- To the teacher that decided to put seven staples into your two page teacher recommendation, please do not ever do that again. Please!
- I have really enjoyed reading some great essays (and a few not so great), and I hope to contact a few students to see if I can get their permission to post a few on the blog. Jaynie C. from Marietta, great essays!
- To the teacher who wrote "I sent this letter 6 weeks ago and yesterday, I received a chopped up envelope in the mail with an apology from the USPS", we are fine to take the letter that you included. I love my postal service, but sometimes...
- To the schools that have to staple their transcripts, at least do not staple right through your student's name (Chattahoochee among others). It is difficult enough to pull out the staples, much less try to save the name underneath. The transcripts all survived, but my calm language did not. Maybe this suggestion will help out for next year.
- To the schools that sent in all their updated transcripts in one large packet with no staples, and alphabetically to boot, I love you. If I could marry a school, I would (Sayre, Walton, etc.).
- Wow, some of you get to take some great classes! I wish I was able to take Science Fiction Lit. in my high school.
- To the 5,000 plus teachers and 14,000 plus counselors who did their recommendations online, I love you too! I am already married, though, so I can not propose.
- To the students, teachers and counselors who sent in things well before the deadlines, you are awesome! We are fine with things being sent on the deadline, but things that are sent well before the deadline are much appreciated!
- Every year, I am amazed at how much you (the applicants) are able to fit into your life. I have seen a great deal of students who are very active in their schools, their communities, and in the world as a whole.
- To the students, parents, counselors, teachers, etc., that call, email or send us notes and other items of thanks, we love you! To the ones that scream, yell, curse and threaten, never mind, you just do not get it.
- To all the 18,000 or so freshman applicants for your interest in UGA and being a bulldog, thanks for considering UGA as one of your college options.
Now back to file reading! Go Dawgs!
I have to say that every time you make a blog entry it starts me to wonder if my daughters decision for another SEC school was the right one. You are a fine representation of your school. Fortunately her best friend and our "other" daughter has applied to UGA and I get to keep reading and hoping for her. She was deferred from early decision and has completed and submitted her second round info. We wait with baited breath for her decision. I like that I can keep up with the process here but I'm sooooo glad that our daughter has her decision already.
ReplyDeleteflipflop: I am sure your daughter will be fine at one of the other SEC's, and just tell the "other" daughter to be patient with us, and make sure everything is in to UGA.
ReplyDeleteI found out today my friend sent in her teacher recommendation letter after I had mine sent in, and hers is in the system and mine is not. Should I give the admissions office a call to see what's up?
ReplyDeleteAnon: You cannot do a comparison of things like this, as it depends on how the item was submitted, and if it was mailed in, how long it takes for the postal service to get it to us. I always say give us 8-10 business days from when it was sent, then take action. Make sure that your teacher put your full name and birthdate on the letter, and when he/she sent it off.
ReplyDeleteWell I sent mine in about three weeks ago and my teacher did it online, and my friend had hers sent online the 15th. I'm just worried that it accidentally never sent and my application won't be complete :(
ReplyDeletewhat if the teacher didn't put the ssn or birthdate in the online teacher rec. is that a possibility as to why it would take longer?
ReplyDeleteDo you know if the FF/Ramsey invitations went out earlier this week? My son just got an envelope from UGA Admissions, but he won't get home for several hours. The only words I can make out through the envelope are "prestigous offer, scholarship, and March 7". Do you think - maybe??
ReplyDeleteCongratulations DGraves! All your hard work pays off and you made the 2011 25 Best Admissions Office Blogs-http://campussplash.com/25-admissions-office-blogs/. Well done.
ReplyDeleteAnon: If it has been three weeks since the teacher rec was sent in (that is more that 8-10 business days), then we need to check on it. Email your situation to admproc@uga.edu, give your name, birthdate, and if you have a preferred name that may have been used, and we can look for it.
ReplyDeleteWondering mom: I am glad that you did not just open his mail, as I know other parents who have done so. From what I have heard, communications have gone out to the FF/Ramsey applicants, although since Honors/FF is handling the invitations and weekend, I could not tell you any of the details.
