At this point in the the Admissions process, everyone (my office included) is somewhat worn out, exhausted, but glad that we have survived the deadline. Here are a few random thoughts about the process over the next few weeks.
- The myStatus page is updated every business day during the early morning (and occasionally a rare afternoon), so it is not a live update. If your teacher submits a recommendation letter today, it will not appear today.
- The mail takes time to get here! I received an email yesterday from a student who said that her teacher mailed the recommendation letter yesterday, and it was not showing up yet on the myStatus page yet. Reality check! We have received over 20 bins of mail, and we can only open so much, scan so much, and input so much in a day.
- Faxes will be shredded!
- We hate staples. We really hate staples!
- A postmarked deadline means when it is put in the mail, not when it gets to us. And remember, we will work with you on missing items (up to a point).
- Make sure your teacher knows your real name, and how to spell it. I have tracked down at least 5 letters today with last names spelled wrong, 10+ with the first name as something other than the official first name, and two with just a first name on the letter. It happens, and we deal with it, so be patient.
- Patience, patience, patience!
- We import test scores within a few business days of receiving the score reports. They do not go in instantly, as it takes several different offices to get them in correctly. If it has been a while since your scores were suppose to be in UGA's hands, look at your score report to make sure it was sent to UGA, that your name is the same on the score report and the application, that your correct SSN is on the score report, etc. If there is no SSN and the name or bdate is different (and you have been patient), then contact us about it to see if we can hand match the scores.
- Did I mention that we shred faxes and hate staples?
- We want to complete your application file, so make sure that all materials are sent, and work with us.
- If you contact us, give us the details of the situation (when something was sent, the name it was sent under, how it was sent, etc.). As well, remember that we want to work with you, so be pleasant and patient.
- Do not do a mass email to the entire admissions staff, or call 2+ admissions counselors in the hopes that this will speed up your situation. This only slows things down and causes us to become frustrated, as we are now all working with one student instead of multiple students.
- You do not have to send things multiple times right away, as that slows down the process in our office. I just looked at a file where three transcripts came in within a one day period.
- Did I mention patience? How about faxes?
- Relax, enjoy this semester, and know that we are working hard to get all the files complete and reviewed. Make sure to track your application on the myStatus page, and give us 8-10 business days from when something is sent in to UGA to then get it into your file.
- Go Dawgs!
My high school does not show up on the list of school for the teacher recommendation. It just opened last year, so my teacher just put the school he used to work for (it's in the same county). Will that be okay?
ReplyDeleteAnon: That should be fine, as we will match up the rec. by your name. As well, we always have a few rec's where the student moved, and the letter comes from a teacher at their previous school.
ReplyDeleteI'm in a situation where an item was sent in by preferred name but application name. I have placed this info in the additional info on part II, will that be fine?
ReplyDeletenot*
ReplyDeleteAll: A co-worker reminded me to put in that updated transcripts with first semester grades can be sent in by Feb. 1, they are not required (but we like to see them), and that admissions does not need first semester grades for admitted students.
ReplyDeleteAnon: We are not going to instantly look at the additional info section of part II, so you should let us know about it by email so we can match it up.
ReplyDeleteI corrected my first name, but at the time I sent my transcrip, my first name was still not correct in GA411. My counselor said GA411 took the longest time to fix my first name. My counselor said that she sent my transcrip to UGA using a different way. She sent it 1 month ago. Under myStatus, it has a red x beside transcrip. Do I have to be patient or does my transcrip have to be send by GA411?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your time and hard work.
Tree: Send us an email (admproc@uga.edu) with your name and birthdate, as well as any other names that your material could be under. We can then look specifically since it seems like there are some issues with your name and your application.
ReplyDeleteAll of my materials have finally been received and checked off on the myStatus page. I just wanted to thank you for being so helpful during such a stressful time.
ReplyDeleteI am a deferred early applicant and I changed my CP Language Arts course to AP Language and Composition. I emailed to have this information changed which it was. I just want to know will this be considered when my file is reviewed for the February admission period? (I also had a substantial increase in test scores)
ReplyDeleteAnon I: Glad to hear it.
ReplyDeleteAnon II: If you sent it in, then we would have put it into your file and it will be seen in the file read process. The updated test scores will be seen as a part of the Feb. decision process.
Just so everyone knows, by the end of today, we will have received over 5,000 online teacher recommendations (way to go teachers!). Of course, this means that we probably will get over 5,000 in the mail (staples and paper cuts!), but I am excited that we had that many take the online route. It really helps our office!
ReplyDeleteUGA already my transcript that was last updated at the end of my junior year, so it shows a checkmark by the recieved transcript on myStatus page.. but if I had my transcript sent in that was last updated with my senior year 1st semester grades, how would I go about finding out if UGA recieved it?
