We are only a few days away from the moment that many of you
are eagerly awaiting: Notification of
Seniors who have applied for Early Decision at The University of Georgia. I
hope all of you who have applied will login to the UGA system on Friday or
Saturday and scream with delight as you read the magical words that you have
been accepted. I think you all have worked so hard in the past few years and
jumped through so many hoops that you deserve to gain admission. Good-luck!
What is UGA looking for in their early-admission candidates? According to UGA's
website, last year's applicants had
* Avg. GPA of 3.95
* Mean SAT of 1312 (without writing)
* Mean SAT Writing of 650
* Avg. of 5 AP courses
As your teacher, however, I also know that only a percentage of students who
apply for early admission will be selected, and, unfortunately, some of you
with high grade-point averages, excellent test scores, and wonderful
personalities will receive disappointing news. We go through this every year,
and your teachers will be just as perplexed and upset as you are over many of
the students who receive deferment. Before you login to that cursed system, I
hope you will consider the following.
• Let’s congratulate the students who have been accepted. They have worked hard
and deserve our support.
• Let’s commiserate and help the students who are deferred. They have also
worked hard and deserve our support.
• If you are deferred, do not start wondering “what did I do wrong,” or “why
don’t they want me?” It’s a game of numbers, and sometimes the numbers simply
do not make sense.
• If you are not admitted through early decision that does not mean you will
not get into UGA. Most of you will be accepted, but you will just have to jump
through a couple of additional hoops and wait a few more months.
• Your next step will be to write the short essays, obtain a teacher’s
recommendation, and get everything to UGA by January 15th.
• If you need a recommendation, see a teacher as soon as possible. Most
teachers will not write recommendations over the holidays, but they may be
willing to write the recommendation during the first week of the new semester.
Choose a teacher who knows you well, someone who has the time and desire to
write a glowing recommendation that will make UGA see the error of its ways and
beg you to come to Athens. (UGA guidelines stipulate that the teacher must be a
teacher who taught you in an 11th or 12th grade academic course.)
I hope you receive wonderful news from UGA!
Former students, if you have any advice
to share, please feel free to do so.
Several students have mentioned that they are nervous about giving a speech in front of the class. Believe it or not, speaking in front of an audience is one of the most common fears we all have. In fact, one of the reasons I make students deliver a short speech early in the semester is so they will be more relaxed when they have to participate in more challenging assignments in front of the class later in the semester. One of the most important things you should remember is that you will be giving your speech in front of your classmates, and WE ALL WANT YOU TO DO WELL! No one is going to make fun of you or hope that you make mistakes. We all support each other!