Elaine: Thank you for letting me know, as I did not even know about this site or this award. And I didn't even write a speech!
Thanks, DGraves! A little discomfort is worth teaching your child respect and boundaries. And - it was well worth the wait! He got a Presidential Leadership Scholarship. Yippee. Congrats to YOU for a richly well deserved "Best Blog" award!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats, D. Graves. You so deserve it! This blog is not only informational, but informative as well. My two daughters are already students at UGA, but I still check every now and then. You rock!
ReplyDeleteWondering Mom: Please tell him congratulations!
ReplyDeleteDawgmom: Thanks!
Hello, my son was admitted EA, and is currently taking a calculus course at a local university. Who do I need to contact at UGA admissions to verify that this credit will transfer to UGA? Thank you for your blog!
ReplyDeleteCurious: The easiest step is to go to the transfer equivalency site, https://www.admissions.uga.edu/transferequiv.html, read the instructions, and then search the course by college, academic area and course number. It will then say how it tranfers to UGA. If we have never seen this class before, we would then need to review it after we received a transcript from the college.
ReplyDeleteBecause of what wondering mom said, I knew what was in the envelope that came in the mail today. I did drive to school so that my son could open it. Thanks UGA and DGraves for all that you do! PS I've followed UNC's and UVA's blog and you beat them hands down!!!
ReplyDeleteNot Wondering Mom: Thanks for the compliment!
ReplyDeleteThis is irrelevant to the article but i'm a fall semester 2011 applicant and i've been checking my online status and the teacher recommendation is still not checked off. I also sent the second semester transcript on the 20th and it still hasn't changed the date on my status.
ReplyDeleteI sent my part 2 application on the 13th of January. My teacher sent the recommendations on the 14th. Is the update on the statuses being slow or is there a problem?
Anon: Again, we cannot control the mail, so it depends on when things get here. I would suggest that for the part II and the Teacher Rec, go ahead and email admproc@uga.edu, and we can search it out. As for the first semester transcript, you have only given us four business days since it was sent out (not counting today as the myStatus page is not a live feed), so be patient with that. Make sure you put your name on part II, as I have one in my inbox with no name, but I do know it is a female applicant who is involved in mock trial. If need be, you can attach the part II to the email (I am assuming you mailed it instead of doing it online, but I could be wrong).
ReplyDeleteDisappointed out of state early action student, despite the pre-admit to honors, not an FF/Ramsey finalist. Is there any real shot of any other award or out of state tuition waiver? I love UGA, but need that waiver to attend. What's left to be awarded?
ReplyDeleteDoes UGA have a notification date for regular decision fall acceptance or is it similar to a rolling application?
ReplyDeleteIs it absolutely too late for a teacher to fill out an online recommendation? When the status page updated all of my stuff was there but the teacher rec wasn't. Can they still login?
ReplyDeleteTotally random, but with my application already submitted is there any way to still print it?
ReplyDeleteDisappointed: We will still be reviewing admitted students for scholarships through mid-April, so my best suggestion is to be patient during this process.
ReplyDeleteAnon I: UGA does not have rolling admissions, but here is a quick rundown of our timelines:
The three freshman decision release dates:
* Mid December - EA Decisions released
* Late February - Admit letters for RD/deferred applicants meeting EA admit criteria
* Late March - Final Decisions for all remaining freshman applicants
exhausted: We generally leave the online school evaluation and the online teacher recommendation open for about two more weeks to take care of issues with these items that are out of the student's control.
Sarah: I believe that if you go back into your myStatus page, you will be able to find a way to print your application.
I was reading one of your past articles on the UGA calculated GPA and I had a question about some particulars. You used the example of "Sam" with the weighted and unweighted GPA and you said how if there is no weight added by the individual school then UGA would add the weight of .5 even to A's. Therefore a student who does not receive weight on their grades could realistically have over a 4.0 on a 4.0 scale when UGA adds the .5 weight. My question is how come a student from a school who adds the 10 point weight cannot have a GPA over 4.0 even with a grade over a 100, but a student from a school who does not add weight can have over a 4.0 on the 4.0 scale? Sorry for the question I just was wondering because I myself received two grades over a 100 last semester in two of my three AP classes.
