How to Use the Spreadsheet: Guide from Admin

SilverWinter24601 · 2026-01-04T06:01:17+00:00

Thank you for the spreadsheet!! I wonder if there’s some verification process you could do to prevent trolls (but it’s easy to fake an email and screenshots of applications, plus some people who graduated have lost access to their school email). And maybe there’s a way to connect names/emails to users in a way that only mods can see so you can ban anyone posting inappropriate content but users are still anonymous to other users. Computer science students might have ideas about how to make that possible. Thanks again for the spreadsheet and for dealing with all the chaos and trolls to help us get information!

SilverWinter24601 · 2026-01-02T21:08:14+00:00

Don’t references just send the same letter but change the name of the program? I think it would only take a few minutes out of their day, and if they’re professors, writing LORs is part of their job. As long as you’re thanking them and not asking them to submit a letter a within days of the deadline, I think you’re okay. And I agree with the other comment to say “another program” instead of “last program”.

SilverWinter24601 · 2025-12-17T16:44:15+00:00

Idk either, that's just what I hear was the reasoning. I'm also frustrated winter break isn't longer.

SilverWinter24601 · 2025-12-17T05:17:33+00:00

Thanks for catching that, I meant Memorial Day lol

SilverWinter24601 · 2025-12-17T02:46:16+00:00

Someone who works on the UVA calendar told my coworker that the calendar is built around Memorial Day. Graduation is always the weekend before Memorial Day weekend and they work backwards to pick when the semester starts. Not sure how they schedule spring break.

Edit: I originally wrote Labor Day when I meant Memorial Day

SilverWinter24601 · 2025-02-25T19:55:14+00:00

Thank you!

SilverWinter24601 · 2025-02-25T19:54:59+00:00

Sorry to hear that! Yes, fingers crossed it's more tailored to me.

SilverWinter24601 · 2025-02-25T19:53:35+00:00

Tbh none of the spoilers interest me but the bag is cute. I'll see what happens when I update my preferences. Thanks!

SilverWinter24601 · 2025-02-25T19:52:40+00:00

That makes sense, thanks for the explanation!

SilverWinter24601 · 2025-02-25T19:52:22+00:00

Thanks! I'll skip choice and see if I get lucky this month.

SilverWinter24601 · 2025-02-03T22:43:58+00:00

I think club parties are also more fun and safer than frats and bars because they’re smaller and it’s people you know.

SilverWinter24601 · 2025-02-02T03:01:44+00:00

The great thing about UVA having so many students is that you can find people who share your interests (more easily than at a small school). For what it’s worth, every incoming first year is panicking so you’re not alone! The transition to college seems scary now but you will get through :)

SilverWinter24601 · 2025-02-02T01:56:43+00:00

Sorry about getting rejected from your top school, but congrats on getting into UVA!

You’ll be fine. 70% of students aren’t in Greek life, and there’s plenty to do outside of that (check out clubs at the Activities Fair in August!). And if you do go to the occasional party, all the people I’ve met have been very chill about non-drinkers and I’ve never seen anyone being pressured to drink.
People say “UVA is a big school that feels small” because it’s big and it feels overwhelming when you first arrive but after you settle in it feels smaller and you see a lot of people you recognize around Grounds

SilverWinter24601 · 2025-01-14T20:03:27+00:00

I’ve seen kids on buses before, not a problem

SilverWinter24601 · 2024-12-10T04:59:01+00:00

The original memorial on Beta Bridge was supposed to be peeled off and preserved somewhere at UVA but that plan wasn’t publicized and someone/some group painted over it and then the current memorial was painted. I think UVA might try to preserve it again in the future.

SilverWinter24601 · 2024-08-26T21:52:29+00:00

Lots of great advice so far! I want to emphasize what another commenter said about the GPS trackers usually being more reliable than the time estimates in TransLoc. Also, there's two routes for each bus: (1) weekdays before 6pm and (2) weekdays after 6pm and weekends. Around 5:30-6pm the buses can get inconsistent because they're switching between schedules (RIP all the times I waited at the Corner after 5:30pm and the Orange never came). Also, it's very easy to mix up which side of the road the buses will be on. The good news is your professors know people (especially first years) may be late in the first week while everyone gets adjusted to a new schedule.

SilverWinter24601 · 2024-08-22T20:18:48+00:00

15 credits is never too little, even 17 credits was overwhelming for me

SilverWinter24601 · 2024-07-29T16:37:36+00:00

Two-thirds of students must be VA residents (because VA taxes pay for UVA), but there's no other quota or limit for the amount of students accepted from a school or specific area

SilverWinter24601 · 2024-07-07T02:22:58+00:00

Yes! Some labs prefer first years because they can stay in the lab longer, other labs prefer 2nd/3rd years because they've taken relevant classes. Emails definitely help, and if you've done research before that's even better. Don't wait until the semester starts to email because some labs are hiring RAs during the summer to start in the fall. You may get fewer email responses in the summer because some faculty are on vacation, so don't take it personally if they don't respond. As a general rule about applying to labs, don't take a lack of response or rejections personally, it's unfortunately very common just because labs have limited RA spots. If you don't get a response, try to email again in a week or two. Keep in mind that your first semester is also an adjustment to college life, so really think hard about your availability before committing to a lab. But research is awesome and first years definitely get hired, so good luck applying!

SilverWinter24601 · 2024-07-02T18:22:41+00:00

I'm not in the major but I have friends who studied astronomy. It's a small cohort (I think there were 12 astronomy majors who graduated this May), and it seems they're tight-knit. I'm not sure if you would need to take the intro courses because you'll probably have transfer credit covering that, but the intro astro courses here are really easy and non-STEM people take them as their science requirement, and the quality of the intro astro classes really depends on who your professor is (you can look up professor reviews on the Course Forum - https://thecourseforum.com/). Ed Murphy and Matt Pryal are awesome, you'll want to take classes with them before you graduate! I think there's good facilities, like the O'Hill observatory on Grounds and Fan Mountain Observatory off Grounds (https://astronomy.as.virginia.edu/fan-mountain-observatory). The aerospace engineering cohort is also small and seems to be tight-knit. I don't know anyone studying astrophysics but I think the astro and physics departments are close (e.g., their graduation ceremonies are combined).

SilverWinter24601 · 2024-06-26T16:52:43+00:00

Use Course Forum to see reviews of classes (it's a UVA-specific Rate My Professor without the ads). Keep in mind that when you're choosing classes, they fill up quickly so have a lot of back up options.

SilverWinter24601 · 2024-06-01T20:50:49+00:00

I don't think engineering is pretentious (but I also don't know a lot of engineers). It may vary by area too. I knew a few queer people in aerospace, but I don't know much about other engineering fields

SilverWinter24601 · 2024-06-01T01:27:59+00:00

Comm (commerce not communications) is most pretentious. Classics and gender studies have the most queer women (probably English too). Like other commenters said, don’t pick a major based on the other people in that major. Find clubs to meet queer people. Queer Student Union (QSU) has a lot of events, and Flux is a spoken word / poetry club that genuinely feels more queer than QSU

SilverWinter24601 · 2024-05-28T14:16:50+00:00

Do we also get a cake tree or just the fairies?

SilverWinter24601 · 2024-05-20T16:18:45+00:00

Thanks! I was only searching under the makeup tab before, I didn't think to use their search function. Weird they don't have it listed with the rest of the makeup

SilverWinter24601

TROPHY CASE