ReplyDeleteAnon: The date on the transcript will change from an earlier month to 1/1/2011. It only captures the month and year, so every HS transcript received in Jan. will be 1/1/2011.
ReplyDeleteMy teacher sent my letter of recommendation on Jan. 7th. Should it be showing up by now or is there a lot of delay from the closings of last week?
ReplyDeleteCarrie: Since UGA (and the postal service) were out for much of the previous week during the snow/ice storm, we have only had 6 business days since it was sent. Be a little more patient (you already have been, so thanks!), make sure he put down you official name on the form/letter and not a nickname, and contact us if it does not show up later next week.
ReplyDeleteI have not been able to receive my transcript from first semester until today due to the inclement weather in the Metro-Atlanta area. Will it still be accepted if I send it in on Monday the 24th?
ReplyDeleteas the Ga. flagship university, why have you allowed the 2010 freshman class to be 62% female. In 20 years at this rate it will be an all girls school and that's surely not desirable.
ReplyDeleteAnon: Yes, it will be accepted, as we want to be able to include this in your file (deadline for updated first sem. grades is Feb. 1).
ReplyDeletegene: As the flagship university for GA, we have a responsibility to treat our applicants fairly. Since there are more females than males graduating from HS, applying to colleges, and doing well in the classroom, a majority of colleges enroll more females than males.
We would love to see more males enroll, but we do not use gender as a factor in admission, so we have to treat all of our applicants fairly. And let's not go crazy with predictive statistics and think that in 20 years, UGA will be all female. We respect all of our applicants and try to do our best to make good, fair decisions in our admission process.
All: If you submitted your application this week, please give us time to match up your materials. It does not matter if a document was sent in Sept. or early Jan., if you just applied, you still need to wait for us to match it up, as we just received your application (along with several thousand other applications) and we need time to get through all the 5,000+ documents that are being held until the application comes in.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI read an earlier comment you made about transcripts that are received by UGA in January will show 1/1/2011 next to 'transcript' on the status page. I sent my transcript in November with my freshman-junior year grades and I got an email saying uga has confirmed receipt of my transcript about 5 days later. On MyStatus page it shows up as 1/1/2011 even though I sent it in November. I will also send and updated one with senior year grades on Monday and I was just wondering how would I know that you received the new one since the date will be the same?
Because the deadline has been extended, will there be a later notification date to know if we got accepted or not?
ReplyDeleteSantana: I am going to make two guesses about your situation. First, I am guessing that while you sent your transcript in Nov., you most likely did not submit your application until Jan. As such, your file was not created until Jan., and so we did not drop the transcript into your file until January (thus the Jan. date). Second, since you received an email about your transcript, I am guessing that you sent a transcript through GA411, and it was an email from GA411 saying that we downloaded the transcript (we do not control GA411). If your second transcript is sent through GA411, you will most likely receive a second email, and that is how you will know.
ReplyDeleteM: I hope we do not have to have a later notification date, and I am not planning on it.
I have been reading this blog for a month or two now and continue to be amazed at how many times you have to answer the exact same question!! I think every applicant who sends in materials with mismatched names on applications,transcripts, etc..with staples, or fax things in...that generally make ya'lls jobs way more difficult should ALL be placed in a pile together. The ones who actually follow everything to the letter, doing exactly as you have asked repeatedly,should be given preference for admission!! hahah hows that for a great idea!!?? :)
ReplyDeleteI’m having problems with my application. I decided to check “my status” on the UGA website just to make sure everything went through. I clicked on review status and it said “ your application is not eligible for Part II of the first year application.” I have no clue why it would say that. I submitted everything on the deadline. If you could help me figure out whats wrong and why it would say that, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for your time.
ReplyDeleteNicole Gale-Evans
I agree with 'doesn't hur to try :-)"- following directions is not something you can prep for like the SAT/ ACT. That's a life skill that's an indicator of a successful UGA student. Thought that wouldn't hurt to try!
ReplyDeleteMy dad told me that today he heard UGA is more selective when they are admitting kids from a more populated area in Georgia, and are more relaxed about admitting kids from less populated areas. He heard that this is because UGA likes to take students from all areas of the state. I live in Cherokee County... it is the 6th most populated county in Georgia. Please don't be too picky! I hope this is not true.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't hurt: While faxes and incorrect names and such frustrate me, I always have to remember that this is generally not the fault of the student, but of a school official who is trying to be helpful but does not do things correctly. My suggestion to everyone is to let your counselors know about this blog and this specific post.
ReplyDeleteNicole: Generally, this means that you just submitted it, so you cannot go back and submit it again. Be patient, as part II does not automatically post to your file, but takes about 2/3 business days.
