Tag: deposit

April/May 2019 Random Admission Thoughts

  David Graves      April 29th, 2019

Late April/Early May is always a challenging time in Admissions, and it always brings about interesting questions. We are at the end of one cycle of admissions for the freshmen and transfers starting in Fall 2019, and we are starting to begin working with rising HS seniors for the following year. Throw in the anxious time surrounding the May 1 deposit deadline, working with Wait-List students and getting everything ready for orientation in the summer and you have a wide range of activities and emotions. As such, here are some thoughts on the upcoming days/months ahead. Admitted Students May 1 is the freshman deposit deadline. We have sent out a huge number of communications about this date to accepted freshmen, and it is important that you not miss this date if you want to attend UGA. We don’t accept late deposits, so make sure to submit it on time to assure a place in the freshman class. If you are not going to be attending UGA, we wish you the best at your future college destination. If you are able, go to your status page and reply to your offer of admission that you will not be attending.  Wait-List students, please be patient with us as we review the deposits that have come in, what our class looks like, etc. Every year seems like a marathon race to get to May 2 (the day after deposits are due), so please let us catch our breath before asking about the WL. […]

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The Language of Admissions

  David Graves      September 6th, 2018

My daughter, who is a sophomore International Affairs major at UGA, probably thinks she can hold her own in a hospital operating room. Why? Because being a Grey’s Anatomy fangirl has taught her all the medical lingo she would ever need in this life. Fourteen seasons and 317 episodes of the life of Meredith Grey, Cristina Yang, Miranda Bailey, McDreamy, McSteamy, and all the other doctors of Seattle Grace/Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital have taught her well. Words like V-Fib, central line, metastasis, Pre and Post-Op, and phrases such as “I need a ten-blade and 100 cc’s of epi stat” can just roll off her tongue. Me, I am terrified of blood, and almost all medical terms just go right over my head, even with a wife who is a nurse. In the same way, a number of occupations and offices have their own language. If you have ever been to the Varsity (a wonderfully greasy hamburger place in Atlanta and Athens), you know they have their own lingo for food, from a Naked Dog to Chili Steak all the way (see the Varsity Lingo page for the full details). Whether you are an accountant, in construction, work in finance or are a lawyer, every field seems to have their own language. College admissions is no different, and it can sometimes get confusing. Here is a helpful guide to some of the key words and phrases in the world of admissions. Binding: While there are many “Early” terms (early decision, early action, […]

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April 1 Random Admission Thoughts

  David Graves      April 1st, 2016

It is April 1, so we are juggling a wide range of things at this time. We are working with freshmen, transfers, deposits, recruiting future classes, orientation planning, etc. I am also in the middle of a large installation of a new recruitment system (which is going great), but it is eating up most of my time right now. As such, here are a few notes about what is happening: Transfer applicants: We are well into reviewing transfer files, but each ones takes time, as we have to determine how your courses transfer into UGA, calculate an overall transfer GPA, determine hours, etc. Transfer decisions go out daily once we start the review process, and we are averaging roughly 50 files reviewed per day, M-F. I cannot guess when an applicant will hear a decision, as it depends on the number of applicants, when a file is complete, how complex the files is, etc. I am an admissions officer, not a fortune teller who can predict the future. Documents: Transfers, please remember to give us 10 business days from the day a transcript is sent OR you submit your application, whichever is last. It is a mostly manual process to match college transcripts, so it takes a while. If you left a college off the application this will cause problems, as we need official transcripts from every college you attended as an Undergraduate. Timelines: The Timelines page at under the blog header is the best place to understand more about […]

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Fall 2014 Transfer Update

  David Graves      March 25th, 2014

There have been a number of changes in admissions for Fall 2014 transfer applicants, so I will try to cover this information as best as possible. The Fall transfer applicants will be the first group of students with transfer work in our new system. While we normally begin the Fall transfer review process in March, I expect we will begin the process this year in the first week of April. The reason for the delay is due to the fact that we are having to convert all of the transfer articulation/equivalency information from our old system to our new system, and a large part of that has to be done by hand. This is not a quick process, and our evaluation team is working on this as I type this post. We hope to have good percentage of the most common transfer colleges’ data in shortly, which will then allow us to start the process. With the new system in place, we are now able to use plus/minus grades from other colleges in our transfer GPA calculation, and they will translate to UGA’s plus/minus grades. This only impacts students attending a college with a plus/minus grading system, but it is a change from the past, so we want you to know about it. Starting in Fall 2014, admitted transfer students who want to attend UGA will be required to submit a non-refundable commitment deposit to hold a space in the fall class. This will be a $100 deposit, and it […]

