Seniors: You’ve Applied! Now What?

Now that you’ve submitted college applications, what are the next steps? What should you be aware of and pay attention to? Here are productive and positive steps seniors can take while waiting for college admissions decisions:

1. Confirmation Email and Portal Account Instructions

• Once you have applied, you should receive a confirmation email from each college.
  

• After you apply, the college typically asks you to create a portal account on its website. The college will provide instructions on how to do that. Follow these steps to track your application and ensure that the college receives all the necessary documents, including your transcript, test scores (if applicable), letters of recommendation, and any other required items.

 2. Check Your Email and College Portals Regularly

• It is your responsibility to ensure that each college receives all parts of the application. Note: it can take some time (even a few weeks) for these items to appear as received in your portal accounts. Colleges often give school counselors and recommenders more time past the application deadline to submit information. If you requested that test scores be sent to a particular college, it can take 2-3 weeks for them to be posted as received in your applicant portal, even though the scores are transmitted electronically.
  

• Admissions offices may send updates, requests for additional materials, housing registration, or scholarship information. Checking regularly means you won’t miss these requests or opportunities. Make this a habit. Staying organized helps you respond quickly.  

3. Focus on Your Academics

• It's super important to finish each semester of senior year with the best grades you can. Even though you have college acceptances, some colleges will request mid-year reports in January from your school counselors, and whichever college you decide to attend will want a final transcript from you shortly after you graduate from your high school.
  
  

• SENIOR YEAR GRADES MATTER! Every year, my professional colleagues and I hear of admissions offers being rescinded when admitted students experience a drop in grades. Consistency in academics is key.
  
  

4. Enrollment Deposits

• It's now common for colleges to communicate frequently about enrollment deposits. Some colleges are unrelenting about this.
  

• NO need to accept an admissions offer until you are ready to commit to ONE school. To accept an admissions offer usually involves paying an enrollment deposit. Please be aware that it is unethical to submit enrollment deposits to more than one college.
  

• Some colleges reserve the right to rescind an admissions offer to a student if they discover the student has paid an enrollment deposit to another college. Double depositing is deceitful, unfair to the colleges, and unfair to other applicants.

5. Housing Applications & Deposits

• At some colleges, once you're admitted, you don't pay the enrollment deposit yet, but you can apply for housing, and it can be advantageous to do so by paying the housing deposit to secure a place to live on campus.
  
  

•  Most colleges offer the opportunity to back out of the housing contract and will provide a partial or full refund of the housing deposit if notified in advance by a date specified in the contract. Important to read the fine print on those agreements. Caveat: You do not want to be on the hook for housing at two or more colleges!!

6. Campus Visit Plans

• If you haven’t yet visited a college where you’ve been admitted, now is the time to make plans for a visit!! Some colleges offer Admitted Students events in the spring, but you don’t have to wait until then to visit.
  
  

• Review your criteria for what you’re looking for in a college home. Academic programs, campus culture, location, and finances are each important factors.

7. Take Care of Yourself

• Waiting can be stressful. Some decisions you’ll know about sooner than others. Eventually, you’ll have all of them.

• Prioritize good health, time with friends, and activities.

• Enjoy senior year festivities! 

• Keep in mind that you and your friends may have different priorities for college next year. A-Ok!
  
  

Once your college lists are finalized, be sure that you've shown interest in the colleges that track this.

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