Mary Ann: We have a number of applicants who do not complete their file with all materials, and are very frustrated at us. I generally say that about 16,000 other applicants (the rough number of applications that are complete and ready for review) were able to get things in on time, and it would not be fair to now let them complete their file, generally 2-3 months after the deadline.
Anon: Your father has been listening to rumors, and it is now your job to squash them. Tell him to review this blog, and as well the link on the right side of the blog titled the top 10 urban legends about UGA admissions.
what is the % of incoming apps received from females vs males for freshman admittance and at what % of female admittance would you be concerned. ( 70%, 75% ? )
ReplyDeleteMy son retook the SAT today JAn 22. Will applcations get reviewed before the SAT results get sent to you, or do you start reviewing after you get results. Thanks
ReplyDeletegene: Since the ratio has stayed fairly stable for the last 5+ years or so, I am not worried about the issue. As for the % of apps, I do not have exact numbers on hand right now, but I believe female applicants are in the high 50% range of total freshman applicants. I believe that for transfers (about 2,500 a year), the % enrolling is very close to 50/50.
ReplyDeleteLMR: Our process is designed to take into account new test scores.
USPS tracking shows that UGA admissions received transcripts back on Jan 5th but they're not posted on myStatus yet. Since it's beyond the 8 or 10 days that it usually takes for things to post to myStatus should I check with the office??
ReplyDeleteBrian: First, are you a freshman or transfer applicant? Second, when did you apply? Remember, it is not only when we received the materials, but when the application was received. We do not start a file for someone until they apply, so anything that came in prior to the application is put into our holding files (we are holding them until the application comes in). We then do a check of the holding files daily of newly received applications, although during deadline times, things slow down a little (it is tough to check for 1,100 files in one day). If you have both applied and had the materials sent in 8-10 business days prior to today, then contact us and we will try and figure things out.
ReplyDeleteDGraves,
ReplyDeleteDo you know when the finalists for the Foundation Fellowship will be notified?
Thanks.
Hi DGraves, my daughter got in EA and was wondering if she could change majors for her upcoming freshman year at orientation or if she has to wait until the following year to switch...Not sure if she would actually change it, but it would be nice to know if the option is there. Thanks in advance; I love your blog!
ReplyDeleteAnon: I have always said late January, so I expect you will know shortly.
ReplyDeleteAnon II: She can go to the myStatus Dashboard page, and there is an option on the left hand menu bar called Settings. This should allow her to change several things about her application, from email to address to major.
Dear Parents,
ReplyDeleteI am a parent of a daughter that did not get accepted last year. She made it to the waitlist but never got the call. Its o.k. Life goes on. Mr. Graves tells you to have a backup plan. Have one. Eventhough my daughter didn't get in she is extremely happy where she is. We're still season ticket holders and J-school supporters. Please have a backup plan and don't put so much pressure on your child to get in. If your child does not get in, it doesn't mean they are a failure. Don't blame the admissions office or call the chancellor. God has a plan for everyone of these kids and sometimes the backup school is where they should have been all along. Go Dawgs!
A.H. Stone
A.H. Stone: Thanks for the great comment, and tell your daughter congratulations on everything going so well at her current college!
ReplyDeleteOn mystatus it only lists Math, English, and the essay for my ACT scores. Do you take into account the Critical Reading part of the ACT?
ReplyDeleteAnon: The myStatus list the sections of the ACT that link up with the SAT, as it is easier to display when dealing with this visual aid. We look at all sections of the SAT, but some sections (ACT E, ACT M, ACT W) are used in more specific methods when comparing the SAT and ACT scores, as these subsections correlate with each other.
ReplyDeleteHello, for deferred applicants under the early action plan, is sending a mid year report required or just encouraged? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAnon: An updated transcript is not required for deferred or RD applicants, but we do like to see your new grades.
ReplyDeleteHi, I submitted Part II of my application well over a week ago and it still has yet to show up as being received by the admissions office. Do you have any advice?
ReplyDeleteAnon: You can email admproc@uga.edu, and let us know how you submitted it and when.
ReplyDeleteOn the application on the self-reported grades section, I went ahead and included my first semester grades even though UGA does not have an updated transcript. (I will send one today) Was it okay to do that because I know the number of A’s and B’s on the application will be different from what was on my transcript that I already sent. ?
ReplyDeleteKelly: That is fine. Just have an updated transcript sent in as soon as you can.
ReplyDeleteokay thanks! and I went to the post office and mailed that transcript today so maybe about 2-3 days it'll be at UGA. Will the date change on my status so that I know that the new one has been received?
ReplyDeleteKelly: From above: "The date on the transcript will change from an earlier month to 1/1/2011. It only captures the month and year, so every HS transcript received in Jan. will be 1/1/2011."
ReplyDelete