We have finished up the freshman decisions (except for the wait list decisions that we will not know about for a while), summer transfer decisions are almost completely done, and fall transfers are in mid-stream. As such, here are a few pieces of information, wisdom, and random ideas.
- Transfer applicants, please make sure that all transcripts from all colleges attended are in. Even if it was a summer course, a dual enrollment course in HS, or whatever, we need official transcripts from all colleges.
- Do not have a fax sent to us, as we will just shred it. Why waste your time and ours. Again, no faxes.
- Everyone, please make sure to not wait until the last minute to take care of things. If you are late for a class, it will go on without you. If you are late for a plane, it will take off without you. Please don’t let a college move on without you just because you did not take care of things on time.
- Transfer students, please make sure to look at the grades on your college transcripts and know that we look at all grades in transferable courses, even if you repeat a bad grade. I just looked at a transcript where the college listed the GPA as a 3.00, but we have it as a 2.15, because of numerous F grades in the first term that the other college waived when the course was repeated with better grades. It is not like the Men in Black where you can just hit a button and we forget about some grades.
- Admitted freshman, deposits are due on May 1. Do not wait until the last minute of April 30th to make a decision if possible. In addition, do not double deposit (unless you are on a wait list and then get admitted off of it, in which case you should contact the school you no longer will be attending). Double depositing is bad!
- Admitted freshman (and transfers), keep your grades up! We will be looking at your final grades, and we have revoked admissions at times. I hate those calls, so please do not make me call you about a big drop in your grades.
- Wait listed students, please know that if we could make wait list decisions sooner, we would, but we have to wait and see what the freshman class is looking like numbers wise. The “wait” in wait list is there for a reason, even if it is painful. Sorry!
- Rising seniors in HS, start make plans for visiting campuses, determining who might write your recommendations, get a copy of your HS transcript after junior year is complete, etc.
- As well, rising seniors, review how the colleges you are interested in look at the SAT and ACT scores. For instance, if you send UGA three SAT scores, we will only use the highest subscores, so you do not have to worry about score choice. In other words, if you are interested in UGA, send in your test scores early! This will let us communicate with you earlier, will make sure you do not forget to send the scores, etc. You would not believe the number of people who are just now calling us because they forgot to send in their SAT/ACT scores, even with us reminding them 3+ times.
- Find time to read a book outside of your normal school work. If you have time to tweet, get on Facebook, or play Call of Duty, you have time to read. Just do it!
- Freshman and sophomore HS students, your grades in your first two years do count. We will be looking at them. So do not slack off and think we will just ignore these grades.
- Transfer applicants, please be patient. We have roughly 2,500 fall transfer applicants, and it takes time to review them. I would guess that about 800 decisions already made, but it takes a while. Again, patience.
- On April 7, To Kill a Mockingbird will air on the USA channel, 8 PM EST. If you get a chance, watch it! It is wonderful!
- Parents, do not listen to rumors. If someone says “I heard that UGA …”, run away with your hands over your ears. Really, do that!
- Admitted Freshman, choose a college that fits what you are looking for in a college, not what your friend/neighbor/boyfriend/girlfriend think is the right one for you.
- Do a Random Act of Kindness today. Trust me, it will make at least two people smile.
Go Dawgs!