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April 2012 Updates for Freshman and Transfers

  David Graves      April 19th, 2012

It is mid-April, and life is still fairly hectic in our office. Freshman decisions are out, but we are still in the thick of reviewing transfer files, monitoring commitment deposits for the freshman class, traveling, hosting accepted student events on campus and around the US, mailing out tons of materials, etc. But we also know that this is a hectic time for you as well, so here is a quick update on what is going on at UGA. Admitted Freshman: We suggest you do not wait until the last moment to decide where you will be attending college. We are fine if you wait until May 1 to submit your commitment deposit, but we do not want you to get it in late and suddenly have problems attending your intended college. Make a good decision, and make a well thought out decision, but don’t put it off just to delay making a decision. In addition, make sure not to catch “senioritis”, as if it is too severe, it could be fatal to your enrollment at UGA! In addition, all of our merit based scholarships (except for the Goizueta scholarships that had a separate application) have been awarded. Approximately 9-10% of the class was offered a merit based scholarship (with out of state at times having a partial or full waiver of the OOS fees), so it was a very competitive process. Scholarship offers are displayed on a student’s myStatus page if one is offered, and the section only appears if […]

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Commitment Deposit Do’s and Don’ts

  David Graves      April 27th, 2011

It is almost May 1, which in the college admission world means it is time for admitted students to indicate what college they will be attending. I have always loved the “Commitment” image to the left, as it is an indication that colleges take commitment deposits seriously, and so should you. As such, here are a few do’s and don’ts about the subject. Do send in a Commitment Deposit by May 1 if it is required by the college. Don’t send in multiple Commitment Deposits (it is called double depositing), as this is considered a serious issue, and could lead to both colleges deciding to cancel your application (it is like asking two people to marry you). Do let the other colleges on your list know that you will not be attending their institution. UGA has a form on the myStatus page, so check with the colleges to which you have applied and how they suggest submitting this information. This helps colleges know earlier about wait-lists, enrollment numbers, etc. Don’t be late with your Commitment Deposit. Most colleges will be a little flexible, but you do not want to be told that you cannot enroll because you were a week or more late with the deposit. Do finish up the year strong academically. Don’t slack off and have your grades spiral down, as this could lead problems when a college sees your final transcript. Do have a good summer! Don’t have such a good summer that you get into trouble. […]

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Online Committment Deposit now Available!

  David Graves      March 30th, 2011

After years (and years and years) of only being able to submit the $200 Freshman Commitment Deposit by mail, I am proud to announce that admitted freshman can now submit the deposit online! While this may seem minor in some respects, this is exciting for us in that we hope it makes things easier for you, the students, and for the UGA Bursar’s Office. As you know, the Admissions Office has tried to become as paperless as possible, and now we can take one more step in helping the Bursar’s office go this direction. Admitted freshman can see the link to the Online Commitment Deposit from their myStatus page, and you can then move forward with reserving your spot at UGA. If you know that you will be attending a specific college, I would suggest that you move forward with sending in your commitment deposit (or whatever action your college of choice asks for), and then let the other colleges that you are considering know this decision. These actions let the colleges know who to focus their attention on, who to now stop mailing materials to (this is probably the highlight for some of you!), and at some point, it will allow the colleges to know more about the wait-list possibilities and overall enrollment numbers. May 1 is the official deposit date for most colleges, so if you still need time to review financial issues, visit campus one last time, or if you just don’t want to make that decision […]

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Commitment Deposit Time!

  David Graves      April 15th, 2010

We are coming up on May 1, the date by which most freshman applicants need to make a commitment to attend their chosen college. UGA, along with all the other colleges, wants you to take your time and make sure you make the best choice for your future education. You may still be waiting on financial information, taking one last visit, or just trying to make up your mind. If you are still unsure, take the time to make a good decision. But if you know that you will be attending a specific college, I would suggest that you move forward with sending in your commitment deposit (or whatever action your college of choice asks for), and then let the other colleges that you are considering know this decision. These actions let the colleges know who to focus their attention on, who to now stop mailing materials to (this is probably the highlight for some of you!), and at some point, it will allow the colleges to know more about the wait-list possibilities and overall enrollment numbers. So if you know where you will be going to college next year, go ahead and let all of the colleges you are working with know this fact. Don’t just be involved, be committed! Go Dawgs!

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