As many seniors have applied to schools for early action, early decision, or rolling admissions, a big question is what should they be doing now…besides waiting and waiting. For seniors who have applied to all of their schools, a few of their schools, or none of their schools, take a look at the following list of what you can be doing now for the college admissions process:
· Revise your college list: Take a look at your college list and make sure you have 2-3 safeties, targets, and reaches in each category. Hopefully you have done your research on these colleges and visited some of them. It is imperative that you are happy with all of the colleges you apply to, not just the reach schools!
· Be on top of your testing game: Hopefully you have taken your SATs or ACTs by this time. Make sure you know which test dates you will send to the colleges, or if you will not send test scores at all (test-optional schools). You have the ability to pick which test dates you send to colleges, and most of them will super score for you. If your November testing scores come in after application deadlines, call each school’s admissions office and ask about their policy for this. Schools will have different procedures, so make sure you contact each one.
· Continue to demonstrate your interest: Whether you visited the college, sat in on an information session, or had an interview with an admissions counselor, remind the colleges of your interest in attending. Take a few minutes and write a brief e-mail to your admissions representative letting them know you have applied and if there is anything else you should be doing while awaiting a decision. Most colleges will not have you do anything additional, but the admissions representative will certainly know that you are very interested in the school, and that could go a long way.
· Have all of your supplemental materials prepared: Although most colleges use the Common Application, they will all have a variety of additional information that needed to be completed. Some are simple, others are more intense, and they vary greatly. A few colleges need two teacher recommendations, and others specify which subjects they want to see for recommendations. Take initiative and have all of the supplements organized and completed.
· Students who have applied ED…be prepared: Hopefully you will be accepted to your ED school, but there is a chance you will be deferred or denied. Have your other applications prepared and ready to go. Most will have time between when they hear from their ED school and the regular deadlines, so no need to submit your other applications just yet (save tons of money!). But be ready to go, so if you hear bad news from the ED school, you can just hit submit on the applications and move on!
· Beware of deadlines: You should memorize (or at least keep track) the deadlines for everything associated with the college application process. This includes application deadlines, financial aid deadlines, and eventually deposit deadlines (most likely May 1st). It would be a shame to put in all of this effort, but miss an important deadline, possibly being left out.
· Show gratitude to your counselors, teachers…and parents: We commend you for all of the effort you put into this process, and we understand how much time it took. But the majority of you had support from school advisors and family members. Take a moment to thank your counselor and teachers for assisting in the applications and recommendations. Also, realize that as much stress you felt during this process, it was probably doubled for your parents. Share the joy of being accepted and selecting a college with your family and let them know how much you appreciate their time and support…especially when it comes time to write the college checks!
· Try to relax…but not too relaxed: Once everything is submitted and being reviewed, try to relax and don’t focus too much on what the decision may be. At this point, there is little more you can do, so there is no sense in worrying about it. However, this does not mean you should stop working hard in your classes. Even after you are accepted, if your grades drop drastically, colleges have the right to revoke your acceptance. You have worked very hard for 3 ½ years during high school, so try your best to finish strong!
Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA
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