Inside Emory Admission

Likely Letters

February 28, 2014 Author: admission
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Apologies for the lack of updates the past couple of weeks. The pace in the Office of Admission at this time of year can only be described as fast and furious. After battling Mother Nature twice to release our Scholars notifications on January 31 and a delayed release of Early Decision II notification on February 17, the staff has been hunkered down processing and evaluating Regular Decision applications. With a goal to complete first-reads by March 10 and then three weeks of committee work to meet a decision release by April 1, we have little time for non-application review activities.

We’re discussing today a common practice in the college admission process known as the “likely letter.” A likely letter is a notification sent by the admission committee to a select handful of applicants in advance of the official release of admission decisions. This letter informs these highly accomplished applicants that the admission committee finds their application quite impressive and the likelihood of their admission is strong. Though a likely letter is not an official letter of acceptance and conditions are included in the letter encouraging students to maintain their academic performance and strong personal conduct, in almost all situations these letters foreshadow a student’s admission.

The Emory University Office of Undergraduate Admission has not pursued the practice of sending likely letters to applicants in the past, but this year it was decided to release a handful of such letters at the end of February. The landscape of highly selective college admission becomes more competitive each year. It is our belief that by sending an early communication to some of our strongest candidates in our Regular Decision applicant pool, they will “feel the love” and think more fondly of Emory as their future destination. It is also a chance to invite these students to plan an April admitted student campus visit in advance.

Though less than 10% of our future admitted students will receive this communication, we know that word can spread quickly and lead to many questions. Therefore, in the spirit of transparency, we felt it important to discuss this new practice for Emory and answer some of those anticipated questions.

How many students will receive a “likely letter?”
Less than 300 letters were released to Regular Decision applicants to Emory College. Oxford College did not release any such likely notifications, but last week did send approximately 30 early acceptance letters.

How will I know if I am getting such a letter?
We sent an email to those students receiving this notification and informed them to check the Communications Center of their OPUS account. Our likely letters are not mailed but uploaded to a student’s OPUS Communication Center as a new, unread notification.

Please do not contact our office to inquire whether you have been selected to receive this updated notification. If no new letter appears in your OPUS Communication Center then you are not one of the selected students. Unfortunately, our communications staff cannot check your status if you call or email.

I got a letter. Do I have to reply? Does this mean I am admitted?
First of all, congratulations on your achievements thus far. Please review the letter carefully as it explains clearly the purpose of the notification. There is no need to reply, just accept the letter as a celebration of your strong accomplishments. However, note that this is not a formal offer of admission and your application will continue to be reviewed by the admission committee. As the letter explains, a review of your mid-year report will still need to take place, and there is an expectation that you maintain your academic performance and personal conduct. We only sent these letters to students that are the strongest in our applicant pool, so if nothing drastically changes with your application in the next month, you can expect to receive an official admission offer by April 1.

If I don’t get one of these letters, what does that say about my chances for admission?
Nothing. As explained above, only a very small handful of Regular Decision applicants received this notification. This is approximately less than 10% of the students who will be admitted Regular Decision. The vast majority of applicants do not receive a likely letter, and not receiving a letter does not reveal anything about one’s chances for admission. There are many other strong applicants out there and offers of admission to be issued in a month.

We understand that knowing that other applicants received a sneak preview of potential good news can be frustrating and even disheartening. Do not read that much into this. There are many other students in our applicant pool that the admission committee will be excited to admit in a few weeks. The wait can be agonizing and we respect that. The light at the end of the tunnel nears, and we thank you for your continued patience.

Additional questions.
Please feel free to post a comment to this blog entry if you have a question not addressed above. We will attempt to answer your question as best as possible.
Early Decision II Notifications Delay

February 10, 2014 Author: admission
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Update – 10:45 a.m. – Thursday, February 13

As many of you are probably aware, the Southeast part of the United States was hit by a very dangerous winter weather storm this week. Emory University has been closed for the last three days due to this storm and the adverse travel conditions throughout Georgia. Unfortunately, we now need to delay the release of admission decision notifications for Early Decision II applicants. Decision notifications will now be available online through your OPUS Student center at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, February 17. For those who applied for financial aid, estimated award information will now be available by the afternoon of Tuesday, February 18.

