Tag: first year

2015 First Year Application Suggestions

  David Graves      September 2nd, 2014

The first-year application opens up tomorrow, so here are a few hints for when you are starting your application. When you start working on the application, we suggest you have four items with you.  SSN card (you absolutely must give us your correct Social Security Number (please proofread it twice). A copy of your resume (we ask you to list your honors, activities, leadership, and work experiences which you may have already collected for a resume). This information is not used for EA, but we do use it for scholarship review, so that is why we ask it for both EA and RD applicants. A copy of your latest HS transcript (you need to accurately report the college prep curriculum you’re taking and the grades you’ve earned). Your fee payment information (to complete the application you must give us payment information, ideally for a credit card). After you have started the application and created your UGA “ApplicantID”, you can save your work and come back later to complete the application and make any corrections.  Warning: Once you agree to the UGA Honor Code and choose “submit” at the bottom of that final page, you cannot return to make changes or corrections to your application. As well, you need to complete a payment option (check/waiver or credit card) to finalize the submission of the application. When you are selecting your term, decision plan (EA vs RD) or major, select the ones you want, not what someone told you would be “easier for admission”. If you […]

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Top Freshman Scholarship Application Available Now

  David Graves      September 11th, 2013

The Foundation Fellowship Scholarship is the most prestigious undergraduate scholarships at The University of Georgia, if not in the country. The Foundation Fellowship currently provides an annual stipend of $10,780 for in-state students (in addition to the HOPE or Zell Miller Scholarship) and $17,680 for out-of-state students (plus an out-of-state tuition waiver).  Much more than financial support, Program membership provides: spring break travel-study programs, a May study abroad program at Oxford in English immediately following the first year, travel-study grants closely related to students’ academic and professional goals, which can be combined with study overseas for a full semester or academic year, grants to attend research and academic conferences, seminars and book discussions with UGA and visiting professors, and faculty and peer mentoring. To be considered, all applicants must be current high school seniors with clearly superior academic credentials.  Minimum requirements include a high school GPA of 3.80 and a minimum combined, super-scored SAT Total score of 2100 or ACT Composite score of 31. The deadline for the application to the Foundation Fellowship and Bernard Ramsey Scholarships Program is November 4.  The application process requires that you first apply for UGA admission.  The full process is described in detail here.  The Fellowship Program is more completely described on the website of the UGA Honors Program, of which it is a part, here. Feel free to email questions to fframsey@uga.edu .

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Quick Notes About the First Year Application

  David Graves      September 9th, 2013

With the 2014 First Year application opening this past Tuesday, we are receiving many questions from students who have started applying.  Here are a few things to keep in mind. When self-reporting your grades on the application, you should report grades as they are listed on your official high school transcript.  Remember we are only asking for grades from your high school years.  Do not include middle school grades in your application even if they are listed on your transcript. Have a copy of your transcript in front of you when completing the application to help ensure that you don’t have errors.  But if you realize later that you made errors in reporting grades, don’t worry.  We require an official high school transcript because we are going to double check your self-reported GPA. Did you forget to include leadership activities, awards and honors, or other resume material?  Don’t worry.  You can email additional information to our processing team at admproc@uga.edu .  This won’t be reflected on your myStatus, but we will add your email to your file documents.  Please know that any changes we make in our system will not change the PDF copy of your application as the PDF is a fixed snapshot of your application when you first submitted it. The University System of Georgia requires that high school students complete 4 units of science by graduation, including 2 units with a laboratory component.  This is rarely an issue for our in-state applicants.  We are able to be […]

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A Few First Year Applicant FAQ’s

