Hi Everyone! My name is Seth Filkins, Senior Associate Director of Admissions Operations. I have been with Undergraduate Admissions at UGA for over 13 years and have held behind-the-scenes roles in the office during this time. However, David Graves has asked me to compose this blog post regarding our response to the numerous tragedies that have befallen our state and the Southeast this fall, so this will be my introductory appearance on the blog.
This has been a difficult year for many in Georgia and the Southeast with the impacts of the Apalachee tragedy, Hurricane Helene, the chemical fire in Rockdale County, and the impending landfall of Hurricane Milton. We empathize with those who are hurting and understand that your primary focus is (and should be) far-removed from college admissions. In light of these impacts, last Wednesday, October 2, we began sending emails to high school seniors in the regions impacted by Helene, notifying them that we would be extending our Early Action application deadline one week from October 15 to October 22. Due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Milton, we wanted to share what we had already emailed students and provide an update for those who will be impacted by Milton.
Early Action vs Regular Decision
As a reminder, there is no difference in the review process or admission criteria for students who apply Early Action versus Regular Decision. There is only a difference in the timeline of the review and whether we can consider things like later test scores or first semester senior grades. If you are impacted by the storm and are unable to apply Early Action, please know that the same admission and scholarship consideration is given to Early Action and Regular Decision applicants, so there is no disadvantage to applying Regular Decision. Again, it just means that you’ll have a little more time to get the required materials to us and accordingly will get a decision a little later as well (March instead of November/December).
Deadlines
For the last few years, our materials deadline has been on October 29, which is two weeks after the Early Action application deadline of October 15. Due to overall timeline considerations, we are unable to move the Early Action materials deadline beyond October 29. However, if your school is closed or scheduled tests have been cancelled and you have already applied Early Action, we want to assure you that there is no disadvantage to being deferred to the Regular Decision timeline if your application is incomplete when we release Early Action decisions. If your application is deferred, as long as you have your file completed by January 15, you will receive the same consideration as you otherwise would have and will not be at any disadvantage in our process.
For those in the counties listed at the bottom of this post, we will be granting a one-week extension to submit an Early Action application. Due to limitations in the Common App platform, we are unable to do across-the-board deadline extensions to targeted geographic regions. However, we will be able to effectively allow a deadline extension by permitting students to submit a Regular Decision application, then complete the deadline extension request form to reclassify it as an Early Action application. If applying after the Early Action deadline, please submit the Regular Decision application via the Common App no later than October 22 11:59 p.m. After you have submitted your application and have received the “Next Steps for your UGA Application” email from us, you will see a link to a form near the top of your application status page that will allow you to submit a request to have your application updated from Regular Decision to Early Action. This option will only be displayed to those in the listed counties. You will have until October 27 at 11:59 p.m. to submit your request to switch your application to Early Action consideration. Please note that even with this extended application deadline, the materials deadline will remain October 29.
Please take care of yourselves and prioritize your own and your family’s well-being!
Our original list of impacted areas included the Panhandle and Big Bend regions of Florida, all of South and Northeast Georgia, the Upstate region of South Carolina, western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee. With the impending arrival of Hurricane Milton, we are adding the rest of Central and North Florida to our list. The counties receiving this one-week extension are:
Georgia: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Baldwin, Banks, Barrow, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bibb, Bleckley, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Butts, Calhoun, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Chattahoochee, Clarke, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Columbia, Cook, Crawford, Crisp, Dawson, Decatur, Dodge, Dooly, Dougherty, Early, Echols, Effingham, Elbert, Emanuel, Evans, Fannin, Forsyth, Franklin, Gilmer, Glascock, Glynn, Grady, Greene, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Hancock, Harris, Hart, Houston, Irwin, Jackson, Jasper, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Jones, Lamar, Lanier, Laurens, Lee, Liberty, Lincoln, Long, Lowndes, Lumpkin, Macon, Madison, Marion, Mcduffie, Mcintosh, Meriwether, Miller, Mitchell, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Muscogee, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Peach, Pickens, Pierce, Pike, Pulaski, Putnam, Quitman, Rabun, Randolph, Richmond, Rockdale, Schley, Screven, Seminole, Spalding, Stephens, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taliaferro, Tattnall, Taylor, Telfair, Terrell, Thomas, Tift, Toombs, Towns, Treutlen, Troup, Turner, Twiggs, Union, Upson, Walton, Ware, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wheeler, White, Wilcox, Wilkes, Wilkinson, Worth
Florida: Alachua, Baker, Bay, Bradford, Brevard, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Clarke, Clay, Collier, Columbia, De Soto, Dixie, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Glades, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Holmes, Indian River, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Nassau, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Saint Johns, Saint Lucie, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton, Washington
North Carolina: Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Davie, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, Jackson, Macon, Madison, Mcdowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin, Yancey
South Carolina: Abbeville, Anderson, Cherokee, Chester, Greenville, Greenwood, Lancaster, Laurens, Mccormick, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens, Spartanburg, Union, York
Tennessee: Anderson, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Loudon, Mcminn, Monroe, Morgan, Polk, Roane, Scott, Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi, Union, Washington