We understand this delay comes as a disappointment. The admission staff has continued to work remotely during this time, however we will only feel comfortable releasing Early Decision II notifications when our staff has the time to meet in the office to ensure accuracy and the proper release process. We do not anticipate any further delays and thank you for understanding. If any further updates are needed they will be posted to this blog entry. If you should have any questions, you may email us at admission@emory.edu as we continue to respond to emails despite the University being closed.

Originally posted – 3:00 p.m. – Monday, February 10

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Emory University Scholars Program Notification Release Update

January 28, 2014 Author: admission
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Update Posted Wednesday, January 29 at 10:45 a.m.

Two quick updates for those monitoring this blog about the release of Emory University Scholars Program notifications. Yes, notifications will be posted at 6:00 p.m. ET tonight (Wednesday, January 29). Despite Emory University and Oxford College being closed due to the terrible conditions of the roads through Atlanta and Georgia following a winter storm, much of the Admission staff is working remotely to assure that Scholars notifications are released on time.

Also, a number of you posted in the comments that you did not receive the notification email. It seems there were some delays in the sending of the messages based on email clients that was out of control. Hopefully by now you have all received the email. If not, you can email admission@emory.edu. and we can look into the issue and respond back in a timely fashion.

Finally, if you want to see some pictures of the wintry blast that hit Emory yesterday, take a look at our #IAMEMORY blog.

Posted Tuesday, January 28

Things continue to be quite busy in the Office of Undergraduate Admission. Much of the past few weeks has seen the Admission Committee working diligently along with the Emory University Scholars Program selection committee to finalize decisions on a record applicant pool for the Scholars Program. We can now report that for those applicants who applied through our Emory University Scholars Program, notifications will be available online through your OPUS Student Center at 6:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, January 29. Please note, notifications will not be sent via postal mail or email and cannot be released over the phone. The decision letters are only viewable online through OPUS.

CHECKING YOUR NOTIFICATION ONLINE
To check your Scholars notification online, login to your OPUS account after 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 29. Locate the Communications section on the right-side menu of your Student Center. When your notification is available you will find a red link for Unread Communications. Notification letters for the Emory University Scholars Program will be posted there.

If you have not yet registered for an OPUS user name and password, you will need to do so in order to check your notification online. You can set up your OPUS account here: https://secure.web.emory.edu/it/acm/getpassword.cfm. If you have any difficulty, please contact Emory’s IT Service Desk at OPUSHELP@listserv.cc.emory.edu for information on how to proceed.

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Now What?

January 18, 2014 Author: admission
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Now that your application has been submitted, the waiting begins. We understand your eagerness to learn of your admission decision, and the Admission Committees at Emory College and Oxford College are working hard to thoroughly and holistically review all applications submitted. Decision notifications will be released for the Emory University Scholars Program by January 31, for Early Decision II by February 15, and for Regular Decision by April 1. Applicants will receive an email approximately a week before the decision release notification day with details on when exactly decisions will be released and how to access their admission decision via OPUS. We will also post that information to the Inside Emory Admission blog.

Speaking of your OPUS account, this is an extremely helpful tool for applicants to track the status of their required application materials and ultimately through this online system you will receive their admission decision. All applicants need to set-up their OPUS account after their application is processed by the Office of Undergraduate Admission. We encourage you to review this OPUS Explained blog post for full details and answers to frequently asked questions about one’s OPUS account.

We know during the period between submitting your application and waiting for your admission decision you may have questions. Our first blog post of the New Year answers many of the most frequently asked questions. As well, we recommend reviewing the Frequently Asked Questions section of our website. If you are still seeking answers, then feel free to post a comment to this blog. Or email us at admission@emory.edu. Call us at 404-727-6036. And you can even Tweet us.

Finally, stay tuned to this blog with further updates on the decision notification release process for the Emory University Scholars Program, Early Decision II, and Regular Decision. In the meantime, get to know more about Emory and Oxford students through our #IAMEMORY blog.
Deadline Day: Common Application Submission Issues

January 15, 2014 Author: admission
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12:30 p.m. ET – January 15, 2014

Today is January 15, also known as Regular Decision application deadline day for Emory College and Oxford College. Unfortunately, it appears some of you are experiencing technical difficulties with the Common Application as you attempt to submit your application, Emory Writing Supplement, and/or application fee payment. We want to assure you we are monitoring the situation carefully. Based on the most recent information that the Common Application has posted on their social media platforms, the main problem appears to be a disruption in the credit card payment system through the third-party vendor the Common Application uses for processing application fees.

