Random Admission Thoughts June 2014

We have successfully made it through Year 1 of our new student system, and we have a great class of freshman coming in for orientation, and our Fall transfer decisions are at the end of the process. We just finished a meeting to discuss the changes for next year's freshman application, and orientation seems to be moving along well. As such, here are a few thoughts as we transition from the end of the cycle for the Fall 2014 students and move forward with Spring/Summer/Fall 2015 applicants.

• At this point, approximately 60% of our enrolling freshman have sent in their final HS transcripts. Please make sure to do this ASAP, but know that this will not impact orientation. If we have not received a final transcript by August 1, we will not allow you to register for future terms until this issue is cleared up.
• In the same vein, transfers (and freshman with dual enrollment credit) need to send in updated college transcripts with Spring work. We are reviewing these daily, and we are also focused on checking orientation rosters to make sure we enter in updated credit prior to a student attending an upcoming session.
• Fall 2014 students, make sure you pay attention to your email, as we will be sending out information to students who may be missing items, from VLP to final transcripts, Immunization forms to completing Emergency Contact information.
• While the Spring 2015 applications are open and the deadline is 9/1, we will not begin any review of files until August at the earliest. We still have a large number of things to review for Fall 2014 students (final transcripts, orientation, etc.), so we need to focus on taking care of these issues first.
• Spring 2015 transfers, make sure to send in all required materials. If you attended 3 colleges, we need transcripts from all 3 colleges, even if one was dual enrollment work from HS.
• Fall 2015 freshman applicants: The Freshman application will open up on September 2. Do not apply for Spring 2015, as we need you to apply for the term you actually wish to enroll. In addition, no matter what you have heard, there is no benefit to applying for Summer vs Fall. Only apply for Summer if you actually want to attend for Summer term. We treat these applicants the same, but there are data challenges to shifting a student from one term to another.
• We hope to have information on our updated short essays sometime over the next few weeks. I will post our essays and any changes when things are finalized.
• To prepare for applying as a freshman, here are three things you should do; Get a copy of your transcript so you will be ready to enter in self-reported grades, create or update your resume so you will be ready to enter in your activities/sports/work/etc., and go ahead and have your SAT/ACT (with Writing) scores sent to us. We only use the highest scores, so there is no harm in sending in all scores to us.
• It is easy to match up test scores sent prior to applying, but for any documents, please wait until after you apply to send these in. We can still match documents sent in prior to a student applying, but it takes longer and has to be matched by hand.
• This summer, READ. Even if you hate reading, read. It will help with the SAT/ACT, it will prepare you for writing essays, and it will help get you ready for college courses.
• Please remember that if you hear a rumor about UGA Admissions, ignore it. Nothing good comes from urban legends, especially in admissions.
• Be patient during the admissions process. UGA is a selective college, so our admission process takes longer that some other colleges.
• Enjoy your summer, stay out of trouble, and get ready for an exciting and crazy year of college admissions.

Go Dawgs!