Whether you're a concerned parent hunch-backed from hovering, or a nervous student desperately reading and re-reading your admission essays, the college search and application process is a stressful time for everyone. In recent years, senior assistant dean of admission Jeannine Lalonde, also known as "Dean J.," has helped assuage the fears of parents and students alike by opening up about the admissions process on her blog, "Notes from Peabody."
Lalonde arrived in Charlottesville in 2005 after starting her career in admissions in the New England area and was completely unfamiliar with the traditions associated with life at the University and in Charlottesville.
"There were two really popular camps, students and natives, and I wasn't in any of those groups," she said. "I had no connection to Charlottesville."
Lalonde started her blog as a way to document her integration into Charlottesville and the University community. "Notes from Peabody" and its resident writer, "Dean J.," started by exploring daily life at the University. When Lalonde noticed the popularity of admissions-related posts, however, she soon narrowed the focus of her blog to the inner-workings of Peabody Hall itself.
"The whole goal was to de-mystify the [admissions] process," Lalonde said of the change. Today, "Notes from Peabody" is a resource for prospective students and their parents, with Dean J. answering basic questions about admissions as well as promoting unique aspects of life at the University. Recent posts include an FAQ about submitting an arts supplement and a video tour of the new Hunter S. Smith band building.
Dean J. said her idea has generated interest from other admissions offices around the country.
"Now more schools are doing what I'm doing," she said. "When I go to professional conferences, people want to know what I do and how I do it."
In addition to answering questions about the application process, Lalonde uses the blog to address persistent rumors regarding the University's admissions decisions.
"Overall, the biggest thing I have to address is the issue of quotas," she said. Other than in-state/out-of-state requirements, the University has no quotas, but Lalonde said this remains a yearly concern of parents and applicants nevertheless. For her, these false rumors are the most frustrating part of her job.
"Regardless of how many times we assure people about the process, there will always be rumors coming from people with no credibility or experience with the admissions process or U.Va.," Lalonde said.
She added that most of the time, parents - not prospective students - contact her or Peabody Hall with questions about applications or rumors. Although the online format of her blog encourages student questions, she said 60 to 80 percent of the blog's comments come from parents.
"The process has changed so much, it's only natural for parents to be worried, [but] if a student calls [the admissions office] it's a red letter day," she said.
Lalonde emphasized that the majority of parents do not influence their child's application, but she has seen instances when the engines of helicopter parents get kicked into high gear.
"The thing that is the silliest is when parents fill out the application themselves," Lalonde said. She added that the admissions office has received calls from parents who freely admit that they are filling out parts of the application. One time, a parent even asked Peabody Hall to overlook typographical errors in his child's application because the errors were his and not the student's.
Although this degree of parental involvement is unusual, Lalonde is also unsettled by the number of parents who hire consultants or counselors to help their children with college applications.
"On our part, our worry is that if you've had all this help, how will you do next year?" she said. "[These students will] have a hard transition because they've let mom and dad hold the reins," she said, adding that the University community has so many resources available that parents should not be so worried that their child will make mistakes.
Certainly the comfort Lalonde's blog gives to parents and prospectives can now be counted among those resources. The blog has become well-known among applicants, and with some more time, students will recognize Dean J. and CavDog, Lalonde's golden retriever that is often pictured on the blog, One student even stopped by her office with a box of chocolates and a bag of dog treats to say thank you.
"In the last couple years, people have come by more, but everyone seems to think that I'm a man and old," she said.
As the quality and size of University classes grows every year by leaps and bounds, there are surely students in every class who remember Dean J. as a special part of their admissions process.
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