On applying to the Commerce School...

I now find myself in the midst of a very tense period of college life for many second year students here at UVa, the period of time waiting for an admissions decision to the McIntire Schoolof Commerce (aka the Comm School). I recently submitted my application to the Comm School on January 25, the deadline. I hope to receive an admissions decision by the end of spring break and I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Though the actual application process was not nearly as intensive as the application process for college (that was a real ordeal), I still did put in a significant amount of work toward this application. The application questionnaire required me to report any honors I’ve received since coming to UVa, as well as any leadership positions I have held. In addition, the application needed two short, 250-word, essays, a far cry from the demands of the Common App and UVa supplement, but it was tedious writing nonetheless. My first essay was about what I’ve learned through participating in a Christian fellowship group at UVa. I wrote my second essay about overcoming the challenges of two ACL tears and the subsequent reconstructive knee surgeries I went through as a result of high school lacrosse. Though the admissions department evaluates applicants holistically, I suspect that they give significant consideration to an applicant’s GPA. Achieving a respectable GPA is the element of the application process that requires the real hard work. Additionally, in order to even apply to the school, I had to take an introduction to business course, two semesters of economics, one semester of statistics, and two semesters of accounting here at UVa. Fortunately, I had already received credit for calculus through AP scores thus have not had to take any difficult math courses here in college.

I came to UVa last year with my hopes and plans firmly fixed on doing the Commerce school. Because the coursework for the Comm school doesn’t begin until one’s third year, I have had the opportunity to take classes in many different departments. In my three semesters here, I have really been fascinated with both my economics and religious studies courses. Consequently, my initial fixation on the commerce school has been slightly altered. Even if I am to gain entrance into UVa's very prestigious and highly ranked McIntire school, I may opt to double major in Economics and Religious Studies instead. It will surely be a daunting decision when and if I am fortunate to be faced with it. Regardless of the outcome, I am so thankful to have the many options our great university has to offer.

My wish for you, future UVa applicants and students, is for many options and for peace about the daunting decisions that await you. In the mean time, if you’re interested in the McIntire School of Commerce at UVa, please check out their admissions blog:

http://www.commerce.virginia.edu/admissions/undergraduate/blog/default.aspx