The Right Way for Seniors to Follow up on College Applications
The holidays are coming. Pumpkins! Turkeys! Presents! And before you know it 2017 will be here.
Don't lose sight of your college applications.
There are a lot of pieces to keep track of-including test scores, college application essays, letters of recommendation, transcripts, and more.
Not only do you need to complete these, you also have to follow up on them in an organized way.
Make sure you check your email every day over the next few months. This is how schools will confirm receipt of information, tell you if there are problems, set up interviews, and even send you acceptances!
After you send in your application
: Mark off the date you send in your application. Most schools send a notice within a few days via email to confirm receipt. This email could also contain log in information for a portal through which you can check your application status. DO NOT THROW AWAY THIS EMAIL. Please be sure to check your status periodically. Remember that items like transcripts and test scores take time to be processed, but if you find that your application is not complete within a few weeks of sending all the pieces, call the school to follow up. Do not procrastinate.
Gentle reminder: For most schools, a completed application incudes the application itself, test scores, letters of recommendation and transcripts. Leaving out any of these pieces will result in an incomplete application and a likely rejection.
After you apply for financial aid
: Students should apply for financial aid as soon as possible. Do not wait for the deadline as it's oftentimes first come, first served. After you submit your FAFSA form, follow up to check the status of your application. According to the FAFSA website, if you submit it online you could check the status of your FAFSA immediately. You could check the status of a paper FAFSA approximately 7-10 days from the date mailed. Within three days to three weeks after you submit your FAFSA, the office of Federal Student Aid will send you a Student Aid Report (SAR). Once your application has been processed, you'll get your chance to check the form for errors, make corrections, and add/delete schools you want to receive an application. If you have corrections to make, make them right away, before you forget about them.
After asking for transcripts and recommendation letters
: It's your responsibility to make sure your transcripts and letters of recommendation get written and sent in by the deadline. Check with everyone you asked to write you a recommendation about two weeks before your application deadline to make sure they wrote and sent the letter in for you. For the letters going through common app, confirm on the tab for "School Forms" what has - and has not - been downloaded by the school. If you see your teacher/ counselor has not written the letter, consider asking someone else because they may be telling you something through simple inaction!
After you have an interview
: Your job of impressing the interviewer doesn't end when the interview is over. Send in a thank you note, a few days after the interview, thanking the interviewer for speaking with you and reiterating your interest in the school.
With some organization, your application process should go smoothly. Millions of students have successfully gone on to college, and you can too.
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