It is the start of 2019, and a wide range of things are happening in the UGA Admissions Office. We have just closed down the freshman application for admission, we will open the transfer application for summer/fall 2019 on January 22nd, and we will be spending the next two and a half months or so hiding away in our offices as we read admission files. As such, here are some Admissions Thoughts as we move forward.
- The application deadline for freshman was 1/1, and the document deadline is 1/8 for materials. The required documents for freshmen are an official transcript and a counselor school report/recommendation (not a school profile). As well, any test scores must be requested to be sent to us from the testing agency by 1/8 (not an in office deadline), and the last test scores we can use were from the December SAT/ACT. If things are sent in after 1/8, we might be able to use them, but we cannot make any promises. If the item in question shows up on the status page, that means we have imported it into your file as on time.
- We have a very large freshman applicant pool, with the overall number of EA and RD applicants together totaling 29,500+. Some of these applicants will not submit all the required items, so the official number of complete applications will not be known until later (but I expect it will be close to 29,000).
- Starting on 1/14, our office will be in quiet time, which means our counselors will not be available to take calls and any email replies will have some delays. Remember, UGA does not use designated interest as a decision factor, so there is no need to send a note to the counselor assigned to your school/area to let them know UGA is #1 on your list. Right now, just make sure all materials are in on time and have patience. When your file is complete, you will see all the checklist items on the status page have a green check and the words “Awaiting Decision” show under the UGA counselor next to the Application Status indicator.
- If you applied through the Coalition application system, please make sure to complete the Self Reported grades form off the UGA admissions status page. We do not use the complicated Coalition self reported grades section, as our form is much less complicated and matches what the non-Coalition applicants completed. This helps us to keep on track with our decision time lines, so thank you.
- Once you have submitted an application, we cannot go back into it and make changes. If you need to add something to your freshman application that you left out or wanted to submit, either use the Update Form (for deferred EA applicants) or update it as a part of a resume that you upload on your status page.
- On January 22nd, the Transfer application for Summer/Fall terms will open. There is no difference in our review of summer vs fall applicants, so select the term that you truly will be attending. If you are admitted for summer and do not attend, you cannot just show up for fall and enroll. Acceptance is only for the term for which you were admitted.
- The consideration level for Summer/Fall have changed for transfer applicants with 30-59 transferable hours, and it is now a 3.30 transfer GPA. Remember, this is not a cut point or requirement, but instead is the GPA for us to begin considering a transfer student with 30-59 hours for transfer admission.
- Roughly 5,000 freshmen applied during the last 3 days before the RD deadline, so please be patient as we match up documents. Of the 12,000+ RD applicants, roughly 65% of them have complete files. As such, 4,000+ still need to get in materials and/or test scores.
- We will continue to award scholarships through the end of March, so please be patient as we get through the freshman file reading, the transfer decisions and the scholarship process.
- I cannot, will not, and am not able to guess about any decisions. I feel like I am Dr. Seuss when I say this (I will not guess in a box, I will not guess with a fox).
- Remember, senior courses and grades are still very important. We will be looking closely at the final transcripts of all enrolling students in the summer, and we will contact any student who has serious declines in their grades (large % of C’s or have D/F grades). If all indicators point to a student having problems freshman year, we would rather take steps prior to enrollment then ask a student to leave or lose any merit aid after their first year at UGA.
- Have a great last semester, enjoy your final months of being a senior, and I wish everyone well in the overall college admissions process!
Go Dawgs!