The day will begin in the Newcomb Hall Theatre and progress from there.  Please register for the event here. Read the entire page and then click on "Register" on the bottom left.   This registration process will instruct you to open a myUVA account if you don't already have one.

Open House Schedule of Events:

10:00am - 10:45am: Transfer Admission Information Session

11:00am - 11:45am: Presentations Given by Individual Schools
12:00pm: Walking Tour of Grounds

2pm-3pm: Meet and Greet with Current Students who have transferred

Crossing our fingers for nice weather! We hope you can join us!

UPDATE (1/27): For those of you interested in the McIntire School of Commerce, they'll be doing one-on-one advising sessions from 1pm-3pm.  Please bring copies of your transcripts. 

High School Transcripts

If you're applying for fall 2015 transfer admission, remember that we require final high school transcripts.  If you're home for the holidays, you could get a jumpstart on gathering materials and either pick up a sealed transcript from your high school, or simply take a break from the netflix queue, your video games, or that leisure reading you've been meaning to get to all semester, and order your transcript by phone or online.  You may send these transcripts now, ahead of your application, or if you feel more comfortable waiting, that's fine as well. Just do it by March 1 :)

For students who attended high school abroad, start working on getting those transcripts now, or maybe while you're home for the break.  In our experience, it can take weeks to get these kinds of transcripts, so our advice is to start early.

Spring 2015 Transfer Decisions

All transfer decisions will be posted online this evening by 5PM EST.  Remember that you have to consult your SIS account to get your decision. You'll find information about this in your UVa confirmation email. We will post all decisions online, but we will only be mailing letters to admitted students.  A student is either offered or not offered.  There is no wait list process for spring admission.

Do not call the office to ask for your decision.  We do not give out decisions over the phone. To get to your account, go here and click on the "SIS Login."   If you don't remember your account information, check your confirmation, then seek out the help information on the left-hand side of that same page. 

About 13% of applicants were admitted. We had an increase of about 50 apps this year. If you were not admitted, you might have the opportunity to "roll over" your application for fall 2015 consideration.  Please follow the directions in your online letter.  NOTE: This option is not available for students who are entering their sixth semester at a four-year institution (this is not a community college) next spring.  Unfortunately, these students are no longer eligible to come to UVa.