  David Graves      August 28th, 2013

It’s fall semester, and questions are beginning to flood in about UGA’s First Year admission process.  Here are answers to some of our more frequently asked ones. I plan to apply Early Action.  What is the last ACT/SAT exam date you will accept for Early Action (EA)?  We will only be able to use SAT/ACT scores for tests taken by the October 15 EA deadline.  For us to receive your scores in time, you must designate UGA as an automatic recipient when you register for the exam. Do I have to complete the essays if I am applying for Fall 2014 as a First Year student?  It depends.  Are you applying for Regular Decision, whose deadline is January 15 compared to EA’s October 15 deadline?  If so, you will complete four short essays for the 2014 application.  EA applicants who do not meet EA criteria and who are then deferred to the Regular Decision process will complete the essays.  Click here to see this year’s essay topics.  Regular Decision also requires a teacher recommendation and allows you to submit your first term senior grades.  When can I apply?  There is early, and then there is late.  The 2014 First Year application first becomes available at the beginning of September.   Please know that, while there is a HUGE penalty for missing our application and document deadlines, we give no admission benefit or prize for being among the first to submit the application.  Take your time.  (Just don’t wait until the […]

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Admissions Myths and Urban Legends

  David Graves      August 23rd, 2013

Whether we are giving information sessions, visiting high schools, attending college fairs, or meeting with prospective students and families, we are often asked questions about how to apply to and get admitted to UGA.  At times we hear misconceptions and rumors about the admissions process.  We want to make sure that students and parents have the correct information about the University and admissions.  In an effort to dispel common myths, we have compiled a list of the Top 10 UGA Admissions Urban Legends.  Here are a few of the common myths we hear: “UGA admits a quota of students per year from my high school, county, zip code or state.” The most competitive applicants are admitted regardless of high school, county, zip code or state. There are no quotas assigned to these, or any other, characteristics. “UGA has different admissions standards for out-of-state applicants.” Admissions standards are exactly the same for out-of-state applicants as they are for in-state applicants. UGA does not have a cap on the number of out-of-state students that can be admitted. “If I apply Early Action, it will demonstrate to UGA that I really want to go there. Even if I am deferred admission, this will be an advantage in the Regular Decision process.” Applicants deferred from Early Action to Regular Decision do not have any advantages/disadvantages over those who apply Regular Decision. All applicants seeking admission to UGA are offered an equal opportunity for admission regardless of the decision plan. Read our entire list of Admissions […]

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Are you ready to apply?

  David Graves      August 1st, 2013

Especially if you have an older sibling who’s been through this before or maybe your parent happens to be a school counselor, your first question for August 1 might be, are there any changes to UGA freshman admission this year? Our simple answer is, not really.  Your research will show that we have earned the roles of an internationally esteemed flagship state research university, the oldest in the United States.   Lots of students want to start college in the exciting warmth of Athens.  Over the past two decades we have realized unprecedented increases in the diversity and academic profile of our freshman classes.   UGA admission has become remarkably competitive.  So applying to UGA is—and you deserve—a relatively complex process that will fairly reveal to us your potential for academic success and for contributions to our campus in comparison with an expected 20,000+ other applicants. One change is that we’re opening our Application for 2014 First-Year students after Labor Day, September 3, instead of late August as in the recent past.  The reason is a bit of caution on our part while we are in the midst of a multi-year switch to a massive Banner student information system version called “Connect UGA”.  It is replacing a legacy system finally showing its age.   Our goal for the change is that you shouldn’t notice. Two other 2014 changes are in the essay topics we require for Regular Decision and a prohibition for applying for Summer, 2014 admission. This year, Summer […]

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Essay Questions for the 2014 First Year Application

  David Graves      June 13th, 2013

As promised, here are the essay questions for the 2014 First Year application. 1.  Choose an intellectual or creative opportunity (for example, community involvement, a summer program, a unique project, travel abroad, etc.) from your high school years that you have enjoyed and highlight how you have grown personally because of the experience. 2.  It has been said that every friend and acquaintance with whom you share your life can become, in ways small or large, a part of who you are.  Briefly tell us about one such person—not a relative—who many people would say is quite different from you.  Use only her or his first name, and in particular, reflect on your interactions and how those experiences may have changed you. 3.  Tell us an interesting or amusing story about yourself that you have not already shared in your application. 4.  UGA’s First Year Odyssey Program offers more than 300 seminar courses for new freshmen.  Some examples include “The History of Horseracing”, “Einstein and the Theories of Relativity” and “The Zombie Plague”.   If you could create your own seminar course at UGA in any subject area that interested you, what would it be? What would the course be named and what would you hope to learn? These four essay questions will be required for First Year applicants who apply Regular Decision or are deferred Early Action.  Each essay should be about 150 to 200 words, but remember to focus on substance and not word count.  Before submitting your […]