ReplyDeleteDGraves- I applied for summer 2011 as a transfer student in late December. I haven't seen any recent updates to this blog regarding transfer students I am just curious what the status is for us and when I may expect some news. Thanks for all your help and advice.
ReplyDeleteCurious: In the way that UGA calculates grades, an A is based on your school's grading policy. Now let's take a school that adds 10 points to every AP grade (like your school). If Sam, your best friend, has a pre-weight grade in AP Biology of an 81, he now has a 91 (or an A in most schools). If you have a pre-weighted 99 in class, you now have a 109, still an A. So due to your school's policy, both of you have an A. An A in our book is a 4.00, so if you have all A's, the highest grade you can have is a 4.00. An A is an A is an A. I hope this clears this up.
ReplyDeleteAnon: Here is a section from my Dec. transfer post:
"I expect that by the end of January, our office will begin to review the transfer applications. We will begin with Summer transfers, as they are the first to enroll and need to have their decisions before the Fall applicants. As well, though, these go a little quicker as there are not as many Summer transfer applicants as compared to Fall (last year it was about 300 vs. 1,500), so these should go quickly. When that process is done, we should go straight into Fall transfers starting in mid-February, and go forward from there."
Hi, I am a Sophomore planning to transfer to UGA for Fall 2011. I am an accounting major and would like to speak with someone in Terry to ask some questions about the transfer process.
ReplyDeleteI know the ideal situation would be for me to attend a transfer info session in February. The problem, however, is that I have two classes every Friday that overlap with the time I would need to get to Athens, attend the session, and come back. If I have perfect attendance in one of these classes, I can exempt the final so I definitely don't want to miss it.
Is there any way I could set up an appointment with someone to get some of the same information I'd get at the transfer sessions at a different time/day?
Thanks!
So those that applied Early Action and got deferred will get their decision in late febuary unlike late March for the rest? Just trying to make sure I understand it, because on the Deferred FAQ's it said that we will receive our decision by April 1
ReplyDeleteDavid: If you want to speak to someone in Terry, then you should review the UGA bulletin and speak with the contact person for your specific major in Terry, and then set up a time to meet. The transfer info sessions are great, but they are run by admissions, and so if you want to speak to someone in Terry, you need to contact them independently.
ReplyDeleteAnon: No, that is not correct. In late February, we will review all Regular Decision and deferred Early Action students, and if they meet Early Action admission criteria, they would hear in Feb. All other applicants (not meeting EA admission criteria) will hear in late March. Deferred EA students did not meet EA admission criteria in Dec., so there would have to be a change in their academic areas, with the most likely being updated test scores as we are not recalculating GPA's.
What is the difference between the EA admission and RD admission criteria?
ReplyDeleteAnon: The only difference between EA applicants and RD applicants, and the process, is that we let EA applicants know something in December. We do not look at them differently.
ReplyDeleteNow, the difference between the earlier admission decisions (Dec/late Feb vs. late March) is that we are looking at only the academic areas (grades, rigor, test scores) in the Dec/Feb decisions and the admitted students are above what is expected academically, as compared to the holistic file review process for the academically competitive students who are not quite at the academic level of the Dec/Feb admits. EA and RD applicants are treated the same, just with different timelines.
Does that help?
Will you recalculate GPA for deferred early applicants if they are not admitted in late February?
ReplyDeleteAnon: We are not able to recalculate GPA's for RD or deferred EA applicants, as we do not have enough time or manpower to do this. We will add any updated transcript sent in to a student's file, and we will then be able to review it as part of the file during the holistic review process.
ReplyDeleteWIll an updated transcript be considered for the late February admissions period?
ReplyDeleteAnon: Please re-read my last few comments, as I have stated that we will not be recalculating GPA's with updated transcripts, and that the Feb decisions are based on grades/re-calculated GPA's in our system, rigor, and test scores.
