First Year Application Reminders

The January 15 Regular Decision deadline is quickly approaching.  This is a busy time in our office as we are receiving thousands of documents, both online and in the mail.  Here are a few suggestions for you as the deadline nears:

• Do not wait until the deadline to do things.  If you wait until the very last minute to apply, you are putting yourself in a position with no room for error.  We will leave the application open through January 15.  The online payment option is only available until 9:30PM EST, however you will still be able to choose a mail payment option after 9:30.  
• It is better to apply prior to sending in supplemental material (with the exception of SAT/ACT scores).  An admissions file is not started for you until we receive your application.  It will take longer for us to match your material if you submit something before you apply.  When we receive material and there is no admissions application, that document is added to a holding file.  On the other hand, when you submit something after you have applied, it is added directly to your admissions file.
• Please be patient.  It can take up to 5 to 10 business days for something to be added to your file once we have received it.  Right before and after application deadlines, our incoming mail greatly increases which can slow things down a bit.  If something is not showing as received on your myStatus, first check with the person who sent it (teacher, counselor, etc.) to verify that it was sent.  Before you call or email us, make sure you have given us enough time to receive and match the document to your file.  Business days do not include weekends and holidays.
• Make sure the name on your teacher recommendation/high school evaluation/transcript/test scores matches the name on your application.  This is the primary reason something will not be matched with your file.  If you know you sent SAT/ACT scores (and you have verified that they have been sent to UGA from College Board/ACT), please double-check to see that the name, social and date of birth on your exam matches what you listed on your application.  If you know your teacher or counselor has sent in their form and after 10 business days it is not in your file, be sure to double-check and make sure the individual who sent it listed your name correctly.  If you find that there is a discrepancy in how your name, date of birth, etc. is listed, please let us know.
• We will accept any SAT/ACT that is taken in January for Regular Decision.  You must designate UGA as an automatic recipient for your scores when registering for the exam in order for us to receive them in time.
• While the deadline is January 15, we will be accepting supplemental documents for a couple of weeks after this date as we know that some schools, counselors and teachers are overwhelmed at this time of year.  That does not mean that you should wait to have things sent in, but that we will try to work with schools on documents.
• If a school evaluation is submitted online through our system, it will show up in 1 to 2 business days as it goes straight into a student’s file.  If a teacher recommendation is submitted online through our system using the link from the email students can generate from the myStatus, it will also show up in 1 to 2 business days.
• If you send a fax, it will be shredded.  We do not accept faxed documents, so please do not send them.