We strongly urge any students experiencing technical issues to contact the Common Application Technical Support Team to determine a solution: https://appsupport.commonapp.org/. Please note the Emory University Office of Admission does not administer the Common Application and therefore we are unable to assist directly with any submission or payment issues. If you have contacted Common Application Technical Support, please be patient and allow time for a response from that team.

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Due Tomorrow; Do Today

January 14, 2014 Author: admission
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Tomorrow, January 15, is the Regular Decision application deadline for first-year freshman applicants to Emory College and Oxford College. For those of you who have yet to submitted your application online through the Common Application, you have less than 48 hours now to get your materials in to be considered by the Admission Committee. As long as your Common Application and Emory Writing Supplement are submitted on January 15 by 11:59 p.m. ET, your application will be considered. Supporting school documents, including transcripts and letters of recommendations, will be accepted up to a week after the deadline.

Procrastination is the easy route, but we encourage you not to follow this panda’s advice:

Instead the advice you should listen to is that of the members of the Emory College and Oxford College Admission Committees. We asked the counselors and advisors what they would say to a potential applicant who had not yet submitted their application and may be debating whether to apply. Here are their words of wisdom.

Atlanta and Emory are optimistic places, incubators of new, creative thinking—ideas which will propel our global perspectives. The city and campuses are exciting places for young people, places where those with abundant energy and forward thinking thrive. Rising from the devastation of war to the cradle of the civil rights movement to its birth as an Olympic city, people have always gathered here in Atlanta to be part of a brighter future, gathered here at Emory to learn and contribute intellectually to society’s fullest potential. Vibrant, on-the-go energy, deep and expansive resources, engaged communities, and upbeat as a summer day…why not check it out?!

Scott Allen
Senior Associate Dean of Admission & Director of International Recruitment

Soar higher than you ever thought possible and apply to be an Emory Eagle!

Kelley Lips
Associate Dean of Recruitment and Enrollment

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New Year, Lots of Questions

January 4, 2014 Author: admission
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Happy New Year Inside Emory Admission blog followers. 1,482. What do you think that number represents? If you guessed the number of emails to admission@emory.edu we responded to since our office closed for the holidays on December 20, you would be correct. Even though our office doors were closed, and the staff was enjoying time with their families, we still continued to answer your questions in droves. No holiday rest for our email accounts, especially with the release of Early Decision I notifications on December 13, our Early Decision II deadline on January 1, and our impending Regular Decision deadline on January 15. By the way, have you submitted your application yet? If not, get to it. You only have 11 eleven days left. Helpful application information found here.

As we responded to close to 1500 emails, it was clear that some topics were being asked more frequently than others. So for our first blog post of 2014, we thought it best to tackle answers to these most frequently asked questions. Despite the excellent OPUS explained blog entry written by Dree, it seems that there still tends to be a lot of questions surrounding OPUS. So we’ll tackle those FAQs first and then end with some other general questions.

I submitted my application, but didn’t receive a confirmation that the Office of Admission received my application. I also have received no information about setting up an OPUS account. What do I do?

Application received emails with instructions on setting up an OPUS account are sent a few days after the submission of your application. The emails go to the email address you entered on your Common Application. You should check your SPAM folder because sometimes our messages get sent to SPAM; if that’s the case be sure to mark admission@emory.edu as an email address you can receive communications from. Do note, the Office of Admission does not automatically download your application from the Common Application site once you click submit. As well, we do not download your application until you have submitted both your Common Application and the Emory Writing Supplement.

If it has been more than a week since submitting both your application and writing supplement, then send an email to admission@emory.edu to inquire about the receipt of your application, Make sure to include your full name as it appears on your application, date of birth, and Common Application ID#.

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Happy Holidays from the Office of Admission!