ReplyDeleteWhen I applied to UGA, I applied for Summer term admission. My dad is trying to fill out the FAFSA and we're wanting to avoid filling out two separate forms, both for Summer and Fall. How do I switch my application from Summer term to Fall term?
ReplyDeleteAnon: Just email admproc@uga.edu about the change, and they will handle it.
ReplyDeleteI am just making sure I read this correctly above. If someone has a teacher recommendation form that has not shown up in the mystatus after 8-10 business days, we should email the admissions office at admproc@uga.edu to check up on this?
ReplyDeleteAnon: If had been over 8-10 business days since you had the material sent in, then first check with the person who submitted it (in your case, your teacher), make sure it was sent in, and make sure about the name on the recommendation. Then contact admproc@uga.edu and give full details on you, your name, and any other name you go by.
ReplyDeleteTypically, how long does UGA spend reviewing each student's application? I know you have so many to review, so I'm just wondering how long a decision for one person takes you.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad just helped me fill out the fafsa form, but after we submitted it said it could not calculate the EFC. My dad did not receive his W-2 but, the UGA deadline is February 1st for financial aid. My question is how would UGA handle this when they look at the fafsa? Would they just wait until my Dad's tax documents were submitted to figure out the amount of aid or would the application still be processed?
ReplyDeleteJust Curious: We do several different reviews during different, multiple times in the admission process, so I cannot give you any specific time frame. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteAnon: This would be a good question for our Student Financial Aid office, but I do not feel comfortable answering this one.
FYI - the UGA deadline for Financial Aid for the 2011-2012 year is July 15, 2011 - not February 1.
ReplyDeleteAnon: While July 15 is the last possible date listed on the Student Financial Aid office website, this is not the timeline that they want to give out to students. The Student Financial Aid office suggests getting in your FAFSA form as soon after Jan. 1 as possible, as it will be help in the processing of financial aid, and some need based aid is limited and thus you do not want to wait until the last minute to try and receive aid.
ReplyDeleteI've talked to my teacher about my missing recontamination letter but she turned it in two weeks ago. She tried to submit it again to make just to make sure but the teacher recontamination site is taking a long time to look for cities. What should I do?
ReplyDeleteHi. I know you have probably already answered this....but iapplied as a freshman for fall 2011 and I would reallylike to change to summer 2011. Can I do this? And if I do, does it have to be through the freshman experience? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteNever mind. I found that you could just enter your school's CEEB code and it will lead you straight to it.
ReplyDeleteDo you want freshman applicants for Fall 2011 to send their immunization records to you guys before we are accepted or after? Just wondering!
ReplyDeleteNorma: Hopefully, things will go better for your teacher this time.
ReplyDeleteAnon: Just email admproc@uga.edu and request to changed from fall 2011 to summer 2011 (remember, this has no impact on a decision of admission).
Anon II: First, do not send admissions your immunization records. If you decide that you are going to attend UGA and have been admitted, check with the Health Center, and follow the instructions on sending in health records.
The school counselor said he submitted an updated transcript last week and it hasn't posted yet on the 'check my application status page'. I know the deadline is tomorrow for it being post-marked but when I'm relying on someone else to have sent it in, I'm getting concerned about not seeing it out there yet. What is the typical turnaround time on this?
ReplyDeleteDenise: We have no idea when it arrived (or will arrive) in our office, so we cannot say when it will be posted. We generally say that 8-10 business days gives us enough leeway, and we are for the most part within a day or two of receiving materials to having it post on the myStatus page. If it is an actual transcript (a list of grades from 9th grade on), it will update on the myStatus page. If it is just a report card or a mid-year listing of just the first semester courses and grades, then it will not update on myStatus, as that is just for transcripts. We have to mark these as different to make sure we actually have a full transcript in a file, not just one semester of work.
ReplyDeleteWill UGA notify us by email or snail mail at the end of March?
ReplyDeleteJust curious: We send out decisions by mail, and you can also see your decision on your myStatus page when they are released.
ReplyDelete