<p>Dean J,</p>
<p>Since the application process is paperless this year, do you think decisions will come out earlier? I've looked at last year's blog entries, and it seems like the process was slowed down by envelope stuffing and sorting papers. Do you think we will find out earlier this year due to the switch?</p>
<p>Also, is there any way to change out username/password on our status page? It's really hard to remember the code that was emailed to us.</p>
<p>I haven't heard anything about a paperless process, enlighten me:
Is it just the notification of accept/reject that's paperless? Or do you mean the whole process? I sent in quite a few things that were paper.</p>
<p>Dunn, the first paragraph of the application instructions:
[QUOTE]
The University of Virginia is an exclusive user of the Common Application. Please submit your application online, through the Common Application website. If you have no access to a computer at home, school, or your public library, you may submit a paper application. Be advised that we are a paperless office and submitting documents by mail is not recommended. Applying by paper will slow the processing and evaluation of your application, but it will not negatively impact your admission decision.
[/QUOTE]
</p>
<p>It's okay...most people ignored the directions and we got more paper (and more applications) than ever before. I don't see how notification can be made early this year. We are working as quickly as possible, but please understand that this is a difficult time for our staff and we aren't at 100%. We are still plugging away. I imagine that we'll be back on pace in a few days.</p>
<p>As for your username, that is your computing ID forever. If you become a UVa student, it will be your email address. The current students can chime in about that. You will never change it, though once you become a student, you can add alias addresses that feed to that same account. For example, my real email address is a combination of my initials, a number, and a random letter. I created my Dean J alias, which feeds messages right into my normal account.</p>
<p>Your password is deliberately cryptic. If you read the instructions that were emailed to you, you an see that the system will generate a new password for you if you follow the registration steps again. You will never be able to change your password to something that is as simple as your Gmail password. It will always be complex, but you will grow accustomed to remembering it. Again, the current students can chime in about this.</p>
<p>Ah, sounds good. The paper stuff I sent in were like transcripts and letters of recommendation.</p>
<p>All that paper is contributing to making this one of the slowest seasons, processing-wise, that I've ever seen. </p>
<p>Younger students, be sure to read each school's instructions and follow them!</p>
<p>Dean J,
Sorry to hear about the frustrations with the paper!!! I know, however, that while many colleges are going paperless, that doesn't necessarily mean that high schools are. At my school,, there is one process for all apps regardless of the school it is going to. Standard school forms for recs, secondary school report, etc. And all of this is done via paper.
I did mention to my counselor about UVA being paperless and requesting faxes, but she said it complicated things on my schools end, and that the school didn't feel comfortable sending Social security numbers over the fax line.
So I do hear you frustration, but maybe this new admissions paperless "movement" should be also communicated to conselors so that they can jump on board.</p>
<p>The issue is not with transcripts. The instructions say that transcripts can come by mail or by Common App. The issue is with all the extra documentation that gets sent. That 5th rec, that 4 page resume, the copies of awards, newspapers, photos...you get the picture.</p>
<p>BTW, we don't use SSN anymore. It's need on the application if a student is applying for aid so the aid office can match the award up with the account. We create a unique university ID when the application is submitted. No need to put SSN on the top of every page.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, our budget and staff size limits our travel, so we rely on students to remind their counselors of deadlines and methods of submission. There is a counselor newsletter that is emailed to all counselors in our database that includes information just for that audience. Common App has also done presentations around the country about their counselor portal in an effort to make them aware of the opportunities presented to them through that site.</p>
<p>Student chiming in on the "username"/password:
The UVa computing ID is what you're calling a username. It will be with you for life while at UVa: teachers will ask for it on info sheets, you'll use it to log into computers on-grounds, it will be your email address (most students don't create aliases), and it will annoy your parents. It's actually very nice because it doesn't show your name, you don't have to think of an email address, and it's short but descriptive.
Password: yes, you hate it now. Right now, just make sure you write it down and keep it safe since you probably won't use it again for another few months (let's face it, decisions will not be early, and I wouldn't get your hopes up at all...don't go plague their system mid-March by logging in everyday. Watch Dean J's blog, she'll announce when the decisions are going up). However, if you do get admitted, you'll start to use it more and more, and each time you use it, you'll remember it a bit more. It's tough at first, but it will come, don't worry, and eventually you'll wonder how you never remembered it. Also, I HIGHLY suggest that you never change it if you come to UVa. I've seen people have trouble getting wireless set up, logging into computers, and other problems because they changed their password. Even though they think they changed it, the main one is still the only one accepted by a few computing things, and they get stuck because they forgot their original password and have to go somewhere to find it out and it's a mess.</p>