December 22, 2013 Author: admission
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It’s going to be quiet around campus for the next two weeks, as the dorms are all closed and everyone heads off home for the holidays. As a reminder, our office will be closed starting at noon on Friday, December 20. We will reopen on January 2, 2014. If you have any questions, or need more information about the application process, deadlines, and life as an Emory student, please visit our website and student blog. You may also choose to email us at admission@emory.edu as we will be responding to emails over the holiday break.
OPUS Explained

December 19, 2013 Author: admission
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Hi! My name is Dree Magee and I am the Visit Experience Coordinator for the Office of Undergraduate Admission at Emory University. In addition to trying to make your visit to Emory memorable, I am a member of the Public Relations Team with my colleagues Rachel and Ally. A main collective role of our team is to answer questions that come to the Admission office by phone and email. During my three years at Emory I have spoken with countless applicants, parents, and counselors; through these interactions several application related issues have become apparent. One of the most confusing aspects of our application process seems to be centered around a student’s OPUS account. How do I access it? What does it mean when I do such and such? What does initiated mean? What is all this information?

This entry is designed to help our applicants sort out their OPUS account and understand what they are looking at. It’s a little long but I hope you read until the end because there is a ton of helpful details here. Let’s get started!

I applied, now what?

The submission of your Common Application AND Writing Supplement starts the process. It is important to note that our office does not immediately download your application from the Common Application. The download does not occur until both your Common Application and the Emory Writing Supplement are submitted successfully. About 48 hours (2 business days) after submission you will receive an email from our office letting you know your application has been received. This email is sent to the email address you used with your application and is sent from admission@emory.edu. We encourage you to approve admission@emory.edu as an email address you can receive communications from, so that important emails like this application received message does not go into your SPAM folder.

It is important to note item #1 in the letter. Just because you receive the email it does not mean you will instantly have access to your OPUS account. It is necessary to allow at least 48 hours from the time you receive the email to attempt to log in to your account for the first time; there are processes that go on behind the scenes that need this time to update.

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Live Blogging Early Decision I Notification Day

December 13, 2013 Author: admission
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(New updates are at the bottom of the feed! Enjoy!)

The quiet before the chaos. The Emory College Admission Office in the early morning.

7:45 a.m. Good early morning readers! It is an exhilarating day for the Emory University Office of Undergraduate Admission staff. Later this evening we will release decision notifications for our Early Decision I applicants and the Emory College and Oxford College Classes of 2018 will begin to take shape. Decision notifications days are milestone days for any member of an Admission team as they are the chance to reflect on the hard work of the past few weeks and months, yet they are also chaotic to make sure decisions are final and notifications get out to all applicants. We will be experimenting today with “live blogging” about what is taking place in our offices in Atlanta and Oxford and provide ED1 applicants and our other audiences a view inside the process. Check back throughout the day for updates, some pictures, and reflections from Admission staff.

As a reminder, if you are an Early Decision I applicant to Emory University, check out our blog post for details about how the decision notification release will work this evening (Friday, December 13) at 6:00 p.m. ET.

10:00 a.m. Update by Director of Communications, Daniel Creasy

For me, this is the 14th consecutive year that I have been involved with the release of Early Decision admission notifications. For the first 12 of those years I was an Admission Counselor who had been completely invested in the evaluation and committee selection process, and only helped stuff decision letters on notification day. But when I came to Emory University in September of 2012, I moved away from reviewing applications and began to lead a team of talented and creative people focused on excelling at the way we communicate with prospective students and applicants. Though this is the second ED1 notification day for Emory College and Oxford College that I have been involved with, I still feel like a rookie. And honestly, I find that exciting.

While the Admission counselors and advisors evaluated and deliberated about ED1 notifications the past few weeks, the Communications team has been focused on writing decision letters, answering phone calls and emails, putting together our admit packets, and preparing web and social media resources. I always enjoyed notification days in my time as an Admission counselor because there was a sense of accomplishment coupled with the anticipation of the new freshmen class. Now that sense of accomplishment and anticipation still exists, but is more focused on making sure the process of communicating the work of the Admission team is done with a delicate touch.

As we hit mid-morning in the office, final Admission Committee discussions are on-going. I await word from Dean of Admission John Latting and Dean of Enrollment Services for Oxford College Jennie Taylor that the ED1 process is complete and decisions are sealed. Our staff has done all the preparation we can do to get to this point. Once we get word the classes are sealed, we will begin to do our decision checks, produce letters, and stuff the admit packets for mailing at the end of the day. I best get back to pacing outside the door of the Conference Room!

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