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Summer Suggestions

  David Graves      May 17th, 2013

With the school year almost over and summer nearly here, here are a few suggestions for things you can do over the break. Send your test scores to UGA.  You’re not on our radar until you have contacted us in some manner, typically by sending SAT and/or ACT scores.   This means we can’t invite you to summer programs, send updates about admissions, etc.  You can send test scores to UGA as soon as you take the test, you don’t have to wait until you apply.  We super score the SAT and ACT, so why not go ahead and send your scores? Visit colleges you are interested in.  Summer is a great time to start looking at colleges you’re planning on applying to next fall.  Many of you will already have travel plans this summer.  If your travel happens to be near a college that you’re interested in, go ahead and schedule a visit.  It’s never too early to start visiting colleges.  You can schedule a visit to UGA online here. Read a book, or two or three.  Many of you are going to have summer reading lists that you must complete for school next fall.  Make sure you read all of your required books!  Reading isn’t just a way to pass time.  The benefits of reading include boosting test scores, building vocabulary and improving memory. Get organized.  Most students are going to apply to multiple colleges.  Each college can differ in what is required for an application.  Keep everything […]

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First Year Decisions, May 1 and Mid-May

  David Graves      April 30th, 2013

As the Wednesday, May 1 national commitment deadline for accepted First Year students approaches, we are receiving a flood of questions from UGA applicants who had agreed to join our Wait List. Our advice to all is to remember the key word in Wait List is wait.  Just as airlines can’t assign standby passengers to seats until they are sure there are seats available, we cannot admit students from the Wait List until we know if there is space available for them.  Commitment deposits from already accepted First Year students are by far the most solid predictor for how many of them will enroll.  But it’s important to understand that their May 1 deadline is a postmark (i.e. “snail mail”) deadline. Therefore it’s unlikely that we will know whether we can offer admission to our increasingly anxious Wait List students and, if so, how many we will have space for until the middle of May and possibly later than that.  We should add that we are just as anxious and hopeful as they are. Remember to review our Wait List FAQs for answers to many common questions. Go Dawgs!

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3 April QuickNotes: First Year Students, Transfers, and New Transient or Study Abroad Applicants

  David Graves      April 10th, 2013

FIRST YEAR STUDENTS:  Have you changed your mind about when you want to begin your freshman enrollment at UGA? May 15 is the last date for Accepted Fall 2013 freshmen to request a switch from starting in Fall Semester to starting Summer Semester.  The big deadline:  Your acceptance deposit must be received no later than the postmark deadline of Wednesday, May 1!  Another check to write, sooner than later, is for Campus Housing.  Are you on our Wait List?  There is still no answer as to when we will make the decision for you and a little over one-thousand other students waiting to hear.  We know “As soon as possible” is not a comfort, but it is true. Our best advice continues to be what we’ve shared with you on the Wait List FAQ, https://www.admissions.uga.edu/article/waiting-list-faq.html .  TRANSFER APPLICANTS:  Have you met the deadline to get your Transfer Admission documents to us? April 1 was the deadline for Fall Transfer student applications as well as the target deadline for us to receive all transcripts upon which we’ll make your admission decision.  Remember, we must receive current, official transcripts (not grade reports) from every college you have attended.   This includes those in which you may have been Dual Enrolled while in high school or colleges you attended only for a fraction of the first semester. Your Application Status Check should indicate the date we received your transcripts.  Within reason, our office will be flexible for official transcripts that arrive as late as this week […]

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